There's another furious avian screech from the clank, this time directed at Jake, warning him off, the machine's posture absoloutely that of a hawk over its kill.

[[opposed strength 6, with a red thrown in 'cause if William starts shooting down here it's a fair bet we'll all be vapourised...]]

((OOC: That's a tie, so you're still considered grappling.))

---

Turn Order:
Jake: 3C

Next Round:
Alouette: 10S
William: 8C
Danny: 7C
Jake: not drawn yet (as he hasn't taken his action yet)

"Stop this!" Jake yells at the two and tries to separate them.

OOC: Strength roll I'm guessing
10:04, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 3,3 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Strength.
and failing
10:26, Today: Jake Lawrence drew the single card: 5S using a deck of 54 cards. Initiative.

"What the hell is this!?" Danny says, scrambling down the ladder behind Jake.

((OOC: I reckon it would be an Opposed check, so there's a chance Jake's action might work.

Alouette, make an opposed strength check. You have to beat 3.

Danny, as I mentioned before, doesn't get an action this round. He just gets moment, which he spends getting down into the cellar. It's really crowded down here now...))

---

Turn Order:
Alouette: 10S
William: 8C
Danny: 7C
Jake: 5S

The automaton gets its 'beak' beside Jake's skull and nudges him violently away, swaying slightly, static roaring in its brass body.

[[18:44, Today: Alouette rolled 3,1 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,1. strength. Tie, so no change...your best chance is probably talking to her, lads, or at least getting Danny to.]]

The air tastes of tin now, the clank's lenses burning with pale light. The next anguished, furious screech brings with it a burst of thin trails of lightning leaving afterimages on the eye; when the phantom claws tighten slightly on William they do so with a shock of power like being hit by hot lead. "Liar! Murderer! Club-raiser!"

The sensation is dislocating: William is at once pinned squirming to the floor by an ineffective metal foot in an increasingly crowded, fetid dugout, and held by huge talons to a surface that looks and stings like snow but smells of desert dust. The presence is dipping a lethally hooked beak into the ribs of the shape beyond him as though bones were butter, flicking red against the white.
"Coward! Blood-drinker! Drunkard! Corruption!" the demented thing shrieks.

Fortunately(?) it can't seem to tell Willam's self from the spirit bound to him, or sees no difference, but unfortunately pain arcs down the bond between them as the entity tears into the Belt Demon, whose roars are lost in the hiss of static sound...

[[Alouette rolled 3,10 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+4)10. zzzap? Zzzap.
19:35, Today: Alouette rolled 13 using 2d8, rerolling max with rolls of 7,6. Activation damage. Jake takes this if he's decided to keep touching/shoving the clank, too. Sorry, William!
Also, another free round of soul-nommage, so 'nother Spirit check.
init. 9C]]

21:41, Today: William Pierce rolled 6,3 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4. Spirit, white chip.
21:41, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,3 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 3,4. Spirit.

Trying to get out of the grip.

21:42, Today: William Pierce rolled 2,13 using d10-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 3,(6+6+2)14. Strength, to escape.
That oughta do it!


William turns and pushes, arching his back, trying to get away from this onslaught of psychic power.
"What the fuck's wrong with you?! I didn't do nothing!" he yells, his hand slowly reaching for his gun.


21:44, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 10H using the Deadlands system. Initiative,again. William has Quick.
21:44, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 2C using the Deadlands system. Initiative,again. William has Quick.
21:43, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 4D using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

The grip slides, but the automaton stalks after him as William scrambles back towards the light, blue-haloed and crackling with that lethal grace.

"Harm is...nothing...to you, white man? No cause, no care - a bird, a child, a smaller life in form or road walked... -struck, beaten...nothing?" it speaks from the static, the air seeming thickened with sheer rage. "You kicked...the chicken."


[[She saw ya do it, y'know.

20:49, Today: Alouette rolled 4,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3. hold that vampire! Nope. You're free! ]]
This message was last edited by the player at 06:29, Wed 29 Aug 2012.

Danny steps between William and the angry, electrified clank.

"Now hold on! Just hold on a..." Then his face contorts, and he doubles over grimacing. his head twists at an unnatural angle, and he glares at William, eyes crackling with yellow sparks of electricity. "I'll swallow your soul!" he howls, his voice twisted and tortured. "I'll rip it out of you! Tear it to pieces, to shreds, bolt them down like...Ngggg...NO! I will no' give in t' ye again!" His voice twists back to normal and he falls to his knees, panting.

