Alice felt a surge of anger at Penny. Sometimes she was so dense. "We ain't smart enough, without you the whole applecart comes to a screeching halt. No bargains we all leave or we all die." She had to switch hands, but her aim was still good at least one of her two shots hit.

13:21, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 13 using 2d8+3.  Damage.

13:20, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 20 using 1d20+6.  Hit #2-1, +1 (PBS).

13:20, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 28 using 1d20+11.  Hit #1 -1, +1 (PBS).

She then did her reload trick, dropping the empty cylinders for fresh ones in less time than it took to blink.

Reloading is a free action with quick reload and speed loaders. :-P

She stared down the demonic creature that masqueraded as a woman, "Not today, darlin."

Penny successfully hits a moth, and it appears it doesn't take much to significantly damage it. One more shot should do it.

As for the goddess, Alice's bullet isn't the only one that hits, and Hecate looks more than a little annoyed as Ian and Lily's bullets hit too. Still, she manages to answer Penny's question with relative calm. Your blood can open Belial's seal, but it can also hurt him, if used correctly. The Blaedens and Darkmoors are tied to Belial. Have been since the dawn of his existence. This makes him vulnerable. He doesn't know I know this, though. You would be my leverage. she arches a black brow.

Meanwhile, the moths have reached you, and they try to attach themselves to your flesh, some of them even succeeding. You feel a sharp sting and then the sense of blood being drained...

As you try to struggle against them, Emma and Loki suddenly appear. He's clearly succeeded in finding her. She looks on at the scene in surprise, then, her face pales as she sees Hecate.
My mistress! She gasps, kneeling deeply. Hecate acknowledges her with a slight nod. I know you...you're one of my servants. But what are you doing with them? Betraying me are you? Her mouth twists in an accusing sneer. Never, milady! Emma protests. I merely have pretended to in order to escape! But, now that you're here, I would gladly rejoin my rightful mistress!

ooc: You're welcome to roll a sense motive if you like to see if you believe that Emma is betraying you or not. Also, please take 9 damage Alice, and 7 damage Penny.

Though she'd expected as much, Hecate's words still made Penny's blood run cold. Her blood. The Darkmoor–Blaeden mingled bloodline. Two ancient betrayals and cursed lineages, maintained through the centuries until finally culminated in her person, with poor Kate used and abused, pulled back and back through time, to bring about her birth and Belial's release all the sooner. Penny's whole existence was built on a dark plot. And yet she would not accept it, she would fight it all the way. And she would fight now.

Penny had what she needed from Hecate, the vital clue, and knew the witch goddess would not let anything more slip, and that trying for anything more would risk her freedom now. 'But you'll kill me to free him first!' Penny accused Hecate, before the giant moth was upon, sinking its fangs in, and... and draining her blood.

Gritting her teeth, Penny put the pistol too close to her chest, the muzzle right against the moth's furry body, and fired, trying to blow it to bits and ruin its attempt to steal her blood.

And now Emma was here, complicating things. 'She never betrayed you Hecate!' Penny called out. Whether Emma was lying or not, Penny told the honest truth. And had to hope to God that Emma would not betray them now.


OOC: Sense Motive 24
Defensive Martial Arts: +1 dodge Defense vs melee attacks
Dodge: +1 dodge Defense vs Hecate
Point Blank Shot +1/+1
Pistol attack 19, damage 12 @ the moth sucking on Penny
And moving away as best we can.

Penny's shot rings true and the moth goes down in a heap.

Both of you, at first feel a stab of nervousness at Emma's words. It would be the perfect opportunity to betray you, after all. Hecate has long been the witch's mistress, and this is a rare, perhaps the only chance, for her to finally be free of your supervision. But there is just the slightest glance at you, the tiniest look in her eye that almost seems to say, "Trust me, please, and for the love of everything, don't shoot me Alice!"

Then she has the chance to prove her loyalty here and now. Kill them. She gestures to the lot of you. Except the key, of course. she adds with a smirk.

