Abe considered using the staff he had in his hand.  Then he considered how much less accurate it was than a rifle... he would be comfortable with a rifle if it shot fire, or with this if it were accurate.  If he had space to try a few shots while the vamps closed distance, he would have tried firing a few shots with the staff.

Instead, they were in the truck already, and so were his friends.

So, he instead manifested a ball of flame in his hand and threw it at one of the closer werewolves.

16:32, Today: Abe Griffith rolled 7 using 3d6.  Fireball (15).
This message was last edited by the player at 14:57, Mon 30 Aug 2021.

Dean shifted the direction and speed of the vehicle to try to shake a couple of werewolves of the roof, but unfortunately, they remained.

Abe cast a fireball on one of them and hit it center mass.

Despite being a vampire, none of you had ever seen Jack Feed on anything other than beautiful women. That changed now as he Feed on werewolf blood and it was lost in the Ecstasy of being Fed on.

Tom drew his sword and instantly electricity started dancing up and down the blade. He swung at the first werewolf, but it avoided his sword.

Cailin was holding herself to one side and is not engaging.

The first werewolf engaged with Tom and swung its claws at him twice. It missed the first time and Tom avoided them the second time.

A third werewolf jumped down and struck at Jack, but he was able to dance out of the way and turn his supper's back towards its companion.


[OOC:
The fireball did 2 points of damage to W1 (for werewolf 1, so we know who we are attacking).

Jack is Feeding on W2.

Start of Round 2. What do you do?
]

Abe frowned.  Little fireballs looked scary, but when throwing them at a werewolf, they just didn't have the effect he was looking for to start taking them down before they made a bloody mess of the group in the truck.  And with an extra wolf going to take down Jack while he fed, not to mention another still above waiting to join the fray, that wasn't acceptable.

So, in spite of his worries about accuracy, he leveled the staff weapon at the wolf closing on Jack.  He pulled the trigger and hoped against hope that he wouldn't be laying down friendly fire.


Shooting at wolf 3.
17:13, Today: Abe Griffith rolled 8 using 3d6.  Staff weapon (?).
17:17, Today: Abe Griffith rolled 12 using 5d6 with rolls of 1,1,5,3,2.  Damage (as 5.56 rifle).

With his bid to knock off the attackers of the roof unsuccessful, Dean slammed on the brakes and prepared to climb out of the seat to meet the threat. The van tilted, the wheels chirped in protest and a thin trail of smoke wafted from the wheel wells as the vehicle skidded to a halt on the side of the road.

Maybe it was the van's sudden movement that had caused her head to hit the glass then the front seat's headrest, or the presence of the werewolves, but for some reason, Cailin looked annoyed. And while she was clearly not particularly happy with Dean's driving, the way she looked at the werewolves made it clear that he wasn't the only cause of her bad mood.

Despite that, she was merely grumbling under her breath - something about someone called Christopher - and obviously had no intention of attacking. She had in fact her hands under her thighs while she watched the fight.

Being unskilled in the use of staff weapons, Abe fired the staff, but missed the werewolf and blew a hole in the side of the truck.

Dean stopped it and though his passengers swayed with the change of motion, no one fell. He jumped out of the cabin and hurried towards the back, he came about halfway there.

Tom clearly was an expert at the sword and this time the silver blade sheathed in lightning slashed a long gash along the werewolf's torso.

Jack continued to Feed on his werewolf.

Cailin, grumblingly, remained uninvolved in the conflict.

One of the werewolves sliced with its claws against Tom in full force, but with Matrix-like grace, he avoided the hit by a mile.

Another is too busy enjoying Jack Feed on them.

The third punched Jack and this time the claws punctured him good.

The fourth werewolf jumped down, touched the first one, and before your very eyes, its wounds started knotting together.

[OOC:
Jack: lost 8hp. 12/20hp remaining.


Start of Round 3. What do you do?]

Perhaps it was some kind of vampiric solidarity with Jack, it perhaps it was simply the easiest target, but Dean focused on the werewolf that was already stupified and in Jacks clutched.

Dean had obviously never done this "for real", and it showed in the somewhat shocked expression on his face and his uncertain movements.

Regardless, his hands hardened into razor sharp claws, the fingers spread and flexed menacingly, he swung low, not wanting to hit Jack's face or arms in the melee, the claws blurring as the came down in an exaggerated overhand swipe towards the werewolves hip and thigh.

Dean, consciously or not, bared his teeth as he did so.

“I don't suppose we can talk this through?” Cailin said, trying to be heard over the combat's noise.

The way she said that though, it was really obvious she wasn't expecting anyone to pay attention to her.

