Rifts Adventure IC

[Rykon]

Zephiron seems deflated at Snowfall's news. "Spanish...? I was just starting to get used to American..." the armored toddler groaned. "They at least have decent food down here? All these robots are leaving me with a 9-volt-y aftertaste." He raised a claw to his maw to help stifle what could only have been a sickly belch from the scent of smoke and motor oil that began to spread as he exhaled.

"Augh... that was the worst lemonade I've ever had... Some overlord... can't even assemble worthwhile beverages or prey..."

 

[Sherwood]

Silanon Are you still with us?

 

[Silanon]

See what you can, she said - likely just meaning the general question where the heck they ended up. That one is answered already, fortunately - turns out that flying foxes get the job done. There's more to it, though, or so the technowizard believes; kneeling on the floor, hand on the cables, lost in the depths of the fortress' database. First just the check if anything took damage; the ley line storm, invisible to the sensors she knows of, at least until it was too late - it rips spells apart, it might very well cause more damage. Then to find answers to the question where they are, and what's out there around them. The former - sure, it is roughly answrered, but there might be more precise coordinates to be found. The latter - the mechanoids planned an invasion of this world, and likely gathered their own intel themselves. They took the battlefield they lost on over this area, presumably - perhaps pure luck, perhaps for a reason. If there's something they found out about these forests around them - Shaona is determined to find out what it is. Sure, there's stories of vampires, and all that stuff - but perhaps mechanical lenses and alien minds see different things than humans and their allies.

Lemme see if there's anything to be learnt by delving into the database; one can hope, right? Looking for damage reports and anything about the surrounding area.

 

[D. Rex]

"Vampires? The humans with dog teeth that suck blood? Hmmph." She hefted her plasma gun. "If their are any nearby, I can sniff them out. Well give us an idea if we need to lock down or not."

"I'll have to make up some specialty rounds for them. Wont be too hard. Plenty of wood around. And I got plenty of rounds to retrofit if we dont have the materials in this fort. Until then, I can go on a quick scout to get an idea. We are mobile enough to get away. And tough as they might be... nobody likes fire or explosives." She said patting her weapons.

"Ready, Terra?"


"Lemonade? I dont thing they drink lemonade. You might have bitten into a cyborgs piss collection tank." She told to the little dragon. "But I dont think vampires taste any better. They are... undead? So they probably taste like rotten meat."

 

[Rykon]

Zephiron holds up a bottle labeled in a script he cannot read. Likely some sort of language related to the Mecha-noids and their origins. "I mean, it smells kinda sour and has the yellow coloring but it's oily and foul-tasting." The young dragon fails to stifle another sickly belch, leaving a soft puff of flame in front of him. He blinks, somewhat surprised. "That's not normal. It's also flammable apparently... Well, at least for the vampires I can cleanse any contaminants in a meal... This stuff though? Not even worth the energy to do so. Yuck."

 

[Psychie]

Terra lets out a laugh. "Well, I would hazard a guess that any vampires down here would not be a good meal for you. Might give you some terrible indigestion. So, if when we do run into them, because you know we will, we'll have to just wipe them out and thank our lucky stars that we are prepared for the fight. Ok, Daisy. Lets take our recon flight and see what we have going on out here."

 

[D. Rex]

Before she left, Daisy took one more moment to think over her armaments for the trip. Ultimately deciding to leave the plasma Ejector behind. As potent as it was, it wouldn't do much good against vampires. Likely hood shed have to rely on her rune axe in a fight here. Worst case scenario she could use her shotgun and shove some sticks in the barrel for a makeshift stake launcher. Besides, this was a mobility focused trip anyway.

Daisy would make her way to an exposed deck, type in some commands to her wrist mounted computer, and her jetpack burst to life. The jets flaming and roaring to go. With a leap, the jetpack blasted off. Carrying Daisy off into the rain and air.

Once aloft, Daisy honed her senses. Casting her sensory powers to pick up any supernatural around. A range up to Sixteen hundred feet.

