The little kitten jumped almost three feet up when [Lyngel-Lajos] called out to them. Paws scrambling at the air ready to run when he landed. A glance though and he recognized it was [Euphoria of the Golden Hands].

He kitten smiled though he was a bit embarrassed at jumping the way he did.
"I don't know. I thought [Haloise] and I were alone till you showed up. I am glad your here. I have a sense through [prophecy] we need to head east. Of course that means moving towards those people with rifles. Someone needs to explain this game to me, I was expecting bows, and crossbows, swords and spears but rifles ?" He let's out a little Mrow.

"Help me free, [Haloise] please I think her spear tips are stuck."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:02, Wed 07 Sept 2022.

"I'm stuck." Haloise confirms, trying to use one hand to push out from the dirt. Of course, her mind was really on her new form, and how it plays with her own abilities. She takes a moment, and reaches out to Euphoria to speak with her. If Haloise's thinking is correct, the way Eri bound the two of them together should mean that Euphie is always 'metaphysically' weilding Haloise, even if she's not physically weilding her, right?

Azalea had to double-take for a moment, seeing Euphoria transformed into a different body. It took her a moment to realize she'd transformed as well. It was weird being in two places at once, but it definitely had it's benefits. She wondered, if she got hurt in one world, would it affect her in the other as well? Now wasn't the time to wonder about that sort of thing. "I hadn't realized I was in danger of incoming moves." She teased. "Good look, by the way."

"And yes, my big, glorious brain sees all, knows most." Her scan was thoroughly rewarded, they hadn't been noticed yet. Azalea gazed at the bayoneted rifles of the hunters with unabashed avarice. "Ohhh... that would be perfect." she hummed, her voice edged with hunger. "They haven't seen us yet, and they have a rifle that would benefit my load-out tremendously. Maybe we'll live long enough to have a chat later. There's some stuff I want to ask you about. We should take one of the hunters, if we can find one strayed away from the group. Once we have the others, of course." There would be safety in numbers, and Azalea wouldn't have to worry about anyone finding themselves in the hunting grounds, unawares. Pulling herself away from the rifle, she followed Euphoria into the fog, finding the others.

They were different, too. Haloise even had a new, manifested form. "I'm glad so many of us ended up here. Is this everybody? Let me help you out." Azalea dashed over to help pull Haloise out of the ground. She didn't exactly have muscle, but she could exert herself through the armor, and at least help with that much strength. "There are some guns. It's sort of a fusion setting of a couple aesthetics. I would love to get my hands on one of those rifles, myself. With my sight and gaming experience, I could become a good mid to back-line asset." Given the group makeup, they'd probably need that. "East, huh?" Azalea tried to use that to orient herself and build a mental map. "Is there anyone comfortable with abducting one of the hunters for questioning?"

"I would love to help with one of the hunters of two. I myself would love to take a look at their rifles. Well, when I have fingers and hands again." He spoke to them through the many flickering shadows.

"I know how to shoot, or I did in another life."

Looking to Haloise with a kitty smile when she was pulled free.

"I will try to keep the smoke away from us."

Uses some [Pyromancy] to ask the fire elementals to have the smoke keep from our faces.

Prydwen

BALEFUL TALENT: [Chained Sixteenfold] has triggered.

Prydwen was shunted out of her manifested form, flying to her wielder's arms -

[Administrate] has self-activated.

[Haemomorphic] has been fused with [Manifest Spirit: Weapon].

FUSED TALENT [Manifest Spirit: Ancestral Weapon] acquired. Activating . . .

Prydwen had felt herself forced out of her manifested form back into a spear as Lyngel-Lajos drew near. Not quite the spear she had once been, but a spear nonetheless. Her [Adminstrate] talent hummed in contemplation, then fulfilled an old 'pending' action, transforming her into a a 'Shage Lance' - a blend of sword and spear that was essentially a sword with a hilt one and a half times as long as the blade. The blade itself was nothing like the spatha - it was wavy, like a flamberge.

