Rifts Adventure IC

[Rykon]

Zephiron looks to Snowfall, then at the Demon, pondering the situation for a moment. Zephiron opened his jaws wide and unleashed a barrage of deep purple fumes at the demon's face and gave him a firm, yet non-lethal, slap to make sure he didn't try anything clever like holding his breath. With the Broadkill potentially immobilized, he extended a hand to the ritual and began channeling as much power as necessary to finish the casting.

 

[Silanon]

A moment of goodness - at least that's the plan. The moment where the demon could screw it up, too, so the Crazy comes ever so slightly closer, ready to act if it is needed. Likely not. The dragon does what dragons do, after all. Miraculous magic, altering the world after their will. Or at least something like that, Eron's not a poet. Too much to do for that, saving the world and all. And looking menacing - that's what the shifter asked for, right? So the Crazy stands there, his legs apart, sword in both hands to cleave through any possible threat with holy force. Eyes on the demon, since nothing else matters. Just in case that a dragon's breath and the promise of survival aren't enough. "Ready when you are, get it done and all. One trip back home coming right up, I heard."

 

[Mirgris]

A swing and a miss. At this point, the Wraith is on the move, running at high speed away from the fight, and is now out of melee range.

Sir Alan is not fast enough to keep pace with the fleeing thing, so he stands his ground and looks around for other threats coming your way.

Eric shakes his fist at the fleeing wraith and calls out, "That's right you coward! You'd better run! If we see you again, we'll totally kick your ass!"

By now, the Wraith has turned a corner and is out of sight, thanks to its incredible running speed.

Moving out of combat time.


Eric looks down at his ruined shirt and sighs. "Damn. I really liked this outfit. Well, I think we need to get the hell out of here before we run into more of those assholes. If you want to do some hurt against the fang gang, I can have you guys meet my friends. We're planning something big to deal with these guys."

"Yes let us leave with haste, I can do some armor repairs and a healing spell or two as needed, the creature is lucky he left quickly I was preparing my strongest spell"
The doctor turns off his ring and knives, hiding disappointment in his comrades. Truly was the man of science expected to do everything himself?

He holsters his pistol spending a few PPE to recharge it fully, and checks his armor happily noticing he went uninjured.


"Lead the way then"

 

[Psychie]

Terra keeps her sword in one hand while placing her hand on top of Snowfall's to make her own donation of psychic energy to the effort of opening the portal.

 

[Sherwood]

"Yes let us leave with haste, I can do some armor repairs and a healing spell or two as needed, the creature is lucky he left quickly I was preparing my strongest spell"
The doctor turns off his ring and knives, hiding disappointment in his comrades. Truly was the man of science expected to do everything himself?

He holsters his pistol spending a few PPE to recharge it fully, and checks his armor happily noticing he went uninjured.


"Lead the way then"

Moving quickly through the now empty streets, Eric heads for the edge of town to where he has a large armored vehicle parked. He looks over at Nick and Alan and says, "The Badger is big enough to take you guys with room to spare, and depending on what your own rides are, if you have something small, they can fit inside the lower level. Or you can follow along behind me. Up to you guys. Either way, we should get the hell out of here."

Just as he is saying that, you can hear a set of what sounds like police sirens off in the distance.

 

[Sherwood]

Elsewhere in the jungle, Snowfall can feel the rush of psychic energy flow into him as you activate the tattoo that will open the portal. Thanks to Zephiron's efforts to paralyze the Brodkil demon, once the opening forms, all you have to do is throw the limp body through the opening to send it back to its home dimension. You are all fortunate in the fact that there is nothing that tries to come through the opening in your direction when the portal is opened.

Now, things are settling down for you once more, and everyone has three hours of time to be able to recover spent PPE in meditation.

