Not wanting to crowd Coraline at the aperture, Randolph holds back, sparing a glance for the door to the outside.

Not all pleased with her next couple of draws, Coraline begrudgingly released what little energy she'd wrangled and managed a weak ball of energy that sped off through the hole toward the legs of one walking corpse.

Taking a position at one of the apertures, Gabby drew a bead on one of the deaders. He breathed a sigh of relief as Korpi flew past him, then took careful aim and let fly with another hail of buckshot.

Caleb moves a little to get a clear sight of one of the things, takes aim, and then squeezes off a shot.

Daniel heaved a sigh of relief to see Korpi fluttering back in the direction of the posse, but quickly reverted his attention to the creatures. "Back to the grave where you belong!" He rushed the nearest of the still-walking corpses and slammed his blade into its head.

Sky dog's brutal iron point tore through the throat and up into the head of the deader still lurching at him. Flecks of brain came away on his knife as he pulled his arm back, causing Sky Dog to frown as he tried not to gag at the stench of it.

Korpi fluffed up, generally unsettled by events and unsure if her brother needed help. "Ka!"

Sky Dog glanced back and grinned; taking to the air where she felt safest, Korpi made the awkward turn onto the cellar steps and headed for the open sky.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:59, Tue 31 Mar 2015.

Whipping back a crackling wand, Dr. Whateley unleashed something of a frightful bolt. At the end, the sole remaining deader fell to its knees, headless - and there was no head in sight.


"Well, I suppose that's that. All in a good day's work. Is everyone alright?" he asked, looking about and then catching sight of the portal through the hole in the wall.

"There is still that portal, though. Nasty thing, that. Very bad things on the other side. I know a little bit about such things, and it shouldn't last much longer unless that Shadow chap is on the other side maintaining it."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:18, Tue 31 Mar 2015.

Sky Dog wrinkled his nose at the air over Whateley's shoulder, then put two fingers to the bridge with his knife hand as though half-expecting a nosebleed. "Nngh...you will have use for the doctoring in a little while, I think. Ha! Maybe for the shamán Shadow. Do you know what it is, the green wall there?"

He gestured vaguely into the deader-strewn main room, then bent his head forward, pressing his nose to the back of his hand.

Darling breathes out a sigh of relief as the word passes around that all the reanimated corpses are down. He steps up to gape through the hole in the wall at the portal to some other, presumably awful place.

Daniel nodded slowly at the question from the Doctor. "Never gotta good look at it, or anyone else in that other room, neither. What did Gabby an I miss?"

Daniel took a look around the other room while listening for an answer, curious about what happened before he arrived with his uncle. He cast a concerned glance in Sky Dog's direction as the shaman spoke of needing some doctoring, but gave the man a little time and space while looking around for his sister to be certain she was well.

Gabby followed everyone into the room. "So the crazy woman got away through that funky magic door? Hell." He said, and began poking about. "Wonder where all these poor folk came from." he said, poking at the mechanical devices in their skulls (what few skulls were still intact, that was).

"Whateley, you think the townsfolk are safe now?" He asked as he continued exploring the room. "Aside from the possible impending attack o' Quantrill, that is."

"Something of the new sciences, I believe. I think...some kind of field to protect those behind it. Could be a useful thing to have around," he said.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:22, Tue 31 Mar 2015.

"They are not soldiers like the dead ones with Quanterill," Sky Dog observed, apparently too bothered by phantom pressure to start his usual scavenging. The term 'field' clearly confused the shaman a moment, but if the ground could be fenced off in squares, it was only logical that the iron devils would next devise a way to fence off air.

"It may be well to keep back from the door to the shadows of the world there...probably it is a way to the Lower World, but also the avakhi may come back, if he could catch the shamán and the doctor for me quickly."

He gestured at the deadders, sticking his knife under his arm to re-cover his left hand, the cloth taking a red stain like a bright butterly in his palm. "Whateley, can it be told what these ones died of?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:10, Tue 31 Mar 2015.