[Lyngel-Lajos: -1 HP]

[Administrate] hummed softly. [Better.]

Grim and Lygnel-Lajos

Lyngel-Lajos's divine spirit shielded her from the flames in an instant. It wasn't magic - she didn't know any magic - but part of what she was involve the Flame of Revolution, she felt. Her sight cleared, not just from her eyes but in general - she could see through the smoke comfortably. There is no such thing as a bloodless revolution.

Grim used his Pyromancy to protect the others, politely asking the spirits of the flame to guide rather than warn. The flames listened, and their lungs and eyes benefited.

[Timestamp 21:05]

As she takes the new form, Haloise hums contemplative.

[We don't need to abduct anyone. Why not just ask them? I can communicate eith them before they can even see us, and we can... parlay? Is that the word?] To emphasize, [Prywdin] reaches out, seeing if she can reach a weapon on one of the soldier's persons, cataloging the weapon itself for later and mostly focusing on making sure she can speak with the target.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:14, Fri 09 Sept 2022.

"There is that. I just hope they don't all converge on us."
"We could still head East when everyone is ready."

[Grim] Looked on fascinated at the changes in [Prydwen]
"So cool."

"I don't know, Haloise, I'm not an expert but the creepy hunters don't give me super friendly vibes. Also, even if he is friendly, do you think they'll just give up their weapon? Getting our hands on one for Azalea and possibly Grim so they are armed for our quest is the most important thing," Euphoria said.

The Freshblood Shage then put her two brain cells together and came up with a loose compromise. "Maybe if you make contact, you could feel them out. But we need to lure them away from the others, in case things go sour. Grim, do you think you could scuttle through the bush or something to get one of them to follow you? Azalea and I have armor so if we work together we should be able to restrain them if it comes to that. Then we get weapons and a possible source of information. After all, I don't think Azalea's race can be lied to. Nothing better for an interrogation if you ask me."

If this strategy was agreed on, Euphoria would slip back into a hiding spot nearby, where a lone hunter could be lured to. She would keep watch on the situation in case it turned sour. She was all ready to pounce and restrain the guy if needed.

"I'll do it, just say when."

[Grim] will embrace the plan and try and lead some hunters away following the directive of the group.

The hunters were a military unit moving in squads of five each; it was not possible to lure just one away. In fact, Grim's attempt [97] to do so failed spectacularly.

When Grim first saw the hunters, he saw relatively short men wrapped in block cloth carrying rifles. Two of them wore bandoliers of odd bottles, two of them carried a short walking-stick or staff with a head wrapped in silvery metal with [Pyromancy] runes carved into it that they occasionally use to spray flame at as yet unburning trees.

The last one had a sword at his hip, was taller and thinner, and carried revolvers rather than rifle. His face was covered by a white mask. Grim attempted to lead one of the smaller hunters off, but it was the larger one that saw through his attempt.

"Bogey at ego. Type 2. Unaffiliated?"

Grim had four rifles on him, ready to fire if he moved in any direction. The others were nearby but hidden.

Prydwen found she could make contact with the bayonets on the rifles and with the sergeant's sword, but not with the firearms. The sergeant's sword was a fine saber.

[Timestamp 21:15]

[Grim] gulped silently and stood still.

He thought of things to do, an idea came to him. He knew with [Stellar Magic] he could bend light to disappear but that would put his friends at risk if he just vanished. Instead he tried to just bend the light to appear to be in a different place then where he actually was. Like the way water could bend the location of something placed in it.

He meowed lightly and innocently hoping they wouldn't shoot.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:05, Thu 15 Sept 2022.

Haloise speaks, seeing that Grim was in a bit of a pickle all of the sudden. She speaks to the seargent and his most immediate adjacent soldiers, her voice speaking out in their heads.

[Requesting Parlay. Do not fire. Repeat, requesting Parlay. Do not fire.] There's a few angles here: Haloise wants the seargent to give the order so there's an air of legitimacy,  but she could also try to imply her own voice was Grim's. After a moment of deliberation, she speaks again.

