She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Eleanor was content to allow the others to argue with Devicka, the mercenary had said her piece, and if the women had any other objections she was fine with them leaving. She'd be able to track them down again after all. Fortunately it doesn't come down to that as Geralt seems to have put an end to any concerns regarding the girls protectors.

As the group make their way to the safehouses Eleanor is happy to let Kara lead the way, the ex-slavers choice of route not being a concern to the mercenary. After all, it would take a brave or foolish person attempt to attack a group as large as theirs. Before long they arrive at the run down inn, a look of surprise on Eleanor's face. She was certain the slavers would have chosen a better prepared safehouse. Though it quickly becomes clear to her that no one had been to this building in quite some time, and as Kara explains their new predicament Eleanor falls silent for a moment.

"Hmmm... the warehouse would offer better protection, and could hold some much needed supplies for the group..." Eleanor mutters to herself, thinking aloud. "But... the docks could give them an easy way to escape without being tracked. And once they cross the water their trail will go cold once more... Dammit all, I can't fuck this up now!" Suddenly growling out in anger Eleanor punches the wall of the inn in rage before turning to face the group once more. "Alright. So, I don't want to do this but time isn't on our side it seems. I hate to break you up again so soon," Eleanor starts, turning to the spiders. "But can two of you head to the industrial district to see if the slavers are there. Make sure to keep yourselves hidden, I don't want any more of you to die because of me. And if you do find them one of you head back to us to let us know. I'd like the spider that stays there to make sure they don't escape, though only if you can keep yourself hidden. If they are in the building just web up the doors and windows or something. Once the other spider finds us we'll head straight to you. And if there's no sign of them being there then the two of you head straight back to us."

"The rest of us will be heading to the docks, because if I was their leader it would be the first place I'd head to. It's harder for someone to track you if you leave no trail after all. It also means I may have an easier time of these bastards off the face of the planet." Once she has finished giving everyone their orders Eleanor turns to face Kara. "Right, shall we pay this brothel a visit?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 40, Status = Pregnant, Fine

"But... How will we make that work? I mean..... How will we find you if you're not here? It would probably take a long time to track you down. This town is really big, and the docks aren't really very small...." one of the spiders said, trailing off at the end. Kara added, "I know the address of the brothel, but we might have to trail them someplace else. They might not have had a choice in which direction to go after the battle at the mansion, depending on how far they had to run. I agree that the leader probably went to the brothel so we'd best start there, but there could easily be groups at both. You stumbled across one of the escaping groups, the one that had me in it."

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

"Kara will give you the address, just head to the docks and look for us. If you can't find us head back to the house, we'll wait a while for you should we return before you. I'll come to get you if you don't return," Eleanor replies to the two spiders, reassuring them that she wouldn't abandon them before turning to Kara. "Groups won't be a problem, I've got ways for dealing with them. It was good that we were battling in a sewer, otherwise no one would've survived. They shouldn't slow us down too much if we run into them, I just hope we're not too late already."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 40, Status = Pregnant, Fine

Rolls

Spoiler

Mercs get 41 Stealth, just gotta keep this here.
Perception (Eleanor) : Failure.
Perception (Geralt) : Success.
Perception (Anny) : Failure.
Perception (Spiders) : Failure.

"Kay, be careful Miss Eleanor!" the spider said earnestly, and Kara promptly said, "It's on 350, 52nd street! The big building with a picture of a harpy over the door, about four buildings down on the right hand side of the street." When Eleanor insisted that she could deal with groups, Kara frowned slightly and replied, "Are you going to blow them up? I figured you would want to make it personal."

They departed shortly afterwards, Kara leading them through the ruins of Artmirst. They spotted a wolf wandering through the desolated streets at one point, but the beast spotted them and fled before they could get anywhere near it. "We're almost there, stay close and keep quiet!" Kara said quietly, and began to creep forward a little bit more silently. A short while later, Geralt suddenly grabbed both her and Eleanor by the shoulder, Anny and the spiders stopping reflexively. He pointed up at an old guard tower, and Eleanor spotted the man concealed within quickly enough now that she knew where to look. It overlooked the brothel that Kara pointed out as their destination, and as far as they could tell the lookout hadn't spotted them yet.

"What do you want to do Eleanor? I can try to take that guy out silently, or Anny can blow him out of the tower. It's up to you," Geralt whispered quietly, his eyes remaining on the man he was speaking about.

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

"Personal?" Eleanor repeats, a dry laugh escaping the mercenary. "The only person I want to kill personally is the leader of this little bunch of shit stains. How the rest of them die isn't a concern of mine, so long as they don't end up wasting my time. Now come on, it's time we left."