Emma gives a firm nod, and, almost, you wonder if you misread her intentions. Perhaps she really is going to betray you. She lifts her hands, concentrating as she mumbles under her breath. Hecate watches with mild amusement, enjoying the moment. Suddenly, though, the goddess's face changes almost to one of confusion. She starts to say, Wait. What are you- she's cut off though by Emma leaping out of the way as a flash of light spanning the entire room bursts up and slams into the ceiling, creating a wall of energy. The moths that are still on the other side bump into it and bounce off in frustration. Even Hecate puts her hand against it in surprise and receives a shock from the wall of force. How did you.... she looks almost impressed for a second, before turning into a scowl. I will not forget this betrayal. Your soul is mine.

Emma, however, ignores the threat. That won't hold long. Run!!! she gestures, starting down the rest of the tunnel. Archambaud stops her though, informing her she needs to watch out for traps, and soon the rest of you are following him again, albeit less quickly than before.

Whatever lead Emma gave you, it was enough to get you out. The knight is good on his word, and after much winding and twisting and running, you find yourselves outside again. Immediately Emma starts drawing symbols in the dirt, borrowing Penny's umbrella to scrape in the dry soil. She looks beyond stressed, glancing constantly to the entrance and back to her work. She's terrified of Hecate, you realize, and the weight of what she's done finally hits you. When push came to shove, she chose you over her old life. Very unexpected.

Can you go any faster with that? Loki leans over at what she's doing. Hm...are you sure that line is right? he adds, pointing. She swears, rubbing it out and fixing it. Will you give me some room! she snaps. Just trying to help. You're welcome. he says drily. Soon though, the circle is finished, just as the entrance to the place bursts open. The undead come streaming out, Hecate in the midst of them. Emma ushers you all to the middle of the circle and says something in latin you can't make out, but it's quite panicked. Just as a burst of black light comes streaming toward you from Hecate's hand, the desert disappears around you. You feel as though you're weightless, and your skin tingles and burns a moment before you suddenly find yourselves submerged in water. The unexpected shock startles you and it's difficult to react. You manage to burst to the surface and see you're in a wide river. The foliage and trees are unlike any you've seen before and the sun beats down on the water. Emma looks to be floating unconscious on her stomach, face down and Ian is struggling to stay afloat, his arm is so badly damaged. On one side of the river you see long, strange shapes stretched out low to the ground, dark and moving slightly. It's then that your heart catches. Crocodiles.

ooc: Ok, roll swim checks please

I dunno if you remember this. Alice can't swim and is terrified of drowning.

Alice can do little more than keep her head above water. She coughs and sputters as the current pushed her.

ooc: Mwahahahahaha, I do remember actually....

Whilst hissing at the pain and staunching the bleeding wound left by the vampiric moth, Penny watched Emma stand before Hecate, silently pleading with her to do the right thing, whatever that should turn out to be. Could she have done more to convince Emma, could she have been kinder or more forgiving, or cleverer in turning her to their purpose? But Penny couldn't have, she could only be as honest and trusting as she had already been, and to hope that would be rewarded now.

But still she was surprised that Emma actually did it, and opposed her own goddess. After that, all Penny could do was run, hurrying desperately down the tunnel, looking carefully ahead for turns and traps, looking fearfully back for the pursuing moths and walking dead and enraged goddess. The witch's spell would not hold back a goddess of magic for very long. She didn't know how long she fled down that hazard-filled tunnel, until she finally burst outside, blinking in the too-bright sun after so long in the dark underground.

Penny almost fell to her knees in weariness and pain, wishing only for rest and peace. Yet she dared not. Remembering, Penny spun and flung her gun-arm out to cover the tunnel mouth. She shot at one undead fiend and then another, and then backed into the portal—

—and out of the world—

—and plunged into water. Not again! Catching her bearings and wits, Penny holstered her water-logged pistol and forced her heavy, arching arms and legs to move, to drag herself through the rushing water, knowing no other thoughts but the goal to survive. She glanced around, ahead, and behind, checking on the status of her companions. 'Alice! Remember: ride a bicycle, walk upstairs – paddle your feet!' Doing the same herself, Penny waded over to Emma, who was floating face-down in very disturbing fashion, and tried to roll her over, wishing the old matron was not so portly.


