You manage to duck out of the room but you're quickly weakening. The strangulation does not stop just because you leave. Fortunately a moment later the invisible grip on your throat does indeed disappear but you quickly realize it's because Lily has distracted the demon. She has rammed the man, slamming him into the wall with inhuman force. They are currently wrestling...

ooc: Ok, he's very much distracted and you aren't being strangled anymore so those are pluses!

Gasping for air, desperate, but glad that she could breathe again, Josephine rushed forward, shotgun in hand, and she sprinted right up to the melee on the ground, placing the shotgun as close as she safely could to the demon, and pulled the trigger,

"Leave her alone!"




ooc - 18 I believe! Hopefully being close helps, lol. Also I'm not sure what my mods to hit with any favored weapons or anything are, I just see my missile to hit is +8, I rolled a 10, so I went with it. Still kinda clueless on my entire character sheet haha. "I talks good!" is about as far as I can explain it :P

ooc: Hahaha! I figured since you're in your own thread I won't be too picky and I can just look up anything you need myself if you don't happen to know it. So no worries!

IC: Your shotgun blast hits him, but only barely and you come dangerously close to hitting Lily as well but she doesn't seem to mind, yelling at you to do it again. You have a feeling in her angel form she can take the hit better than he can. As it is you graze him in the thigh and he swears savagely. He's wrestling Lily with all his strength now and it's only a matter of time before he breaks free. He keeps eyeing the door frantically and you anticipate he'll run if he gets the chance. Get the key! Right pocket! Lily grunts. Hurry while I can still hold him! Indeed she's having difficulty, but then manacled wrists aren't as effective in a wrestling match as free arms.

ooc: Ok, roll a general dex check to see if you're fast enough to get the key before he twists loose. Good luck. Fortunately the DC is low...

"Ok!" Josephine scrambled for the key, slipping in her haste.




Ooc rolled a flat 7 lol

ooc: Hahahahaha! I'm not surprised!

You try to reach for the key but he twists away and Lily growls in frustration. Really Jo?! Try...unh...again! she grunts, slamming him into the wall. He's clearly about to slip free but she tries to pin him in place for you one last time...

ooc: I'm generous. Try one more time ;P

"I'm doing my best!" she said, lunging forward to reach for it once more...




ooc- Rolled a 17 finally! Give me twenty chances, and I'll succeed once!

You manage to finally snag it from his pocket and he very much notices, hurling Lily off him and rushing towards you. Throw me the key! she calls frantically. Meanwhile he tries to tackle you...

ooc: Go ahead and roll a 1d20 to see if you can throw it in her general direction. Anything over a 7 I'll accept. No additions. Also, roll 3 grapple checks too please...

Ooc:... I rolled exactly a7. Crap. 04:24, Today: Josephine Hartley rolled 41 using 4d20 with rolls of 7,9,10,15

ooc: Ahahahahahahaha!! I really am not surprised!

You throw the key and it bounces off a table and across the room. She swears and goes hurtling after it. Meanwhile the demon does indeed tackle you, wrapping strong arms around you and pinning you to the ground. Lily finally gets the key as you struggle helplessly against the man and you glance up in time to see the shackles fall from her bruised and bloody wrists. She looks triumphant, about to turn on the demon but he calls out to her, one hand lifting your head off the ground, gripping your hair so tight it brings tears to your eyes. Back off or I break her neck he growls. The half angel Lily gives him a glare. What makes you think that would stop me? He grips your hair tighter, pulling your neck up until it strains the spine. Is she really going to let you die?! She slowly walks closer, as though testing his resolve. I'll do it! Don't think I won't! he snarls, though you can sense fear in his voice. She moves a step closer and stops, a smirk on her full lips. You have two options demon. You can kill her and I'll kill you before her head hits the ground, or, you can live. Give yourself up and your life is yours for the time being. Make your choice, you have five seconds.
Don't you care about her at all? I'm serio-
One
I'll really do-
Two
Will you stop and let me-
Three
Arrrrrg!!
Four
Fine! Fine, you win, I let her go! he pants, dropping your head and backing away.
Sit.
He does and she takes the shackles and binds him to a pipe in the wall, looking smug.
You can't help but wonder, as you lay there panting, what would have happened if she'd made it to five.