((OOC: See the OOC thread for more on the damage. He may not, in fact, have taken 13 damage from being in contact with the clank, though he will have taken some.

Here comes Danny Boy to make everything...worse!

Danny boy sees Mama Bird angry...and it makes Baby Bird restless. He has to check for Dominion...and the manitou inside has a +2 bonus because of the circumstances.

Danny Boy rolled 7,7 using d8+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. Dominion.
Danny Boy rolled 3,4 using d10+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Opposed Dominion (Manitou).

Danny succeeds, and gains a point of Dominion as he wrestles Baby Bird back down. He will try to calm Alouette down with his piss-poor persuasion...

Danny Boy rolled 1,3 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5. Calm down!...yeah, I don't think so.

Card for next round: 4S))

---

Jake is up next!

"Come now, Alouette I'm sure that Mr. Pierce is sorry for kicking the bird and will be more than happy to apologize to the creature." Jake says trying to defuse the situation before it goes worse. "Isn't that right William?"

OOC:
09:18, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 2,2 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2. Persuasion.
Burning a white chip to reroll that.
09:19, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 7,4 using 1d6,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+1)7,4. Persuasion - FC.

The clank grates something in response, (though since it's in Chumash it'd take a language student to understand) but halts its immediate assault and stands, poised and wary, static snarling softly within.

"Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand...and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face..."

The weird metal head tilts at William like a bird's. "And the angel of the Lord said unto him 'Wherefore hast thou smitten thine beast these three times? ...behold, I went out to stand against thee, because thy way is perverse before me.'"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:51, Wed 29 Aug 2012.

21:56, Today: William Pierce rolled 1,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5. Spirit.
Okay, -1 for the wound.
I have dominion 1, I think I add that to the roll, so that's 5. Spending a Red chip, too.

21:57, Today: William Pierce rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1. Red chip.
Awesome. Total of 6.



"Kicked the chicken??" William sounds incredulous. "It fucking pecked my foot, of course I kicked it!"

He has both hands on his head now, as if it was about to burst and doubles over in pain as The Ogre reaches out and he hears faint laughter...

Jake begins backing up towards the ladder, as he fears the worst is about to occur.

In reply to William Pierce (msg # 24):

"Yeah, and d'ye think it maybe might be a wee bit annoyed at ye for droppin' it down here in the first place?" Danny growled, as he got his knees beneath him. "You did nearly get it killed by the hand things..."

William is able to beat the Ogre back down, but only just.

One o' these days, boy... he hears it rumble in the back of his mind. All I need's just one small slip.

The clank lurches forwards, 'beak' brushing down the side of Willam's fingers and skull. The pressure on William's mind receeds like something dragged backwards by a huge beak.

[[Alouette rolled 13,4 using d4+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of (4+4+3)11,2. nom! Spirit again, William...though you might want to let her have this one for thinking clearly's sake if you can pacify/avoid her for five minutes until the spirit knits/Fatigue lifts.]]

10:29, Today: William Pierce rolled 0,1 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 1,2. Spirit.
Hrmpf... gotta preserve some chips.

What's the effect? One level of fatigue or two? 1 vs. 13 is a success and two raises.


William staggers, the two simultaneous assaults being too much for him. Keeping the Ogre down had taken all his willpower.
I wonder what happens when he wins? Will it all be over then? He ponders, suprised at the idle thought.
Then the other... thing... the hawk-like, shrieking entity breaks through and saps his energy, a sensation he had felt not too long ago. Of course, back then it had been a beautiful woman sucking his blood through a bitewound in his neck.

Marina... I'll get you yet, you fanged bitch....


10:34, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: JS using the Deadlands system. Initiative,again. William has Quick.
10:34, Today: William Pierce drew the single card: 2D using the Deadlands system. Initiative.

((OOC: Actually, the 13 was just to hit you. A raise on that attack gives you a -2 on your Spirit roll to resist, but Alouette still has to roll Spirit herself to see how badly this wounds you. And, because you just rolled a 1 on your Spirit check, the fatigue will be permanent until you get it magically cured (with the Dispel or Succor power). Are you still considering saving your chips?))

