Call of the Mist Wolf | Page 6

The group of nitwits had finally moved on. Merkaba was now getting far more sand than she would have liked. Her outfit was just not designed to go for a swim in the sand. It was not too bad, but still a extra irritation. Elizabeth's ability to maintain a composed stature was truly being tested by this romp. There is a reason for it though. She did not join these people and go through all of this for nothing... no. She wanted to learn from these hemomancers. These Blood Witches. She wanted to know everything she could about them and their power. Their origins, their goals. and how they may fit in with Merkaba's future ideals.

Then as the others talked and the sound of the approaching sandstorm reached her ears. Merkaba lost focus on everything. This place... it was exactly what she thought it was. Armageddon. This was either ruins of the past, or a well made replica of such ruins. A new thought came to her... perhaps this dimension was actually set in the future? That it was the same as the prime? This required more research. In the end one last site had piqued her interest beyond all else. The Norfolk Museum. This was... the witch trials? If there was anyone here who would understand what this may have meant it was the dark witch.

This was glorious! She had to go inside and see if there was any proof to her conclusions and theories. Finally things were going her way here. This was exactly the kind of information she wanted. Even if nothing was within. The very fact this was here was telling of many things to the occultist. All of those trials... many of those accused witches were not even authentic. Still, in this dimension it may be possible they were real! Merkaba would not care what the others did. She had to see the inside of that building for her research. The sandstorm only hastened that decision.

The dark lady would move quicker than she ever had towards the museum.

 

Dempsey steeled herself, understanding as soon as the storm began to pick up that they had no choice but to charge dick first into the building that was a bit foreboding even before the druid who's name she kept forgetting (But had just now dubbed 'Jimmy Goodnews' on account of recent events), had announced that it was probably full of things that wanted them all dead. Unfortunately, she understood all to well that all present had to make a choice between certain death by attempting to weather the sand storm, and fairly probable death inside. She could only hope that the rest of the group would reach the same conclusion instead of choosing now to play the lone wolf or decide that now was their time to step up and suggest a different course of action.

She quickly fetched an energy potion from her pack and drank it as quickly as possible while trying to avoid a mouth full of strange glowing sand by tugging her undershirt up over her armor and downing the liquid with her shirt as a filter, doing her best to not remember that this particular garment had been worn and unwashed for days now. Her legs were probably not as tired as the rest of the groups, but she was well aware that the difficult trek had taken it's toll, and that her mad dash to safety would test her endurance further.

She heard enough of Jacks instruction to understand her role in the plan, but had some small doubt that Alphabet actually knew her right from her left; to say it wouldn't surprise her if she didn't, or had a memory lapse or something along those lines. Aaron would go first, followed by Alphabet (as she was closer, and would reach the door first) then herself to take the opposite flanking position. The casters would then file in and start doing whatever it is they did. Dempsey hoped one of them remembered how effective she could be with a damage buff as she began toward the museum at a double-time pace, glad she'd taken time to tie her hair back already.

(OOC Consumed 1 energy potion, and so should you.)

 

As they trudged through sand that reached way higher than sand had any damn right to, Aaron couldn't help but curse under his breath repeatedly. "I voted against sand for a reason," he muttered.

He frowned when he saw the building. Norfolk Museum. "Hey, guys..." he said slowly. "I really don't want to be that guy, but... what are the chances that this isn't a game? Is there... is there any chance this is the future of our world, beset by something that brought magic back into it in force, and a part of that magic made the world, so... gamelike, for us at least? It would explain how lifelike the NPCs are, as well as, well..." Aaron gestured toward the building. "That."

When Jack gave the signal to make their way into the building, Aaron approached the door with his shield raised high, and his sword held low. He would be ready for a fight, though it saddened him everyone was so convinced that a fight was coming. Be ready for a fight at any time, yes, but there was no need to look for one if it didn't have to be. He steeled himself. Time to do his job, and make himself the biggest target so that if anything inside was hostile, they went after him first.