OOC: Swim 11. I guess Penny also can't swim (untrained skill), I just forgot to roleplay it last time, so I suppose she has some basic knowledge of how not to sink.
15:23, Today: Penny Dreadful rolled 11 using 1d20. Swim.

Alice gulped air and called back, "Trying."

10:02, Today: Mary-Alice Reussoe Conner rolled 8 using 1d20-1.  Swim check...uhoh.

The river, though fairly calm, has a decent little current to it, pushing you gently but decidedly downstream. Penny is able to get Emma flipped over after some work, and thankfully Lily takes on Alice, coming up behind her and hooking her elbow partly around her neck and shoulder and pulling her onto her back as she side swims towards shore. I've got you. Just lay still, she soothes. Lily is clearly the strongest swimmer of you all, save perhaps Loki, who is already nearly to shore himself. Don't drown ok? I'm not supposed to interfere and it would be awkward to just have to watch you! he calls out. Meanwhile, Peter is able to help Ian well enough, the poor man having a devil of a time with only one useful arm. He's unnaturally pale too.

As a group, you all make your way towards shore where Loki and Lily are, Alice with them too now that she's been dragged to safely. You're not far from them when Penny feels a strong tug on her skirts from beneath the water. Before you can react, you feel something clamp down on your leg and start to try to pull you under...

ooc: Ok Penny, roll a grapple check please. DC is gonna be 13 against his roll. No attack of opportunity. If you fail, you're going under....you can try to break his hold or attack him with your free hand at that point, so feel free to roll ahead accordingly. He will try to drown you. Gotta love crocs!

Although Penny had been aware of the crocodiles in the river, she'd dared they were too far away, or unaware of their careful movement, or scared off their unnatural arrival. She'd hoped in vain. Startled by something snatching her leg from beneath the water, Penny gave a cry, but managed to keep her head above water, aware that going under into the crocodile's domain would be certain death.

Before that could happen, Penny reached frantically for her knife, knowing she couldn't match the beast's strength and wrestle herself loose, and it would still come for her, and fearing her pistol would be waterlogged. Twisting around like a fighting wildcat, Penny stabbed her knife into water, to the side and downward, hoping against hope to strike the crocodile's eye or the softer hide under its throat. She could only try to discourage the ferocious beast.


OOC: Grapple check 17, success
Defensive Martial Arts: +1 dodge Defense vs melee attacks
Dodge: +1 dodge Defense vs Crocodile
Attack #1 attack 22, damage 4
Attack #2 attack 5, presumed miss

Once on shore Alice fell into the dirt. "Never again. I shall never attempt to swim again! Not a purpose anyway."

We've got to teach you how is all, Lily panted, patting Alice on the head with a grin. Suddenly seeing Penny's struggle though, she turns sharply and with a gasp starts frantically forward. Meanwhile, Ian and the others, still behind Penny, shout their alarm and warning as the croc moves to take another swipe, this time biting at the woman, fortunately missing. Shore isn't far away, but the animal is fast. As Penny readies herself to defend again, Archambaud is there, having been moving to help you this whole time. His knife flashes fast and sharp through the water and the water blooms red.

ooc: You can roll again to finish him off if you want, but he's pretty dang deterred since you aren't easy prey. Up to you ;P Maybe Penny wants a new purse out of croc hide!

ic: Eventually you get to shore, bedraggled, soaked, and more than a little beat up. Fortunately Emma seems not to have drowned entirely, after Lily rolls the woman on her back and pounds the water out of her. She wakes, coughing and spluttering. Ian's arm is horrifically bad, but it is seen to as best as possible under the circumstances. And after several minutes of stabilizing yourselves, you sit several yards away from the crocodile infested shore, looking at the great wide river and the hot sun and the tall gold grass around you. Emma pants, still not over almost drowning, and laughs suddenly. Welcome to Africa!