It is around this time that your meditation is interrupted by a radio call from Eric in the Badger. He calls out, "Hey guys! I made a quick run down to the city of Chiquimula, and made a few discoveries. First, this place is totally controlled by the vampires, to the point that they require new arrivals and the locals in town to go on a regular basis to a central medical facility to donate blood. Very neat and orderly, but very creepy at the same time. Next, the locals are all scared stiff, and with good reason. The vamps have many nasty thugs running around the city to enforce the laws of the town, including other kinds of undead. Not what I would call a friendly bunch of neighborhood cops. But the good news is, I was able to find a Cyber Knight and his companion that are following me out of here and back to the base."

 

[Mirgris]

Moving quickly through the now empty streets, Eric heads for the edge of town to where he has a large armored vehicle parked. He looks over at Nick and Alan and says, "The Badger is big enough to take you guys with room to spare, and depending on what your own rides are, if you have something small, they can fit inside the lower level. Or you can follow along behind me. Up to you guys. Either way, we should get the hell out of here."

Just as he is saying that, you can hear a set of what sounds like police sirens off in the distance.

"Yeah let me grab my bike" Nicholas says before sprinting to grab his bike from not far away and pulling into the lower level of the badger"

"Okay, lets do this, by the way how many people are on your side, and what do you have in the way of resources?"

 

[Sherwood]

"Yeah let me grab my bike" Nicholas says before sprinting to grab his bike from not far away and pulling into the lower level of the badger"

"Okay, lets do this, by the way how many people are on your side, and what do you have in the way of resources?"

As he pulls the Badger out of the empty lot that it was parked in, Eric calls out over his shoulder to Nick, "We have a tough group of adventurers chilling out in the jungle with a bunch of were-jaguars. Our team has a dragon, a Glitter Boy, a Atlantean Battle Controller, some kind of fox-spirit-thing that I'm not entirely sure exactly what he is other than a good guy, and a Crazy. Our other resources include a massive mobile fortress that got popped into the area thanks to a Ley Line Storm, and there is plenty of goods in the fortress that we can use."

He continues to drive, going on to say, "We have faced off against a whole mess of nasty stuff, including some of the Splurgoth agents in Atlantis, and some DBee invaders that were trying to destroy all humanoid life on Earth. If anyone has a chance to wipe out these vampires and clean out the pyramid that the Intelligence is sitting in, its us."

 

[Psychie]

It is around this time that your meditation is interrupted by a radio call from Eric in the Badger. He calls out, "Hey guys! I made a quick run down to the city of Chiquimula, and made a few discoveries. First, this place is totally controlled by the vampires, to the point that they require new arrivals and the locals in town to go on a regular basis to a central medical facility to donate blood. Very neat and orderly, but very creepy at the same time. Next, the locals are all scared stiff, and with good reason. The vamps have many nasty thugs running around the city to enforce the laws of the town, including other kinds of undead. Not what I would call a friendly bunch of neighborhood cops. But the good news is, I was able to find a Cyber Knight and his companion that are following me out of here and back to the base."

Terra opens her eyes from the deep meditation that she is in when getting the radio call from Eric. With a bit of a stretch and a sigh, she reaches for her own transmitter and responds, "Good to hear from you, Eric. Even better news is that you found a Cyber Knight. Having one of those champions on our side is a blessing." She thinks for a moment, then says, "Return to the fortress with these guys, and I'll come back there to meet you. I need to get my Automations, and we can get a good read on these two."

She then says, "You mentioned the Cyber Knight and a companion. What can you tell me about the companion? Is he a Cyber Knight, too?"

 

[Sherwood]

Terra opens her eyes from the deep meditation that she is in when getting the radio call from Eric. With a bit of a stretch and a sigh, she reaches for her own transmitter and responds, "Good to hear from you, Eric. Even better news is that you found a Cyber Knight. Having one of those champions on our side is a blessing." She thinks for a moment, then says, "Return to the fortress with these guys, and I'll come back there to meet you. I need to get my Automations, and we can get a good read on these two."

She then says, "You mentioned the Cyber Knight and a companion. What can you tell me about the companion? Is he a Cyber Knight, too?"

Eric replies, "To be honest, I'm not one hundred percent sure. He's got some magic items on him, and was quick with a pistol, and he's running with the Knight, so he can't be a bad guy, right? I'll see what I can learn about him during our run back to the base."