 

With no immediate threat Amalia tapped her index and middle finger upon her temple, squinting while she peered into the distance, at the building covered in sand and she read the name aloud. “Norfolk Museum.” ominous, as if the statue from earlier wasn't frightening enough, what more a museum that was probably filled with them. “If our luck holds out we'll probably see more of those Jupiter golem things.” she sighed dejectedly before disengaging from Investigation Mode, the golden glimmer in her irises fading into nothingness within seconds.

Aaron's conspiracy theory was interesting, but there wasn't enough evidence to support it nor was she going to even contemplate something so surreal. “Probably unlikely given how we have an interface and all that Aaron, had there been no such thing I might have been inclined to believe your theory, but as it stands, I cant. We'll find out as we go I suppose...”

Ornson's warning was heard, if only barely and Amalia couldn't hear the rest through the whistling wind. Seeing the druid seemingly faltering in the dust, she hastened to his side, supporting him with her shoulder to drag him through the sand. She could have probably done precisely what Jack had asked, but using a haste buff at this point with one man potentially downed and with the benefit being minimal didn't appeal to her. Besides, with the terrain, she wouldn't be able to move while playing with any degree of ease. Had this been simply flat ground she would've dared, but she wasn't that much of a gambler.

She looked towards their Paladin, following him. If nothing else, he wasn't likely the fastest in the team so he would be the best marker for her to use as a mobile guidepost. If the wind grew truly too furious, she would seek whatever shelter there was in the area.

OOC: Assisting Ornson so he doesn't get overwhelmed by the sand. Following Aaron. If the wind grows too fierce, she will seek shelter against anything, a boulder, a pillar, what have you.

 

Carefully following everyone down the stairs and into the sand below, Nalani kept as alert as she could with the words constantly tossing and turning in her head. She kept her eyes peeled open, as much as she wanted to sit back and relax and just let herself concentrate on nothing else but the thoughts, trying to answer them to just leave her alone and go away. Unfortunately, as they moved around the sand, she wouldn't even be given anything close to the option as she listened to the voices of her companions and stayed alert from the words Ornson shared. Blacks glowing spots? Didn't sound very good...

As soon as the wind picked up, shelter was needed. Furrowing her eyebrows and holding her wand steadily at her side, she watched as some people did what they were told and others, well... Didn't. She moved her arm in front of her face as she trudged as carefully and as quickly as she possibly could, turning her gaze upwards towards the words on the front, Norfolk Museum... Aaron's theory was probably far from the truth, but a lot of the stuff they were encountering were just weird. This was all just weird. Whichever, she was kind of excited to actually do some damage, if it was even possible to murmur incantations without almost saying 'AEIDBCED' instead. She hated being so unusually quiet, it was very unlike her, but when something else was bugging you as much as those four letters were, it was easy to become someone you're not.​

 

Lucia immediately disregarded any conspiracy theory as silly flustered speaking. It was simply too much of a stretch to think that any of this had even the faintest of hints of coming to pass for a variety of reasons. How would one explain the interface? The differences in human biology? The menus that allowed one to skip certain physiological acts? Their ability to seamlessly come and go from this apocalyptic scape? "Impossible; that would mean we're all wearing time machines and the interface given to us is some hallucination people in the future are having? Then what about these bodies, are we just hijacking random people? Is there some kind of 3-D Flesh Printer that makes us according to our tastes and outlines?" Lucia's reply was silently sent through their party messaging system so as to avoid Ornsen hearing talk of 'the game' and growing disgruntled. To NPCs this world wasn't a game, and any mention of it usually resulted in harsh criticism and hate.

