The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 98, PP = 34, EP = 34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

Aria, in fact, managed to barter the information she had for some coin and thus some supplies. The attack on a village just a few days away was not good news and runners were sent to go alert nearby settlements. As for getting information, well, there was one big news story. A blue meteor had descended onto a city some distance away and completely destroyed a good number of buildings, mostly warehouses. There was some kind of fight, with blue and yellow energies blasting the nearby area, causing even more destruction. Then the 'meteor' took off. There were a few casualties but the most puzzling was that of the owner, who had suffered a massive stab wound, like she had been impaled on a massive blade.

Other than that, there was a little news. A number of people were talking about possibly sending an expedition back to the town, to kill whatever still lurked there and burn the place to the ground if it came to that. They were looking for sellswords to go with them, since they had to keep most of the militia at home. There was also a caravan, leaving for a town that traded in processed goods (weapons and equipment and the like) and the final stop of the caravan was at a nearby city.

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria was pleased at the sudden inspiration, grateful for the coin and the supplies and part of that worry faded, the people here seemed like decent honest folk. The news of the meteor was met with a gasp of surprise and horror. She had no idea what could even do a thing, but...a meteor? That seemed like the work of some kind of magical being. She noted it in the back of her mind for later when it might crop up as relevant. A massive blade? Nothing here seemed to add up, but then Aria wasn't exactly all that knowledged of the outside world...it would become a point of gossip she would share in the future, if only out of hopes of being informed of what had happened.

When she heard word of an expedition to return she immediately offered to help, noting that she was handy with a blade and eager to repay the favor. She asked if anyone had heard anything of Rishia, describing the poor girl. The caravan would be nice to head to a larger city but she felt honor bound to finish off those terrible monsters.

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 98, PP = 34, EP = 34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

Asking about Rishia just led to shakes of the head or shrugs. No one had seen her or anyone like her, unfortunately. At least she managed to get into the hunting group. It was composed of three men and a woman. Two of the men were armed with guns and daggers and the third wielded a net and a spear. The woman was armed with two pistols and a mace. They were also bringing along several snares and a lot of oil and some alcohol, in case the place needed to be razed. The men were triplets who always worked together: John, James, and Jung. They were easy to get along with. The woman was a bit more distant but she was not unfriendly, say. She just didn't have much to say. Her name was Ran.

John, who had been chosen leader by means of Rock-Paper-Scissors, took his role seriously. He made sure Aria was up to snuff with a quick match, then asked her for any information she had on the state of the town and the enemies they might face.

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria found herself unsurprised that nobody had heard about her but couldn't help but feel disappointed. Still, she put it aside to focus on the task at hand. The hunting group seemed nice enough, she was actually rather pleased that she wasn't the only woman in the group. She'd never really seen many firearms before and she was rather taken with the design, asking questions goodnaturedly about how they worked in order to help get along with her sudden companions. She also wondered what cruelty had led their parents to name the twins so similarly and struggled to remember which was which but did her best to make it light.

In spite of the woman's distance Aria did her best to make nice, trying to get whatever personal information she could throughout their brief conversations.

Aria shared everything about the village that she could. The strange wagons, the presence of the aliens, the strange pools and their horrible effects, the disappearing footprints. She kept out her personal encounters but made sure to detail the state of town as best she could.

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 98, PP = 34, EP = 34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

And thus they set out! Rather embarrassingly, Aria discovered she was the slowest amongst the group and they all had to drop the pace so she could catch up, though none of them seemed to fault her for it. It was Jung, who was shorter by perhaps half an inch, that explained the firearms to her. "Alright, let's start with the basics. The longer ones, the ones John and I have, are called rifles. The smaller ones, the one Ran uses, are called pistols." After that, he explained the basic operations of the weapons but also explained ammo tended to be pretty expensive so they each had backup weapons. "Hopefully we won't have to fire a shot."

As they moved across the wilderness, Aria noticed something very eerie: the wagon tracks had disappeared. Ran seemed to notice something odd but couldn't explain it to the group. Eventually they reached within sight of the town, then retreated quite a distance. They set up camp. John spoke to the group. "We'll start at dawn. Everyone check your stuff. We don't want anything going wrong." To the three that wielded firearms, 'checking' meant taking apart their weapons, carefully cleaning them and applying oil, then putting them together again. It was delicate work.