 

[Purr]

Snowfall came down and, once again in his fox form of furry-white, joined his Atlantean comrade, Terra. A light blue forcefield surrounded him and kept him dry; it was magic Terra might recognize - Tattoo magic of the Blazing Comet.

"Boy, has Dweomer changed!" he joked. "Seriously, I hope all of those mages and friendly fellows made it out, and I'm glad Clan Draco Amicus left when they did! Who could have predicted a Ley Line Storm would throw us upside-down, right?"

 

[Sherwood]

How far out from the mobile fortress do you three range out? Do you split up, or do you keep together?

Also, what are those still in the fortress doing while Daisy, Snowfall, and Terra make their quick flight around?

 

[Purr]

Snowfall would very much like to stay with Terra and Daisy in the hopes of "keeping the party together." Snowfall sees Terra as the team leader and therefore will go to whatever distance she feels is best.

 

[Psychie]

Terra gives the order for the trio to make a quick round about the fortress, examining the immediate area, hoping that Daisy's ability to sense the supernatural will come in handy. Before they leave, she asks Shaona, "Can you please retract the legs of the fortress to give us a lower profile? Right now, I am afraid that we will be seen from miles away from as high as it is right now."

 

[Silanon]

"Will do - take care, out there." Let me add the leg retraction to the things form the previous post, those'll still be the things on Shaona's mind while the three go exploring.

 

[Sherwood]

At the fortress, Shaona is able to direct the massive vehicle to lower itself down, settling into the tall trees. As big as it is, its top is still sticking up over the trees here, but it is much more concealed now than it was before.


Outside, things are going from bad to worse. While there are no Ley Lines in close proximity to cause you trouble, there is something else out here that is giving off a 'psychic stink' that is very troubling. There is something so evil and twisted that you can sense it despite it being probably hundreds of miles away from you. It is so noxious that even Terra and Snowfall can feel something wrong out here. The good news is that whatever it is that is causing the heebie-jeebies in you is clearly a long way off.

Closer to you, there are no signs of people in the immediate vicinity. It seems that this location is quite remote.

 

[Psychie]

As the fly about on their recon run, Terra is feeling very troubled. There is something out here that is rubbing her wrong, but she has no idea what it might be. Looking about, she notes the lack of any civilization out here, so there is no way to ask any locals about what it might be. Fearing that she may be full of it, Terra calls out, "Um, this may sound crazy, but do any of you guys feel . . . something bad? Out there, that away? I am getting a real creepy feeling unlike any that I've ever felt before, and I don't know if I'm imagining it, or if there is something real out there that is troubling me."

 

[Purr]

Snowfall the Kitsune
The Foxiest Messenger of Inari!​

Spoiler: Combat Bonuses

Perception +8
Initiative +5 (+9 when using W.P. Quick Draw)
Attacks per Round: 6
Strike +12
Damage +16
Parry +14
Dodge +19 (+22 in Fox form)
Roll +17
Maintain Balance +10
Save vs. Magic +10
Save vs. Pain +14
Horror Factor Saving Throws +4

Damage by Weapon Type
See Character Sheet.

Spoiler: Instrumental Mood Music

"Las Vegas End Credits" by Hans Zimmer for the Rain Man Soundtrack (starting at the 5:03 mark).

Snowfall drifted from his comical self to his mystical self as easily as a jungle bird might flit from one tree branch to another. He closed his eyes and opened his mind, consciousness, and spirit. Terra's team and he were lost. Not completely lost thanks to his upward flight, but lost enough to not be among friends, family, and all things familiar. The dangers of the Mechanoid battlefield had simply been replaced by another series of dangers. Would there be food? A way to reach home? And would they make it back to those welcome lands?