OOC - Me neither, lol. But hey, the fact that I love this game, and you love this thread means you and I are both kicking butt roleplaying DESPITE the dicerolls :)

Gasping for air, her hand involuntarily grabbing at her own windpipe, Josephine sucked in a few sweet, sweet mouthfuls of air gratefully.

Glancing up to watch the back and forth after the demon gave himself up, Josephine nodded,

"E..Effective at the very least. Are you alright?" she asked, wincing as she stood herself up, glancing around, "I don't know why I ever trust that one to be here when we need him..." she groaned, more to herself than anybody else.

Finally, not holding herself back, she rushed over and hugged Lily, with no words. She didn't care... she was just glad her friend was safe and alive!

ooc: Good point! Imagine what it would be like if you got lucky now and then!? And I'm so glad you like the game, yay!

The half angel version of Lily stiffens at your hug, unsure of how to react. She's so incredibly different than the Lily you know, it's hard to believe she's the same person sometimes. She ends up patting you on the back uncertainly before stepping away. It's progress for the woman. I'm fine...well, weakened but I'll recover. Those shackles are cursed. It will be a bit before I'm back to my strength. Not to mention they...did things. Tainted me. But there's no time for all that. We have to get out of here. Two of us against everyone here isn't going to work. Obviously she doesn't know about Marcus and the others and when you (presumably) let her know she sighs. By all rights we should leave them but....fine. We'll have to start our search and see if they can be rescued. If not we'll have to get reinforcements. They can't get me again, understand? They'd use my blood for their experiments, more than they already have. I shudder to think what they would do to a full angel...Come. Stay close to me and keep quiet. And...thank you, for rescuing me. she adds as an afterthought.

ooc: Ok, roll a search and spot check. Good luck....

Pulling back slightly, at Lily's stiffened response, Josephine shrugged it off. She wasn't thin-skinned, so she was fine with the different reaction.

"Of course! You'd have done the same for me, and I'll always be here for you." she said with confidence. Whether the demon sharing Lily's body knew or not, Josephine had faith in her friend, and that faith wouldn't be shattered with a small fight and something so small as 'possession'... psh!

Nodding at her words about Castiel, she responded,

"You think they're captured as well? I thought they just wandered off... we were all aware of the dangers coming in!"

Search 16
Spot 13

I hope it's something as benign as them wandering off but I somehow doubt it... she sighs. By now you're back outside in the darkness, all of the buildings still seemingly abandoned and empty. This is a fairly small chapter of demons, only a handful really, but they are cunning. And they have traps specifically against angels. Castiel could be in trouble. I don't think they are too concerned with humans though, so believe it or not you may be pretty important if a fight breaks out. Good luck with that she arches an eyebrow and at that moment she seems just like your old Lily again before her face calms once more and she's as serene and cold as ever.

You search the buildings again but this time you're a little luckier. You see two cellar doors in one of the buildings. A loose chain lies next to it and you realize it must have been opened recently. Bingo.

ooc: Go ahead and react as you would but also for time's sake please roll hide, move silently, and listen.

ooc - 17, 3 and 20. Just perfect so I'm sneaky and see everything, but make so much noise I alert the world.

Nodding her head, Josephine laughed softly,

"Hopefully they're in here. I think it would be more intelligent to call for backup, but..." she swallowed, "We ARE the backup."

And with that, she dropped into the cellar, trying to creep her way downstairs.

ooc: Ahahahahaha! That's a very accurate description!

