Faith listened intently as Siduri spoke on the various creatures. It was hard to believe a Walker in her time was different here. Since the Walkers she experienced were thoughtless organics whose sole purpose was to consume and consume more. Apparently here they held jobs like bartending. She hadnât put two and two together yet, but perhaps she had seen a zombie before and didnât think anything of it. The other creatures were stuff of storybooks, but perhaps that made sense. If things like them were real, then it made those stories nonfiction, or perhaps fiction but with some truth to them.
She had a lot of questions, but didnât know how to address them. âThis is a lot to take in. A PowerPoint lecture would be beneficial, I feel. I suppose experience is the best teacher.â In fact, this whole anti-human/pro-human faction was the tip. But she did have one. âSorcerers? Like magic users? And they use guns? Fucking awesome!â She covered her mouth. âSorry! Blending in again.â
They came upon an alley and Siduri stopped. She said concrete or something and a man appeared. Though that wasnât true, was it. It looked like a man, save for the black dimensions where his eyes should be. Otherwise, he would have been handsome. Faith would have a go with it had she not been briefed of the creatures that walked the night already. Upon introductions, Faith nodded her head. âSup? I mean, hello sir.â She just said sup to a god. No biggie.
Andromeda was not comforted by Gilbert's explanation - he was taking pleasure in all of this? She had to wonder how many times Siduri had dropped him on his head when he was a baby (were Emendators ever babies, though? Andromeda didn't know). Her frustration with him and Giouse continued to build, hopefully it would reach a plateau and level off but comments like that weren't helping anything. He didn't seem to understand the severity of the situation, especially since by his own words, he was enjoying all of this. The world, the universe, probably even the multiverse was ending and he was just excited to be there! If she was being honest, she wasn't just frustrated with Gilbert at the moment - she was disgusted by him. The novelty of the situation should not supersede the grave and imminent danger that all of reality faced.
She was relieved to see that Peter and James had returned safely - and they had even gotten clothes! There were just robes, so she was a bit disappointed there wasn't a head covering or something to keep her pale complexion from being exposed to the sun, but beggars couldn't be choosers. She grabbed a robe for herself and slipped it on. At least now, Gilbert wasn't openly talking about how thrilled he was that doomsday was approaching and she calmed down slightly. She needed to focus on the end of the world, not her irritation with the Emendators. And since time was of the essence, she followed Gilbert over towards the secret entrance, ready to go find some weapons to gear up with. She was ready for anything dangerous to pop out at them at any moment.
"I just think it's a good idea to reassess when things change." Bartholomew said uncomfortably. Given the growing panic, he was worried that them being separate from the group could lead to more problems arising. If things got to chaotic, he could see it being difficult to reunite with their comrades. "I didn't mean to seem that way Gil, just worried about the effect the haze might be having on these people." He hoped that would make sense to The Hat; if it was following them around, they would be serving Cairo best by getting out of dodge as quickly as possible. He was relieved, however, to see that Gil was intent on going back to the group now.
Following after the Emendator, not minding Gil's more upbeat attitude as much as his fellow Paradox did. Morale was, as Gil said, important, and he trusted The Hat to be level headed enough to not let it actually effect his decision making. While he didn't have a problem presenting conflicting ideas to the Emendators at large, he thought it best not to question their actual behavior or goals at large. They knew how to cope with and deal with this stuff much better than any of them, and though it took time for him to cede himself to them, now that he had, he tried to trust them best he could.
Sophia looked over towards Gio and nodded slightly she knew that he was limited at the moment with whatever was going on right now with the haze as well. "Next best thing, jus establish a base of operations or something without a loop or something along those lines." Sophia said, she did have internet before the whole outbreak happened, and damn she really did miss her time on a computer even TV as well. Sighing a little bit as she rubbed the back of her neck slightly. Then she turned her head when she heard James and Peter were both back and smiled at the two of them. "Good to see that you guys are all safe and sound." Sophia said as she noticed the robes that they had brought with them, it was better than nothing at this point.
She quickly walked over and grabbed herself a robe and found a spot to change from the others, as she bumbled up all of her clothes she had been wearing and tucked them under her arm for now. She knew that she couldn't really have her dress laying on the ground for someone to pick up, since it was before its time as well. Sophia looked towards Gilbert and the others as they came back and told them the news and nodded slightly. "I could try and navigate by sound or something if we cant get any sort of lighting, but anyway lead the way." Sophia suggested she wasn't sure if that would help or not either.