Eleanor frowns as Geralt grabs her shoulder, stopping her and Kara in their tracks, wondering why he had just stopped them. Though as the man directs their attention to a tower, with at least one occupant, Eleanor sighs a breath of relief, quietly thankful for Geralt being here. If he wasn't Eleanor isn't sure what would have happened, but she knows it wouldn't have been pretty.

"I want him dealt with quietly," Eleanor replies almost as soon as Geralt's words left his lips. "We've got the element of surprise, and I want to keep that for as long as possible. We'll start blowing up shit when we have to."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 40, Status = Pregnant, Fine

Rolls

Spoiler

Stealth: Geralt wins.
Attacks: Both automatic hits.
Damage: Lots.
Damage: Lots more.

"On it, I'll give you a signal when he's dealt with," Geralt replied calmly and then turned around and crept away back the way they had come. He vanished down a side street and left the five of them to wait for his signal, and was gone for about three minutes before the man in the tower suddenly shivered. Eleanor hadn't even seen Geralt get up the side of the tower, but he stood up and sheathed a pair of swords before giving Eleanor and her other companions a wave of his hand.

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Eleanor gives Geralt a nod as he sneaks off before turning her attention to the tower, watching it for when Geralt signals them that it is safe once more. For a few minutes nothing happened, and then quite suddenly the man died. Eleanor's eyebrows rise in surprise, impressed by Geralt's skill. She had often killed her foes in a quiet and stealthy manner however Geralt seemed to be on a completely different level to the mercenary.

"Time to move," Eleanor whispers as Geralt signals the group to continue, quietly making their way to the tower to join with Geralt before leaving the directing to Kara once more.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 40, Status = Pregnant, Fine

They hardly needed further directions from there, as Kara pointed toward the building sitting beside the tower as Geralt silently climbed his way down the side of it. "That's the place," Kara said quietly, "Since there was a guard stationed, I'd bet that there are plenty of people in there. I obviously can't be sure who, but we'd best be careful anyway. I remember there was a back entrance on the other side of the building, and a fire escape up to the second floor on the right hand side from where we're standing. How do you want to try to go in Eleanor?" The side entrance would require some climbing on their part, but with the spiders beside them it probably wouldn't be very difficult, and would mean coming from an angle that the slavers probably weren't expecting. The rear entrance and the front entrance likely faced the similar problem of being fairly obvious, thus likely having some sort of defenses posted inside, but they were still an option. Of course, Eleanor could simply blow the building to bits with lightning if she wanted to, or split her forces and come in from multiple entrances, or anything else that she might think to do.

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

That's the place? With those words repeated in her head Eleanor pays no attention to the rest of what Kara has to say as a twisted grin spreads across the young woman's face, electricity crackling over her body.

"You may want to step back a bit," Eleanor suggests as she too steps back down the street, the mercenaries arms stretching out in front of her. Once at a safe enough distance Eleanor releases her gathered energies, intending on doing what she had done at the mansion, but this time with the intention of levelling the entire building.

Spoiler

Hellblast as many times as Eleanor can on the building.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 8/40, Status = Pregnant, Low on Energy

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: 1 failure, 2 successes, 1 failure
Attack: It's a building.
Damage: 4 + 4 + 2 = 10 * 7 = 70 damage

Eleanor's comrades stepped back when she suggested as much, and they all moved away from the building before the mercenary turned around and began her magical workings. Though performing more powerful magics was hardly easy for her, and thus her first attempt at the spell failed, the second and third attempts were more successful, bringing down bolts of powerful lightning from the sky that tore large chunks from the building and also set it alight. The fourth try also failed and left Eleanor too drained to use it again, but the damage was already done. The majority of the building was collapsed or on fire, including both of the doors and, ironically, the fire escape, which now lay twisted and molten on the filthy street. Her companions watched the building burn without comment, Geralt looking impassive while Anny and Kara seemed mildly disgruntled by the sight. The spiders simply stared at the flames, their shiny black eyes reflecting the light of the fire.

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

"And now we wait," Eleanor says as she turns back to her companions, a satisfied smile on the woman's face. "Though be on your guard," The mercenary suggests as she takes out her pistols. "Some may make it out of that building, and if there's any stragglers around that would have alerted them. Wouldn't do us any good to get jumped by a couple of assholes after taking out what could be a building full of them. Though here's hoping their bastard leader has survived."