Though Ornsen's talk of black readings through the lens made Lucia perk up though. Black often meant some kind of evil, the fact that it was different from the foes recognized on the other end also was a good hint that they weren't necessarily involved. Evil that wasn't associated with Hemomancers and their demonic personage? Wouldn't that mean they were likely associated with Lucia's would be patron? The very thought made her heart pound with hope as she blurted out her intention to explore the museum without hesitation. "I'd really like to go, if not just for evading this storm, but also to look for possible helpful artifacts; after all, the statue before did have some valuable and useful tools." She spoke, but her desires for a Necronomicon wouldn't be easily detterred. Though if the group had decided to brave the storm, she would have been left to struggle about whether or not to explore alone, but as if some divinity were helping her out, the storm made it the most ideal location at the moment.

 

Alpha coughed as sand blinded her, stinging her eyes with the grainy flurry. It buried itself in the nooks of her clothes, over the top of her bag, and went straight down her throat the moment she opened her mouth, forcing her to choke more and forcing her into the repetitive cycle of coughing, wheezing, and choking. Without much of a choice, she covered the lower half of her face with one hand and marched onward, following everyone else's lead. Her other hand was guiding Terry, the dog having wisely decided to keep his eyes closed shut, to the rest of the group. The sandstorm had kicked up soon after Ornson's concerned speculations on the magic concentration lingering in the building and had taken her by surprise. She hadn't observed the area enough (from before the sand had become a dangerous adversary) to know of any safe place to stay in and, as of thus, reluctantly decided to simply followed Jack's lead. The man, despite her own reluctance to admit it, was quick on his feet and probably smart enough to get them out of this alive. The rest of the team seemed to think him as the leader anyway.

She quickly copied Dempsey and took a gulp of the energy potion before splattering the rest on her face, wiping out the debris stuck around. Soon after, she followed them to shelter, taking the left flank. In the midst of it all, she gave Amalia a light pat (lifting her hand off of Terry for a split second). The woman had really taken the initiative and helped the druid a lot. It would be terrible to fail to recognize such selflessness (regardless of the present situation they were in).

Consumed Energy Potion.​

 

"Oh my god, this is not good!" Alpha shouted as a burst of black, ink-colored magic grabbed her (and some of the others as far as she could tell) through the doorway and pulled her into the room. "Ow ow ow!" she muttered under her breath upon landing on the rough floor on her bottom. She winced at the slight sting but was relieved to find out that the landing had done no actual damage. The raid was proving itself to be ruthless and Alpha understood that the best way to approach this entire thing was to be at peak health and energy. Without another second wasted, she observed her surroundings to see something that frightened her. She shivered, eyes wide as she lit her torch to lighten the room.

Her eye twitched and she felt a chill crawl up her spine. "Didn't we just fight that statue?!" she cried, quickly getting up and stomping her feet. She knew it wasn't the best course of action as of the moment but couldn't feel the need to care; that thing nearly wiped them all out last time and the sight horrified her. Upon taking another glance around the room, the crowd of walking, skeletal remains littered the rooms. Her body began to tremor uncontrollably from fear because, if there was one thing that could terrify her, it would be the living dead and...well, the living dead. "Terry!" she shouted, eyes screwed shut as she grabbed her spear. "Let's go!"

She grabbed Terry by the scruff and begins to drag the scrambling pup back to Nalani's group. "C'mon guys!" she called out to the rest, making a mad dash. She wasn't sure that she was happy that the skeleton-zombies were eyeing her like a piece of birthday cake but she shrugged it off with a shiver and made her way back to where they came. Hopefully the dark magic thing wouldn't drag her back in here and she hoped that her Rogue skills could at least make her the tiniest bit unnoticeable. Once she made it to the choke-hold, she planned to turn right to leave the statue's line of sight as soon as possible (and possibly prevent herself from getting dragged back).

