Fantasy Steamhaven: Land of the Lost

[Cartoonicat]

Poppy studied the map carefully. "I'm not sure but... it's worth a shot. That weird guy has an X on his room," she tapped the map, "assumin' we're here in this walled off room, that's where he is, way back there." She hummed. "We moved pretty fast in here."

After looking at the map a bit longer, she tapped the room with the downward arrow. "Let's try that room. We might be able to find a way to the second floor-"

Sounds from the other side of the wall reached their ears, cutting Poppy off. She stared at the source of the noise and pressed her ear to the wall. It turned out she didn't need to: The voices rose in volume, one of which Lianna recognized.

"One old woman," Samael growled, "but twenty vampires can't find her!? You're useless!"

An unknown voice mumbled something before speaking louder. "Maybe we can use the others as a bargaining chip," she said, "we have the two hunters in custody still."

Samael snorted. "You think the old woman is going to-... no," he paused. "She won't come out for them, but I know who will. Make a scene. She won't let them suffer long."
"Yes, Sir."

Poppy met Lianna's eyes, round and worried. She mouthed the names "Clem" and "Dan".

- Exit the walls
- Go to the second floor
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna's eyes narrowed. The creatures had them hostage and were planning to use them against her. It took all of her strength not to burst out of the walls and rain garlic water on them. But she needed to be levelheaded now. They had to proceed through the wall tunnels and find a way around the group. If they could use the map to find another exit on this level, then perhaps they would be able to come out behind the vampires.

"Stay very silent." She said to Poppy, teeth clenched. "Let's find and exit. Then you will stay in hiding as promised, but I have to get Clem and Dan back." She prepared her vampire repellent.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Poppy said nothing, though she did not look happy at the prospect of staying hidden. They moved through the walls and found an exit point, according to the map, in 2 rooms away. Inside it was empty but there were far more scratches along the wall than in the Scratching Man's room; Lianna could see them even on the floor. Poppy stayed just inside the plaster.

Slipping out of the room, Lianna found it easy to follow the voices of the vampires. It didn't take her long to sneak up to the hallway they stood in, just around the corner. She could jump out and attack them or try a stealthy approach.

- Charge in
- Stealth approach
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna had to come to terms with this a while ago - she wasn't a very stealthy person. She learned to rely on brute strength and her shotgun. This time however, she kept the gun in left hand and the garlic spray in her right. Despite planning to charge in, she didn't want to accidentally hit Dan or Clem. She would just peek to see how many she was dealing with and then spray a cloud of garlic until they choked. If she judged that Dan and Clem were on a safe distance, that's when she would shoot.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Peeking around the corner, Lianna would see the vampires - a small group of three - conversing. There were no others with them, but Samael did mention the Main Office. He handed one of the other vampires a pair of keys. "Bring them to the rooftop and announce it over the intercom."

From what she could gather, Dan and Clem were held in the Main Office.

- Shoot
- Head to the Main Office
- Follow the vampire with keys
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Now, that was something that she could use. Probably better than bursting out guns blazing. For the moment at least. She's gonna be back to that tactic pretty soon she guessed. She holstered her shotgun, but kept the spray, deciding to tail the one with the keys. If she could dispose of him and release her friends, they'd have the advantage again. Though she really wanted to strangle Samael at that point, he would have to wait his turn.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The vampire with the keys headed her way, forcing her into the vacant X room she'd left Poppy in. He passed by quickly. Lianna could choose to follow him with Poppy in tow, or she could leave Poppy in the walls - assuming the girl would even stay put. Following him via the wall routes would become impossible, as the stairs were located nowhere near the tunnels.

- Follow alone
- Follow with Poppy
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna continued following the vampire by herself, hoping that Poppy wouldn't do something rash. If she could get close enough to take him in a chokehold, then she could dispose of him without alerting the others.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Lianna followed the vampire down the hall, around the corner, and nearly to the stairwell. Several patrols passed her on the way, forcing her inside vacant rooms or behind abandoned equipment.

The vampire with the keys set down the stairs just as a very familiar, very angry looking vampire strode past Lianna in the opposite direction. She saw only a glimpse of his lower face, but the androgynous features were unique only to him. She'd know her wanted vampire anywhere.

Lianna had a choice to make.

- Go after the keys
- Go after the wanted vampire

 

[ArcticFox]

She stopped in her tracks. She could just end it right here. Make a few steps, get close enough to place a hand against his chest and a stake through his heart. But, would she be quick enough to do it and not make any noise? Could she do it, considering he had treated her wound just a day ago? No, she finally admitted. But not because she didn't want to stake him, oh she would do it by the end of this night, but because she needed to save her fellow Hunters first. So she set after the key bearer.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Entering the stairwell, Lianna would find it empty save for the vampire a few steps down. Their combined footsteps echoed off the walls far louder than in the open hallways.

Startled at the sound, the vampire stopped and spun towards her. "Oh no."

- Attack him
- Bargain with him
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

While it would have been better to approach him from behind, she already knew that her attempt at stealth would fail her. As the vampire turned toward her Lianna didn't speak, she simply used the spray on the creature. It was time to see it in action.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The vampire made to run away, but the pressurized stream of the perfume bottle caught him. He grabbed at the side of his face with a howl, dropping the key in the process. When he tried running, he very ungracefully stumbled down several steps.

Even from the top of the stairs, Lianna could easily see the inflamed skin. It acted much quicker than typical garlic, though that may have been because the liquid itself struck hard enough to scratch skin.

- Stake him
- Leave him
- Interrogate him
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna used her glove again in order to dispose of the vampire. She had no compassion for them and she was eager to get to her Hunters. She would take the keys from the vampire once he was dead.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Lianna left the vampire with lifeless eyes. Descended the stairwell, which remained empty the whole way down. When she reached the first floor, however, she could hear far more voices and footsteps than before. Back pressed against the wall, when she peeked around she'd see a crowd of vampires hovering around an open room.

