Polkitain knocked on the pilot compartment looking for Samuel.

"Samuel, I figured out what the runes say. It just took me some time."

"Full of talents I see. So friend dragon, what doest the runes say?"

"Light, darkness, hate, death, and the letter for E. I thought you might add them to the glowy pad thing they gave you."

"Most interesting, I will. Three negatives, a positive, and E....."

Polkitain was pleased that he had helped out.

He was always glad when he could help his friends since most times he felt they helped him more then he was able to pay back.

After a moment of making Polk wait, "You have to have patience sometimes Polk." he was fond of saying, he summons a deep blue blade simple and yet functional.

Polkitain hopped a little and smiled.

"That is so cool."

"Thanks Sir Arulas !"

She continued to ride all o Nguyen with the others.

Doc looked over at Arulas, "And sometimes, Polky, you have to go do what you want. Different strokes for different folks I reckon though." Doc turns to his brother, "Nice shootin'... show off." he grinned.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:48, Wed 22 June 2016.

Polkitain looked like he was thinking Doc's words over he had heard similar things before.

"Keeps me sharp", shrugged Nyx with a trace of a smile. After a few moments he stopped however

Ethan had spent the first part of the journey to their destination in the Behemoth’s sickbay, double checking the supplies and equipment there. “Not that I really need these things anymore,” he thought to himself. Still he found comfort in the routine so he made his pre-combat inspections as he always had.

Once that task was completed he left sickbay and went to find Samuel. He would have liked to get to know the elves more or spend more time with Kalista but they were all outside of the Behemoth on their mounts. He had none and he didn’t think it would be very comfortable for anyone if he rode behind them in the saddle for any length of time. “Although,” he thought as he turned another corner, “the dragon is sitting on the roof. I could take a trip up to the observation deck and pop open a hatch. Talk to it…him, through it.” He nodded to himself, satisfied with that course of action just in time to find Samuel. “So what can you tell me about vampires and where it is we are going? I gathered from the talk earlier that water guns can hurt them?” Ethan did his best to keep his skepticism out of his voice but some leaked through.

Polkitain turned around, "Oh hello Ethan, ah vampires. My mother was a scholar and she imparted to me a lot of lore on vampires since they are a large threat here."</B>

"Hmmm where to start, well vampires come from this horrid thing a dark god like thing called a Vampire intelligence. It seeks out someone who it offers power for infecting the world with more vampires. In a way it is like a disease spreading from the one to many. There are three types of vampires. The Master which makes other copies like itself just not as powerful, they are called secondary, then there is a degenerate form of vampire called Wild Vampires. They lack uhmn intelligence and are more savage and physically powerful. Usually they travel in packs and because of that are very dangerous. As for their weaknesses in some way I think the dark god that makes them all has some kind of elemental background, because a lot of their weaknesses are tied to the elements."

Polkitain tried to remember more of the things he heard within his shell.

<Blue>"Running water hurts them, they need to sleep on soil I think soil for where they were made vampires. Silver and wood hurt them. Silver hurts a lot of supernatural creatures. Sunlight hurts them the most. I am not really sure why. Oh if you run silver or wood through their hearts they stop moving but they are not dead. Most things don't hurt vampires. They can shrug off and ignore a lot. My own claws work, I think dragons and vampires must be natural enemies because vampires can hurt us too."

"Oh some magic and psionics work against them too, if you can get some silver bullets. Also I am making some stakes."

Polkitain shows the stakes he has been working on.

"These are for their hearts, oh I almost forgot. Religious symbols seem to hurt them a lot. I need to make some crosses for people. I am not sure why but religious symbols can hold them back and if you touch them with it, it really hurts them."

Samuel looks up at Ethan from the pilots chair and motions for him to take the co-pilot seat.

He laughs then says, "Those old flicks from before the coming of the Rifts were right about garlic as well. At least as a repellent as does the Cross. However, when the Cross is touched to a vampire or a light is shined behind a Cross and it's shadow 'touches' the vampire it also causes physical damage. A common vampire hunting weapon is a flashlight with a Cross affixed in front of it. Unless they are staked with wood or silver through the heart, they regenerate anything. Once staked, you can chop off their head and burn it in one pile and the body in the other to truly kill it. That are dumping the body and head, seperately, in running water."