You make it into the cellar and it's so dark that you almost immediately knock over a shelf. An entire shelf. Glass jars and bottles crash to the ground in a complete cacophony of noise and Lily swears savagely, pulling you back into a corner behind some boxes. It's a good thing too because seconds after the door bursts open and two men appear bearing lanterns. What in the world was that!? one snaps, raising the lantern around the room. I don't know but would you look at this mess?! I'm not cleaning it up! Hey, look! You peek out enough to see him point at the still open cellar doors. We seem to have an intruder! You check the room, I'll see if they ran. With that he rushes out. Meanwhile the other fellow inspects the place, muttering over the glass everywhere and calling for you to show yourselves. Lily grips your arm tightly, other hand over her lips to keep quiet. He doesn't search long, content that you must have fled upon upturning the shelf, and he goes off to join his friend in his search. As soon as they've left she stands up and leads you across the room by the arm. It's a good thing too for it's dark again and you can't see though she apparently can, and keeps you from repeating your error. I think I'm going to have to watch you more closely... she mutters as s he pulls you along. Soon you reach a set of stairs going up into the actual building and as you find yourselves in a large empty room, you see there are rooms to the left and the right. In each direction you hear voices. One, to the left, sounds like a woman talking. Then another, to the right, sounds like a man's rough voice giving someone an earful in coarse tones. You can't make out words in either case just yet, you'll have to choose a direction.

Cringing at her mistake, Josephine tried to move quietly now that Lily was directing her, and it went much better,

"Yea, you probably should watch me closer, since in the dark you're the only one watching anything!" she whispered, rolling her eyes. It wasn't Lily's fault, but she was annoyed more at herself than anybody.

"I say we go left..." she said a moment later, trying to think tactically, even though that wasn't her thing, "The woman we can capture, if necessary, and use her as leverage against anybody else. Or at least information. We don't want to approach an argument yet until we have more information." she shrugged, hoping she was correct.

She nods at your suggestion. Smart. Good choice. Alright, lets hope we can figure this out without her alerting the entire building. Hm...actually that's not a bad idea...a diversion could work. Neither of us are up to taking on much right now, a distraction could save us a lot of trouble. I suppose setting something on fire is too drastic...or is it? We can't risk them seeing us or I'd let you loose with that silver tongue of yours. They'd know it was us. Any ideas? Otherwise maybe fire isn't such a bad thought... Yes. There is definitely a spark of the human Lily still in there.

Nodding slowly, Josephine quickly shook her head at the fire idea,

"A fire would just put more stress and time constraints on US. We can't survive in the smoke either, you know." she reminded her,

"Let's just try and sneak up on her. I seem to remember you're pretty good at that, and if we make a simple rolling ball, or metal clattering sound, she'll come investigate." she said, and with that, she moved to find two close spots to hide out, and then if anything metal was nearby, she dropped it a few inches between them, so whomever was investigating would come out close enough to be grabbed and gagged.

Lily looks a bit sheepish at the points you make regarding the fire, quickly latching onto the other idea. You do find a tin fountain pen that looks promising and Lily grabs it and throws it at the actual door where it smacks hard and drops, just loud enough for only the woman to hear. Hopefully.

At first it doesn't seem to work but a few seconds later an irritated woman thrusts open the door, annoyed at being interrupted...

ooc: Ok! Moment of truth! Roll a grapple check! Luckily for you Lily will be helping...

Seeing the irritated woman approach, Josephine was excited... perhaps too excited...

Soon as Lily was ready, Josephine made a covering the mouth motion to Lily. She wanted Lily to cover the woman's mouth, while she would try and wrestle her. She didn't think about the fact that she could hardly wrestle at all...

Launching out when she was ready, she very nearly stumbled right off the bat, but managed to keep her feet...




Jesus, I rolled a 3, lol! I think that's like an 8 total or something.

ooc: Hahaha! Lily rolled a 4....

You both leap at the woman but she's far faster than either of you gave her credit for. She gives a gasp of surprise and then jerks back, trying to slam the door back shut and undoubtedly lock you out.

Lily curses. Not today! As the door indeed slams closed she rams her shoulder into it and it bursts open. I'm still weakened but I can handle a puny door at least. she sniffs.

The woman, seeing how easily you've broken in, proceeds to scream and run across the room. You're surprised how frightened she looks actually. Meanwhile you also spot a man tied to a chair looking worse for the wear. It's the man from the shop who helped you! Cas is nowhere to be found though.

ooc: Hahaha, I forgot his name! I'll look it up when I get time!

"Wait..." Josephine paused, standing up straight, and looking at the woman, "You're not an intruder... did you see where they went?" she asked, suddenly flipping the script, and acting like they were on the SAME side...