Location: Babylon Fortress (Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924) Skills: N/A
"Do not give it another thought, Bartholomew," responded Gilbert in an even voice. He was busy looking for something that would probably only be immediately apparent to him, based upon antiquity of the technology. If it wasn't immediate, which it was very well threatening to be, he would go for whatever assistance could be provided, inexperience notwithstanding. He continued with Bart, confiding, "I am also worried about the haze. Not what it means directly, though I fear that will become a bigger issue soon enough. But as you mentioned, the effect on the people of Cairo. Some of the most horrifying things humanity can do to each other wait for moments of mass panic. This worries me greatly."
Gilbert nodded back to Sophia. Her suggestion was not the best method of handling the problem, granted. If that was all they had, it was better than nothing. Nothing was what they had now. It fell somewhere near the realm of "any port in a storm". He addressed Sophia, not wanting to be rude, "Thank you. I hope it will not be necessary, but thank you." He did regret not having the time to take care of a more suitable replacement for her hand. He had all of the materials he needed to do just that back at the Plantation, but time was ever a fickle master.
Returning to the entrance to the tunnels, Gil took a cursory look around. There had to be a way to fix this little dilemma so they could see properly down there. He knew of a way that went back to the beginning of the Fortress, if only luck was with them all this time. He glanced over to Andromeda, who had a look of readiness on her face for whatever might appear. Good on her. Perhaps he'd feel more confident about things after they were all better equipped. It was still good to see a grim, ready visage in one of their Paradoxes. Now, to try to find that light.
Character's current location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Character's attempted actions: Figuring Stuff Out Skills Used: History, Observation Why each skill is being called: To light the tunnels, if a skill roll is applicable. Has a functioning cigarette lighter. Desired location of the character: N/A
James Grady
Location: Babylon Fortress (Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924) Skills: N/A
"I 'preciate that, Mr. Watch, sir," James responded to the bid of good work from Giosue. He gave a quick look over to Peter, noting that he had been somewhat quiet since returning to the Babylon Fortress. Maybe the seriousness of their task was hitting him. Maybe coming back to the place where he died, again, was getting to him. As James understood it, Paradoxes were tough. Had powers and everything. But they still had the same foibles as every other walking, breathing, living human from a psychological standpoint. Lord knew that James had been dealing with his own issues since Day One, and that was compounded by the loss of his friend from life. Or a version of her. He couldn't even imagine what Peter was going through, or whether he could put it to the side for the sake of the mission. For all he knew, Paradoxes eventually got a stronger psyche in addition to their physical and supernatural enhancements that made resolving these things with intact mental health possible.
The discussion about finding an alternative light source seemed like an okay idea, but they really did have to move. James and Peter had seen what was happening out there firsthand, and this was a thing that could only get worse if it wasn't taken care of, and fast. Cairo might even burn before the day was over. He'd never been here before, but James didn't want that. People would get hurt or killed for no reason whatsoever aside from fear. He restricted his search for possible light sources to what he could glimpse on his way to this secret tunnel that Gil said he uncovered. The thought of traveling underground didn't fully appeal to him, really. The thought of traveling above ground now appealed to him less.
When he go to the entrance, James looked to Andromeda, saying, "Hey there, I'm real sorry I couldn't find nothin' good to keep the sun offa ya. Offer on my hat's still there, Miss Andy, for when we get back under a sky. Lemme know if'n you need, huh?"
Character's current location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Character's attempted actions: Finding stuff en route Skills Used: Observation Why each skill is being called: Looking for anything along the way to the tunnel entrance than can be used as a light source; torch, lantern from previous work, whatever Desired location of the character: N/A
*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.New York, New York, USA: November 5th, 1943
Dread quirked a brow as he looked towards Faith. "Sup," he said with a bit of a smirk. "Let me guess, she's partied passed 1999?" he asked looking over towards Siduri. Siduri nodded slightly. "Paradoxes, here, now? Not surprising, the haze has begun in this time as well, it just hasn't reached us yet," he told Siduri quietly as he motioned for them to follow. "Babylon isn't here, she is aiding another," he said.
"That is unfortunate," Siduri said before nodding towards Faith and motioning for her to follow. "Come, we are safer with Dread than alone on these streets," she added in a quiet voice.
"I can take you to Parliament, he is expecting you," Dread said but he wasn't looking towards Siduri as he spoke, he was looking towards Faith.
"What of Golgotha?" Siduri asked as they walked towards the Deadlight district.