Alice shook her head, "NOT on your life, Lily. Not on your left." Then she watched Penny and the knight fighting a croc. She sat up and looked at Ian, "I got some heal potion left. You want?" Then she got up and with an angry face went over to Emma. "You!" She stared at Emma for a few seconds and then grinned brightly, "Are my new favorite person." She got on Emma's level and hugged her. She held the older woman's face, "I am sorry for all the crap I have put you through. You really stepped up for us and I owe you. I owe you for my life and their lives. I am in your debt." She hugged the woman again.

The water splashed and the crocodile thrashed, and amidst it all was Penny, fighting for her life – in one moment kicking frantically to swim away or force the fierce thing back and in the next stabbing her knife, whenever her wild movements gave her the chance. Under the churned water and her own billowing skirts, she could barely see the beast, and had to lash out on instinct and hope; she missed as often as she struck true. And all over she felt the cold stabbing spikes of pure terror, as real as the crocodile fangs that would inevitably follow. For all the supernatural monsters she'd fought and slain, to be killed by a natural animal, as ferocious as any werewolf, seemed an irony, and oddly satisfying. No demon had done her in.

But in moments that felt like hours, Penny became aware of Archambaud beside her, of water stained red with blood (hers...?), and the crocodile no longer tugging at her. Wordless, she nodded her thanks to the knight, and swam desperately for the shore.

Then she was crawling through mud and muck, and reeds, and finally firmer ground. The realisation that, for one brief moment, she did not have to fight for her life, landed on her like a heavy weight and Penny slumped, her aching arms and legs no longer able to support her. She lay on the ground, gasping for breath; weary and worn from being swimming and running and fighting, from injuries and blood loss shaking with adrenaline and the feeling of hot winds on cold wet skin; and all the grief and fear and dread and despair that now never left her mind. Would it have been so bad, she wondered, to just let the crocodile kill and eat her and deny Belial his key? It would at least be a quick death.

With a grunt, Penny rolled onto her back, and was immediately blinded by the blazing sun after eyes had been so adapted to the dark. She screwed her eyes closed; at least the water hid her tears. 'I wish that it were Devon.' she sighed. 'Where in Africa?'


OOC: Purse, shoes, and the whole damn suitcase!
Attack #1 attack 25, damage 6
Attack #2 attack 6, presumed miss
This message was last edited by the player at 09:11, Thu 11 Feb 2021.

ooc: Hahahahahahaha Penny!

IC: As Alice nears Emma, the aging woman momentarily looks terrified and then gasps with relief when she's suddenly hugged. Oh! I thought you were going to shoot me for a second! she scolds, then laughs. Oh my poor heart! After the hug is finished, she shakes her head with a smile. Bet you never thought I'd choose do-gooders like you, right? she chuckles. What can I say? You grew on me. Besides, I am through serving those who care nothing for my life. Hecate would as soon kill me as not. I'd rather not give her the chance.

Meanwhile, as soon as Penny is safe ashore, Ian crawls to her side, eyes wide. Are you alright? Did the bugger get you? His voice is full of worry, which is almost laughable when you get a good look at his arm, which he lets hang at his side. It's so wounded it's literally almost completely severed. He glances down at it himself, swears, and turns to Alice. Yes! Most definitely yes I want! he exclaims at her offer. Thankfully a drop soon puts him to rights and his arm knits back together, to everyone's relief. The rate I'm going, I'll be using up that whole blasted bottle on my own, thanks Alice, he shakes his head with a scowl.

Emma, finally addresses Penny's question at this point. We are somewhere in Ethiopia, I can tell you that much. Hopefully not too far from wherever it is we need to be.
Good. Well done. I can guide you from here easily. I can feel the temples already.