Approaching slowly, but glancing around secretively as if searching for other opponents, she wrinkled her brow,

"We're the fixers... we were told there were intruders down here, and that we couldn't have our operation being toyed with..." she said, tilting her head towards the man from the shop, acting as if he were a simple pawn, "Have you seen anything amiss down here?" she paused, hoping that her little distraction would allow herself, or Lily, to get close enough to clamp a hand over her mouth...

Hell, if it worked well enough, she'd just take all of the woman's information willingly. That would work too...





Ok, trying to use my "trustworthy" trait, and convince her with a 35 rolled on diplomacy...

She's still completely terrified but your words at least stop her from running. F-Fixers? Really? I've not seen you before....but no. Nothing is amiss down here, I was just questioning the prisoner. Why, are there hunters about? she stands up straighter and looks around worriedly. Look, I'm not a demon, I need protection! Do you know what hunters would do to me if they went after me? I'm new at this!

Slapping her own forehead as if saying 'duh', Josephine nodded, and approached,

"Well its good we arrived then. Hunters running around means bad news." frowning, she placed her chin in her hand as if in thought, and then raised a hand,

"Hunters don't hunt humans, right? My friend and I here are demons, you're not." she paused again dramatically, next searching around until she found some rope and a handkerchief (she'd rip a portion of her own shirt if necessary).

Turning back to the woman, she pointed to a nearby chair,

"Sit down. Before we put our trick into play, we need to know your talents. Are you able to help us fight the hunters at all, or do we need to protect you completely?" she asked, pausing until the woman sat down on the chair.

Once she had, she indicated the ropes in her hands,

"The plan is simple: hunters never hurt humans. You're going to act like just another one of the prisoners. That will keep you safe until we've dispatched the hunters. Then, we'll cut you loose, and start in again on the real prisoners. Obviously we'll have to tie you up and gag you with this cloth, but once we're done, the hunters won't be able to tell the difference." she said, and since the plan made sense in theory, she bent down and immediately began tying the woman's ankles to the chair, individually.

As she worked, she continued to speak to her to keep her mind occupied,

"Alright, so has the prisoner told you anything valuable yet?" she asked, finishing wrapping and knotting the rope around her left ankle, "How about his allies, any weak points the prisoner has given up?" she asked, as she knotted and secured the second ankle tightly,

"Alright..." she continued, standing and moving to the girl's wrists, pulling her hands behind her back and behind the chair seat, snugly holding her back to the chair, "I'm going to guess the prisoner is tough, but not invincible. Have you tried pain to get more answers?" she asked as she tied the woman's wrists together tightly, knotting them. Next, she tied the rope to the bottom leg of the chair, so she couldn't pull away, or untie her own feet at all. Finally, she began wrapping another rope around her chest and the chair, to fully secure her basically immobile in place,

"Now... we're guessing the hunters are close. Do you have any traps we could set up really quickly before they get here?" she asked, as she rummaged around and found a sock (or similar item) and that cloth strip from earlier. She was fully selling the idea of jumping these 'hunters' before putting the rest of her plan in place.

I'm human, but I'm a witch! If they find that out they'll kill me!

A witch? Lily arches a curious brow and the woman rushes on with a nod.
Yes! But I'm new at this! I'm just tryng to work my way up the ranks!

As Jo's plan is revealed she eagerly accepts, just anxious to be safe. She seems to have absolutely no problem being tied up and answers questions readily. Meanwhile the hunter is doing a very good job of keeping a straight face as he waits out the little scheme. I can help you with the hunters if there's no choice, but I'm still learning so I don't know how much use I'd be. I can do some things though! I'll help as I can! And I did threaten to use pain on the prisoner. I was yelling at him when you arrived. I-I've never actually tortured anyone before though...I was just trying to intimidate him until Nolan got here. I sent word to him in one of the other buildings. He should be here in a half hour or so. Apparently they found another angel they're questioning! she informs you excitedly. As for traps, I could put something on the door. A ward if you like, so they can't open it? Or something that would hurt them, that's even better right?