These questions and more had to be answered, but for now, there was as Terra had accurately pointed out, a grim darkness of spirit that hung over the rainforest like no cloud ever could and no storm could ever clean away. This place was indeed filled with the wonder and grace of nature, but something out there, something far away yet not far away enough, tainted these beautiful woodlands. It added a heaviness, so Snowfall thought, and gripped one unreleasingly with the sensation of trepidation. And so Snowfall felt he and Terra's team were placed in front of another series of unknown challenges where ignorance could lead to death. Perhaps in this they would not save the world as they had evidently done in North America, but to save themselves without any allies to call upon for aid. It was, in Snowfall's mind, still a fight for their very survival.

Snowfall transformed into the form of an old man for he did not believe she could understand him while he was a white fox. His smooth Japanese accent could be heard in his every word. "Miss Terra, I cannot help but be reminded of Japan's Magic Zone where chaos is the only rule and demons dwell by the thousands. I think this place, this Central American jewel, is at the moment, simply another Magic Zone, albeit a much prettier one but one to be treated with equal caution." He looked in the direction she had indicated. "While the greatest evil feels to be far outside of our reach, the same might not be true for its reach. We had best be on our guard as surely as we were when the Mechanoids were about. And above all, we must learn more."

Image credit: Pinterest.pt )

STATUS

Location: Central America!
Statblock: Self-M.D.C. (228/228). Self-P.P.E. (233/278). Power Matrix (60/60 P.P.E.) . Effects Active: Blazing Comet (5.9/6 hours and 120/120 M.D). Sustain (280/288 hours).

 

[Sherwood]

Silanon

As the others explore the area around the fortress, you begin the process of trying to do some data mining in the databanks of the Mechanoids. There is a lot of information here about hundreds of different planets and dozens of races, forcing Shaona to slowly sift through the records until you find the most recent entries about Earth. Unfortunately, everything that you are finding is all about the north-eastern part of the North American continent, with next to nothing about any subject from this far south, and completely blank on the topic of vampires.

 

[Psychie]

Terra looks at Snowfall with a grim expression. "Ever since the apocalypse that brought about the Rifts, there have been many horrible things out there in the shadows. It is no surprise that there is something nasty hiding away, the only questions that concern us now is, what is it, what will it try to do to us, and what can we do about it? Lets get back inside and discuss plans with Shaona and Zeph."

She angles her flight path to head to the open door that is now down at ground level. One way or another, this fortress has got to be removed from the area.

 

[D. Rex]

As Daisy hovered in the air. Her hackles rose. Such a horrible feeling. A horrible "scent". She returned to the landing pad with the others, but continued staring in the direction of the where she believed this evil was exuding from.

"It is quiet here... no vampires. But... there is something else. Some abomination. Something that cant possibly be natural. Something very evil and very powerful. And it is close. Relatively speaking. Only but a few hundreds of miles away."

"That I can sense it this strongly at this distance, whatever it is has great power. I suggest we leave now." She said cautiously a bit disturbed by the presence of this foul being. "Who knows what effect it has over its area of influence. "

 

[Silanon]

"Nothing." When Shaona finally lets go of the cables, there's disappointment in her voice. "Would've been too much to ask for..." Maybe it's foolish to hope for a bit of luck right after a ley line storm screwed up your travel plans; interrupted a ritual that went well all those previous times during the last few years. But hell, would've been nice if those bloody mechanoids had done something actually useful for once. Like scouting the damn planet they were about to invade, and not just the one place that didn't do them any good, in hindsight. Oh well - certainly better than finding the data of just another mechanoid fortress behind the next bush.

"Hey Zeph, if you ever plan to take over the world, do me a favor and do some actual scouting beforehand. Like, the tin cans didn't even bother to look whether there's a better place than in-between coalition, Quebec and us. That's some ignorance right there." And to think that they likely do the very same thing on hundreds of planets, and yet they still exist; must've enough ressources to get through despite that more often than not, which is quite the scary thought indeed. Better not think about it, there might be enough trouble already. "Heard anything of the others yet? Left the door open, just in case they find something that wants to snack 'em. Retracted the legs, too, so that we don't stand out too much. You probbaly noticed... they've got this weird system that compensates for the worst though, gotta take a closer look at that at some point. Hydraulic, maybe, not quite sure. They're doing things quite differently, like the doors..."