At this, Loki speaks up. Look, I love a good around the world trip as much as anyone else, but is there some way we can speed this along? Split up? Get the last scroll at the same time as this one? You can just tell us where it is you know, that might be just a tad helpful, he says drily.

Archambaud considers the question and nods slowly. Yes. Hecate did your convincing for you, I believe you fully now. And if they are in fact so close on our heels, it is not a bad thought to get this done as quickly as possible. The second scroll is here, in Lalibela. The rock hewn churches. The last is in Rome.

Rome? Well, two guesses where it ended up, Loki smirks. Alright people, how do you wanna split up? Rock paper scissors? Thumb wrestle? How about it? he claps his hands as though to hurry things along.

ooc: Feel free to roll a knowledge check (history, religion, whatever fits) to see if you've heard of the churches in Lalibela. If you get a 15 or above feel free to google them and use that info in character.

Alice gave the bottle to Ian, "Only one drop mind you."

She looked around and though a moment. "Emma should teleport Crimwell and me to Rome. the rest of you to this scroll. I think the three of us can handle some priests." She put her thumbs in her gunbelt, "Unless you lot have a better idea."

For a long moment, Penny just stared at Ian, her blue eyes empty of understanding. She was still somewhat in shock by all that she'd survived. And then her mind caught up and she realised. 'Oh, the crocodile. No, I'm fine, it only took a bite out of my skirts... Funny how a crocodile is the least of our troubles now.' she chuckled, somehow still able to find amusement in all this. But then she couldn't seem to stop herself, and hollow ragged laughter shook her body. Some might call her hysterical, but it would not be entirely unreasonable; Penny had been pushed her to her physical, emotional, and mental limits. She had every right to go mad.

But then she caught sight of Ian's injuries, shocking and streaming blood, and was snapped immediately back to grim reality. 'Oh God, Ian!' she screamed, moving close to inspect despite her horror, as if she could find some way of fixing him, as if she could find some way not to lose him. Fortunately, Alice did, and Penny was filled with relief. 'Yes, thank you, Alice.' she said herself. But Penny stayed closed to Ian, looking over his former wounds, holding his arm, holding him, unwilling to let him go.



The discussion of their strategy from here gave Penny a useful excuse to detach herself from Ian and concentrate on more practical, cerebral matters. Rather than those of the heart. 'If you think it is safe? Thus far, we have been ambushed by demigods at both sites, and shouldn't be surprised if we are again. We only just survived both times. And Hecate will be back, and she won't parley this time...' Penny caught herself and sighed, aware she was growing too fearful, focusing on the dangers rather than the benefits. 'But, our enemies can only ambush one of us, I hope, and if they find us here in Lalibela, they may miss us in Rome, or vice versa. It may even tell us how they're finding us.' she agreed.

She turned to Archambaud, saying 'You mentioned your counterpart here in Ethopia – so more knights of your order guard the other scrolls? Do you know which? You may convince one of the rightness of our quest, but how may we persuade the other?'

Afterward, looking for Crimwall, she asked 'What do you know of Ethopia and the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela? Amharic or the early Semitic languages? I am fluent in Latin, of course, so might translate any old writings in Rome, and your skills may make you more effective here.'


OOC: I've seen a documentary about them, does that help? :)
Knowledge (History) 21
Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 15

Ian is incredibly grateful to have his arm back in one piece and at Penny's clinging, he gives a shaky grin. I'm alright girl, he says comfortingly, though you can tell he was more than a little unnerved at what happened.


Emma listens to Alice's request with a nod. I can certainly transport you. Let's see, how many of us are there...? One, two, three, four...eight? I don't count Loki, she adds with a roll of her eyes at the man. Since he's next to useless. Archambaud will probably be better served here. You'll probably have fewer perils in Rome than in Africa, so he'll be less needed there. And wherever the knight doesn't go, Loki should lead the other way since he knows where the items in question are. She frowns.

