"TY'all have my thanks, and should have everyone else's too. Now, get ready to heave with all you got - on my count - after I count to three when I say push, and not before, then we push with all we got. Think positive, and you'll feel stronger. We need to do this, and we're gonna make it happen."

Adrian prepared himself mentally as they all braced their bodies and got ready to give the door all they had. Cards flitted through his mind like he was in a New Orleans pool hall, but this time everything seemed to be going his way. He looked at the women beside him, feeding them strength from beyond as he fed it into himself.

"One, two, three, PUSH!" he said, heaving into the door with the women as they helped lend their strength to the task.

OOC:
The end result of all the dice-salad below is that once Adrian says "push" Widow Bradshaw and Mrs. Bruebaker are each boosted up one die type in Strength for the next 36 seconds or so. Adrian is boosted three die types for that duration.

1. I cast Boost Strength three times, all successfully with Spellcasting Rolls of 6, 4, and 4.
2. For each of these, I need 2 Power Points. I used Deal with the Devil to generate the Power Points for each spell. Each time I drew a Straight, which generates 6 Power Points - more than enough in each case.
3. Using 2 Power Points for each of the spells, I will use the remaining Power Points as needed to increase the duration of the spell. This increases the duration of each cast of the spell to 7 rounds [Base 3 rounds + (1 round/PP x 4PP)] which I guess is 42 seconds, since we're not in combat.
5. Dealing with the Devil, I get a Flush this time on Clubs, which means my spell goes off automatically, with a raise. (Please ignore the subsequent casting roll and White Chip usage, both of which are not needed with a Flush).

15:03, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 2,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max.
15:03, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 4,3 using d8,d6, rerolling max.
15:03, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 6,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max.
15:01, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: 8C, 5S, QD, QS, 6H, 10C, 9H, 10S, 3H, KH, 7D using the Deadlands system. Deal 3: Boost Strength.
15:00, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: KH, JD, 3C, AH, QS, 8C, 5C, 10C, QD, 6H, 9D using the Deadlands system. Deal 2: Boost Strength.
14:58, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: 8C, 9D, BJ!, 7S, 5H, 3D, 5S, 9H, RJ!, 6D, AC using the Deadlands system. Deal 1: Boost Strength.

15:17, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 6,2 using d8,d6. White Chip.
15:17, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 1,3 using d8,d6. Spellz.
15:17, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: 4H, 7S, KC, QD, AS, 10C, 4C, JC, 3H, 3C, QC using the Deadlands system.

---

Strength:

1. I roll d12+2, d6 for Strength.
2. I use a Red Chip to boost it.
3. Still unhappy, I use a White Chip to reroll those.
4. I end up with Strength 17

15:41, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 12,5,5 using d12+2,d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 10,5,5. 1 White to reroll it.
15:40, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 3 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3. Red.
15:40, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 7,5 using d12+2,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5.

This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Wed 23 July 2014.

"Oh, right," Widow Bradshaw trots up to join those at the door. On Adrian's mark, a tremendous effort is made - everyone in the library hears a distinct metallic *crack*, then with a buckling and heavy scraping, the door starts to move.

Adrian strains, Liz pushes, her skinny frame taut as a wire, and Martha Bruebaker leans in over them both with the steady, powerful drive of a Clydesdale. The door creaks and sounds like it's taking a gouging from something, but the thick wood persists, gradually ramming whatever's beyond out of the way.

Something falls with an almighty *BAMrumble*, which makes things abruptly easier; Adrian and his mighty assistants at last force the door open onto a view of darkness and more darkness, the back of a chest of drawers and a broken bit of curtain rod lit chiaroscuro in the fore.


[[y'all look entertainingly Communist like that...and woo, another joker! Mind not to turn toward Mrs. Bruebaker too fast - there's a lot of her and you're somewhat close.

The Widow Bradshaw rolled 2,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. strength!
Martha Bruebaker rolled 6 using 1d8, rerolling max with rolls of 6. strength!

