Tyler

Dice totally not rigged by fangirls who want more of the charming Charlie/Melanie "romance". 🤣

Cordoza listened as the kid rambled his ideas, dismissing the prospect of directly turning the Norkotians against the Tin Man due to the risk of addition civilian deaths within city, something Cordoza herself was very conscious of. And she was also conscious of the fact that it was her own fault that so many civilians were kept in harms way, as she had been to one to block their exit rather than allow them to leave and be ferried away to refugee camps. It was ironic, in her effort to spite Tynes by keeping her people here, hoping to hamstring his efforts and make him look bad if his men killed them, she had inadvertently sabotaged her own options now that the so-called "ace" was in play. But she was not going to admit this in front of the kid, and it would help neither of them anyway. It was more important to consider what could be done now, as opposed to what could have been done. "The only thing with near-enough magic power to do what your are suggesting is the vessel," she said to him, referring to the suggested EMP blast, "Magic power is weakened on the plateau, and most of our wizards or magitech is limited in scope because of that. That means that either way, we have to recover the vessel." She stood up, having previously been crouched. "But I have no idea how we would channel its power to accomplish either goal. It's been sealed away for centuries and nobody has been permitted to access it. I have no idea how it can be harnessed... or even if it can be destroyed." She rubbed her face, swearing she could feel age-lines there that were no present previously, she wracked her brain for other possible options. There was another, one she might be more inclined-toward than this kid, but one she knew would at least prevent the Norks or mercs from getting it. It would be a violation of an ancient oath taken in secret by every mayor since the early days of Forsthaven, but what good was an oath at this juncture? "There is another option," she stated finally, "We could smuggle it out of the city and take it to the Terran Empire. Despite what people say about them, I believe they still have the best interests of Terrenus in mind, and I believe they will be most able to secure the vessel away. If the Tin Man or the Norkotians are fool enough to go after it once it is in Terran hands... they'll do us all a favor and be signing their own death warrants." Needless to say, however; there was still one major issue with that plan. "The issue would be getting it out of the city without tipping anyone off... and the city is surrounded..." * * * Keffler smiled faintly and shook his head at Clive's suggest that he quit smoking. The prospect wasn't even on the young officer's radar right now, and fresh off of the brush with death that every war was, he had no interest in giving up the one thing he had accessible to calm his frayed nerves. He had been about to say "suit yourself" when Krieger arrived, putting the conversation on hold until the colonel left as abruptly as he came. "Hell, I dunno! They just hired every gun-carrying bum in the area, far as I know. You want specifics? You shoulda asked the colonel when he was in here then! If you hurry, you might catch him before he leaves the building," Keffler shrugged Clive off, not wanting to get involved in the politics of who hired who, "While you're at it, you can ask him about your pay, since you were so eager to get it." Were Clive to take Keffler's advice, he'd find that Krieger had very quickly descended to the lower levels of the city hall, seemingly not interested in the building itself at the moment. Once outside, the cowboy would spot Krieger approaching another group of Norkotian officers, with whom he opened a conversation. By the time Clive reached that position, he caught only the last few words being said. "If they believe that we think she's dead, they may make a mistake somewhere along the way." "Very good, sir," Krieger had been speaking to a younger man, though the younger fellow looked like he was in charge given the difference in his uniform and how closely he was surrounded and guarded by his officers and staff. However, before Clive could approach the gathering, he was stopped by a Norkotian soldier in a black (rather than grey) uniform and with a helmet that contained a visor. "Hold it there, mercenary! Where do you think you're going?" the soldier snapped. One of his comrades in a similar uniform also stepped toward them, his submachinegun trained on Clive. However, the commotion had drawn the attention of Krieger and the officers, the former of whom was just turning to leave anyway, which caused his gaze to sweep across Clive in the process. "Do you have something to report, mercenary?" Krieger barked, recognizing Clive from upstairs and wondering why he had followed him down here. @zackrobbman

Depends on the fatality count. I've long said I'd become interested in Nascar if half the drivers crashed and died in every race like in Star Wars Podraces. XD And now to completely undercut my own attempts at being edgy (but then, it is only edgy if you don't actually mean it 😏)... I have never seen a slasher movie.