"Oh I forgot about the garlic, sorry. Yeah and they can't be seen in mirrors. Samuel is right even if you hit them with things that hurt them they heal fast like I do."

Polkitain scratches himself a bit with his claws and then bio-regenerates.

"Thanks Samuel, sometimes I forget things about them."

"Polkitain is having a blast up there don't you think?" Arulas says as a bit of scale drifts down. "Might as well make proper introductions Kalista this is Nyx and Doc. Twins this is Kalista."

Doc tips his hat to Kalista, "Pleasure to meet ya ma'am. Hope the travel suits ya alright."

Nyx mirrored his twins gesture, though in his environmental armour he had no hat to doff

"No problem bud. I am sure there are other things about them we are forgetting that don't seem important for just combat."

Ethan had listened silently as first Polk and then Sam answered his question. Seeing the dragon put his face against the pilot's windshield was something he found both comical and unnerving at the same time. The idea of seeing a dragon, let alone seeing one act so...silly was the best term he could think of, was something that had never, ever entered his mind. "It's my new normal though, best get used to it as soon possible."

Out loud he shook his head as he looked from Sam to Polk. “So crosses, garlic, sunlight, wood, silver and running water are what kills them huh? Well I guess it makes sense they would live here in the desert, not too many trees around to provide wood and not much water.” He looks at his mechanically inclined friend. “Can you rig up a backpack fed water gun of some kind? When I was little we called them ‘super soakers’. That was great fun for kids but for vampires it sounds like liquid death.”

In reply to Samuel Lund (msg # 17):

Samuel's study of the data doesn't turn up much new information to learn, but there is a little. See the private line below...

The unnamed band of troubleshooters rides steadily through the afternoon and into the evening. By the time that the sun set, Arulas's horse, a Mustang, becomes tired. The horse also won't go near the Behemoth robot so long as Polkatain is on the roof. If anyone notices, the Arabians being ridden by the twins show no such signs of fatigue. Kalista's steed, a Glittermount, is not actually tired but it does seem to act a little cranky after a long day of riding.

As the sky grows dark, camp is made next to a large tree just off the trail. The tree sits astride an old broken fence and a small stream of clean water. This camp is just on the edge of what is believed to be Lonestar territory according to Samuel's map. From here, the group should be able to reach Glory's coordinates in another four to six hours depending on how rested the horses are before continuing.

https://www.dreamstime.com/roy...sunset-image20647818

Does the group rest until morning? Is there a campfire? Who is staying inside the Behemoth? Is anyone standing watch?

It's a mostly clear night, and the air remains pleasantly warm. The Mustang drinks from the stream contentedly. A crow lands on a tree branch overhead and picks at its plumage. Then a second crow lands next to the first. Then there are four. Then there are eight. Within minutes, the tree is full of forty or fifty crows, lightly cawing.

Suddenly, the Mustang rears up and shouts a whinny. It tugs against its rope. Characters with Sixth Sense suddenly feel that danger is nearby. The murder of crows begins cawing very loudly and excitedly. Even the Glittermount lifts its head and begins looking around, more curious than excited though.

Samuel had been staying in the Behemoth. There was PLENTY of room for everybody, including the horses, given that the dragon slept in the observation room. Resting everybody, and the horses, sounded like a very good idea to him. He volunteers to do any shift of guard duty the others decided to work with.

Polkitain watched the crows and smiled but when more and more showed up and they began cawing loudly he looked around. "They sure are getting loud."

When it came to watches Polk volunteered for a watch.

Doc eyed the crows, and noted the horses reaction to them "Polky, can you try using your mystic mumbo jumbo on them birds... I ain't no expert, but that seems like a lotta crows to be hangin' about together." He gives his brother a sideways glance and a nod of his head toward the crows as well.

Doc will wait for an answer from someone with more 'senses' than him. Otherwise he'll sleep if he can, and take his turn at watch, likely in the middle since he has night vision.