Torch Consumed. Alpha attempts to regroup with Jack, Nalani, Lucia, and Amalia. Once she gets to the choke-hold, she will immediately turn right to avoid line of sight.​

 

Dempsey struggles against the unknown force in vain, until she is unceremoniously dumped into the entryway of the inner room. she fumbles for her second torch and lights it with shaking hands. The instant the scene registers with her, that and the druids shouted warning was all she needed to see and hear. she immediately bolted for the doorway, simply shouting "nope Nope NOPE!" as she ran.

As soon as she was clear of the threshold and the open doorway was behind her, she dove to her right with torch in hand and landed with an impressive roll,only pausing to catch her breath once she knew there was a wall between herself and the statue. She was panting heavily and wide eyed due to the combined effects of fear induced adrenaline and and shouting "There's like THIRTY zombies in there, and another statue that warps people! Get clear of the door before that statue pulls you in on top of them! Oh, and some blood witches, but I think they're busy getting eaten right now, and my crystal mellon is acting funny!"

She gathered herself and stood at the ready, in case she would have to deal with a zombie vanguard instead of fleeing allies. engaging zombies in hand to hand combat didn't seem like the smartest thing to do, but she would ponder the pros and cons of respeccing later.

 

Lucia couldn't help a somewhat bitter sigh seeing her health go down and the bleeding stats effect. It was an effect that would no doubt become crippling to them shortly with hemomancers around. Though there was the sound of yelling in the other room, she could only assume that was the opponents or some kind of enemy mob. The statues though again filled her with a particular sense of dread. "Regroup!" She shouted not wanting to be caught out alone. If she was to die, she'd want to at least find the secret to this place and that particular statue. It seemed as if it was using dark magic skills, the glow that she could barely make out that directed the zombies indicated that much. The very thought made her breath catch, imagining that white haired girl in her head once more, she couldn't help forming a sly grin at the thought of that particular Goddess. The tools to get closer to her evolution seemed close at hand making her that much more anxious.

She tried not to dwell on her own fantacies though; there would be time to fratranize with Goddesses and temple priestesses when she had the ability to reach them. For the moment, she tried to take cover behind a statue, being careful to select one that looked much more sturdy and well put together at least, hoping that it wouldn't strike her down as she began to bandage her bleeding injuries as quickly as possible. Hoping to get them tended to before the Zombies advanced too closely, she licked her lips with anticipation; who would know the undead better then her who attended those cult meetings? Who desired closeness with Synra, to wash away her loneliness? She forced down a developing snicker as she finished tying her injuries tightly, "We need a torch to see on this side too-- someone who has a hand free." She tried to urge and remind people.

 

Aaron took in the room he was warped into and quickly came to two conclusions. He needed to get the fuck out of there, and he needed to pop an energy potion. Luckily, the two were not mutually exclusive, and he could do the second while working on the first. "Everyone out!" He called. He immediately began to run back toward the chokehold, being sure to herd everyone who was doing the same and logical choice in front of him so that the zombies would reach him first. He was the tank, after all.

He swallowed down the energy potion as he ran. Once that did a bit of work, he'd be able to use some of his holy magic, which should make short work of zombies, being undead creatures. If he was able to get back the choke point, he'd slam into cover out of the statue's line of sight. He gripped his sword and shield tight, positioning himself so the zombie would see him first one they rounded the corner. "Jack, they're zombies! Holy magic!" His mind raced. "Merkaba, Lucia! I don't know how dark magic is going to work against creatures that are already dead. Just don't do anything that might make them stronger!"

OOC: Consuming Energy Potion

 

Alright, what was she supposed to do here? Reality dictated that she was to bandage up her wounds, but how do you do that when they're all over the body. Using a healing spell might work, but from what she learned thus far, status afflictions were usually fixed through spells or potions that specifically weeded that out. After seeing that attack that pulled their allies out of commission she immediately sought cover, telling Ornson to do the same while trying to stay close to Lucia if she could afford to.

She accessed the party inventory to deal with her affliction through the use of bandages. She was probably going to owe someone money before this was all over, but what was a little cash over dying.