Outside of the obvious, Shane didn't feel any different, and wasn't sure what vast story of information that Linda was talking about. Her brain seemed just as it always was, maybe even more muddy and less clear rather than enhanced or expanded in any way. And she still didn't want to serve another organization of questionable ethics and purpose, yet a few minutes of thought on the matter left her to conclude that she had no choice. Linda may be "gentle", but that didn't mean she might still force Shane to do what she wanted if she repeatedly refused. And what's more, whether she liked it or not, she owed the continuation of her miserable, unworthy existence to this white-haired woman. Until she had more time to understand what was going on and why, she'd just have to play along. Besides, with her betrayal of Copperbeard, she had nowhere left in the world to go. "I'll... okay... I... yeah, I'll just go do that," she finally stammered, when Linda made the request, "I will report back once I learn something." With that, she exited the "engine room" and proceeded back to the upper deck... * * * However, no sign of Copperbeard had been reported, and none would be reported the entire rest of the night. Even once the nobles finally went to bed, and the ship hovered around the skies between Misral and the cove, still nothing was seen. Shane made several reports to Linda, before finally falling asleep herself. Then, at dawn, the cry came out. A ship had been spotted, heading for the cove from the Northeast, more from the direction of the distant mainland port of Casper than from Port Mars. The command crew was subsequently awoken and brought topside, and Abigail strained with her spyglass to get a look at the ship. "It's a black pirate flag, that much is certain," she said, trying to focus in on it, "The ship's profile matches that of Copperbeard's vessel. Bring us in closer!"

Lol, the -1 sanity comment was a joke. XD Though I feel like if anyone should get an exception to have negative Sanity, it should be me. 😉

So are the health and sanity damages done in the first part of your post considered undefendable then? Considering there appears to be no definite source of the attack other than a bored crowd. I assume the second half of the post is defendable. Since if not, I'm likely to go into the next realm with -1 Sanity. XD

Shane finally sat down, so much going through her head as it spun with the realization that she'd gotten sucked into something she had no intention of getting sucked into. So there was a catch to her resurrection after all, and it was apparently to serve this "organization", whatever they were supposed to be. The problem was that she wanted to try and live her life better this time around, yet she knew for a fact that these people had been associated with criminals and terrorists... Just like her. "Is there... is there any way I can be... let out? Or will I just die again then, but permanently?" she asked softly, holding her head in her hands. Whatever the answer, she would just have to endure it, and do the best she could within the confines of whatever she was limited to.

I think you did a great job of giving us a challenge, which would *not* have been impossible (just very difficult) were it not for all the people who ghosted on us.

I believe with the right application of magical polymorphs, most characters here can be made to fit your specialization. 😉 (Yeah, also welcome to the site too!)

Shane just stood there for a solid minute or two, just staring at Linda Linda as if trying to process that information. It didn't compute. "WHAAAAT!?" How was this possible? Her soul was bound to a collective consciousness? What did that even mean? What did it mean that she was a "reanimated corpse"? Was she just a soul-less vessel now, for whom there would be no life after death? Or was her soul now fated to be stripped of individuality to be stuck in some sort of bizarre hivemind like those in the crummy sci-fi movies they used to make back home in Norkotia? "I didn't... part of... part of you? Part of your organization? How did that... when did that happen? Was it a condition of my being brought back? When was I going to be told that!?" The poor girl looked even more distressed than ever now.

@zackrobbman @Fierach Okay guys, thanksgiving is over and we have only about a month (and one that includes another major holiday no less) left before my unofficial deadline. Let's get this ball rolling again, okay!

Shane went a little red again at the implication of what Holly had done to remove her cult mark, but since Linda was expecting an answer, she shook it off and rolled back her sleeve. "I'm afraid I already removed it..." A huge scar where a bit of skin and flesh had been flayed off was still visible, and the scar tissue that now covered that surface was messy and uneven. Even so, it was not at drastic a wound as what Holly Sheathe had inflicted upon herself, though it was more visible if Shane were to go sleeveless. "It... it's a reminder of how many mistakes I've made in my life. How much I've screwed up," she sighed, looking down at the wound, "How much of a friggin' piece of shit I am..." He looked up at her a bit teary-eyed, still an emotional wreck between the sudden hormonal changes and the recent traumatic experiences. "You should have left me to rot in hell like I deserve, but... I can't thank you enough for giving me another chance. I... I wanna do good this time... somehow." "I don't believe that would ever have to be a choice," Abigail replied with narrowed eyes. "Though of course I put the betterment of the House first, but that is a purely hypothetical scenario." Perhaps not as much as she wanted to believe. She knew her farther had wanted Abigail to be born a male, and when she wasn't, he seemingly never felt satisfied with her. That was why he was so quick to remarry when Abigail's mother died, and why he favored Geoffrey so greatly even if the boy was a spoiled brat who knew nothing of what it meant to rule. Had her father have had the magical means prior to Geoffrey's birth, might it have been possible that Abigail could have been faced with such a choice? "Let us maybe talk about something more practical," Abigail decided, "You attended the nobility conference, yes? I'm curious to know your thoughts on the proceedings..."

Oh, okay... I remember seeing a D10 mentioned somewhere in the thread... Result appears the same either way though.

I assume we were following the D10s. I have adjusted my last post. Murray is at 2 HP now. I don't feel like writing any addition to the post itself, so I won't kill Scoot or Chief... yet...

Murray Dodge #3 @HollowCipher