Abe spared a bare moment to raise an eyebrow at Cailin before returning his attention to the combat.  He appreciated the damage the staff could put out, especially with the healer that the wolves had in play now... but if he couldn't hit anything with it, it wasn't going to help anyone.

Fireball to little damage, staff to little accuracy... then he dressed himself down mentally for forgetting about the pistol.  He drew his pistol and let the staff fall to the ground.


OOC: Player forgot about the pistol too. :-P
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Tue 31 Aug 2021.

Dean hurried to the back of the truck, hoisted himself up easily, and joined the others inside. He lined himself up as if he was hitting a martial arts dummy, and slashed with his recently extended claws, leaving blood and scratch marks on its legs.

Cailin tried to end the conflict diplomatically, but none of the others seemed to be interested enough in that to stop what they were doing.

Abe dropped the staff weapon and drew the pistol he was carrying.

Jack continued to Feed on one of the werewolves and some of his wounds healed.

Tom swung his sword with great expertise, but the werewolf avoided the blade with equal grace.

The werewolf retaliated at Tom, but he swung wide.

The second of them was still lost in vampire-produced ecstasy.

The third picked up the staff that Abe just had dropped.

And the fourth touched the werewolf being Feed on and healed some of its wounds.



[OOC: I forgot about the pistols too. Thanks for bringing those up!]



[OOC:
Jack: 14/20hp


Start of Round 4. What do you do?]

Abe took a moment to size up the werewolf that had picked up the staff.  He decided to run the risk of he wolf being able to use the device in order to make a better shot himself.  He took his extra moment to line up his shot.

Dean, his claws bloodied for the first time, used the the razor sharp digits already embedded in the meat of the thigh to try to rip the whole appendage off like a drumstick on a Thanksgiving turkey.

His disgust and horror tempered by the adrenaline and fear of ending up like his Sire, he cut, twisted and pulled as he tried to topple the injured werewolf.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Wed 01 Sept 2021.

Grumbling but not quite cursing, Cailin opened the van's door and exited the vehicle, standing to the side and out of the way while the fight was going on.

Her arms crossed on her chest, it was obvious she wasn't happy with what she was seeing, but had no intention to intervene.

Abe took his time and aimed the pistol carefully.

Dean swiped his claws against the leg again and despite his best effort, the leg was still attached.

Cailin stepped out of the truck and waited outside, not getting involved.

Jack continued to Feed on the werewolf.

Tom thrust his sword at the werewolf, but he defended himself.

One werewolf swung at Tom, but it went wide.

The second werewolf was busy being a vampire's popsicle.

The third werewolf fired the staff weapon at Jack with devastating effect and Jack lost consciousness and fell to the floor. The clothes on his back aflame in this confined space.

The fourth werewolf hangs back and doesn't engage.

[6 blank lines suppressed]

[OOC: Dean, you have to roll against your newly discovered phobia to see what this close proximity to fire does to you before you can act on your next turn.]

[OOC:
Jack: -23/20hp

Dean: 15/16 BP. I forgot to include the cost for activating the claws earlier.


Start of Round 4. What do you do?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:06, Thu 02 Sept 2021.

Abe was shocked when the werewolf managed to make a hit with the infernal, innacurate, blasted staff-rifle.  He regretted having taken a moment to line up his shot before firing, and decided with a certainty not to spend any more time aiming.

Putting years of practice with firearms to practical use, Abe launched a trio of bullets at the staff wielding werewolf.  "Cailin, can you help Jack or put out the fire?"  He called out.

19:56, Today: Abe Griffith rolled 11 using 3d6.  Pistols (aimed, 3 shots, 13).

19:56, Today: Abe Griffith rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  Bullet 1 dmg.

19:56, Today: Abe Griffith rolled 13 using 2d6+2.  Bullet 2 dmg.

Cailin shook her head, “I can't help Jack yet.” After all, if she healed him, he'd go back into the fight, so that would count as her being in the fight. Something she was pretty sure she should not do.

“And the fire…” She seemed to hesitate, but then again shook her head, “Not with some of you being vampires.” Putting out the fire would help said vampires in their fight after all.

“And since they don't want to attack me…” She waved at the werewolves, then shrugged. Not that she was one hundred percent sure that she'd be free to fight even then - she could just Orb away after all - but it might have been an option.

Dean had not encountered fire in such a way, not since his death, not in such a stressful situation.

Whatever kept him going, whatever moved his dead limbs and motivated his hunger recoiled in pure animal terror at the light and heat, and the big guy found himself scrambling and recoiling, covering his face and neck with his arms as he turned away, bared his teeth and hissed.

Abe unleashed three silver slugs into the wolfman's abdomen and dropped one of them to the ground. And as the wolf lost its shape, she turned out to be a woman.

Followed by Tom eviscerating another, dropping her to human form and the floor too.