Taking her equipment out of it's case she began sifting through a list of songs in her head, settling with the first thing that came to mind. As she set the hard polished wood against the crook of her neck, she drew the violin. She wondered how far the song would carry, but she was well aware that wounds were a far riskier thing to hold unto. Besides, even if the undead reacted to the noise, that would give the others that had been pulled out some reprieve from being surrounded. Well... they were already coming this way... didn't seem like it'd make a difference now would it?

She prepared to play a song at a moment's notice, mindful of being caught in the line of sight of that displacement 'attack' that hit the others earlier. “Ornson, you were telling us something earlier? I'd like to know precisely what it was. The others might've been pulled away, but there are still some of us left.”

"Anyone need a particular kind of buff? I'm holding back from playing until I'm sure what we need."

OOC: Using bandages to take care of the Bleeding Debuff. Seeking cover from the 'attack' that pulled the others away just in case it recurs.

 

A small sense of satisfaction escaped from Jack’s lips as he could only watch his allies get dragged into the adjacent room. The man himself wasn’t particularly deriving pleasure from his comrades’ misfortune so much as joy at his own preparations panning out properly as he silently watched his previous buff fade away. He’d mutter briefly under his breath a sense of relief. “Phew. Guess that was a good call.”

Not one to offer redundant words, Jack simply nodded with satisfaction upon watching the vanguard sound the retreat. It was the most appropriate course of action, one he would’ve suggested as well had they not come to that conclusion on their own. Briefly adding on his on addendum, he’d call out once using the in-game communication to speak through voice chat while curiously surveying his surroundings. “Break vision with the statue! Use comms, less interference.”

What piqued the man’s curiosity the most however wasn’t the undead horde surging at them but rather what the other half had split off towards. Voices were heard earlier and given the words spoken and their implication, the women further within were most likely hemomancers. Considering the party’s original objective, he’d immediately grow weary due to the statement indicating they had come for a purpose.

Not wanting this said purpose to go undiscovered, the man swiftly took action while running directly to his left towards a statue for cover. Upon chanting a basic incantation, he’d reach over for a small rock or pebble from the existing debris and enchant it temporarily with a radiant aura of light. The man would then hurl the rock as far as possible towards the direction he thought the voices had originated from. Ideally as the rock was in transit, he’d place his index and middle finger on his forehead in order to inspect anything that had been illuminated while he ran for cover.

OOC:
Jack casts: "Light" on a rock and throws it as close to the voices as possible while taking cover. (Not sure if investigation mode counts as an action, if so just ignore it please!)

 

Everything happened so fast, Nalani had hardly any time to process all of it. As they got into shelter from the storm, she realized, as stinging feeling covered multiple places on her body, that she was bleeding. She breathed in quickly through her teeth, not paying any attention the group up ahead as she ripped through her bag, grabbing some of the bandages another of the party goers had brought along, and began to apply the bandages to her body, looking up just as another one of the whispers forced itself into her brain. She seemed to glaze over for another moment, stopping mid bandaging as she muttered, very quietly, "X-U-Y-Z." With that, the status changed once more, indicating a '3/4'. However, with that came even more thoughts- Enough to drive one mad.

She only snapped out of it when everyone moved into action and she herself was forced to finish of her bandaging, making a couple steps towards the cover that they all went too, before turning her gaze around the room. She didn't trust herself with the others right now. What if she accidentally let a spell loose and ended up hurting the rest of the group? Her mind was too distracted with thoughts of an incantation that seemed to want to just flow out of her mouth, and she didn't know what it would do. She couldn't risk anybodies lives because of her own status effect.

So, instead of heading to where everyone else ran towards, she ducked into the left statue areas, not even saying a word for fear it might sound jumbled or not even relate to the English language. It was on the same side as the rest of her party, but she tried to stay as far away as she could so that if she did end up trying to attack, it had less of a chance of hurting them.

Bandage used​