"Been called for Faction meeting, something is happening and we are closing ranks," he told her. Siduri nodded, something was indeed happening but if the haze wasn't with them yet, just how long until it reached them? New York wasn't the most peaceful of towns normally, such a haze would create chaos. Sooner they were done and away from the city the better.
Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924
Special Note: That Haze will remain until further notice, so make sure to keep to it. ^_^ Down in the tunnel where Gilbert was trying to figure out what to do he wasn't seeing exactly what he needed but he was remembering the way they used to do it back in his day. Oil. Serves of oil in places that were connected, along the walls to sections where it would pool up. Light one place and it spread and kept constant light in the darkest of places. That, and mirrors. Thing was mirrors were not around to get them to the deeper areas where the oil lighting system would be. They would need to find another way to light the darker areas until then. Fire, fire was always good. Someone needed to start a fire. There was one person, if he only would return that could do that.
James will be able to pick up a few items, mostly food along the way and some water skins from places along the way that were abandoned. At least the group can eat now.
Peter keeps up with James and moves though with everything going on, as soon as they are out of sight of people and back towards the edge of the fort, Peter starts levitating some from the ground and moving that way. He can move far faster and without stress on his leg now. Setting himself down at the group he nods a bit and looks around. "Yes, most unfortunate that we could no procure weapons but if we can get into the base, we should be able to acquire some post haste. Have you all had anything of note since we left?" he asked as he looked at the others and then added. "Is there anything I can do to aide you?" Oh yes, the Emendators knew Peters skills well, there was something he could indeed due to illuminate the situation.
Sophia looked towards Gilbert and gave a slight shrug as she followed the others down into the lower parts of the fortress looking down at her wooden hand for a moment and the dress that she had been wearing bundled up. They could easily be used to make a torch if they could just find a stick and something to wrap it all around as they continued to walk along. "You can use my dress from before coming here for kindling for a torch." Sophia offered as well, she was at least making suggestions now at this point whether or not the others would accept her suggestions was another thing.
She looked around trying to find her way around though the haze was really hard to see through right now and the darkness inside the place was also pretty hard to see as well. Getting their hands on some weapons from the barracks would be pretty useful and helpful right about now as well, she still had a little bit of a harder time with two handed weapons. But she took the training to heart as well and didn't let her little handicap hold her down right now either. [color=6ecff6]"So once we get to the barrack's armory what do we do next?"[/color[ Sophia decided to ask as well since she wasn't sure how to kill a Destruere or what their weaknesses would be either.
Location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Skills: History
"Yes Peter," Gio began in reply to the Paradox, "What we need it some light. So if you would set something ablaze, we'd be able to properly navigate the dark underground tunnels. I don't know if you found any lanterns, but if not..." The emendator looked around and found a short wooden length, probably once the handle of some tool, but now only useful as a short club or firewood. He handed it over to Peter. Of course, if they had a proper lighting apparatus like a lantern he could simply light it with one of the many matches he was carrying about with him, but for the purposes of makeshift lighting, he'd take the risk on the supernatural inextinguishable flames their cohort could produce.
"And once we get to the armoury, we commandeer some of their weapons. Preferably ones we can use, and in an ideal situation we'd all have a primary weapon such as a rifle, a sidearm such as a pistol, and some easily portable melee weapon along with enough ammo to split between all of us. However we'll need to play it by ear and take what we can manage." An obvious answer to an obvious question perhaps, but it was vital that they didn't waste time being confused because not everyone was on the same page.
"Now if we have no more immediate hurdles in our way, let us press on."
Action requested: Think ahead and try to anticipate what will be in the armory so he knows what would be best to take with them in a high stress, low time scenario Skills used: History (General Human) Why: He'd remember what weapons were available in this point in time and be able to know what was good and what would be shite for their circumstance. Desired location: N/A
"It's alright," Andromeda reassured James. "I s'pose I could always just summon a storm to get some cloud cover," she told him with a slight smile. It was sweet how concerned he was about making sure she didn't look like she had gone swimming in a deep fryer - the others didn't really seem to remember that problem and admittedly, it wasn't very high on the list of priorities. However, as she mentioned using her powers to get some cloud cover, it made her wonder if her ability to control the weather could be localized to a small area - perhaps within the tunnels? There was one way then to make some fire - a lightning strike. She had no idea if it would work, as she hadn't tried to do something like that before in such a small space.