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria offered to stow her armor somewhere, it was undoubtedly what had slowed her down but was worn out of fear over what might have been waiting for her along every the trees. But with the group she felt much more secure, it felt less pressing to be armored up the whole time.

Aria nodded with great interest. "Rifles, right, and pistols. I think I had heard that much, and some of the basics about how they worked but only rumors and stories. The village I grew up in was pretty remote," she noted conversationally. She nodded. "Well, if it's a small threat you can leave it to me and save your, um, ammunition?" She tested the unfamiliar word.

Aria seemed rather concerned about the tracks having disappeared. "This isn't right...there should be tracks here. Please, keep on guard everyone."

Aria was on high alert, Ran's worry seemed to only magnify her own, and given their close proximate to the place that held her greatest horror she couldn't help but be on edge. The blade cleaning was more for ceremony, its constantly marred edge was something she didn't really want to openly advertise, it was a curiosity and she didn't want to draw attention she didn't need to. She made sure her armor was cleaned and set properly as well. Then she turned her attention to the others, helping wherever she could.

Then she tried to get a better sense for what Ran had noticed, if the girl had any sort of idea maybe she wasn't comfortable sharing with the group.

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 98, PP = 34, EP = 34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

Ran frowned when Aria approached her with the question. "I don't know. I'm one of the best trackers in the village and I know when something has been somewhere. I saw your tracks all the way back. But nearby, there should have been tracks. There were areas where there were simple gaps of the plants, like something had cut through just in those spots. There were rocks that were displaced. Something had been through there but left no tracks on the ground."

The next morning Aria was awoken much earlier than she was used to. It was almost dark, with the sun just barely shedding enough light for them to move without stumbling. The group wasn't worried about stealth. Good thing too, otherwise they would have had to leave Aria behind. In fact, as they neared the entrance to the town, one of the brothers, Jung she thought, pulled out a cowbell. "Everyone ready?"

Once everyone had given the affirmative, he rang the bell, three times. There was a pause, then a chorus of growls and shrieks rang out from the town. Creatures seemed to boil out of the buildings. A dozen were nearby, with more coming. "Keep calm everyone. Let's get to work. James, Aria, deal with any that get too close." The firearms roared in defiance, spitting death at the creatures. Aria found 2 of the creatures she had faced before were closing in on her. A larger one was attacking James but he managed to entangle it in a net and stab through it with his weapon.

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

"A girl disappeared in the middle of the village, a set of tracks came to her and then they just vanished, without a trace. I was unable to find her at all. Do you know of any creature that doesn't leave tracks...? Perhaps something that doesn't walk on two feet?" She offered, one of her suspicions.

The next morning she stirred, trying desperately to shrug off her sleepiness but the mild sense of adrenaline kept her focus. Aria kept to the rear of the group, serving as vanguard for a time as they made their way closer. She paused, a cowbell? It would practically be a dinner bell! Aria nodded, taking a deep worried breath to calm herself. Wow...s-so many. She nodded fervently and pulled her sword free, moving to the front to serve as the front line alongside James. This was a lot more than she had expected but she was ready, she could handle it.

She felt her focus slide into place, she had fought these creatures once before and had a been practicing for moments like these her entire life. She launched into battle, keeping her position to keep from getting in over her head. Her blade flashed swiftly attempting to cut the leading most one that James had not handled.

Spoiler

Battle Dance, normal attack.

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 94/98, PP = 34, EP = 34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

Aria cut through one of them well enough but there were more coming. Most of them were being picked off by the hunters, they seemed to be used to working as a team but the sheer numbers were getting to them. One of them grabbed... James, she thought, but Ran blasted it off his hands. "Just a few more seconds! Hold the line!" Then one of them seemed to burrow out from the ground near Aria. She managed to avoid the grab to find a creature nearly more than three times the size of the smaller one Aria had killed earlier. It didn't seem fair that something that big could still move as fast, maybe even faster, than the smaller one. If Aria made a mistake, they might all be taken out.

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria had to be decisive here, the battle was progressing well, they were eliminating them in swarms. She'd never fought on such a scale before but adapted well, keeping close to her allies, supporting them as best as she could. Ran delivered the last minute safe before she could. "Keep fighting! We've almost got this!" she cried out as she turned to the burst out infront of her. She let out a cry of surprise as she danced backwards nimbly away from its appendages. If she fell here, the line would surely crumble.

