Day 72 :: [OPEN]

[bastionpc]

Who: Everyone
Open: Open
When: Day 72
Where: The Skyway
What: Out on the Skyway is a farm. On that farm are supplies and plot coupons.
Format: action
Warnings: cows

[On day 72, whoever happens to be exploring the Skyway will come across a farm! It is rather large, with several overgrown fields, a huge barn, some chicken coops, and a farmhouse.

It is undisturbed for the moment, though it would be advisable to make any stop here quick. Monsters are never that far away.]






((OOC: There will be several different areas each character can explore and find things. Please choose only one area of the farm per character for your characters to participate in. Your characters can interact with anyone else in that particular area.

Teamwork may be needed to accomplish goals in this post.))

Comments

[hellpyre]

[The 'carry on' motion was more familiar, but Rin was reluctant as hell to take it. She didn't like this, she didn't like the feeling he was giving her, something much darker and unnerving than Seimei had originally made her feel. Perhaps it was the mask, but it could have easily been something else, too...

She had started to snarl, baring her sharp fangs with a hint of heat rippling off her body when Duke arrived, snapping her attention away from the man.]

... no.

[clockworknazi]

[ Amused, Kroenen turns his gaze upon Duke, head tilting slightly in interest. When the newcomer addresses the issue of the tractor, the German swivels his attention towards it. A moment of thought, and he starts off in the direction of the machine. If there was anything Kroenen could help with - willingly - is was a machine. Particularly one of archaic design. He did not stop to answer questions of posit any of his own. He simply strode directly over to the tractor and began studying it, searching for any damage or missing parts before attempting to start it. For what purpose he was uncertain, but the knightly-looking figure suggested they wanted it running, so Kroenen would accomplish this task, or strip the machine of anything valuable. If it wasn't damaged and was in running order, the German would have it started in a few moments, his posture entirely triumphant. ]

[hellpyre]

[Rin was still on edge, even as he moved away towards the tractor, but with Duke there she felt a little less like she was going to jump out of her skin at every sound and movement.

She watched him from a distance, tail twitching erratically behind her, but her hand finally slipping away from the hilt of her blade.

The tractor started up with a mighty roar, it's engine thundering through the otherwise quiet field.

Well... he was helping, at least...]

[notduchess]

[ Well then.

Duke is just technologically incapable. The knight looks about at the field. ]

Well, this looks edible still, so maybe we should get off the field.

[ that... is what that machine does, right?]

[clockworknazi]

[Kroenen doesn't hear what anyone says, being as the tractor is so load. He does, however, make the effort to test the tractor once he finally gets is operable.
Driving back and forth, doing a small circle and eventually puttering as close to the central farm as possible, the German finally climbs out of the seat, sets his hat on the steering wheel, dusts himself off - the indignity of farming in uniform, ugh - and goes in search of anything to hitch to the tractor and tow the food back to the Bastion.
He would have explained that a tractor was for tilling and towing, not for actually reaping, but he doubted anyone was interested in listening to him. The little girl certainly had a bit of a panic, after all.
Once he find's something suitable, be it trailer of no more than a mule cart, Kroenen returns to the field.
Sighing dramatically, feeling particularly belittled by the tasks before him, the SS officer reaches into his coat where the turnkey on his chest is concealed and cranks it several times. He then draws his twin bladed tonfa from his coat and spins them dramatically, testing the weight and feel before suddenly hacking away at the corn stalks, dropping ears of corn in his path, fully expecting someone -else- to pick them up after him. He wasn't about to do everything. ]

[hellpyre]

[Rin continued to watch him closely, but once he started dropping the corn she managed to catch on what he was doing. She scowled faintly, but whatever upset she was feeling had started to fade.]

... c'mon.

[Rin motioned for Duke to follow, and started picking up the dropped corn.]