Of course, just as she was about to suggest she try that, Peter and Giouse came up with another solution. It was a more practical one and she imagined that it didn't carry the entire ~what if~ element to it that her own idea did. But with the talk of weapons, that did remind her that well, if they were fighting the Destruere, perhaps then she could try calling down lightning strikes to deal with the creature. And if they were fighting a more humanoid threat in hand to hand combat, all she needed to do was touch them and they'd get a deadly illness. "If there aren't enough weapons to go around, I can go without... I've got good combat powers," Andromeda volunteered. She kept on following the others through the passages.
Faith couldnât help but blush a little bit. Despite the manâs lack of eyes, he was attractive in a way. Perhaps she just had a fetish for all of this and hadnât realized it. Either way, he seemed to understand her and the time differences. âLittle more past that actually. During the time of the âapocalypseâ, which given the current situation seems a tad unjust.â After all, they were fighting off potential devastation to time periods and who knows what chaos that would cause?
Hearing that Babylon wasnât here was unfortunate, but she wasnât entirely looking forward to talking to the woman. However, Parliament wanted to meet with her? What for? She wasnât anything special, per se, and this was all new to her. âWhat exactly does Parliament want with me? And for silly question number two: How did he even know about me?â She could probably guess he was some all-knowing being or some such nonsense, but she was curious and if she could learn more about the goings on around here, she would try.
The Faction meeting must be the Pro- and Anti-Human factions, which concerned her. Would she be considered a human? By all accounts, she looked like one, but she had died and come back as someone able to wield powers and go through and fix time paradoxes. Surely that bent the reality of what makes someone a human.
Bart nodded at the Hat, relieved to know they were on the same page, and that he was thinking about this situation roughly correctly. He nodded along with the plan of getting their hands on armaments. Being able to defend themselves was important, and given their lack of time to get anything from the plantation before they took off, this was a necessary step in keeping themselves safe from the Destruere. Even if their plan was to avoid combat, if it came to that, this was far preferred to them simply being defenseless against what would doubtlessly want each and every one of them dead.
Even with that though, he figured Andromeda shouldn't be weaponless, regardless of her natural proclivity towards combat granted to her by her powers. "No, if there isn't enough, I should go without, not you." Bart said, shaking his head. He was a healer, even if he might be able to hold his own in a fight, he'd be best served staying out of direct combat. "If it came to blows, I'd be better spent on keeping you all alive, rather than trying to kill off whatever was assaulting us." He was going to do everything he could to keep them from dying; the way he saw it, if any of were lost, it was going to be his fault. He couldn't live with that kind of blood on his conscious. As he was saying this, he continued forward with the group.
Gilbert returned to the spot where he had uncovered the origin on the tunnel on the Babylon Fortress side, and reactivated it. Surely the ancient Egyptians had excellent minds for engineering and an eye toward the future; the panel swung back open and the way was revealed. There was another sense of accomplishment about this, a sort of pride that he once belonged to this culture, and others around it, that was capable of building something that still functioned millennia later. He looked to the others as they gathered around, and put some thought into their next series of movements. It had been a while since he had been down here, and it was so easy to lose your sense of direction underground if you weren't accustomed to it.
A couple of moments later, Gilbert took the first steps into the tunnel system that any living man likely had in a very long time. The light source provided by Peter was adequate for the meantime, though it did mean that they would have to huddle a little closer than he was extremely comfortable with them being, owing to safety issues. But if they wanted to see... therein lay the tradeoff. "I remember that the ancients had a system for lighting. Reserves of oils, staggered and pooled along the sides of walls. They might not still be functional as it has been a great while, but keep your perception aware for something like this." In the meantime, Gil concentrated on finding the path to the section leading under the Qasr El Nil Barracks armory. Something told him that, despite the concerns of some of their number, there would be more than enough to go around. Whether it was in types they were familiar with wielding, however, was a different issue.
Character's current location: (Tunnel leading away from) Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Character's attempted actions: Figuring Stuff Out, Keeping Alert Skills Used: History, Observation Why each skill is being called: To keep ready for anything hostile and/or unexpected, and to properly navigate to where they need to go. Desired location of the character: N/A
Follow the leader, follow the leader. Or leaders, plural. Then again, now that they were somewhat diminished by circumatance, a thing which was brought up briefly earlier, were they still the undisputed rulers of the Paradoxes? I mean, all they had over them now was thousands of years' experience, coupled with greater fine control over their powers and the deep, native knowledge of the culture they were all stuck inside of for a while, not to mention linguistic skills that allowed them to blend in like a pro. Ok, nevermind. Following the leaders.