 

[Psychie]

Terra ponders for a moment, then says, "True. Well, try to learn more of this person as you go, and I'll meet you at the fortress. Keep in touch, and I'll see you soon."

Logging off, she looks over at the others. "We have some potential allies on their way to the base with Eric. A Cyber Knight and his companion. I am going to head back there to meet them, and to round up my Automations. Anyone care to come along with me?"

Rykon Purr D. Rex Silanon

 

[Silanon]

"Could do that, perhaps - not the best, though, I think. He knows I'm out here, after all - without the patrol coming back, he might try to find me again. Magic, perhaps. Psionics. Who knows. These found me" - he points out the remaining corpses - "all the way in the wilderness. Maybe best if I stay away from any nasty surprises we have; wouldn't want them to find those while searching for me. Better if I'm doing what I've been doing before, I believe, raise no suspicion. Scout out from afar, that sort of thing. Gives them something to look at, too, if they're wary." He eyes the others. "Unless you think it'd be best for me to tag along. Just wouldn't accomplish much, doing nothing at all."

 

[Mirgris]

As he pulls the Badger out of the empty lot that it was parked in, Eric calls out over his shoulder to Nick, "We have a tough group of adventurers chilling out in the jungle with a bunch of were-jaguars. Our team has a dragon, a Glitter Boy, a Atlantean Battle Controller, some kind of fox-spirit-thing that I'm not entirely sure exactly what he is other than a good guy, and a Crazy. Our other resources include a massive mobile fortress that got popped into the area thanks to a Ley Line Storm, and there is plenty of goods in the fortress that we can use."

He continues to drive, going on to say, "We have faced off against a whole mess of nasty stuff, including some of the Splurgoth agents in Atlantis, and some DBee invaders that were trying to destroy all humanoid life on Earth. If anyone has a chance to wipe out these vampires and clean out the pyramid that the Intelligence is sitting in, its us."

"I'm mostly worried about gem stones, and if any of them are the type I can trust with one of my higher grade projects. I don't want to make weapons that are going to fall into the wrong hands but I have one..... project, a very special one that could be key to taking down an elder vampire, you know just going to take a million credits and a thousand man hours, at least"

The doctor shrugs lightly as he considers it.

They would need a lot of PPE, to be a trained swordsman, I'd have trust them. It's a lot of qualifications to ask for, but maybe one of them is fitting of it. If I even wish to make it, such a thing can not be unmade and future generations of techno-wizards may reek havoc if they learn of it. Not that it is cheap, but it is possible.


He sighs for a moment recharging his pistol and getting into a meditative position in the crawler. "I will need to interview each of them, and you as well, I need to know what gear you need or what improvements you need"

 

[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 (+20 in Kitsune form, +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.

Snowfall felt tired inside. Still able, but definitely drained. He had very little P.P.E. now (30), his own constitution was no longer at the level he had trained so hard to keep it (-7 P.E.), and there was a familiar wooziness about him now like a fellow who had simply not gotten nearly enough sleep. Such was the costs of doing the right thing.

Along with this was the feeling of tremendous satisfaction! He, along with Terra and Zephiron, had not only banished the Brodkil but kept Miss Terra's Atlantean spirit balanced in the process. There would be no "demon of guilt" sitting on her shoulder, nagging and reminding her she had taken part in putting to death a surrendered foe. This made Snowfall smile from his very soul.

Even the Brodkil had it in a bad way. To be deposited, paralyzed and helpless, by a bunch of good guys and gals back to one's hellish dimension promised all kinds of punishment to any in that realm that came across the failed Brodkil. Some demons, at least in Japan, cherished their reputation far more than their lives. Kill them if you must, just whatever you do, don't ridicule them! Oh, the names they might be calling that Brodkil now!

Snowfall gave Zephiron a pleased grin. "Nice touch! That breath of yours." He wanted to say more, but found his spirit a bit too fatigued at the moment to do so.