[bastionpc]

[Suddenly, without warning, the tractor is impaled and lifted up a bit as a horn that's about ten feet tall and three feet wide at the base comes shooting out of the ground.]

[notduchess]

[ Yeah no, Duke might have been about to pick up that piece of corn, but that impaled tractor?

Yeah the knight isn't going to do more than turn and hold a hand out. ]

Get out of that tractor if you can, and hold tight if you can't!

[ If that horn is what the knight thinks it could be (some sort of monster? Dear goddess, the thing would be huge-) the knight is ready to launch a spell. ]

[clockworknazi]

[ Kroenen had already been well away from the tractor - nowhere near it in fact - when the horn burst through it. Where others displayed alarm, Kroenen responds with instant force.
Spinning around at the sound of screeching, warping metal, the German throws both tonfa down to either side of himself, the blades sticking up in the ground and freeing his hands to draw his pistol in one smooth motion.
He swings his arm out and straight, growling at Rin unintelligibly, indicating she should duck, though he wastes no time pulling the trigger three times; there is a loud report - crack-crack-crack - bullets connecting on shots made purely from reflex, zipping past the girl and into the offending creature.
Only after the third shot is he able to register it isn't a complete creature - just part of one - making his head jerk to one side, cocking in confusion. What the blazes was he seeing? ]

[hellpyre]

... seriously?!

[Come on, Skyway! They were having a nice day! ... random Nazi appearance not withstanding.

Rin caught the command and ducked down, throwing arms over her head. She watched over her arm as he fired at the horn, only to stop and... tilt his head at it.

... oh. That's not even the whole creature, is it?

Hell...]

Alright, my turn!

[She darted forward, yanking the sword on her back out, drawing out blue flames with it. If the thing was only part of an entire creature under the ground, that's where she was going to aim for, stabbing down near where the horn had broken through.]

[bastionpc]

[The bullets bounce harmlessly off of the horn, but the sword does get into the meat a bit. There is a horrific sound from underneath the ground, and suddenly the horn slips back below the earth, leaving only a giant, dark hole.]

[hellpyre]

-- eh?

[That leaves Rin just... there, sword stuck in the ground, still flaming and staring down at the hole.]

... h-hey! Get back here!

[bastionpc]

[And then, out of that hole, a huge snake-looking monster, large enough to make the ten-foot horn on its face look normal-sized in comparison, forces its way up out of the hole and eats Rin.]

[clockworknazi]

[ The German stares at Rin, taking an involuntary step back before pocketing the gun and grabbing his tonfas once more, charging forward -- only to be flummoxed at the disappearance of the horn. Walking, instead of running, prevents him from stumbling when the serpent bursts out. It also costs him valuable time he could use to push Rin out of the way.

Staring at the monster that just ate a little girl, Kroenen is torn between his duty to protect those inhabitants of the new Eden, and his unwillingness to cross anything that might be Ogdru Jahad.

The uncertainty, mixed with a natural position as a follower instead of leader, forced his to turn his head to Duke, looking for answers and orders, or some guidance as to the etiquette of battle. ]

[notduchess]

Oh-

[ Crap. that. uh. That isn't good.

Duke flicks through several spell ideas - Pulling it up with Tempest or Havoc Gale doesn't seem like a good idea, its huge, the rest might be more of a target but its more of a weapon for the snake. Meteors are a bit too random. Same with Holy Rain.

Keeping it put might be a good idea, so red formula start working around her. ]

From the inside the light, come and burn before me! Crimson Flare!

[ Its a good thing that the knight put that bit of magic on Rin, right? Right.

Because that sure is a lot of fire being dumped on the snake. And sucked back up into the center of a large sphere when its done, but that is a lot of fire. ]

[bastionpc]

[The snake-thing wasn't expecting to suddenly be blasted with fire, so all it does for now is twist up on itself and let out a roar of pain.

From in-between its large teeth, a certain half-demon may be visible. Rin was only chomped on, not swallowed.]