James took Sophia's question and gave it a fairly logical, albeit simple answer. "Now, I ain't a man known fo' his high intellectual-ness, Miss Sophia, but I'd 'magine after we get them weapons, we arm ourselves." He nodded. It wasn't what she probably wanted to hear, but when the answer was likely something long the lines of acting as human bait and trying to kill something that nobody in time nor space has ever been able to kill, it was best not to dwell on things.
"Now now, Miss Andy," he continued, looking to the pale woman, Powers or not, I'd rather have two guns than one gun damn near anyday, an' that's the truth on it." Metaphorically, of course. James's new abilities lay with knives, escaping holds, and a good bow. He already had knives, though he was sure he might find more when they got there. The rest? Well, it'd be a rare thing, James imagined, for the British Army to still utilize bows and arrows. Still, stranger things had happened. Jame shuffled the foodstuffs and waterskins he had picked up along the way to one arm. Lunches from people restoring? something else not to swell on, lest he be reminded of a Mr. Shaggy an a Mr. Scoobert, finding a sandwich on the floor of a haunted house and digging in. What was the worst that could happen, right?
Character's current location: (Tunnel leading away from) Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Character's attempted actions: Keeping Alert Skills Used: Observation Why each skill is being called: To keep ready for anything hostile and/or unexpected. Desired location of the character: N/A
*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.New York, New York, USA: November 5th, 1943
Dread looked over towards Faith and chuckled. "Everything's relative. One persons apocalypse is another's paradise I guess you could say," he said with a shrug as he looked around and kept walking. "Though, all things considered, until the world actually comes to the end of the line, we'll just keep labeling times The Apocalypse until it actually happens and then, well it won't matter anymore."
"That's only if you go with the biblical definition and well I find that whole second coming story a bit dated. We could call the Black Plague an apocalyptic time, it was massively destructive. As was the stock market crash of 1929. But yes, I will agree, it is all relative," Siduri piped in as they walked.
"Nothing that I am aware of," Dread said towards Faith as she asked about Parliament. "He just knows you were coming to seek him out, so he's extended an invitation."
"Parliament is what we call a Unique in these times. While they are many Kindreds of a certain types, there are a few out there that are one of a kind. Parliament is one of these. He just, well seems to know things. A sixth sense on these matters. Very much like your Cards Emendator but with a bit more clarity on situations and far less Poker Table feel," Siduri said as they made their way into the Deadlight District. It was much as it was the first time Faith was shown this world, just more 1940's than 1980's. Complete with Freddy at the back door but looking a bit younger and wearing a Zoot Suit instead of his Elvis one. Elvis wasn't around yet.
"Hey Miss Siduri welcome back," he said as he opened the door for them. "Dread," he added as he waited for them to enter. "Little Lady," he finished towards Faith, not knowing her yet of course. Inside where it had been a den for 1980's punk and metal was now a Jazz and Blues club, heavy with smoke in the air. Phil was behind the bar cleaning a glass, looking just as he had. Zombies didn't exactly age, backwards or forwards.
"This way," Dread said as he moved to the club. The door was marked private. Last time Faith had gone through this door shit got real. Yet instead of going down the hallway and heading down, they were going up this time. "Just try not to let the sight of Parliament get to you. It can be rather disturbing your first time."
Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924
Special Note: That Haze will remain until further notice, so make sure to keep to it. ^_^
Gio is going to know that they will have a good stash of weapons in the base. From swords to guns. As well as explosives. After centuries of doing this, he will know that distance weapons are good for keeping the Destruere at bay and explosives work best to get them either dead or gone. They need something big to take these things out if they are hunted down. People don't usually do well when it comes down to an up close battle with them. Then again, they couldn't see them before, now they might and it might change things. Also, Gio will know that since this is a British Base, they might have access to vehicles if they can get their hands on one.
Gilbert is keeping an eye out but everything seems clear and he is going to be doing well to remember the direction to go to get them where they need to be in reference to what would be above them on the street level of the city. After about ten minutes in the underground he will finally find where they oil wells are and they look good enough to be of use. This is good because whatever natural light there was is nearly gone and it is going to get dangerous if they keep going. Granted danger is always around but last thing someone needs is to fall into a hole and poof into a fog. >.>
James is going well at keeping alert. Being able to help people and lead them through the tunnels as the light starts getting darker. While he is going along, he is going to remember that as a Wild Boar his eye sight is poor but in dark light it wouldn't really matter and his senses, including a natural danger sense are much higher when he is oink oinking it away. It might be something to think about. Or at least ponder if they hit a dead end. A hog at full tilt has a better change of getting through a dead end than a grill master. Just saying.