Logging off, she looks over at the others. "We have some potential allies on their way to the base with Eric. A Cyber Knight and his companion. I am going to head back there to meet them, and to round up my Automations. Anyone care to come along with me?"

"Of course, Miss Terra."

Assisting the Clan Draco Amicus Battle Controller was why he had joined the team in the first place. Sure, he had satisfied his debt of honor to Terra's family by assisting her against the devious Mechanoids (and, boy, did those needle-brains* have it coming!), but Snowfall felt for awhile now that Miss Terra was a worthy person to follow. A good person. None of the others had appeared to give a serious second thought to doing anything but slaying the Brodkil and Snowfall, having lived the majority of his life in the mystical Far East, could not fault them at all! For Snowfall more than most knew of the evil the oni did. This deed they had done, if performed in Japan with the New Empire watching, would have for certain gotten the attention of many.

Spoiler: *

"Needle-brains." Sharp, yes, but oh so very small in size!

Snowfall rose from the blessed drifting of his moving meditation, the Tai Chi he had performed for the past three hours, and though still feeling drained, moved to attention stance. Slowly and meaningfully, he bowed three times to the sun in the sky, then he stepped by her side, ready for whatever may come.

For Snowfall felt Terra did not have to be Japanese to be treated respectfully; she had earned it. Snowfall understood why her family loved and missed her so. Her merciful thoughts and actions were becoming of Atlanteans and Japanese alike. Zephiron too had done as many good-hearted kumo-mi dragons might have. To make a helpless and defeated fool out of an oni, then toss him back to his own was something Snowfall could see the great mystical reptiles nodding their heads to.

Yes, Snowfall was spiritually weary, but his heart was very, very pleased.

Image credit: Pinterest.pt )

STATUS

Location: Central America!
Statblock: Self-M.D.C. (228/228). Self-P.P.E. (30/278). Physical Endurance. (29/36). Power Matrix (0/60 P.P.E.). Effects Active: See spoiler inside post. Blazing Comet (Mach 6 for 2 hours. 120/120 M.D. Force field). Sustain (256/288 hours).

 

[Psychie]

Terra looks over at Eron and says, "If you are wanting to stick around here and see what mischief you can come up with, I'm good with that. But first, let me give you our radio codes so we can keep in touch. I definitely want your help in this fight coming up, so be careful out here, ok? Now, Daisy and Zephiron. Why don't the two of you stick around here with Eron? See what comes of you guys nosing around out here. In the meantime, Snowfall and I will go back to the Mobile Fortress and check in with Eric and the two new arrivals."

With that, she rises up from her lotus position that she had taken while meditating and uses some of her recently recovered psychic energy to activate her Flight Tattoo. Rising up in the air, she looks over at Snowfall and says, "I know you can fly a lot faster than I can, so I'll just do my best to get a move on."

 

[Purr]

Snowfall nodded respectfully. "I can for now, but in less than two hours time, the effects of the Blazing Comet will fade. I must meditate again, preferably near a ley line, in order to use Blazing Comet again. Unless anyone else is joining us, lead on!"

 

[Sherwood]

Mirgris

It takes about two hours of uneventful driving for Eric to get you deep into the jungle on the way to this mobile fortress that he has been talking about. As you get into the heart of the jungle, it is slow going, but the Badger is doing well enough in making its way though the trees and underbrush. Finally, Eric uses his radio and you can hear him say, "We are almost there, so make sure you don't blast us by accident." He glances over his shoulder and says, "Just telling them to turn off the guns so we can safely approach. If you want, head up to the observation deck and take a look at the fortress as we pull in."

Visible up over the trees is a large metal dome can be seen, rising up over a thousand feet in the air. Sir Alan looks over at Nick and says, "Well, you don't see that every day now, do you? And this place is supposed to be mobile? I wonder how something so large can be able to move!"

