[[considering his head's no longer in easy reach (that's why the Mayor was trying to get him to lie low) I'd have asked for an Agility roll for jumping/swarming up his neck...however, with a roll like that the MAP wouldn't affect the outcome, so I'll handwave it. I won't, however, roll a soak this time.]]

Adrian leaps, grabs and swarms up the serpent's neck, stabbing the great reptile in the face. Blood soaks to his elbow, but he follows the stab with a shot that splinters deep into the creature's skull, bringing a spurt of clear liquid.


[[Agility -2 to avoid being squished/thrown down injurously here, Adrian. Harry has some protection from the altar rock from the flailing poisoned snake, likewise Jake and Hardin have the edge of the rise as cover. The Mayor, however, is caught in the open...]]

Omitetlcoatl slams back into the ground, incoherent and writhing with pain as enough toxin to kill 800 steers spatters through his throat and sinuses. His nervous system overloads with agony as the venom destroys it, his flesh twitching and heaving under the skin. Sparks shatter the night as he fails unheedingly through the bonfires, uprooting one of the marker stones and sending it rolling down the hill in a spray of earth.

"HSS̷S͞SSS҉S͜SS̵SSS̷S͜SSS̶S҉SŞS̸SS҉S͡S̷ŚS҉S̡SSSS̛S̢SSSSS͡S͝S͏ŞS̷S̵SSSS͜SSS͏SSSSSŚS̴!"

The thrashing coils smash into the Mayor-shaped patch of smokeless air, bringing up dust as from a thrown body. "Aaah!"

"-SS͏SSS̶SSS͘SS SSSS̵SSSSS̸SSS͟S̨SŚSS̨SS̶SS̡SSS̀SS SS͝SSS͢S҉SS҉SSSSS͢-"

The line of blue light hanging above the altar abruptly ceases its gradual fade and burns brighter, incandescent as ghostfire.

"Sé do bheatha, a Mhuire, atá lán de ghrásta tá an Tiarna leat..." the priest murmurs.

"-HS͠SSSSSS̶SS̀S҉SS͟SSS̶S͏S̡S̴SSSS̷SSŞSS̷S͞SS̨SS̕S͢S͞S͞SS̕ ̛S͡S͜SS̢SSS̷SSSSSSSS͟ŞS͘SS͝S̛SS̕"

Snake muscle whips against the sky and gouges ruts in the ground. The light brightens.

"...Is beannaithe thú idir mná agus is beannaithe toradh do bhroinne, Íosa...A Naomh-Mhuire, a Mháthair Dé..."

"A͝v͡enǵe m̡ę!̸" the serpent screams, biting the air with a last horrific spasming of tortured flesh.

The light bursts.

"...guigh orainn na peacaigh anois agus ar uair ár mbáis...."


[[Adrian gains a poisoned weapon (with poison to spare).
 ]]

Adrian felt something strange coming over him, but it wasn't enough to overcome his instinct to dive away from the corpse of the falling serpent after he landed.

OOC:

Ah, sorry about that. I should've realized he pulled up again.

Agility: 9 (including penalty)

18:21, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 4,9 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,(6+5)11. Agility .

Are we still in this round?

[[I was allowing reaction space - if Adrian doesn't want to run off and hide be super-Stealthy to see what happens and/or assumes he'll attack whatever comes out of the portal regardless of size, shape or sanity, draw initiative. Otherwise we'll be Out of Combat.]]

"...go raibh maith agat. Amen."

OOC:

Adrian will attempt to hide. Can he hide near Harry so I can converse with myself?

Dark shapes cross the near-blinding light on the other side, approaching.

[[Hunkering down beside the altar boulder would work, as it overhangs a bit and Harry's right there to join you. Or you could hide under Omi's corpse, which might just about have stopped twitching, and call him over...]]

His leap had left him hunkering in the shadows of the massive serpent's corpse, so he took the chance to beckon over to Harry Lazarus. He looked out to see if he could spot where the Mayor was, and hoped that Hardin had the good sense to hang back and out of sight. There was a fey feeling in the air, and he thought just a small part of tonight's battles had been fought. There was probably more blood to spill.

