Outside 45

[8BitNinja]

Tower Precipice

Ow! That really hurt! cries the previously Storm Swarm Demon, now just storm demon. He turns his attention from the paladin and towards the ranger. He lets loose another lightning bolt at him.

While the storm demon is turned, the paladin puts his hand palm and prays "Bringer of Light, please remove this arcane menace that threatens your servants." A white light goes out of his gauntleted palm, and all arcane properties of the storm demon, if not resisted, will cease to happen. However, if it has any other origin, such as eldritch or from an evil deity, it will have no effect. (Dispel Magic)

[Earl of Purple]

Slaver's Camp

Fortunately, none of the slavers seem to notice Orion on his walk back up to the camp. None are able to see anything invisible, and Orion's free to wander around. The hagspawn is waddling around, waving his yatagan around, shouting orders and slapping laggards with the flat of his blade. Two of the other slavers are unpacking a large machine-gun from the back of the white van; it will take them a while, as it seems they haven't had much practice at assembling it in haste and they are having difficulties. Behind them, in the van, are many nets, bolas, net-guns, five assault rifles and a mix of cudgels and bludgeons.

Should Orion glance into the double-decker buses, he'll see the slaves. The seats have been ripped out and replaced by crude cages made of chicken wire and steel bars. The passenger doors are all open or missing, so he could embark any one of them quite easily. There's an old London Routemaster, a faded and battered red paint scheme visible under the Mad Max modifications; old road signs have been welded or bolted over the windows, though there's plenty of gaps to see through; a formerly-green six-wheeled monster of a bus with old wire fencing stapled over all the windows, and an old tour bus with a crude tent erected upon the top deck to serve as a roof. Within, it's quite dark, and it's hard to make out the details of the slaves. It should be noted there aren't very many slaves present; most of the cages are empty, and the ones which aren't have just one slave within.

An alternate option for Meredith is to fake being a slave, though that's risky. Alas, for now I have little to say for her.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Practice Grounds]

Electra nods.

"It's an artform of sorts, then, it sounds like. Just...one that requires you to have been born with the talent for it to start with." It sounds similar to how certain built-in abilities in reploids still take training to master the use of, which she can relate to.

[Morty]

[Practice Grounds]

"Well put," Fayyaad agrees. "It's not as versatile as sorcery, but not as mono-thematic as some people think." He seems to concentrate for a while, then tries to take Electra's hand. His own hand is suddenly very warm.

[Artemis97]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

Katja is so focused on the wolf before her, she doesn't notice the poor fellow being turned. Instead she remains on the defensive and keeps her guard up, circling with the wolf as she keeps ready to parry snapping jaws or raking claws at a moment's notice.

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

The woman who ran past Katja stays behhind her, keeping the armed woma between herself and the wolf. The wolf makes a few false lunges, trying to get Katja to slip up and over extend herself. If she does, he'll slip in for a real strike.

Meanwhile, the newly changed wolf turns on his fellow humans, taking down another woman, who quickly turns into another wolf.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Practice Grounds]

Electra smiles as he takes her hand, but after she feels how warm it is, her smile broadens and she shifts her hand to pull his own hand up to her cheek. She seems to melt into it for a moment, closing her eyes and leaning against him, sighing in pleasure.

"That is absolutely wonderful. Can you feel the warmth, too, or do you miss out when you do stuff like this?"

[Celticbear]

Undertower

Pretty clear what's about to happen when sword meets demon, so I'll spare you the details. Nimnarath doesn't burst into flame or light when he dies, he just slouches over on the ground. Eventually the bugs in the forest will eat him, and after that the mushrooms will use whatever's left of his carcass as nutrients. Nimnarath will become part of the circle of life, which in all fairness should have happened centuries ago. Maybe millennia ago.

Tower Precipice

The storm swarm demon slowly fades from view, though whether this is because the spell actually worked or because the demon no longer had a reason to be here is unclear.

[Ionbound]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

Katja makes a few swipes of her own, but over-extends out of confidence and ends up missing a slash that would have likely ended the fight, leaving her side wide open to attack.

[Morty]

[Practice Grounds]

"I can feel it, but not as strongly as others," Fayyaad explains, smiling as well. "It's a pretty handy trick. I've learned it some time ago."

[Artemis97]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

The wolf lunges for Katja, looking to sink his fangs into her. If it does, she should begin the transformation into a wolf almost immediately.

[8BitNinja]

Tower Precipice

The storm swarm demon slowly fades from view, though whether this is because the spell actually worked or because the demon no longer had a reason to be here is unclear.

Steve shouts to Luvon "Keep your guard up, there may be more hostiles inbound." He then looks around, readying himself to react at the slightest movement towards him.