The Badger drives up closer, and a large section of the shiny metal wall slides open to reveal a giant vehicle bay that the big APC fits into with room to spare. Looking around inside the bay, you see a trio of odd statues that don't seem to fit in. Two of them are 12 foot tall stone humanoid figures, while the third is 18 feet tall and made of metal. All three of the statues are armed with large swords. Eric pulls the Badger into a stall and shuts off the engine, then he climbs out and looks around with a smile on his face as he walks out to introduce you to his friends.


Purr and Psychie

The flight back to the fortress is quick and uneventful, and soon you are setting down at the base. You have managed to beat the Badger back, but it is not long before you get a radio call from Eric that he is nearly there. He steers the Badger into one of the vehicle bays of the fortress, the same one as Terra's three Automations. Once Eric shuts off the engine, the side hatch opens up and out step the three men. Eric comes over to Terra and Snowfall and shakes your hands. "Good to see you guys again. Let me introduce to you Sir Alan and Dr. Nickolas Curie. Guys, this is Terra Alvana and Snowfall."

 

[Psychie]

Once they arrive at the fortress, Terra can once more feel the sensation of being connected to her Automations, and it is not until this time that she realizes just how empty she felt without them being close by to her. As they wait for Eric to pull in, she walks over to them and gives the leg of Tiny an affectionate pat. "Hey boys. Mama's back. Did you miss me?" Obviously, they don't answer her, but it still felt right to say something to the Automations.

As the Badger pulls into the bay, she stands at ease, waiting for the big APC to come to a stop and let out the two passengers inside. After Eric introduces everyone, she offers up a bow. "Greetings and well met. As you can guess, I'm Terra, and this is Snowfall. We are two of the band of adventurers that are here trying to put a stop to the vampire plague in this area and return a small pyramid to the control of the tribe of were-jaguars that rightfully own the place. I'm sure you have questions for us, so feel free to ask and we will do our best to answer them."

 

[Sherwood]

Rykon , D. Rex and Silanon

While Snowfall and Terra are flying off, this leaves the three of you in the jungle nearby the were-jaguar village. The good news is that in the last fight you just had, no one was hurt or suffered any damage, so you don't have to worry about repairs or healing time.

The bad news is, it is getting to be late afternoon, and soon darkness will fall. Then the other residents of the pyramid can rise and start to prowl the night, looking for blood.

What are you doing during this time?

 

[Rykon]

Zephiron will try and replenish PPE at a leyline before things get too late, otherwise he'll try and keep watch for any trespassers that might be hungry for a nice stake.

 

[D. Rex]

I would like to gather up silver and wood to convert slugs to silver and wood round to be effective against demons and vampires. Would also like to recruit any jaguar smiths and carvers that may want to help.

Given that the enemies we are fighting are essentially swarms, would slugs piercing or fkechettes spread be taken into account?

Also, if she has any free time, Daisy would look over the new glitterboy to see if the feminine model had anything she could immediately make use of or if it would be a better choice for the conflict.



And a steak. Rare. Wirh witch she would eat while Zeph serves out stakes to others.

 

[Silanon]

Being somewhat familiar with the location, Eron will find himself a nice, elevated position with good view of the pyramid - after getting there on his trusted horse. He's trying to see if anything of significance happens. More patrols? Fewer? When night comes, are there more vampires doing their thing, or not? One of his patrols was cut down, after all - if they're coming to retaliate, the Crazy wants to see it first.

Apart from that, he'll fiddle with the comms once he's settled in, getting the new radio codes adjusted and all that. Can't do that in the middle of a fight, so he might as well do it now while there's time.

 

[Mirgris]

Purr Purr and Psychie Psychie

The flight back to the fortress is quick and uneventful, and soon you are setting down at the base. You have managed to beat the Badger back, but it is not long before you get a radio call from Eric that he is nearly there. He steers the Badger into one of the vehicle bays of the fortress, the same one as Terra's three Automations. Once Eric shuts off the engine, the side hatch opens up and out step the three men. Eric comes over to Terra and Snowfall and shakes your hands. "Good to see you guys again. Let me introduce to you Sir Alan and Dr. Nickolas Curie. Guys, this is Terra Alvana and Snowfall."