"I dunno. I don't like the look of it." Gabby says. "Doors are meant to be passed through. If somethin' on the other end were to poke it's head out at us..." He shudders. "Don't reckon it's a good idea to leave it." He eyes the switch on the device. "Sky Dog, how long d'you reckon your avakhi thing will take to find 'em? Because I'd rather turn this thing off and take it with us, or break it up and leave the crazy woman stranded on the other side."

Coraline took another look into the room with the portal, eyeing the mechanism that kept the green field in place.  She wondered if a good Bash would be enough to make it fail, but was wise enough to not make the attempt.  Knowing little of scientific technologies, she wasn't about to go destroying things that might blow up in her face.  And also, the room was full of rotting corpses.  She wrinkled her nose and drew back, throwing a glance to the cellar door where the sunshine and fresh air beckoned.

Caleb frowned at the conversation and sniffed at the air. "We did leave something burning outside, did we not? Daniel and I will go take a look up top to make certain the blaze is contained, or at least not threatening us here. I agree that the destruction of such a portal would be ideal, but I haven't any suggestion concerning how it should best be done."

With a nod to Daniel, Caleb followed his nose toward the smell of smoke.

"I do not think the...field has relation to the door," said Sky Dog. "The world will heal this in a small time, but if the demon does not catch them, they will only step out of the shadows of the world in a different place."

He set his back to the wall in the corridor and crouched there, trying to keep as many corners as possible in sight. Touching the back of his right hand under his nose, Sky Dog caught the first hints of bleeding and bent forward, pushing his hair back over his shoulder. "...if the shamán Shadow is powerful enough to do the things we have seen here, that one could go miles through the Lower Paths - with the right helper-spirits, that one might go two miles there, but return to the Middle World in the next province. Ugh...it would be well to fetch salt from the kitchen, I think."

"I will wait here, and deal with the avakhi." These seemed like bold words from a pale youth clearly feeling rough and struggling with a nosebleed. "It will have to make the field go to bring them to me, if solid ones can not go through the green."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:27, Wed 01 Apr 2015.

Sniffing at the smoky scent in the air gave Randolph an idea.

"What if we burned this place down? Think that'd destroy any machinery and disable the portal?"

"If you are keen on destroying the machine, I would imagine that would suffice," he said to Randolph.

Picking up a loose pebble from the floor, he threw it at the green field. It passed through, but seemed as if it slowed down, as if it had merely been gently tossed. "I don't think it prevents object from passing through. It just slows them down, like armor."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:01, Wed 01 Apr 2015.

"If the portal is soon to close, there's no reason to destroy the machinery if it can be deactivated.  I'm sure someone would want to study it.  It might even be worth a little cash to the right buyer.  I'm going to check on things outside.  Hopefully that barn hasn't started a prairie fire."  She lifted the hem of her dress as she took to the stairs.

"Huh." Gabby says. "Well, let's just see what this does." He moves over to the switch on the device and flicks it.

With a whoosh, the green field seems to dissipate nearly instantly as soon as he flicks the switch.

Sky Dog flinched a little at the sound, though his spooked glance was directed at the room with the iron door before he looked over at Gabby. He frowned slightly.

"It may be these dead ones have kin in the settlement," he mentioned to Darling, still trying to stem the bleeding from his nose as he waited.

Darlinhg flinches as Gabby flicks the switch. Crazy old coot! But when it shuts down he gives a sigh of relief.

As Coraline starts up the stairs he follows.

"I'll come with you, Miss Hawthorne."

In reply to Sky Dog (msg # 131):

"Reckon you're right." Gabby says as he picks up the device. "hnf. We should git my wagon out here, gather them up so they can be properly looked after." He hauls the generator back toward the exit, then pauses and looks at Sky Dog. "Somethin' wrong?" he asks, his gaze noting the blood dripping from the young man's nose.