Peter while in the middle of all this, keeps moving forward. He is using his levitation instead of walking at this point. Keeping himself above the ground. It is making for faster travel than trying to walk on his leg. Sure the walking stick he has helps but all things considered, why walk when one can fly? Granted this isn't flying per-say, more like hovering above the ground for now but it will do and since there is no just plain humans around to yell witch he is just going to stick with this for now. "If you find me something to burn, I can shed a light on the situation," Peter says holding up a hand and letting it glow a bit before letting it die out. "Yes, your cress would burn well, perhaps use my walking cane to create a torch?" he suggested holding it out to Sophia.
Sophia looked towards James, and nodded slightly though she meant where would they be going after they had gotten themselves some weapons, it was harder for her to hold a rifle now being one handed and all with a prosthetic or not. She was just going to take a sidearm and whatever melee weapons that they had in the barracks. As Sophia continued to walk with the others, she watched as Peter offered his walking stick for her to use and nodded as she took it from his hand. Sophia started with wrapping it around the top of the walking stick and then doing her best to tie it off.
Sophia then handed it back towards Peter. "I did my best to tie it, it's kind of hard doing it one handed and all." Sophia said towards Peter, letting him take it back she looked around the dark tunnels it was still really hard for her to see in the dark and haze around them as well. Sophia watched the others quietly and looked over towards and smiled slightly towards him for a moment his abilities did come in handy quiet a bit as well. "Are you sure you weren't a doctor before?"] Sophia decided to tease him a little bit, trying to lighten the mood.
"And who's supposed to keep you alive then?" Andromeda asked Bart. She had natural combat abilities - he didn't, as far as she was aware. Leaving him completely defenseless against this chaotic foe made very little sense to her and she doubted that the Destruere or any other monsters they were facing would back off from Bart just because he was the healer. If she were a monster, that would just make her want to target Bart more - cut off the medical help and the rest would go down easier. "Technically I'd have three guns if I got a weapon," she pointed out to James, teasing lightly. She had two combative powers and then a weapon would make three "guns." "But I'm not going to go without a weapon unless we absolutely cannot arm everyone," she clarified, hoping it would reassure him.
Sophia managed to get the makeshift beginnings of a torch for Peter and while the entire situation had Andromeda nervous yet focused, she still felt a bit of awe seeing Peter glide above the ground. Even after death, she still adored looking for the strange and unusual - to find the bizarre and the curious in this world and perhaps the next one too. Hopefully they would manage to get to their destination soon, traveling through an ancient tunnel like this made her feel slightly nervous. One, she was trying to not think about the possibility of the tunnel caving in and trapping them all. Two, she was definitely trying not to think about how easily the Destruere could probably kill them in a place like this. She had to wonder how Faith was getting on with her task - and would be, technically, since they were in the past now relative to the blonde Paradox. Andromeda took another breath, trying desperately to not think more about the tunnel but she couldn't help it. She had a fear of small enclosed spaces and was desperately fighting the urge to take off running.
Why did it have to be a bloody tunnel... she despaired.
Character's current location: The Tunnel! Character's attempted actions: Keeping calm and looking out for anything of note Skills Used: Alertness Why each skill is being called: Alertness - she's alert and hopefully not freaking the fuck out Desired location of the character: Same
Location: Tunnels (Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924) Skills: Observation
In the midst of the changing levels of light and shadow, James was walking fairly contentedly ad nigh effortlessly. He seemed to have a good handle on himself and his environment, enough so that he was able to give warning and/or assistance to others who were not as momentarily perceptive as himself. Amid his success in this arena, he couldn't help but notice that he would quite possibly have an even easier time of it were he to open himself up to the natural abilities accessible by using his chief Paradox power. That is to say, James was a sort of Wereboar, kinda. Perhaps it was time to have that do some good. Just having those senses available and access to survival instincts of his animal form might be helpful in their situation, too. It might be a good idea.