She let out a loud shout, twisting back as she launched towards the beast. "Die!" She put everyone ounce of force into the blow that she could aiming to cleave it in half with a single blow.

Spoiler

Battle Dance is maintainted, using Power Strike at +10 to hit/damage -10 dodge. For net +22 to hit and to damage, +2 Dodge

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 90/98, PP = 34, EP = 31/34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

With a mighty kiai shout, Aria struck. She felt woozy for a moment, as the blade seemed to suck energy out of her. Her blade burst into white flames, not only cleaving the creature in two but turning the halves into naught but char. The flames seemed to scare the creatures, as they fell back for a moment. Then James held up his hand. It was covered in hoary frost and cooled the air around it to fog. He too let out a shout. A blast of wind colder than Aria could imagine passed right by her. The street they had forced the creatures into, for that was the plan, Aria could see now, was frozen solid, along with the creatures. There was a moment of silence. Then there was a loud *crack* and then another and another. Soon all that remained of the horde was a pile of shattered bits.

While she had been distracted, Aria's blade had gone out, though whether it was because of the cold or some other reason, she did not know. James looked at Aria, impressed "Does your blade do anything else?"

Rolls

Spoiler

Attack: 82(!) + 20(!!) vs Not 103
Damage: 6 + 4 + 41 + 17 fire = 68
Aria gains 2 exp

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria didn't let it distract her, for some reason it felt natural as the blade burst into white flames, swunging clearly through the air and she knew that the beast would be slain. The blade cut cleanly as she expected and she shook off the faint feeling of exhaustion. Her eyes were drawn over to the incredible show of magic, mouth drawing a large o. She'd never seen magic before, not in person although she'd hold stories. She held position closely watching along the beautiful crystalline frozen streets. The report of a few firearms signalled the end of the vicious battle.

She tore her gaze over to the sword realizing it had gone but, but sure she hadn't imagined it. Stranger and stranger this blade housed in the heart of that shrine turned out to be. She pulled it close, hand touching along the edge and gave a quiet thanks to whatever spirit watched out for her. "Praise to you," she whispered quietly and turned her gaze over to the others present. "W-we did it!" she cheered for a moment and turned back to the streets warily with a faint blush. She was not a child, this was serious business. "T-there may be others, we should keep careful watch. I had no idea that you could do something like that James," she noted quickly attempting to pass some subtle praise.

The mystery of her new sword burned in her mind.

"What's next, leader?" she asked quickly, readying to follow whatever was needed of her.

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 90/98, PP = 34, EP = 31/34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

The triplets grinned at Aria's cheeriness. James looked a little embarrassed by her praise. "Our grandmother was a kind of priestess. We visited her when we were little and apparently something I did pleased some ice spirit. I have a few tricks like that. They aren't very useful when hunting though, they make a lot of noise."

John looked at the village and said "Now comes the dangerous part. We're going to have to search each house. Ran, you are with Aria. James, Jung, and I will go together. Stay careful and avoid the slime."

Ran was reloading her guns. "Which house did you go to when you were here earlier?"

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

"Wow! An honest to goodness spirit? I never knew anyone who could use any sort of magic before." She giggled once. "Yeah, I can imagine that would be a problem, but still, pretty handy in a fight...whole street is frozen." She shook her head slightly, impressed by the display.

She turned sharply towards John and nodded. "Alright, but please, if you get into trouble call out. These things are incredible dangerous, and falling in the slime will put you as a risk to the rest of the team," she noted soberly. "We should probably stick together but...ah, I may be overcautious." Considering the nature of their work Aria was on some level relieved to be paired up with another girl, or at least not another man. She shivered slightly at the consideration and nodded, moving over to her new partner. The three twins probably worked best as a team anyway.

"Eh?" She tilted her head curious, were they going there first? Great...

"It's right over there," she motioned quietly. "Is that our first destination? I'll take point," she noted keeping her blade at the ready as she headed where Ran directed.

Spoiler

Keeping on guard for monsters, attacking on sight, proceeded as Ran directs but at the front.