...I think I'll give y'all +1 for them being there/use of available NPC resources, even if Bradshaw is not the heftiest/most physically adept of ladies. That brings your total to 20, an additional raise that makes any Agility rolls to cross the barrier straight rolls rather than at -2 for being over head height...anyway, going to give the others a chance to post, sleep, etc. I am sure hilarity will ensue forthwith.]]

"Phew! Now, gimme some room please, ladies," he said, making sure to withdraw himself sufficiently from the door to give the large Bruebaker woman room to find herself somewhere else.

"Gonna try and carve up what's in front of us so we can see that Percy's safe," he indicated the chest of drawers, pointing with his now safely drawn scythe-tipped gun.

---

OOC:
If they withdraw and give him room quickly, I'm going to try and tear up the chest of drawers with super-strength boosted scythe attack before it fades.

William takes a few steps toward the Marshal and Gangatsu, listening.
"The girls are alive because of me. The priest is alive because of me. Vincent Kaje is dead because of me. The pretty boy with the strange eyes and the pet scorpion from Hell is dead because of me. Four more vampires aren't out there any more wreaking havoc because of me", he growls.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and kill Marina for you. Seein' as I'm just a killer. You might want to watch out for the guy with the mustache and the sideburns, he managed to get away. And he didn't seem to know what he was. Maybe you can make yourself useful for that."
He nods a greeting at Evans. "Marshal.", then goes over to the door.

"Good job, Vega." The words seem hollow and somewhat hypocritical to William. His limited people skills clearly didn't improve in death.
"Let's get the fuck outta here. Save a boy, kill the bitch."

Adrian continued his attempts at shredding the chest of drawers with his scythe before his surge of strength faded.

---

OoC:

Hitting it for:
7, 10, 17, and 8 damage. Is it having any effect?

Evans shrugs. "I was going to offer a rejoinder, but that pretty much speaks for itself, doesn't it?" he says to Gangatsu. "If you want to get yourself killed, by all means, have at him. But do it after we're all well away. Don't start a fight that will get others killed with you. If he should go after the others, believe me, I will be right there with you. But not before, and if you start a fight don't expect me to back your play."

((OOC: 18:42, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 10,7 using d8+3,d6+3, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4. Persuasion.))

Gangatsu looks briefly interested at the news the pretty man is dead, then snorts at being put down by the white man and walked away from. "You want ter keep believin' you killed the akuryō...don't sleep. Them things don't die, they jus' go home. Angry-like."

Evans just gets several seconds of hostile gaze, then the small woman nicks the side of her hand on her katana, drawing a deep scarlet bead of blood, wipes off the same and sheathes the weapon. "Since 'parently I ain't the one as ends demons fer a livin' an' tells the plain fucken truth, guess I'll be protectin' my master."

She stalks over to Zhang with bad grace and takes up the stance of a bodyguard. Meanwhile, Adrian takes his issues out on the chest of drawers, breaking the back and gouging out great splintered lumps of wood with enthusiasm. The butler just looks resigned to the house/fittings getting damaged at this point.


[[sure you can attack the chest of drawers...quite why you'd want to destroy a chest of drawers mystifies me a little, but you for sure succeed in damaging it. You now have a destroyed chest of drawers/mass of heavy splintered planking, shredded bedlinen and Abraham's torn clothing in the way rather than an intact one.

I'll rule that since it's just a large trip hazard rather than an obstacle now, y'all only need Agility checks to move over it at speed (running etc.). Sorry for the wait, I was hoping Jake'd get back to me. If he isn't around tonight I'll send him to the land of Over There Somewhere so's things run smoothly.]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:24, Fri 25 July 2014.

Evans, satisfied that he's dampened that potential fire for the time being, moves over to the door and begins taking readings from the corridor beyond, though he doesn't step out into it.