"Well, I killed it, but it looks like somethin' else came from outta there. Like it somehow managed its spell without killin' the good Father here. I didn't get to see what, though. Don't suppose you figured how to free him?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:04, Sat 16 May 2015.

Harry kept a low profile as he made his way over to crouch besides Adrian. He looked rather frightened, generally speaking, but seemed to be holding himself together with great aplomb. "I believe, from what the Widow suggested, that the painful death was all that was needed to fuel the spell. The serpent's painful death, in this case, made it work. I believe that there are some skulls scattered about here that are linked to this bone cage. If we can destroy them...we can free him."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:11, Sat 16 May 2015.

"I killed it by poisoning it with its own venom. There's more venom in its venom sac, which is in its mouth, if we need to get it to kill these other two. That knowledge is vital to defeating these snake demon monsters,"  he said, speaking extremely quietly. He kept his eyes and ears open to see if he noticed anything of interest.

OOC:

Deal with the Devil: Straight = 6 PP (only needed 2) to Boost Notice
Spellcasting: 7
Notice: 6

13:26, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 5,2 using d6,d6. Notice.
13:19, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 7,6 using d8,d6.
13:16, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: KC, 10S, JD, 6S, 9H, JS, 3H, 10C, QH, 5S, 3D using the Deadlands system. Boost/Lower Trait.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:28, Sat 16 May 2015.

"You lads might want to stay down there a little longer," the priest mutters, debating whether to play dead as a huge serpentine head, mosaic-masked, feather-crowned around the horns and easily as large as the slain Omitetlcoatl's breaks smoothly from the portal as though from water, shaking off motes of light. Dried human hands and hearts swing from garlands attached to the mask, interspersed with ornaments of gold and turquoise.

"Lįţtļe ͏br͡oth͘e̡r?͜"

The creature heaves himself mostway into the world, leaving the gate free for another horned serpent, this one with a copper-green cast to brazen scales.

"What͘ is i͜t͘,̛ ̵Ixq̕u̧a̴huaco̡a͏tl..́.͠?͟"

Meanwhile, Adrian notices several animal skulls clustered amongst the bone restraints on his end of the altar rock.

[[Either Rpol's notifications or my dodgy internets are playing silly buggers...not sure how I missed your post there, sorry.]]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:46, Sat 16 May 2015.

OOC:

Stealth: 6

07:53, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 6,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. Stealth (Boosted).

OOC:

Stealth: 8


11:16, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5. Red.
07:53, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 3,3 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,3. Stealth (Boosted).

[[For the NPCs:
John Wesley Hardin rolled 3,6 using d6+2,d6+2, rerolling max with rolls of 1,4. sneakin'.
Mayor Bruebaker rolled 9,9 using d12+4,d6+4, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5. sneakin'.

Jake, if you want to stumble downwind/generally evade notice by the critters, your Stealth will be at +2 for not being easily visible (the serpents have other senses that negate darkness penalties and the like).

Ixquahuacoatl rolled 10,3 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 10,3. Notice?
Tlachinollicoatl rolled 9,4 using d12,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 9,4. Notice?]]


The obsidian-masked serpent begins to dip his head to turn over his brother's corpse, tongue flickering over Adrian's head like a bullwhip; abruptly he jerks back, the witchfire previously hidden by his headdress blazing out like a corona.

"T̷l̛ąc̛h̸i͘n̸oll̸i̡c̛o̡átl͏!͠ Be͘wa͡r͏e!"

"I̸ a͝m̢, br̴othe҉r͢mine.̀.͜.́" the more gracile serpent responds, slithering free of the portal and casting herself in a great loop about the altar boulder before Harry can escape. "W̷re͘t̨c͢h̢e҉d ̡mo҉r̕t͜a̴l, ͞t͜h̢r̕ow ͞do͠w͜n yóu҉r̸ ̀we͟ap͟o͞n͜s͡ ́a͠nd bęg f̴o͞r̢ ҉m͘er̀cy͠,̨ ͠e͠r͡e̛ I͞ ̡d̨e̸v̵oúr͠ and͠ d̷e̢s̢t̛r͡ǫy ̡t͠h͜e̵s̴e.̴"

"͠Th͜e̵r̨e ͝is͟ ̸a̧n̸ot̵h҉er ̴w̨a̴rm̕b̨loơd ͘u͏p ͢h͝er̵e, si͡st̕éŗmi̡ne," Ixquahuacoatl warns, turning his head towards the unseen Mayor whilst the other keeps her gaze on Adrian.