[clockworknazi]

[ Fire. Everywhere. Kroenen isn't sure he's equipped to survive the level spell-slinging going on around him, being more into martial arts and science.

And guns.

Cursing silently to himself, the German again throws his tonfa down, draws his gun and takes a bead on the snake, gun weaving left and right, up and down as he focuses. Aims. Squeezes.

Four more rounds left, make them count.

BANG. BANG.

Right for the eyes. ]

[hellpyre]

[When the creature roared, a shriek went along with it that obviously didn't belong to it. Rin slammed her sword in to the roof of it's massive mouth, shoving up with all her strength to keep that mouth open.

It was disgusting in there, and it had done a good job of trying to chew on the fiery half demon in the few seconds it had before Duke's attack on it.]

SOME ONE GET ME OUTTA HERE!

[notduchess]

Hold a moment, I'll try something!

[ It looked like there's enough room for this spell. Since the thing was just sitting there, maybe.... ]

Blade of light, clear the way! Blade Roll!

[ And then the knight runs right up to the snake, blade in hand but not ready to slash.

That's what the big glowing one that forms at abdomen height behind the knight is for. Especially after it spins a couple of times. ]

[bastionpc]

[This seems to work. The monster reels in pain, accidentally dropping Rin (and her sword, which came unlodged in the flailing) as it shakes its head from side to side. Then it disappears back down the hole, and a rumbling can be felt from beneath the ground.

It's moving underneath your feet, guys.]

[clockworknazi]

[ Regardless of the threat to himself, Kroenen dashes forward on Duke's heels, twists the key on his chest twice and kicks off the ground, leaping high enough to meet Rin mid-fall, long arms curling under the girl's form and crushing her to his chest. He hits the ground feet first, curling protectively around her as he barrel rolls, coming to a dramatic skidding halt on one knee and foot.

No time for pleasantries, he rises smoothly to his feet and sets her down gingerly before nodding once in apology and retreating to get his weapons and, more importantly, his hat. ]

[hellpyre]

[Yes! She was free! She was--

Falling.

Luckily she didn't fall far, and she didn't even really have a chance to scream before her decent was suddenly stopped. The catch was a bit jarring, but the fact that she was safe was far more important.

Back on her feet, she stared at the man in slight confusion, wondering why he went to so much trouble to save her. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought... even if he still didn't give her the best feeling.

All that aside, though, she was soaked in very disgusting spit, clothes torn and a lot of minor scratches over her arms and legs. Gross.]

Ughh... Where'd it go?!

[notduchess]

I don't know, but keeping moving would be a good idea, I think.

[ Duke is holding that sword ready, looking about. ]

Do we just want to leave, or do we want to kill it?

[ Because that indicates what they ought to do from then on. ]

[clockworknazi]

[ Another silent curse as the German grabs his tonfa and rummages about the debris for his hat, setting it tight on his head. He knew what -he- wanted to do. He wanted the damned thing dead. It wasn't Ogdru Jahad. There was no awe in its presence. It wasn't even large enough to be one and he felt a fool for believing it possible at all. Rasputin would have laughed him into a shameful slouch.

Casting his gaze about and keeping his feet moving, the German heads back to Duke's side and lifts his tonfa, crossing them in the air for emphasis, showing that he was all for killing the beast. The people of new Eden - or the Bastion, as they called it - could only benefit from that food. The surplus would take the pressure off the currently growing crops and some could be dried and stored for later planting. Leaving -all- of it behind was unacceptable.

If they didn't kill the beast, they needed to grab as much food as possible upon retreat. ]

[hellpyre]

I don't think we're gonna kill it that easy...

[Rin stabbed that thing from inside it's mouth and she barely made a dent with her sword. She can't imagine how tough it's outer hide is.]

I don't like runnin' from a fight, but I feel gross and I really don't recommend anyone goin' in that thing's mouth again. I say we grab what we can and run for it.