Purr
The doctor uses the trip to heal injuries and repair armor and spend the rest of it in meditation. PPE is a resource he never has enough of.

The doctor wears a black body suit made of MDC creature leather worked to have small plates of MDC metal in it. In several places it has clear protective coverings over gemstones and wires. A sharp eye can see that these are the origin point for a nearly completely translucent skin tight M.D.C force field. His black hair and mustache are immaculately maintained and oiled.

The equipment he wears on his person falls into four categories. The body suit he wears that covers his body. A revolver on his hip, a single black ring, and a pair of knives.

The revolver is a solid reliable model that includes a laser pointer on it. Though the oddest things are the blue gem stones inside the cylinders where bullets would normally go. As well as another gemstone at the end of the barrel blocking the ability to actually fire a bullet.

The ring he wears on his wedding finger but it is clearly not stylized like a wedding or engagement ring. It is solid black, with a series of black gem stones circling it. Each stone is connected with wiring that is ingrained into the ring itself.

The knives a large daggers, almost short swords by any other measure. They are identical and stay on the small of his back sheathed blade over blade handles facing opposite directions, so he can draw one from either side of his back by reaching behind him.

"Greetings and well met. As you can guess, I'm Terra, and this is Snowfall. We are two of the band of adventurers that are here trying to put a stop to the vampire plague in this area and return a small pyramid to the control of the tribe of were-jaguars that rightfully own the place. I'm sure you have questions for us, so feel free to ask and we will do our best to answer them."

He gives a small bow at the waist, overly formal in his mannerisms. "Lady Terra, a pleasure to meet you, and you as well Sir Snowfall".
He allows her to finish speaking before he continues.

"Yes I will have quite a few questions for each of you, though it may be much easier if I explain my own talents first. I am at my best a force multiplier. I produce everything between weapons, armor, and tools. I take spell effects and use them to create and modify items that are more than the sum of their parts. My own armor is an example, of this with a force field based on the armor of Ithan spell. I will need to discuss with each of you, your needs and capabilities such that I can make equipment that will make the greatest difference. These are expensive, powerful custom items, I will not waste my time making things that are anything less than essential masterpieces. I have one project in particular that would be incredible capable at killing the vampires but it would need a proper wielder which is no easy thing to find."

 

[Psychie]

Terra nods, wondering just what kind of customization this doctor can do. "Good to know, and I look forward to seeing what you can do for us and with our struggle against the vampires. Thanks to the were-jaguars, we have learned of a hidden path into the lower chambers of the pyramid that we are planning on using to get to the Vampire Intelligence. The problem is, there are at least two creatures known as Maggots in the lower chamber with the Intelligence. Cruel, evil demons that are quite nasty to deal with, and they will be a handful before we even face the Vampire Intelligence itself."

"Thanks to Snowfall, we have a good idea of the layout of the pyramid's chambers and the number of defenders of the pyramid. There are a number of Brodkil demons there, along with hundreds of vampires, making the need to attack during the day a necessity so we don't have to deal with all of those undead."

 

[Mirgris]

Terra nods, wondering just what kind of customization this doctor can do. "Good to know, and I look forward to seeing what you can do for us and with our struggle against the vampires. Thanks to the were-jaguars, we have learned of a hidden path into the lower chambers of the pyramid that we are planning on using to get to the Vampire Intelligence. The problem is, there are at least two creatures known as Maggots in the lower chamber with the Intelligence. Cruel, evil demons that are quite nasty to deal with, and they will be a handful before we even face the Vampire Intelligence itself."

"Thanks to Snowfall, we have a good idea of the layout of the pyramid's chambers and the number of defenders of the pyramid. There are a number of Brodkil demons there, along with hundreds of vampires, making the need to attack during the day a necessity so we don't have to deal with all of those undead."

"If you or snowfall is ready now, we could begin discussing what I can do, or maybe one of you two could show me whatever engineering facilities, and supplies you have here. It would be helpful to know what I have to work with."