He takes note of where the wards are in the room for future reference, but plays more careful attention to the lingering readings, checking for trails to follow. The aetheric disruption detection device hums and pings as he conducts his sweep.

((OOC: Just keeping the power maintained. What might I be sensing?))

The device shivers slightly with the proximity of the powerful wards.

*...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt...ping. Ping ping ping pingpingpingping-*


Ginny timidly touches his elbow. "What's that?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:40, Tue 29 July 2014.

"Careful." he says in a low voice to Adrian and William. "Her signature was just outside. She's near, and I'd wager she's the one who stacked the furniture in our path, and she's carrying something aetherically active, though I can't quite decipher what."

He looks at Ginny. "Well, this is my Aetheric Disturbance Detector. It..." he pauses, trying to figure out how to give a shorthand explanation for aetheric waveforms created by beings from beyond the visible world interacting in some fashion with normal reality, and gives up. "It goes ping when there's stuff. It's a stuff-detecting machine."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:41, Wed 30 July 2014.

Ginny frowns at the device, which is still pinging rapidly. "There must be a lot of stuff," she conceeds, wiping her nose on a balled-up mass of tear-snot and cloth that was once a hanky as she stares out into the dark.

The small, sturdy girl tugs not-too-hard at Evans' sleeve and makes a glance over the other men, her soft Southern drawl spiked with urgency. "Come hold a stake near me or something, I want to call for my sister."

William stares at Ginny, then shakes his head, forcing his eyes off of her.
"She's out there?" he asks, through gritted teeth.
Then he pulls one of the broken pieces of wood free, another make-shift stakes and climbs outside through the debris.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:23, Wed 30 July 2014.

There's a red-blue flash like indoor lightning, sudden, blinding. There's a female shriek from downstairs, followed by a thud and a clanging sound, then a man's voice from back near the kitchen:

"The Hell?!"


[[Agility please, William, or lose your night vision for a round due to Jake's minorly suicidal fireworks.]]

"She was, very recently..." Evans says...then the fireworks happen. "...and is likely downstairs now. Move!"

Evans bolts out of the room, taking care to vault over the wooden splinters Adrian's attack left on the floor. He pulls forth one of his remaining sunlight bombs, preparing to activate the hastily-made device at the first sign of vampire seductress.

((OOC: Agility to move through the wreckage of stuff without harm: 18:02, Today: The Amazing Evans rolled 4,3 using d6,d4, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. Agility.))

09:43, Today: William Pierce rolled 17,9 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (10+7)17,(6+3)9. Agility.

William turns just in the nick of time to avert staring into the flash, then opens his eyes just as the light fades away again.
A wave of rage starts washing over him, but he forces it down.

You need to be a block of ice, of stone. It's always the guy with a cool head who prevails in a fight.
Wallace had taught him that, the bastard. But it had been good advice.
There was another flash of memory... He was preaching the same sermon to his gang, year later, hoping to make the same impression. That crazy bastard, Mad Irish, had taken the thunder out of it by adding: "...not if there's a guy with a bloody rifle up on the bloody roof behind him." William had been angry about that, but he had remembered that joke just at the right moment. That fucking sniper had thought he was so clever.

Where are you now, you glorious bastard, Irish? he muses, then asks over his shoulder: "You coming?" and he starts walking downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Widow Bradshaw says, before Adrian can make any retort. She grabs a bit of wood, winces at the splinters, then hurries up to William and sets her hand on his elbow.

It seems an oddly formal gesture, until William realises the mortal can barely see in this light and is keeping track of him by touch. He can tell by her slow heart and the smell of her skin that her blood is bitter with opiates.

[[Evans, William, anyone else that's going, move thyself to the Upstairs, Downstairs thread - Evans'll be drawn into combat next round, ditto William if he desires to be.]]

Grabbing a handful of the larger wooden shards, he turned to the room. "The way out's clear, though if yer comin' you might wanna take care. There's a mess o' sharp wood in the way. Should be a good trap for vamps, but it's put a hurt on us too."