[... Please don't shoot my pet.] Prydwin assist Grim in his not getting shot check.

Well, that didn't go as planned, and she wasn't about to let these hunters shoot her friend on her watch. Caring little for her own safety, Euphoria put her gaze on the one who seemed in charge, whom she could hear Haloise speak to, the conversation echoing in her own mind. If he showed any hostility or any sign they were not going to speak or cooperate, Euphoria would attack him from the shadows.

She had all the advantages. All his men were distracted pointing their weapons in the opposite direction (at Grim), and he was distracted by Halise in his head. She would use her first [Unarmed Attack] to his temple, where she knew - from her past experience in the ring - would be an instant knockout. Then when he was subdued, or simply dazed, she would use her second [Unarmed Attack through Thought Acceleration] to restrain him and poise her unpossessed knife at his throat. For all his soldiers to see.

But first, she waited to see how the commander would react to Haloise in his mind, and if anyone dared take a shot at Grim.

---

OOC: Leaving rolls to GM if they are required.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:56, Thu 15 Sept 2022.

"Ah shit." Azalea grumbled. Well, this had gone spectacularly balls-up. She'd felt so hopeful with Haloise's transformation and Grim's stealth capabilities, too. Talking to the hunters at all had been a mistake and there were so many of them. How many of these groups of five were there even? Azalea used her [Appraisal] with her [Meta-Analytic Computation] to find out how many of them there were, what their purpose and combat potential might be. What kind of hunters were these to hunt in such large groups. What kind of prey could they hope not to scare off?

She saw Euphoria ready a striking maneuver and kept herself hidden. Until she had some kind of ranged weapon, she herself had about the combat potential of an angry marble. Unless she could become some kind of distraction...

Reluctantly, Azalea doffed her armor, becoming just a sphere once more. She zipped through the underbrush, and burst into view, drawing attention opposite of Euphoria's intended battle path.

"Behold me with rapt affection, lesser beings!" She boomed "I give you tidings of great world change, and the opportunity to serve under one so deserving of your worship! Fall before me and relinquish your weapons, for I am of the new gods and will lead you to a place of glory beneath my wings!" They weren't openly hostile yet, hopefully, so perhaps there was still time to cast a [Charm]. At the very least she would make for an excellent distraction

Grim disappeared from view.

"Cross that." said the sergeant. He was speaking to a Callisti the size of a marble, which responded with a chime of confirmation. "Suspected cognitohazard. Requesting exfil."

The hunters lowered their rifles. "Must be something in the smoke. We are off our rockers, men. Do not engage the anomalies. We hold position."

VALENCE

There were 42 hunters in total, two squads of five and two squads of six. She also noted that the tiny Callisti was apparently called a [Spherule].

[Timestamp 21:25]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:09, Mon 19 Sept 2022.

[Grim] wondered what happened he hadn't meant to turn invisible. It turned out not bad but the hunters were not reacting the way he thought they would to his companions. For the moment he slinked behind a bush to watch.

His cat eyes watching the proceedings closely. His eyes moved to their guns their shadows dancing in the fire light. He focused on keeping the echo of the guns behind as [VALENCE] needed a weapon or two and if he ever turned human it would be nice to have one.

He focused on his [Shadow Magic melding it with Dream Magic] for artistry as well as to give [VALENCE] and him something to believe in and focus on. He imagined fanciful and wonderous firearms for them. The weapons hidden in the bushes for [VALENCE]




This message was last edited by the player at 16:23, Mon 19 Sept 2022.

Haloise projects her voice put once more.

[You are not hallucinating. My group is lost and I am using special magics to communicate with you from a distance. We mean no harm, despite the slightly monstrous appearance of some of us. Uhmm... Sargent, what should I call you, sir?] By engaging with the Sargent in particular she hopes that the parlay aspect can move forward. So, she's attempting to raise the disposition of the Sargent before the group reveals themselves.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:59, Wed 21 Sept 2022.