"A hole-"

"-broken through-"

"-been spying on us-"

"They're in the walls!"

The vampires had discovered the wall tunnels, but there were far more than Lianna could take on her own. However, the last time she saw Poppy was in the walls and she didn't know where Dr. Walker and Clara had taken Emma. If the vampires entered the tunnels, both parties could be in grave danger - and very soon.

Fortunately, the commotion had distracted a majority of Lianna's enemies. If she could pass by them undetected, it'd be a straight shot to unlock the Main Office door and free her comrades. She could also try several rooms - assuming they were vacant - and enter the walls to try and find Poppy.

- Distract the vampires
- Head to the Main Office
- Enter the walls

 

[ArcticFox]

Oh, no, the filthy creatures were using their brains. Lianna frowned, debating for a moment if she should run back for Poppy. She was torn between saving her Hunters and saving an innocent civilian. This was not a good spot to be at, but she also hated getting distracted. If she tried to do multiple things, she'd only fail at completing anything. She set out to free Dan and Clem and that's what she would do, using this distraction to sneak by the vampires. Then the three of them could go after Poppy. She had maps after all and perhaps fighting the vampires in the tight tunnels would work out to their advantage.

 

[Cartoonicat]

She made it past the crowding vampires and twisted the key into the lock. It opened with a soft click. Inside was Clem and Dan, tied to several filing cabinets. Their wrists, arms, and feet were bound and there weapons were nowhere to be found.

Clem looked up groggily. "Lianna?" Blood trickled down his neck and he sported a quickly bruising left eye. Dan leaned unconsciously on his shoulder, neck also painted scarlet. They'd been drained.

Lianna still had the vampire's cloak from several days ago stuffed in her bag. She could use that to tend their wounds, but it wasn't very clean. An infection would kill slower than blood loss, however, and it wasn't like Dan was very clean anyway.

- Untie them
- Try waking Dan
- (Optional) Tend to their wounds

 

[ArcticFox]

Well, so much for getting the two of them to help out. Lianna would groan in annoyance, had she not been worried sick about their state. She quickly tore the old cloak into strips to bind whichever wound was bleeding. Unfortunately, there was nothing more she could do for them.

"Oh, Clem, are you alright?" She asked, stroking his cheek gently. "What happened?" She was already preparing her sword to cut through their bonds.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Clem dropped his head against her hand, looking on the verge of passing out. He mumbled something inaudible before trying again, this time more clear: "We didn't... have enough time," he said. "Vampires attacked... couldn't get them all." He groaned. "Bag left outside... half full."

Somewhere outside sat Dan's bag of landmines with more than enough landmines to choke out every supernatural creature in the building, if Lianna lured them all to one place. The perfect bomb.

Lianna could lock the two back in the Main Room, taking the key, but if the vampires were in the walls now they would eventually be able to get inside if need be. She could move them, though nowhere was really much safer. It was a race against time, now.

- Leave them there
- Move them to another room
- (Optional) Go outside

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'm sorry, Clem. I'm going to have to leave you two here." Lianna said. She didn't want to, but she also couldn't carry them along. "Tell me where are the mines? I'm going to deal with the vampires and then come back for you." She said confidently, though she was far from confident. The mission was turning more and more against her. While Clara was probably filing her nails and chatting up the handsome doctor, she is left to save all of their butts. Hopefully Poppy wouldn't be captured as well.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Clem didn't comment on her leaving. Simply rested his head against the filing cabinet behind him, eyes closing and opening - he was fighting hard to stay awake. "Flowers," is all he said. Lianna hadn't seen any flowers on the grounds before, but then again there were no groundskeepers to keep them alive if they had them. She'd likely be looking for a dead flower bed, if not an empty plot of dirt.

Boom! Boom!

Shotgun blasts sounded directly above her on the second floor. The vampires had found Clara.

- Search for the landmines
- Go to Clara
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna locked the door to the office, leaving her friends inside. She would be back for them soon, hopefully. She moved quickly toward the exit to the courtyard to pick up the bag of the landmines. Hopefully Clara would hold out until she returned with more firepower.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Stepping outside, Lianna searched the front of the yard. Nothing. She could hear more gunfire, now - Clara's shotgun and Dr. Walker's rifle. Soon other gunshots joined in, signifying the vampires fighting back. The supernaturals could take bullet after bullet, but one would easily bring down any of Lianna's teammates.

Turning around the side of the asylum, she'd see rows of brown, dying bushes along the building's edge. There, at the end, a bag stuck out from a barren plot of dirt. Above it glass shattered from the window and Dr. Walker shouted instructions for Emma to get behind him. The shotgun blasts stopped; either Clara had fallen or she'd resorted to other means of attack. It seemed they were fighting in the halls now.

Lianna could reach them via the walls or the hallways, but she'd need to be quick. Both routes were dangerous now.

- Travel through the walls
- Travel through the halls
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Perhaps she'd be more exposed running through the hallways, but in that moment she figured it a shorter route. She did not trust her map reading to use the wall tunnels in the moment that required haste. She slung the pack of mines over her shoulder so it was easily accessible, and gripped her shotgun tighter, before running toward the sound of battle. She will have to use every weapon at her disposal to reach them.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Running up the stairs, Lianna met resistance almost immediately: Four vampires hurrying up the steps. It was easy enough to knock the first one over the rail and shoot the second one down, but the other two were prepared by time she reached them. Hissing and spitting, they both lunged at her simultaneously.

- Shoot them
- Evade them
- Other
- (Optional) Throw demon's blood