"Put the prayer on Spades when you're done, and keep feedin' 'em both. I'll be back."


Leaping nimbly over the pile of wooden shards, he joined the others.
OOC:

Agility: 5

15:18, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 1,5 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5. Agility?

GM, I'll be heading into that thread and combat as well next round.

John had been silent throughout everything, he'd lend aid where he could, but for the most part, he lacked much in the way of skills if what was necessary didn't require kicking or punching. He had returned to his sihing who was, for the most part, safe, in a house that was most definitely not. As the others rushed out the door and downstairs, he remained with the intention to protect Zhang should any harm befall him. As he heard sounds of the fight he cringed, he should do something, anything to help.

Finally he rose from where he sat. "Zhang, Gangatsu, are you fine here? Shall I go assist?"

Gangatsu sighs. "Sure, I'll guard dis lot an' kill der wounded if'n they start turnin'. Get some biscuits while you're down there, yeah?"

Zhang only nods and turns his palm upwards to leave the decision to his student's wisdom.

"Master, Gangatsu, I have been distracted, and while I know you probably know, whoever returns, watch their chi, it will reveal or betray their true nature. I saw it in Tao Jing before he... changed." he said with a scowl. Then he'd leave and make his way out and downstairs.

"Yeah, poor moley bastard's got it bad," Gangatsu nods at the shorter of their patients, the dapper little man who seems to be called Lazarus.


[[Let me know if you're taking a light source and head over to the Upstairs, Downstairs thread. Then draw init. for next round.

Evans and Adrian are near the bottom steps of the stairs, William and Widow Bradshaw about halfway down. It is dark out there.]]

After John looked over the patients he furrowed his brow. Perhaps the Jiang Shi could wait? He tried remembering what his Master had taught him, and what he could glean from the scroll.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:20, Tue 12 Aug 2014.

The little girl in the adult's dress notices his attention and offers a hand to be taken in escort. "Will you come out in the hall with me? I want to shout for my sister an' make sure she's all right, but I don't want to get vampired again."

John, for despite his conversation with Tao Jing he still thought of himself by that name, nodded. "Yes, but give me a moment young miss, I think I can help..." He said as he moved over to the girl and placed a hand an inch above the center of her forehead, where some might say her third eye would be, and the other he let hover over her heart, not making contact. He called upon his chi to mend her flesh and her energy and restore some of the vitality she had lost.


When he was finished he'd look at Lazarus and turn to Zhang. "Master, I shall protect this girl, but this mans chi is... tangled. If I pour my energy into healing him I'd only make him worse, but if you... if you can some how make a place in his flow that is not yin, or yang, I think it would slow the progression of the corruption, perhaps long enough to save him." He was still so new to this, he wasn't the smartest man and he had learned all he knew about healing with chi from the texts Zhang had given him and his own instincts, he was not confident in his abilities to mend the man and hoped his sifu was.

The plump young lass goes slightly cross-eyed trying to see what John's doing, then reaches up to rub at her sinuses as the rush of chi soothes the effects of crying from her face. The healthy pink tinge returns to her cheeks just as her visage truly lights up with a smile and she hugs the man who calls himself John Smith.  "Oh, thank you!"

Zhang raises his eyebrows and actually chuckles a little. "Few things are either pure yin or pure yang...but I agree that a state exactly between, with no usual change of balance would be good for them. Gangatsu, what can we get for chalk?"

Ginny finally eases her grip on John's middle to catch Mrs. Bruebaker's attention. "Mama, he un-vampired me - I feel all right again now. He's going to come guard me while I see where Abbie is."

"If there's any trouble, push her back in here at once," Mrs.Bruebaker instructs, giving John a steady look that shows little of how frightened she must be with her husband injured, no mystical powers of her own, and Marina the head vampire said to be downstairs with her other daughter.