Euphoria waited with bated breath for the bass to drop. For... something to drop. The group of hunters hadn't started shooting. Azalea hadn't up and kicked it. Grim was suddenly nowhere to be found. She listened for signs of drama or violence, but she heard nothing. Haloise's conversation with the hunters was a mystery to her. Though if their own conversation was any indication, she was still trying the diplomatic route. So for now...

She would wait.

Euphoria held her action, waiting for a moment to strike if such a strike was necessary. Or turn tail and run. She was also into that too. Especially if they didn't believe they were real. She only wished she knew more of what was going on. All she could do was wait in apt anticipation. Damn yall, what are you thinking? she mused as anxiety crept into her blood.

And that was only the start.

Euphoria began to feel lighter, less constrained, somehow. She looked down at her gauntletted arms and her chest piece to see them fainter than before. They appeared to disintegrate before her very eyes. Not like metal subjected to fire or acid, but like a dream fading away. Of something that once lived becoming a ghost. Then she remembered what happened in the Ratworks. "Shit, shit, shiiiiiit..." she cursed under her breath. She futilely scrambled to grab at her armor, as if that would do anything. It didn't. Like stardust, the armor slipped between her fingers, until only her bare, black rags were left. Damn, and there went one advantage.

In the panic of the moment, she almost missed the result of Haloise and Azalea's plan coming to fruition. Or dire consequences. Even though she didn't need it, she suddenly felt very naked and alone without the armor, and she called out for Grim in a hushed breath, hoping the kitty cat may somehow appear before her so they may stand together. He had promised her in the other world, after all.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:19, Thu 22 Sept 2022.

The little [Spherule] chimed dissonantly.

The Sergeant's eyes widened, and one arm came down in a chopping motion even as the other hand drew his revolver.

Lyngel-Lajos leapt from the bushes, bringing her strange glaive down on the Sergeant, who neatly sidestepped the attack with possibly supernatural premonition.

---

04:59, Today: The Fool, on behalf of Lyngel-Lajos, Princet of Revolution, rolled 2d100 with rolls of 76,22.  Brawl & vs.

---

"Witches, men!"

"In Wodan's name!"

The Sergeant fired, but Lyngel-Lajos twisted to avoid the shot even at point blank, correctly dodging in the same direction as the firing arm to make aim correct difficult. [+1 ADV for LL]

The other soldiers were caught by surprise, the two readying rifles to fire at Valence and two readying one of the strange bottles and their fire-wands.

Grim dropped the spell he was maintaining, popping into visiblity, as he switched tack and began trying to create weapons from shadow and dream. Using two distinct traditions at once was beyond petty magic; he would need an actual spell to do this, or try to improvise one in the moment. [declare what tradition you are using, what magnitude of spell you intend to cast, and then make an Incant roll.]

Timestamp: 21:26

[Grim] heard [Euphoria] and planned to make his way over to her when everything seemed to go bad. He was already focused on his task and meow purred focusing on bringing the weapons into existence. He waved his tail wildly to get [Lady Valence] attention.

He wished he could help more. He looked to [Euphoria] giving a brief nod to let her know he would join her. His claws came out. When he could, he would join her. He was sad though thinking they had avoided combat and suddenly it turned to this.

06:40, Today: Grim, Prince of Passion rolled 5 using 1d100.  Shadow Tradition Incant. I want the weapons to be able to hurt one target so at least Magnitude 4. As for spell (Shadow Hexcaster/s).

Haloise reaches out with her chains. Well, it was worth a shot: no bronze off her spatha now. She reaches out, and in her mind, silvery chains embrace the bayonets of the weapons. She looks, she studies, [Appraising] the blades using [Swordsight]. After a couple of moments, she's satisfied: she bundles the chains up under one arm, and her being begins to move upwards, shooting up at what appears to be lightning speed. Haloise read her character sheet. She knows she can move the weapons she's possesed a bit, to redirect a flying spear in the air.