He was about to voice just that idea to the person nearest him, who happened to he Andromeda, when he noticed a level of alarm on her face. Perhaps not alarm, persay, but a look of personal foreboding. Though it was buried under a stack of other memories, James seemed to recall a mention in passing about her dislike of ...exactly the conditions present for them. Perhaps she needed something to help take her mind off of it. Aside from the threat of imminent demise from a powerful and scary supernatural force, anyway. That might seem to exacerbate the situation. "Hey, Miss Andy? You wanna piggy back ride?" The question seemed out of nowhere. Likewise, the astute and mildly sarcastic observer might surmise that the statement could mean a couple of things, coming from James. "You know, take a load offa your feet, go adventurin' in style. If'n I need ya off, I'll do me a little shimmy. A'ight?" He gave a broad, possibly disarming smile, were it not for the fact that he had a history of mildly inappropriate sarcasm. "K, here we go..."
Characters current location - Tunnels Characters attempted actions - Shift Forms Any and all skills being used - Peccary Form Why each skill is being called - To become one with the Bacon (ahem) - To utilize the abilities and senses of the Great Wereboar to better interact with the environment Desired location of the character - N/A
Gilbert Summers
Location: Tunnels (Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924) Skills: History, Observation
Another glimpse of the surface from below, another shaft of light, be it obscured by this unnatural haze. Gilbert utilized what he remembered about this network of passages, along with cues from above, to pinpoint their location relative to the building that now stood as the Qasr El Nil barracks. Of course, the problem being that, now that they were making some real headway into the tunnels, their sources of light were getting less and less. The Paradoxes had their own means and suggestions on how to fix that, and while he didn't want to stifle their problem-solving capabilities, Gilbert knew that there was a possibility of existing illumination, if they could just reach it. Their opportunities for light were leaving them.
As the discussion turned toward the construction of torches to combat the dying light, Gilbert raised a hand and bid the group, "Wait, just a moment, please." He stepped toward the wall and laid his hand upon an outcropping, curious to figure out if this was part of what he had been searching for, since coming down here. No, not the armory. The possible light source. Gil was just about to ask Peter to use his Paradoxical gift to assist, but remembered that he did, in fact, have a mundane solution on deck. "Let us save the impromptu torches for a while. I believe we may have something here."
The tall Emendator drew from his experience in using pocket-sized flame producing devices, and let his thumb pass over the striker wheel, applying a bit of specific pressure to ignite the wick thereupon, with the hopes of using this marvel of modern man to kickstart the miracle of ancient man out if its slumber. If this happened to fail, well, there was a charming British fellow who had a knack for lighting things ablaze.
Characters current location - Tunnels Characters attempted actions - Using a cigarette lighter to get the oil system lit Any and all skills being used - N/A Why each skill is being called - Really, it's more of an action declaration that a roll request. But it needed to go somewhere. Desired location of the character - N/A
"Before we all argue about who gets what weapons, we should focus on obtaining them first. There should be enough to go around. The trouble of the matter is actually acquiring them. We should prioritize the highest power ranged weapons you're comfortable wielding. Then explosives, followed by melee weapons. If we're lucky we might be able to procure some vehicles, although I'm not counting on fortune looking so kindly upon us." Regardless of how poorly close ranged encounters with Destruere tended to go, at the very least he would prefer if everyone had more of a fighting chance than simply being left with their bare fists. Even if the percent increase was from one percent to two percent, that would double the victim's chances of survival. And sometimes that extra percent made all the difference.
"If your lighter happens to have found itself short on fuel," Gio began when he saw Gilbert try to get it to light the oils, "or the striker has failed to work, I do have a pack of matches on me we could use as well." Gio fumbled around with the robes until he could reach into the pockets of his pants and procured the small painted box. Its design couldn't be quite seen through his fingers in the dim light, but a print of a nearly monochrome tiger adorned its face. He gave it a few shakes to confirm that there were indeed plenty of matches to be found within. If the older Emendator couldn't start the fire, perhaps the "middle child" would.
Action: Light a match if Gilbert can't get his newfangled technology to work Skills used: N/A Why each skill is being called: No skill's being called Desired Location: N/A
Faith took all this information in stride. It wasnât as if she could question it, knowing she had seen far worse. She wondered how it could be explained that in her time, zombies were unintelligent creatures but here they could be bartenders. Was there some disease? Perhaps it was something to do with the Kindred and the Sorcerers? She would have to ask once the time was right. Until then, she merely followed along.
Inside was different than the last time she was here. Punk Rock replaced with Jazz. At least she was dressed the part this time. She bid her greeting to the man who had not recognized her, it seemed. She took in her surroundings. She wondered which of these were Kindred, which were humans (if any were allowed). Perhaps Parliament could answer her, if he was as Unique as described. Plus, he wanted to see her so it stood to reason he would know her questions and doubts.