This is where she'd continue to talk about the mechanical details, back then - but times, and companions, change. So she stops the flood of words that might be an engineer's dream, but not a young dragon's - stretches and strolls towards the exit. "Felt anything of the leyline storm, right when we went through? Didn't notice in time, or I could've stopped, maybe. But that was some raw, uncontrolled power right there, saw the bolts on the screens, the explosiveness. Ever seen anything like that before?" For the usual human, magic is frightening. For a regular mage, dragonfire is, in most cases. For her, this fortress is just awe-inspiring. One wonders what it takes to impress a dragon.

 

[Sherwood]

With the perimeter scouted and no signs of anyone in the immediate area, the trio of scouters fly back into the fortress and once more are united with Zeph and Shaona. The place is, at least for the moment, secure. If it stays that way is another question.

What is the plan now? How do you plan on getting the fortress out of there and keep it from getting into the hands of someone rather nasty?

Psychie Purr Silanon Rykon D. Rex

 

[Purr]

Back inside the Walking Fortress, Snowfall reverted to a 50-something-year-old human male with long hair. This he begun to tie into a neat ponytail as he casually leaned against a wall. "So... what do we know? Shaona, Zephiron? Come across anything we didn't?"

 

[Silanon]

"Not much to be shared, I'm afraid. Mechanoids didn't do scouting, here, there's a hundred other places I could tell you more about than this one. At least means they're not here with us - won't complain about that . Either way, we should probably know where we're going before making a move, walking the fortress through a forest will certainly leave a trail. And we can't just teleport away again, can we?"

 

[Purr]

"No way, Shaona." Snowfall closed his eyes and shook his head. "Just the team? Sure, if I'm fully rested with a bit of magically donated help in the form of Potential Psychic Energy, I can get us all outta here. But not with this big joker we're in!" He tapped the wall he was leaning against. "She's the real reason we needed all of the Dweomer Magic-users back in North America."

Snowfall rubbed his chin. "Y'know... since it looks like we have to walk this thing back anyway, maybe we should cut toward the Central American coastline and see about taking the Walking Fortress through the water. As deep as she'll go. Western vampires hate water, and besides, how else are we going to get back to North America? It's not like we got a whole buncha mages willing to help here, now do we?"

But then another thought raced across the mind of the experienced Dimensional Traveler. "Heeeey... Hold onto your chopsticks." He tapped his fingers together. "What if... say, what if I find us the closest route to the shoreline, we submerge this Walking Fortress offshore where the vampires aren't likely to touch her, and then we look for another way outta here that involves taking the Walking Fortress with us? I mean, if we walk her the whole way across the coastlines underwater, we're still talking over 2,000 kilometers! By that time, all of you will look older than me!" He opened his hands to the group. "Is this line of thinking going somewhere you like?"

 

[Rykon]

"Do we know if this bucket can even float?" Zephiron asks, curious. "At least, will it continue to work if we try, or will we get stuck?"

 

[Silanon]

"As long as the undersea terrain isn't too rough, the legs should be long enough to carry us through relatively deep water. Water pressure shouldn't be a problem, this thing was built to endure worse things than that; in its prime condition, at least. Didn't matter for the portal travel, but we still have that hole in the outer hull - it will matter if we decide to go diving. Pretty sure there's plenty of material aboard to fix that, though, they certainly planned for the long run with their spare parts. Means we'll have plenty of time to figure out the other details while we take care of that. Don't think I like leaving the fortress behind in some place, be it unreachable for vampires or not - there's probably plenty of other dangers around. We could get to safety, then send a messenger to find someone to get us outta here, I suppose. Like, we kind of have a specialist for those kind of tasks with us, just gotta be in a position where we're sure that the additional prowess of him isn't needed to stay safe till he returns."