Spoiler

Eleanor hasn't been given her exp from the battle in the sewers yet.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 8/40, Status = Pregnant, Low on Energy

"Right," Geralt replied quietly to Eleanor's orders to watch the burning building. "Do you really think anyone's coming out of that?" Anny asked incredulously, but she settled back to watch the flames anyway. Kara and the spiders chose to remain silent for the moment, though Eleanor noticed that the girl's hands were clenched silently at her sides and she appeared highly tense. The others seemed quite calm, and Anny watched the building burn with an appreciative smirk while Geralt turned and made sure that no one came up to ambush them.

The next few minutes passed in relative silence, with Geralt watching their back while the three women kept watch over the burning building, and the spiders kept watch over it from the buildings around it. There weren't any near enough to cause much risk of starting a larger fire, and eventually the roof collapsed without anyone ever coming out of the building. "There weren't any sewer entrances to that building, not that I knew of at least," Kara said quietly while still watching the smoldering brothel burn, along with anyone who had been trapped inside. With the building more or less destroyed, there wasn't much chance of finding out who exactly had been present inside when she'd brought down the storm, but given the lookout that had been station it seemed likely that some of the slavers had been present at the very least. There was still one more location for them to check which might have more of them, the warehouse where she'd sent a small number of her spiders already, but whether Eleanor wanted to head straight there or go somewhere else was up to her.

Spoiler

Derp. Sorry about that, gain 6 exp for that and another 4 exp for this.

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

"No, but I want to make sure that no one does," Eleanor replies to Anny, her gaze never leaving the burning building, a wide, almost crazed smirk on the woman's face.

"That's good then, I wouldn't want any of those bastards to have missed that," Replying to Kara Eleanor puts away her pistols as the building finally collapses in on itself, wiping out any possibility of survivors being able to escape the inferno. "We should probably hook back up with the spiders I sent out. Maybe head to the warehouse just to make sure. Can't be too careful after all. Is that alright with everyone else?" Eleanor waits for whatever comments people have to make before instructing Kara to show them the way to the warehouse, a part of her hoping there are more slavers left to kill.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 40, Status = Pregnant

"Right," grunted Geralt. "Sounds sensible," Anny said brightly, though she made sure to keep her voice down. "Kay!" the spiders following her chirped brightly, likely eager to return to their comrades. "Alright.... Lets go," Kara said quietly as she gave the collapsed brothel one last lingering look before she turned and once more led Eleanor through the deserted, desolate streets of Artmirst. They were as lifeless as ever, but their group was briefly forced to hide from a group of a dozen or so men and women in black plate armor, Geralt, Anny, and the spiders all physically restraining Eleanor from going out to even speak to them if she didn't accept the insistence that they were far more than their group could handle.

They arrived at the meeting place to find no spiders waiting for them, and Kara promptly led them all the way towards the last stronghold of the slavers, the warehouse. Outside was deserted and empty, the fairly ruined surface of it little more than a crumbling shell of tile and rusting steel and plaster. There was a large sliding door directly ahead, and a smaller entrance on the right hand side on the opposite side of the building. Alternatively, Eleanor could scout out a less obvious way in if she wanted to. All that she was sure of was that there was no sign of her spiders here.

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

"Holy shit," Eleanor mutters quietly as the small group hides, not wanting to be seen by the well armoured men march through the streets, her eyes following the group until they move out of view. "I wonder if they're with the slavers..?"

With the rest of the trip being uneventful Eleanor falls silent once more, until finally they arrive at their destination. Eleanor's brow furrows as she scans the area, wondering where the spiders had got to. Had they really decided to play the hero? No, Eleanor told her to stay hidden and she believes they would've listened to her order. "Someone's here," Eleanor says suddenly as she turns to the group. "The spiders I sent here, they wouldn't have left so soon, and even if they did they would've caught up with us before we got here. Either someone's got to them before we arrived or they're keeping a watch on whoever's here." Eleanor then turns to face the building. "This place doesn't look like it can stand up to a prolonged battle, and I would nuke it like I did the brothel but I don't want to run the risk of harming the spiders if they're still alive. No... we'll have to take the quiet route. They'll be expecting us, sure, but we should still be able to sneak in. Kara, do you know the layout of this building?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 40, Status = Pregnant

"Vaguely," Kara replied quietly, "I've only been here once, and it was a couple of days ago. There's a hole in the wall on the left side big enough that we might be able to crawl through it, but we put a land mine under it when we left. I can try to disarm it, but we might be better off using the back door. We just had a noise trap there, a little line with some strings and such. The front door has a bunch of boxes piled in front of it and latches on both sides keeping the door from sliding up, so that would be a waste of time. The spiders could go in through a hole in the roof that we saw, but they might be spotted if there's anyone inside keeping a watch on the hole."