[Green Elf]

Steve shouts to Luvon "Keep your guard up, there may be more hostiles inbound." He then looks around, readying himself to react at the slightest movement towards him.

The ranger pulls out a knife holstered at his side, now wielding a sword in his right and a knife in his left. He stands ready for anything coming his way.

[Celticbear]

Tower Precipice

Sound of silence.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Practice Grounds]

Electra's smile deepens, though her eyes stay shut as she leans against him.

"Mmm, can you do it over your entire body, or is it just limited to your hands?"

[Ionbound]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

Katja swears as the wolf slams into her side and sinks it's fangs into her hip. She's knocked on her back, looking up at the moon as she realizes that she's starting to change. She twists and groans as her body shifts, fur covering her as she shrinks out of her clothes. After mere moments, where Katja was standing is a light grey wolf with amber eyes, struggling to free herself from the remnants of her humanity. After only another moment, she's free, and howls with joy at the blood moon, before turning and lunging at the woman she had saved minutes before.

[Mee]

Undertower

Pretty clear what's about to happen when sword meets demon, so I'll spare you the details. Nimnarath doesn't burst into flame or light when he dies, he just slouches over on the ground. Eventually the bugs in the forest will eat him, and after that the mushrooms will use whatever's left of his carcass as nutrients. Nimnarath will become part of the circle of life, which in all fairness should have happened centuries ago. Maybe millennia ago.

Undertower

Devero darts away from Nimnarath while turning to face his opponent. When Naku strikes his attention shifts back to where they came from, eager to return to the tower.
"If Nimnarath is here, what happened to Steve and Luvon?" he wonders, "we should get back and regroup."

Undertower

Naku looks down at the body of the demon, and just shakes her head. "Pity." Before she raises her katana one last time, and the entire blade covers itself in ice. From there, and in one fluid motion, she re-sheaths the sword, the ice shattering off of it as it re-enters the wooden scabbard. As the ice shatters away from the blade, it takes any residual muck or ick from the blade with it, leaving the sword dry, clean, and ready to go again.

"I suppose we should indeed meet back up with them. I'm fairly sure they're still alive, though; so they're probably all right." This was based purely on that if they had died, likely Nimnarath would have been down much earlier to deal with the other intruders.
"Shall we?" Naku asks, turning, and slowly walking back to the stairs, never looking back at their fallen foe.

[8BitNinja]

Tower Precipice

Sound of silence.

The paladin keeps his guard up, still waiting for any sound or movement in the room.

[Morty]

[Practice Grounds]

"I can spread it to the rest of my body, but it takes more effort," Fayyaad says, his tail wrapping around Electra's leg. "So it'll last shorter and produce less warmth. But it's possible."

[Artemis97]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

The woman has no defense from Katja's attack and is quickly brought down. Shortly after, another wolf stands.

Soon, there are very few humans left in Degenburg, those that are there having locked themselves away into places the wolves can't get them. Things grow quiet, until a call is raised from the great hall of the castle, a howl greater than any normal wolf's, a howl that should grab the attention of every wolf's heart, a call from the leader of the pack.

[Green Elf]

Tower Precipice

Sound of silence.

The ranger sheaths his sword and knife and pulls out his bow, now only having normal arrows. "We will keep a watch until the rest of the team hopefully reunites with us."

[Devixer]

Undertower

Cherie sighs after the scene in front of her plays out, sheathing her rapier and letting her crystal fall back to her side. She couldn't help but feel... disappointed by this whole thing. She supposed she got out as much as she put in, but this thing Naku had killed looked so pitiful. Nothing like the actual gods she'd brought to heel.

"I suppose so. I doubt they had a difficult time up there, but I may be assuming too much."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Practice Grounds]

Electra opens her eyes for a moment, her smile not fading, as she releases his hand, then uses that hand to pull him into a kiss. After a moment, she pulls back, still smiling.

"Something fun for later, then. We still have one round left to test, don't we?"

[Peppered]

Slaver's Camp

Faking being a slave would not only be risky, but it would mean either leaving her precious cloak behind, or risking it being taken away by a slaver. She can think of better distractions!

She takes off her mask and plants it over the face of the captured slaver. Not sure what form it takes, probably something to do with the hallucinations the poor man is seeing. But all she needs it to be is a disguise, it doesn't matter what it actually looks like. After that she settles as far down in the brambles as she can, lifting the hood of her cloak to cover her face in shadows. "Camouflage me," she tells the cloak and the leather complies, changing colors to match the dark browns and greens of her surroundings.

After that, she sends out the male slaver, wwearing the mask but stripped down to his underwear, equipped with whatever weapon he was holding when he entered the bushes, and watches him totter unbalanced out into the open.