Tlachinollicoatl flickers her tongue. "̛Uns̴een ̴o̴ne...an̶d́ ot͘h̵ers,͠" she tilts her chin up a little, alert for any movement from beyond the fires. "I śp҉e̵a͏k͡ to̶ ́y̡o̵u as̸ w̶e̸ll̛.͠ S͠ur̶ŕe͞nd͜e͜r y͡our ̵a̧rma̧men͠t̵ a̸ǹd ͡y̴ou͞ ͏w̷ill̷ b̢e t͞r̕éa̕t͜ed ͜h̡on͡o̶ur̵abļy.̢"

Jake knew he couldn't sneak his way out of a dark building during a rainstorm. He pondered stayed where he was and tried to see if he could sort out something useful to do from there versus moving and making himself noticed.

Adrian kept his eye on the snake, just as it watched him. The gigantic serpent looked imposing, but for a man that had just taken one down by himself, it didn't seem to scare him. Two serpents might get a little tricky, but he was pretty sure that he could handle the situation. Still, it never hurt to be a little cautious. Maybe if he could buy them a little time, some of the others would get here and provide the distraction that they needed. Sure are takin' their sweet fuckin time about it, he thought.

"I ain't gonna throw down nothin,'" he said. "But maybe we can take a moment to deescalate the situation. I think a better idea is if you go back to wherever you came from. It's probably more hospitable to big snakes."

"You ͟şt̨an̴d on ͠o̵ur ̛b͟roth͞e̕ŕ'̷s҉ c͘orp̀s̨e͘," the masked one points out, slithering around to flank Adrian more directly.

"This̨ ̕d͠emand͜s͘ r̷es̛ti̸t̕uti̧on̴," the other finishes, her halo low and almost blue, but bright.

[[One'd probably be up for a duel, if that was what you were going for...bit of a Mexican standoff going here.]]

Pondering what to do, Jake feels a roughness scrape, stirring, all-over-nowhere as his hand pulses with pain.

"Your brother was attempting the murder of an innocent man. I stood in between him and his goal," he said. "He had a choice, and he made his choice."

"You know your brother. You know he wouldn't hesitate to kill a man for no crime. And look at his great and immense size, then look at my small size. If I was able to bring down low such a mighty being, surely I must have a secret. Are you sure you want to tangle with me?" A bolt of energy danced across the barrel of the Gun of the Hangin' judge, as hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds danced before his eyes when he spared a moment for his free hand.

---

OOC:

Deal with the Devil: Full House 6S 6H 6C 2H 2D (Automatic Success and Raise, plus double duration - six rounds worth of time)
Boost/Lower Trait --> Persuasion
Persuasion: 7

Adrian is trying to persuade them that tangling with him is a bad idea.

14:20, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 7,4 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 7,4.
14:14, Today: Adrian Vega drew the 11 cards: KD, 10D, 2D, 3H, KC, 3C, 6S, 6H, 2H, AH, 6C using the Deadlands system. Boost/Lower Trait.

In reply to Mirror Serpent's Brood (msg # 99):

Jake laughed, it was all his brain would allow him to do. "Oh silly snake, you must think yourself far more important than you are." He glanced at his hand and pondered for a moment if it would be worth it to slice it off only to recall he didn't have anything to do that with.

Lazarus looked uncertainly at Adrian. The man had killed one of these things once. Could he replicate his feat? The man was undead, and perhaps that gave him some advantages, and he had managed to exploit the last serpent's weakness. Would fate be on his side again? It was a dicy  prospect at best, though he could at least try to help the man. He looked at the cards in his hand. Not as good as Adrian's had been, to be sure. But he was skilled in these dealings, and knew how to play a weak hand when the chips were down. He reached over and gave Adrian's shoulder a touch to infuse him with protective power, disguising it as a shove.

---

OOC:

Deal with the Devil: 2 Pair
Casting: Armor (on Adrian)
Spellcasting: 19 - Success and Raise

Adrian gets +4 to Toughness.