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 90/98, PP = 34, EP = 31/34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

Apparently the creature's corpse didn't age well because the house was full of the smell of its decay. Ran put a cloth over her face and investigated. After a few minutes, she declared the place empty. They moved to the next house and continued their task. Several doors and windows had been knocked to splinters when the creatures had burst out from inside but there were a few more left. Between Aria's sword, which didn't show any more signs of acting out, and Ran's admittedly clumsy mace-work, they managed to kill all of them. They returned to wear they left the men to find... nothing. Ran lifted her pistols, cautiously looking around.

It was nothing, though. John had gotten slimed and James had rather overreacted by freezing it. Admittedly, it stopped the effects but John wasn't very happy. "Any trouble on your end?"

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria made sure to compliment Ran's prowess after the battle, she was clearly uncomfortable with the weapon but she made a good show, or better yet at least kept out of her way and managed to support her. She liked her, even if she was a bit distant. Aria chalked this up to shyness.

"None, entirely routine. We ran into a few of the creatures but me and Ran were able to take them down without issue," Aria was happy to say with a bit of relief. She'd certainly have believed that James did not overeact in the slightest, rubbing her arm absentmindedly as they recalled the tale, sure there was some of the sinister stuff -somewhere- on her. She pushed her worries back and nodded over to them. "Seems like the town is clear then? Or is there other places to sweep?"

With the place secure the other mysteries had come out, the lack of tracks, the missing wagons, the location of Rishia. Still, she could take some sense of pride in having cleared out this place, to protect future unwary travelers from its horrors. She wanted to burn down the places which were slime infested, that nefarious stuff was dangerous, to the unwary and in the wrong hands.

"What's our next move...?"

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 90/98, PP = 34, EP = 31/34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

"Nope. We'll inform the nearby church, they'll come by here and clean things out properly. If we had waited too long, those little ones would have grown into the big one you dealt with and we would have had a real problem." The trip back was peaceful, though Ran continued to search for the tracks with no result. When they returned the a man came out from the trading post and paid her 10 denarii for her efforts. The triplets gave her another 5. Unfortunately, by this time the caravan had left so Aria was going to have to travel by herself.

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria nodded, before cracking a somewhat cocky grin. "Well, they weren't too much trouble for me, I'm sure we coulda' handled them." But she only partially meant it. The thought of facing dozens of those things chilled her. She walked back in relative quiet, passing the time with some odd conversation here and there, attempting to help Ran wherever she could without getting in the girls way. She was content to pocket the denarii for the job, even if it didn't pay she would have accepted it but it was hard to save lives on an empty stomach she reasoned.

"It was a pleasure to work with all of you, if you're ever around please feel free to seek me out, maybe I'll buy you a drink. I'm heading off for the city after that caravan, if any of you wish to come with me, you're more than welcome to."

Without delay, provided she was rested, she would set out either way. It was the best lead she had at this point.

Her journey which had begun so grimly had taken its first hopeful steps.

 

[dragoon93041]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Spoiler

Aria North: HP = 98, PP = 34, EP = 34, CP= 77 Status: Fine

The going was steady enough but on her third day, the air became moist and soon after, a torrential downpour began. Somehow Aria managed to lose the path and ended up trudging for what felt like miles, searching for it. She didn't find it and it was getting very dark when she saw a light in the distance. A stone building, of what kind she couldn't see, stood alone in a clearing. There was light spilling out of its windows, which were few and set high up.

 

[Tyragor]

Re: The Lone Survivor (Tyagor) GM'd by dragoon93041

Aria was not accustomed to being alone. In fact, until the attack on her village had happened she was always surrounded by friends or family. To say that she was lonely was a bit of an understatement. She hungered for some kind of companionship, part of why Rishia's absence effected her so strongly but not at all the entire reason. She was a little sad to see that none of her companions wanted to come, but set off nonetheless. She had a duty that was far more important than her feelings.

The rain did not make that easy to keep in mind on the third day. Between the mist or fog or whatever bedeviled her she somehow became lost, and it was all too easy to become embroiled in her own misery, but still she surged on. The house in the distance, or building of some kind was quite a relief. The risk of getting lost and starving had become very real, and she was determined to get a guide sooner rather than later. Without delay she hurried to the building, briefly scanning for obvious danger before searching for a door to knock on. She was going to freeze if she didn't find shelter.