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

"Well, I guess we'll be taking that back door," Eleanor replies once she has weighed up the options given to her. "No sense trying the hole in the wall, can't risk blowing you or the rest of us up, and the last thing I want is any more spiders being killed thanks to me. Though..." Just like back at the docks Eleanor concentrates her magical energies for a moment. Sparks of purple-white electricity dances along Eleanor's body as the mercenary holds her arms out in front of herself, attempting to conjure three electrical companions, though this time attempting to shape them herself; in the form of her spider fey friends.

If successful Eleanor orders one, or two if she's succeeded in making at least that many, of them to wait near the hole in the roof and only strike if any of the slavers appear once the group has made it into the building. If Eleanor is successful in conjuring three she'll order the last to follow them into the building. "Right, now that's decided, Kara and I will take the front, the spiders will follow behind us, and then Geralt and Anny will bring in the rear (with the lightning elemental)." With their plan set Eleanor waits for Kara to bring up the front with her and to lead them into the warehouse.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 16/40, Status = Pregnant

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: Success, Success, Failure, Success.
Eleanor summons her three elementals within 4 castings!

"Sounds good to me," Kara replied softly, and then Geralt added; "I can go in first if you like." Then, however, Eleanor summoned a trio of elementals, the last of them flaring to life only to vanish again, forcing her to resummon it using more of her energies. Even so, she hadn't spent all of her energy as she had when she'd summoned lightning to devastate the brothel from earlier. "That works too!" the man said mirthfully, but he held his twin swords tightly as they advanced.

Sending two of her conjured elementals up the side of the wall, to wait by the entrance into the roof. The lightning creatures were hardly as stealthy as the real thing, but if whoever was waiting for them inside was distracted by their own entrance she would be able to send them in from above without risking them being shot down before they could accomplish anything. After Kara led them around to the back of the building, she and Eleanor led the way while the spiders, those made of flesh and those made of magical lightning both, Geralt and Anny came up behind them. After they opened the door and slipped inside, silence was their only greeting. The room they entered was dirty and smelled of decay, and a wall of wooden crates blocked off the view of much of the room, forming a corridor that opened up on their left. Eleanor was left with a choice of how to proceed around that corner, as she couldn't see around it from here. Whether she wanted to glance around it or to send someone else to do as much, there was still no trace of either her spiders or of any slavers, despite the numerous boot marks in the grime that had accumulated on the floor.

Spoiler

56 Body, 8 AV, 38 Dodge, 31 Speed, Constant Static (creatures they hit take 2d4 electricity damage)

Larry: Fine, idling on the roof
Harry: Fine, idling on the roof
Jim: Fine, staring thoughtfully at the backsides of Eleanor, Kara, and Anny in an effort to figure out who has the nicest ass

 

[SirOni]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

"Hmm, people have been here recently," Eleanor comments quietly, more to herself than to the others as she glances down at the footprints in the dirt. Looking around the room the mercenary frowns, she was expecting some kind of resistance holed up in here, not a collection of boxes impeding their path. Regardless, Eleanor decides to press on, and silently signalling her companions to keep close she makes her way to the edge of the box-corridor to peek around the corner.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: She is the Night (Sir-Oni)

Spoiler

Eleanor: HP = 57, PP = 51, EP = 16/40, Status = Pregnant

"We scouted this place out a while ago. Some of those are probably mine," said Kara in a low whisper. Peeking around the corner of the boxes revealed a large dark room with a single pillar of light coming in from a hole in the ceiling. In that room, beneath the spotlight, was a single man who had been bound to a chair, his head hanging low in the thick bindings. His face and hair were both coated in soot and blood, but before she could make out any more details about the man's features, something squeeled and dropped down on top of her, knocking Eleanor to the ground.

"Hi Eleanor!" a high, familiar voice shouted loudly, and she realized from the white fluffy blob lying on top of her that one of the spiders that she had sent to observe this place had tackle-hugged her from above. The other two descended from lines of string as well, crawling off onto the wall of boxes before joining the puddle of spiders on top of her. They all seemed quite happy to see her, to say the least.

"We caught one! He was the only one here, and he has that funny badge you talked about!" one of the other spiders exclaimed excitedly while waving its front limbs in the general direction of the bound man, whom Eleanor realized was awake and watching them as the light gleamed off of his eyes.

Spoiler

56 Body, 8 AV, 38 Dodge, 31 Speed, Constant Static (creatures they hit take 2d4 electricity damage)

Larry: Fine, idling on the roof
Harry: Fine, idling on the roof
Jim: Fine, staring thoughtfully at the backsides of Eleanor, Kara, and Anny in an effort to figure out who has the nicest ass