âIâll keep that in mind, though as long as he isnât some worm creature bent on consuming me, I think weâll get along fine.â Faith braced herself anyway. She knew from her last venture to New York that weird things walked among them. If she was going to do this, she couldnât let fear take over. Surely Parliament wasnât as bad as that, right?
Bart weighed Andromeda's point that somebody may need to keep him safe in the case of a Destruere attack, were he unarmed. That was, to him, a more solid point; he couldn't expect people to take care of him in order to keep everybody else safe. Something like that would quickly devolve into a "Who will gaurd the guardians" type of thing, and that wouldn't end well for them. Moreover though, he did still have the weapon the Gil gave him, so to say he was totally defenseless would be a mischaracterization. "I perhaps should have noted that I do have my knife on me at the moment, so I'm not totally defenseless." He shared, knowing that keeping the group aware of their present resources would be a crucial component for maximizing their chances of survival.
That being said, Gio was right, that they should focus on getting to the weapons first, instead of debating how to split up a hypothetical cache that was to short on resources. Out of what he could wield that was any good at range, he had options. Between spears and bows, if they were maximizing for power, he had to assume the deadlness of any kind of bow at range exceeded that of a spears, once you accounted for the reusability of the weapon. That being said, the spear could sort of double up, and keep him defended if something got close, though he supposed his knife might do a better job of that than anything else.
*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.New York, New York, USA: November 5th, 1943
Dread chuckled a bit and nodded. "Oh no, thing like that. Parliament is what we call a neutral entity. Neither pro or anti human, just trying to keep the peace between both the living and the unliving so we don't all go belly up," he said. Siduri nearly choked on that last comment and shook her head towards the man. Dread just shrugged as he knocked.
There was an odd reply, the word was simply enough. "Enter" but it seemed to come from more than a dozen whispered voices to add up into one voice. After about a moment, a single voice came through that sounded like a normal male speaking. "Enter." Dread turned the knob and pushed the door open, stepping in with Siduri following and stepping aside. Dread waited, holding the door open for Faith before closing it once she was in the room.
Laying there on a bed in a simple room filled with books and a single chess set on a table was a man. He looked as if he might have been handsome back before. Light hair, well toned, a jawline that went for days. And as long as it was his face that you were looking at he just looked to be a handsome man asleep. That was where the normality ended. From his chest to the bottom of his torso was flayed open, his intestines moving and turning, crawling over each other. Like ghosts almost, bloody internal ghosts that swirled and controlled the mans guts. "Miss Faith, may I introduce you to Parliament," Dread said as he stood there. (Fear Check, roll 1d20 in chat, 15-20 to avoid fear. 5-14 will stand there in horror but be able to contain it. 2-4 you will scream. 1 - you run.)
"Oh yes, Miss Faith. I have heard about you from two lovely Ladies you may know. A Miss Babylon and a Miss Lucas," Parliament said in a chorus of ghost voices that seemed to becoming from his gut. Siduri stood there and turned to look at Faith, waiting and seeing how the girl would react.
Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924
Special Note: That Haze will remain until further notice, so make sure to keep to it. ^_^
Peter took the walking stick back from Sophia once she had tied it off and looked it over. "Oh yes, this should do nicely. Thank you," he said as did. Flexing his fingers he touched the fabric but nothing happened. Groaning Peter stopped levitating above the ground and let his feet set back down. Taking a breath, he gripped the fabric and his hand began to turn red, slowly smoke started to come from the fabric before it ignited. Pulling his hand back slowly he flexed his fingers again as their makeshift torch started to burn. He held it back out to Sophia. "That should help us for a bit," he said with a grin.
Andromeda is handling being there and in these surroundings like a champ. Sure her pulse is up a bit but hey, she is holding her shit together and is able to function normally. Thank god, last thing we need is a lightning strike going off in these closed quarters. Especially now that James has succeeded in changing into Porky. I mean bacon is awesome and all but would you really want to eat James? And while the stopping the torch thing came a bit late, as it came before Gilbert spoke up, it doesn't matter. As Gilbert lights the oil it sets a flame and rips off down the wall. Pools of oil along it lighting up. We have full light people! Congrats! And well we don't need Gio's matches right now but hey they could come into play later. The path is lit. The carvings on the all clear. Gio and Gilbert because of their age and history will be able to read these well enough to find a path through. Between the two of them, and the rolls, by the end of Gilberts next post you will be half way to the Barracks, by the end of Gio's you will be at the entrance beneath the Barracks.