15:31, Today: Harry Lazarus rolled 19,5 using d8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (8+8+3)19,5. Spellcasting.
14:58, Today: Harry Lazarus drew the 9 cards: 5S, 6H, 9H, 4D, JC, 6D, 5H, 3S, AH using the Deadlands system. Deal with the Devil Armor 2PP.

Tlachinollicoatl hisses. "He w̶as ̸att͘e̛m͡pt̸i̵n̢g-"

"-́to r҉e̢dr̶ess ͞aņ ̸i͘ḿb͏al̸a̸nce̢,̢ ͟a͠ ̧n͞e̶c͜e̴şsar͏y͠ ta̕s̶k͡ ͠lơn͞g͘ ̷o͡v̧e͠r͡due̴," her brother finishes. "Be̢şid͠ęs͜,"

"T͢hi̕s-" Tlachinollicoatl nods down at the priest.

"-is ̀no i͏nnoc͟én͏t ̛m͟an. C̢a̧r̸e ͡t͟o̡ t͞ell ̡them̢ abou͞t͝ the b̀oy͞,͏ J̡ame҉s͝?͘"

O'Rourke starts at the name, the restrains scratching his flesh. "Don't say it like that," he says softly.

"You͞n͘g ͢ma̢n, then," Ixquahuacoatl conceeds, prompting.

"I'm not going to make excuses," O'Rourke says, in the tone of one who has faced that there are none. He shifts his skull as best he can, little though that is, to try and catch Adrian's eye. "I believe the Lord has seen fit t'accept my life as payment towards my debt, and that it is His right and discretion as to what should b'come of me...but for the sake of the truth ye should know I am a murderer and a thief."

"I killed a lad...fourteen years old, God help me an' I killed him for no reason at all, only seein' if I could." The priest lets his head fall back, eyes tight-closed on the sudden burn of tears.

Q̡ui͏t͞ȩ, the masked serpent says dryly. "N҉o̶t̷ ̢ev̕en ̛t͠ò ea̢t͝,͠ ơr ͏t̴o̴ ͡r͟e͝t̀u̶r̷n th͞e en̢ergy̕ of li͟fe̛ to͢ the̛ ̧w̨or̢ld͢'̴s ͜woun͏ds. ̶Ca҉n y҉o̢u҉ t͢r̸ul̡y ͏say͏ ̨i̡t ̕is ҉in̕ ͠y̨o̕ur҉ ͟na̧tur̸e to͟ ́kil҉l a͠s it͜ ̀i҉s in ou̕r͞s̶? ͞Are ́yǫur ҉te̷eth̛ ͏sh͜ar̛p,̷ y̴ou̧r ͟s҉ku͘ll҉ h̴o̡ned t҉o͢ ̷da͘rt̵ ҉sw͡i͟f̛t͠ly thr͏o͡ug̶h th́e͡ ͡a͡i̕r҉ ͢and st͘rík͡e̛, ͝y̢ǫúr glan̢ds͟ as҉w͠e̵ll̶ ͜wit̛h pǫi͏soń?"

"We͟ ar̀e҉ ͞Ea̛rth͢'s̛ chi͟ldren͝, ańd ͡w̕e̷ are҉ g͟o͠ds̛.͜ ͡We̸ d̴o ͝no̶ ҉wr̀o͝n̨g to̧ g̴úide or͘ ͡r̡e̷lease ͞su͟c̡h a̶s ̡you̡."

The other serpent cuts in, seemingly less keen to discuss morals and theology. Secre͠t͞ ̶o͠r ͘n̷ot͘,͢ you͢ cann͢o̡t ta͡kȩ ́b̢ot͡h̶ ͝of̷  ͏us͡, ̨l͏i̶ttle ͡co̵rpśe.̷  ̢You̕r ̨nęr͞v̀e ̛is͘ ́im͜pr͜esi͠v̕e͟, ̶b͝ut my pàti͞énce wa̴n̷e̡s.


[[Being wary of Adrian is why Tlatchi hasn't bitten O'Rourke's head off yet...I'm not sure how Arcane Resistance affects buffing oneself, either...hmm. Still, even at -2 that's a sucess and raise for Harry...just remember the penalty for friendly powers as well as the bonuses against hostile ones in future.]]