Cailin was outside the truck, not participating in the fight.

Jack was unmovable on the ground.

And Dean unmovably stared at the fire that held him at bay.

One of the wolfmen whistled and a circle of ice crystals formed in the truck, opening up a gateway to elsewhere. The two werewolves still standing dragged their companions into the gate and it closed behind them.

You are now alone.




[OOC:
Jack: -23/20hp

Dean: 15/16 BP. Stunned

We remain in the round structure for now.

Start of Round 5. What do you do?]

"Cailin, can you come give Jack a hand now?  They're gone."  Abe called without looking for her.  Instead, he was focused on Dean.

"Tom, can you drag Dean out of here?  Then grab any extra staves and stuff and get ready to get them through a portal." He asked.  Meanwhile, he went for a cloth and started wiping down everywhere the cohort had likely left prints.

Dean seemed like a cat that had been startled, all eyes and teeth and ready to jump at a moment notice.

But the eyes were dim, the young man himself somewhere else it seemed. Whatever was in control, it was not the smiling young athlete that had come west with some of the others.

His big hands still dribbled blood onto the asphalt, and we're stained crimson up to the wrist.

Abe started cleaning up anything they might have left their fingerprints on inside the truck.

Tom followed Abe's instruction and started dragging Dean out of the truck.

While Cailin went in and bent low over Jack. It didn't take long before she shook her head.

"He's gone," she said.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:11, Tue 07 Sept 2021.

Abe felt a shock.  His wiping became jolted, as if his arms weren't quite following his orders.  Without his mind's assent his mouth began to run, dripping bitter sarcasm.  "Well better that than that you heal him sooner and he might commit some violence later in life.  Like you couldn't have healed him and orbed him somewhere that he couldn't have fought from?"


OOC: Abe's not too worried about the mess.  He's still debating on torching the truck when they finish getting themselves and the leftover gear out of here.  The mess that's there (werewolf blood, Dean blood, and Jack blood) either points to their enemies or to dead people, so he's not too worried about it.  He's more worried about fingerprints left by the group.

Cailin shook her head, “I think you misunderstand something. I'm an Angel, not a doctor. I don't nurse back to health, I Heal. If I had healed him, Jack would not only have been able to fight another day, but he would have been able to return in this fight. This is not allowed to me. And before you ask, no, I couldn't have Orbed him after I healed him: do you think he would have wanted that? I cannot Orb anyone against their will.”

“As for Orbing him first, then Heal him…” The young angel tilted her head to the side, a bit less assured, before she finally continued, “It wouldn't have worked either. Both because it would have been considered as protecting him in a fight and he wasn't in a position to ask for it. I'm sorry but…” She sighed, looking sad.

“I cannot fight for you. I cannot help you in any way during your fights as much as I would want to. Before,” she nodded, “Yes, I can pretty much bring you wherever you want to go on Earth, give you whatever advice you want. Assuming I have access to what you want anyway, I'm not all knowing after all. After,” she nodded once again, “Yes, I can Heal you, I can see you safe, and do lots of other things. But not in between, there is nothing I can do. Not in any way. And even if I could have intervened,” she tilted her head to the side as she considered Jack's body, “I don't think I could have done anything for him. I can Heal but that does not include bringing the dead back to life. And I'm pretty sure he was dead before he knew it.” Plus considering the nature of vampires, she wasn't even sure she could heal them. After all, the only person she had Healed so far had been Christopher…and he was an Angel, a powerful one at that.

And it wasn't like she hadn't taken a risk, something she wasn't sure she was even allowed to do: by talking when she had, she had half-hoped that one of the werewolves would have attacked her, which would have given her some leeway. She wasn't sure at all that she would have been allowed to fight back considering that a werewolf was no danger to her and she could have simply Orbed away, but it may have given the others a bit of time.

As Abe and Cailin heatedly discussed what it meant to be an angel, the moments passed and Dean regained control of his faculties while Tom took Jack's body out of the truck too and placed it near Dean.



[OOC: I updated my previous post in clarification.]

Abe sighed, he thought about supernatural restrictions and how asking her to do those things might have been like asking Dean to take a stroll in the sunlight.  "Sorry.  I didn't know.  Being an angel seems even more restrictive than being a vampire."

During the fight, when his tiny flame did about nothing, he had been remorseful to be Fae rather than one of the other kinds of supernaturals.  Now, as he thought about the restrictions put on each of the others: sunlight, orders, people hunting you, he was suddenly as glad to be Fae as he was when had first discovered it.

"Once I'm done removing fingerprints, do we want to torch this thing to remove the Shadowland blood laying everywhere?" He asked the group.

[OOC: If we're still in rounds, I assume Abe has several more of removing fingerprints before he's ready to go.]