[[I do? I thought it was a touch effect with the activation damage inherent... *rollage* 3.

@ William - a sucessful attack inflicts Fatigue by 'wounding' the victim's soul (potentially lethal in two rounds, with a raise on the activation) but unless the victim rolls a 1 on their Spirit die (regarless of other rolls) or dies the level (attacked soul) will heal itself in five minutes...it's a power that can go through Extras like chocolate raisins. Rolling a 1 on the Spirit die means a strip of soul has been torn completely off and you'll need supernatural help to deal with the injury. Die, and the Hawk will eat your soul and/or anything/one attached at the time (or probably feed it to Danny).

On the upside, 'erself seems to be instinctively picking on the weaker side of the harrowing...Stray, if William saveth his chips here, d'ye not think it'd merit a point of Dominion?]]

((OOC: Nope. You roll a Touch Attack first to see if you hit, then the Spirit check as "damage" if you do.

As for Dominion...I've been thinking about it, and haven't decided yet. Conceivably, yes, if you scored a permanent hit it could weaken the manitou inside, but if it's the Orgre being targeted, then the Orgre should be the one resisting the attack.

So William, if you don't spend a chip on this, you will gain a point of Dominion, but a permanent level of fatigue. If you do spend a chip for a reroll, then you'll roll a d10 spirit instead of your normal d8))
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:39, Sun 02 Sept 2012.

I'll rather spend my last white chip. "Permanent" has such an un-nice ring to it. Plus -2 to all my rolls is kinda a downer.

20:31, Today: William Pierce rolled 3,4 using d8-1,d6-1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5. Spirit, white chip.

William feels the hawk spirit rip at both his souls, and is able tear away from the attack with minimal damage.

Danny moves in between the two and looks Alouette in the eye. "No! Stop! Please stop!" he cries at the clank.

((OOC: Probably the wise choice.

Danny attempts to calm the hawk down yet again. 12:00, Today: Danny Boy rolled 11,5 using d4-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (4+4+4+1)13,(6+1)7. Persuasion. It's up to you to decide if Alouette relents.))

The clank rears its head back and looks at Danny with one lens, then the other, pale light burning brightly in the depths. Its casing shimmers with ripples of lightning, static soughing within like a distant sea, and the thick tin-taste of the air gets stronger.

"..."

Then the automaton shakes itself, static ebbing away like so much sand, the brightness nothing but after-images. "critical level static error," it murmurs, then seems to re-notice the book on the floor and patters over there to investigate. "Paper!"


[[She ain't going to go through Danny/cause William to try and attack him from behind, no. William seriously owes his new best friend, though.]]

William looks at the now pacified clank, incredulously.
"Fucking..." he starts, but can't think of a proper ending to that sentence.
"Thank you", he then says to Danny.

Trying to change the subject, he indicates the large crates.
"I think we found the rest of where those hands used to be attached."

"Ye know how ye can thank me, boyo?" Danny says as he checks to see that Alouette isn't about to flip out again. he lowers his voice. "Recognize that o' the three o' us here with demons in place o' souls, one of us didn't start out as human, an' that one's the most powerful o' the lot. So think hard before ye set her off again. I might not be inclined to step in. We clear, boyo?"

Then he steps away and crouches by the crates.

"Yeah, smells like it." he pokes at one of the shipping labels. "Hmmm...this one's addressed to Caleb Feigenbaum, 221a Barber Street. There's no return address I can see. O' course, if I were shippin' bodies to a resurrectionist, I wouldn't want me name on it either. I'd like to get my hands on this Feigenbaum character...he and I shall have words, oh yes."

((OOC: Jake and Alouette, make Common Knowledge checks at +2 please. meanwhile, William, what are you poking about with, now that you're not in imminent danger of being de-souled?))

"Ol' May Bennett said Caleb Feigenbaum died in the cave-in in '74 without letting Christ into his life," the clank volunteers complete with alarmingly accurate old lady impression, happily re-engrossed in "eating" bits of probably-dangerous occult tomes. "He is probably still there."

"What is 'acroamatic'?" Then to Jake: "Area is minus ways to make the little marks, Bitter Waters."

[[Oops - it rolled 18 on its CK there.]]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:42, Wed 05 Sept 2012.

William goes through the tools and examines them a little. Not really looking for something in particular, he's just curious about what an insane person would have down here.

"We should torch the place."