---

Some eight strides in front of Evans and four before Hank, William is about two thirds of the way up the path to the rise when he catches the sounds of conversation above. It's hard to focus or smell anything for the smoke blowing from what must be several fires up there, but he dimly sees Hardin off some way to the left, lying flat just below the lip of the summit. Beyond and a bit further down is a lump that might be Bitter Waters, but there's no sign of Adrian or the Mayor.

[[If you plan to start sneaking, now's the time for Stealth rolls. Otherwise...those're the allies you can see. Evans, not having night vision or senses that can overcome the smokiness, can hear the talking less distinctly and see Hank's delightful arse ahead of him, and that's about it.]]

---

The scraping sensation in Jake's...head? Chest? Soul? ...builds with a pressure like a small mountain shifting its weight.


[[Spirit roll. please, Jake.]]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:20, Tue 26 May 2015.

Jake softly sang to himself as the pressure built.
"I'll take you home again, Jessica
Across the ocean wild and wide
To where your heart has ever been
Since you were first my bonnie bride.
The roses all have left your cheek."

OOC: Missed the call for a spirti roll ... man I'm bad a this
14:32, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 1,11 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+5)11. Spirit.

[[I'll bold Jake's name in his colour next time. Don't forget your snakebite-induced Fatigue levels (hey, reason to go free the priest!).]]

Soil shifts and a few pebbles slide and skip away downslope as a faint tremor runs through the deeps. Jake finds himself on his knees with no memory of movement, bowing West, but Tezcatlcoatl seems to have deemed him too insignificant to toy with at present, the serpent's vast attention turned elsewhere.

Hardin looks over, his expression questioning.

---

"G͞ran͡dfathe̵r s̶tir̶ş...w҉ḩát͝ ̧do y̕o̡u ́ho͜pe ̵to̷ ̡ac̕h̶i̵evę,̶ l͜i̷tt͏l̀e͟ ̛corps͞e̕?" the masked serpent asks Adrian, tongue flickering for signs of fear or reinforcements.

"Why can't snakes just leave me alone?" Jake stood and flipped a single card out of nothing towards the serpent over the priest.

OOC:
15:35, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 4,-1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,1. Spellcasting (3d6 bolt).
15:36, Today: Jake Lawrence drew the 9 cards: 2D, 10D, 4H, 7D, 6C, 10S, 10H, AH, 3C using a deck of 54 cards. Deal with the Devil (Bolt 2PP).
3 of a kind (10s) good for 5 pps so no issues there. Burn a white chip to re-roll the spellcasting
15:37, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 3,1 using d10-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 5,3. Spellcasting (-2 Fatigue).
Guess that 4 sticks
15:42, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 8 using 3d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2,1. Bolt Damage.
Guessing I'll miss and damage won't matter

[[You're not in melee with her, so treating it as a projectile, that's a hit...6 damage (they're Arcane Resistant) isn't going to do anything but sincerely piss off She Who Scorches The Earth, though...Adrian & Jake, please roll Agility to help me resolve how the standoff breaks down.]]

The playing card hits the unmasked snake under the eye, its eldritch glow vanishing into the furious burst of witchfire that erupts across her head and neck. "SSSS͝SS̨SSSss̴s̴s̶s̷s͞!"

OOC:
16:21, Today: Jake Lawrence rolled 4,1 using d8-2,d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 6,3. Agility (-2 Fatigue).

"If the priest has committed murder, then it's for him to be tried under the laws of our society and ultimately under the laws of his Creator upon his demise, but not to be sacrificed on an altar by a couple o' big ass snakes," he said.

"What I hope to achieve is to get y'all to leave us alone and go your own way. If the priest's crimes demand the ultimate penalty, that should be done under the law and that is something we can handle ourselves. Putting him to summary vigilante execution by snake is a cruel and unusual punishment."

His eyes moved to follow the card as it flew and hit the snake, swearing under his breath. If the other Huckster was going to have helped him, he would have preferred it had been during the fight and not while he was buying time.

---

OOC:

Agility: 6

09:49, Today: Adrian Vega rolled 6,4 using d10,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 6,4. Agility.