Yes, he may be able to tell you where they are but if you want my fellow knight to leave you be, you'll need this, Archambaud hands Penny a heavy silver ring with a beautiful cross engraved upon it. He'll know what it means. And tell him that I send three doves and a copper spoon. An old jest of ours, he adds with a chuckle.

I know ten languages of old and four current ones. Plus conversational Mandarin, Crimwall says with a pleased smile. Wherever you wish me I will be useful enough I should think.

Alright, alright, let's figure this out, Loki rolls his eyes. Old knights mcknightly here will lead one group, I'll lead the other. One group stays and deals with lollipop whatchamacallit and the other goes to Rome. Crocodiles or pasta, take your pick. Each group should have no less than four people so you two girls pick an extra helper monkey or two and figure out where you're going. If you go Rome, you get two more people, if you stay here, you get uno mas. He holds up one finger. Since Archie will be automatically one of your choices. So, somebody figure out something so we can get our butts in gear.

ooc: btw Penny, you rolled amply enough to utilize your documentary knowledge! ;p

With astonishment on her pale face, not least because Archambaud's now clearly chose to fully trust them, Penny gratefully received the Templar's silver ring. 'Three doves and a copper spoon, three doves and a copper spoon,' she repeated to memorise the phrase and be sure she had it right. 'Thank you, sir. You shall get this back.' She tripped to slip it on, reasoning it would be best remembered and safest on her hand, and mostly clearly visible when they encountered the other, but it fell off her small fingers. 'And what is his name?'

But then of course Loki tried to steal the show. 'A fine summation, Loki, but for one significant flaw – I shall the lead the other group, and you shall guide us. You are "not involved", remember? And thank you Emma, that was a fine layout of the logistics. Now, let's see...' Penny looked for her notepad, remembered it was completely soaked, sighed, and tallied team-members on her fingers.


OOC: I figured it would be easier to write the two proposed groups out. The first two in each seem essential, the rest are a bit more fun or optional. I put Alice in Rome to keep us PCs together and save Artemis running a third game. Alice and Artemis you can adjust as you like.

Lalibela:
Archambaud (knows where to go, handy with a blade)
Crimwall (knows the languages)
Peter (handy with a gun, can't be trusted loose in Rome with Italian ladies)
Emma (can keep the boys in line) or Lily

Rome:
Penny (knows Latin)
Loki (possibly knows where to go, otherwise unreliable, and must be watched)
Alice (handy with a gun)
Ian (handy with Penny)
Lily (can keep Loki in line) or Emma
This message was last edited by the player at 06:23, Fri 26 Feb 2021.

Penny, I think you should take Peter and leave me. That way one of us is with both groups.

ooc: My original intent was to have you both in the same group, but I'm totally fine with whatever you wish to do. Whatever happens won't take too long anyway. My goal is to get through the encounters quickly and then get you back to New York so we can get the main story back in action and prep for Belial endgame stuff.

I'll be starting  a new chapter soon, so let me know your final decision regarding who is with who and I'll be ready to move you along after that. Also, depending on where you decide to go, let me know your plans for the next two days or so that it will take to get to where you're going in each destination. So if you want to cozy up with Crimwall, or if you want to research something or just rest up, whatever you want to do let me know.

Also, while I'm thinking about it, let me know what you would like to see for your character before the end of the game. Any particular arcs you want to finish? Any personal goals? etc? Lastly, if you haven't leveled up to 13 don't forget to. You'll need the extra stats. I'll try to get off my bum and get the bonuses up soon.

OOC: Yeah, I made sure to put Alice and Penny in the one group so Artemis didn't have to run two solo adventures. I also moved Penny to Rome because it felt like something different from the two last expeditions.

I don't have any specific plans and can't think of anything I want to do with Penny in the short-term or long-term right now, but I'll let you know if I think of something.

Good point. We should be together. OK, I will go with Panny's plan.

ooc: Sounds perfect. I'm going to start a new chapter for you then.