[Ionbound]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

After turning on the woman, Katja licks her lips and attempts to take the lead in the rather small pack that's forming, trying to direct the hunting of the remaining humans. When she hears the howl from the castle, though, she pauses as her ears flick and she howls in response, a cry of submission and then takes off towards the hall.

[Artemis97]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

The doors to the castle are wide open, as are the doors to the main hall. Here, among lit braziers, leather chairs, and strewn pelts, gathers the pack. Nearly the entire population of Degenburg has answered the call, every one of them a wolf, and here they packed in to listen to the orders of their Alpha. A giant white direwolf with glistening fangs and eyes that glowed red like coals paced on the dais at the front of the hall. He was restless, struggling with his nature to find his control, but it wasn't to be. Suddenly, he grew serious, and faced the gathered crowd.

"Brothers, Sisters," He begins in Canine, "tonight is the night we stop living in the shadows. Tonight is the night we stop living as outcasts! Tonight, under this Blood Moon, we will take to the city and turn every person we come across. They will join our pack, and we will be the dominant ones! So go now, my pack mates, go now and hunt!"

[Lazorath]

Undertower

Devero's eyes gaze in disappointment at the fallen foe, all his strength came from this shadowflower, and without it he was completely useless. In the end it was the item that led to his downfall.

With one movement, Devero's wings shoot out and begin to flap as he calmly yet gracefully moves through the air in unusually swift, and almost silk like motions while he makes his way back to the entrance, keeping tabs on Naku and Cherie down below.

He felt no remorse for the enemy, only for the fact that it didn't prove to be much of a challenge, but Devero knew the mission wasn't over.
They had to regroup with the others.

Slaver's Camp

Orion creeps his way into the strange double-decker buses, and freezes the second his eyes catch sight of the cages within.
Seeing them trapped like wild animals made his blood boil. Part of him contemplated releasing them all at once to unleash chaos which might give them an opportunity to slip past the slavers, but he knew that the chances of them successfully achieving that with the slavers armed were extremely slim.
I think it's time, Orion struggles to focus on pinpointing the murderer amongst the slaves as his concentration came undone, allowing the slaves to gaze upon me disguised as the slaver we captured.

"Alright everyone," Orion eyes each of the slavers as he looks past each of them whilst quietly making his way through the bus, "us slavers recently found out that one of you are quite the notorious serial killer. I've been ordered to find out who so I'm only going to ask this once," Orion's voice turns far darker and twisted from how he'd usually sound, "which one's the killer," his eyes zone into each of the slaver's one by one in the dim bus.

If none step forward Orion would continue, "I get it, you're afraid, tired, weak, and I'm guessing you're hungry too," he smirks, "I'm sure one of you know something...let's face it. I'm out here, and you're stuck in these little cages. Is keeping silent really worth your freedom?"

He would wait a few more second the unsheathe his unusual longsword with a body carved in unknown symbols from an ancient language.
The second the body is released from the sheathe it would begin to release a dim, but blood-thirsty red aura.
He would hold the sword facing downwards, the tip touching the floor of the bus as he'd gaze deep into their eyes to notice the slightest hint of anything abnormal in the reactions, but assuming that they'd most likely be terrified, pinpointing the murderer might take a little bit more time, time which he might not have had.

[Morty]

[Practice Grounds]

"Indeed," Fayyaad says. "Let's try it. There should be something left around here to shoot."[/B] I can't quite remember which shell they've got left.

[Ionbound]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle]

Katja grins wolfishly at the thought of invading the city, hunting down people, and biting them. As soon as the alpha finishes his speech, she's out the door, exciting and howling in Canine, "Follow me everyone!" as she runs towards the city.

[Artemis97]

[Blood Moon - Degenburg Castle => Inside]

Katja is joined by her new pack, at least a hundred strong, as they race down the coast and to the city of Inside.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Practice Grounds]

Electra smiles, and gestures towards a remaining clump of trees, before turning and moving away from Fayyaad a little ways, reloading the weapon as she does so with the ominous black shell. The weapon starts to thrum in her hands, and two black rings of power begin to slowly swirl around the barrel as she raises it to take aim. A moment later, when she pulls the trigger, the weapon spits a small black sphere that seems to zig and zag on its way to the trees. When it finally contacts them, the air, the light, the very fabric of reality seems to warp and twist into the sphere, pulling the trees into it, before the sphere shakes several times and explodes into a thousand tiny points of darkness, leaving only the holes where the trees's roots once were. Electra stares, wide-eyed, open mouthed, lowering the weapon and ejecting the spent shell almost reflexively. She's too stunned for the moment to speak. Clearly, she sensed something about it that perhaps Fayyaad didn't, and is having trouble processing it.