Keeping this in mind, [Prydwin] tries to use her [Possession] skill in order to manipulate the position of the fixed bayonets on the firearms, jerking the barrels upwards and hopefully causing difficulty in their next shots.


(please tell me which dice to roll)

That was not a reaction Azalea had been expecting.

Had they not believed in her presence? Azalea, deflated, had begun drifting back to her suit to re-equip herself when the tone quite suddenly and violently shifted. "Oh, shit. They seem to believe in us now." Witches though? Were there witches they'd have to deal with, too?

Azalea hastened her pace in suiting back up in her armor. Once suited up, she lied in wait for a weapon to become available. She even looked around for an improvisational weapon. Any would do at this point. Grim's wagging tail caught her attention and she watched in his direction.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:20, Sun 25 Sept 2022.

Euphoria had a secret. A very dark secret. One that she so far kept close to her chest. Embarrassment? Shame? Wouldn't you too if you had to shoulder her burden? Euphoria loved Godhunter. She read the novels. She followed the cosplayers. She lurked on Reddit and followed lore channels and published unmentionables in the slimy underbelly of the internet under a pseudonym containing one underscore "_" and a bad pun. All the while she hid her unforgivable sin.

She never finished the game. She was too bad at it.

Controllers were for nerds. They were designed with buttons only a computer engineer could fathom (so far as she was concerned). She didn't own a game console until she was old enough to buy one for herself. What time did she have - a teenager grinding 15 hours a week on the field - to hot-wire her brain to use camera controls and button-mash at the same time? In a game like Godhunter, she only ever managed to button-mash herself off a cliff.

She always cursed this contraption, knowing that if Godhunter came as naturally as moving her finely tuned body, she would be so competent at it. Good enough, even, to utter those hateful words - "git gud" - at other filthy casuals.

Now here she was, standing in the burning grass of this hateful world, and there was no RI or L2 between her and her own hands. She dodged the bullet with more speed than Euphoria thought possible. Now in the Sergeant's personal space, she made up the difference with the tip of her glave [42/24].

---

15:08, Today: Lyngel-Lajos, Princet of Revolution rolled (42,24) using 2d100. Brawl w/ Seargent (ADV +1). Sacrifice move action to perform Heavy Attack or Charged Heavy Attack if both rolls succeed.

---

On a successful hit, [Thought Acceleration] revved up, fueled by adrenaline and coursing blood. Euphoria focused solely on his little movements, coming to a crawl in mid-air. She lashed out with another slash [37] to remove the arm holding his gun.

---

15:23, Today: Lyngel-Lajos, Princet of Revolution rolled 37 using 1d100 for Brawl 2 w/ Seargent.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 21:30, Sun 25 Sept 2022.

A whole lot happened all at once.

Lyngel-Lajos cut down the sergeant. There was something in his movements that caught her eye - there was something in his eyes - she sensed she had cut down a warrior, not just any goon. It was in the way he spun his revolver, gripped the barrel, and caught the spear tip with the trigger-guard, in the way his saber was coming up to cut her from left thigh to right shoulder - the spear cut through the trigger guard and through his armor at the elbow, through the armor into the shoulder into the sergeant's throat. Her second strike was a punch that caved the sergeant's chest in, sealing the deal.

Her intuition told the sergeant had been trained in a Shage martial path. An initiate, but she still felt the hot lethality that had shone like fresh blood on the edge of the sergeant's blade that never reached her.

At the same time, Grim summoned a brace of [Hexcasters] into VALENCE's waiting hands, as Prydwen jerked the fire of the other four soldiers wide - it didn't take much to jerk a rifle a few inches off true.

Timestamp: 21:27

Grim focused on the remaining men. He swirled shadow chains about one of them to wrap him up.
He then backs up into a bush. He looks with concern to Lyngel-Lajos.

He hoped the men would surrender.



09:47, Today: Grim, Prince of Passion rolled 69 using 1d100.  Shadow Chains.