Outside XI: Bugs are Eating the Landscape

[Reinholdt]

This place is just as it sounds. It's outside.
Want a change of scenery? Go outside.
Always wanted to visit the beach? Come outside.
Looking to have a climatic fight on clifftops? Attempt outside.
Secret meetings being held where there's no cameras? Try outside.
Want an ambush without nasty base defenses? Yep. Outside.

Any and all are welcome here. There are no NPCs unless you bring them in. The major exception is the creepy eyed squirrel. The creepy eyed squirrel does not interfere with anyone. The creepy eyed squirrel is everywhere outside. The creepy eyed squirrel is always watching. The creepy eyed squirrel never sleeps. The creepy eyed squirrel can not be damaged, manipulated, or killed by anyone. The creepy eyed squirrel will eat anyone's very being who attempts to do so. Anyone can god-mode the creepy eyed squirrel. You may pet the creepy eyed squirrel at your own risk.

Other NPCs currently include:
The menacing crabs. These intimidating creatures are usually found by the shore.
The non-existant duck. You'll miss every time you shoot at it.

There is very little you can't do outside. However, like always, please follow the forum rules and general rules of conduct. Private conversations can be held outside. If it seems like a private (secret) conversation, please respect that. Those having such a conversation should do their best to indicate it as such. Otherwise, other characters may stumble upon you. Those desiring to spy in on private conversations should first PM those holding the private conversation, more out of courtesy than anything else.

There are many areas outside, and people can be in multiple places outside. In order to keep areas outside separated so there's no confusion, consider bolding your outside location at the start of each of your posts, like so:

The Fields

Reinholdt sets up various targets and practices his sharpshooting. All these events recently has made him a bit rusty. To his left, he notes the creepy eyed squirrel. Giving him the heebie-jeebies, Reinholdt decides to head somewhere else.

The Cliffside

Calublufiok broods over his latest scheme as he flies over the cliffs. The creepy eyed squirrel is watching him again. He finds occasionally landing and telling the creepy eyed squirrel his plans helps him find holes in his plotting.

Note Reinholdt and Calublufiok do not interact because they are in different areas outside. They could interact, if Reinholdt moves to the cliffside. Of course, various things like telepathy help bypass this. Also, please note outside has no major buildings, though minor ones crop up from time to time.

And most importantly, enjoy outside. That's what this is all about.

Outside now contains various Outside locations! Such as...

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[Dead Pine Lake]

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This lake lies in the middle of the forest. On the eastern shore, woodpeckers feast on the dead pines that give the lake its name. Sometimes one can find Lady Death here, the Aspect of Eve also known as The Grandmother, or Jedwiga.

(Please PM happyturtle if you wish to interact with Jedwiga.)

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[The Islands]

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An island cluster forms an archipelago along the coast. Some of the islands are settled, some not, but most are at least occasionally visited by the fishermen who work these waters.

[Gersemi's Island]

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Gersemi the seighkona lives on a small island in the archipelago with a single hut and a few sheep. Inside the hut, there is a single room, and a fireplace. A loom rests in one corner.

(Please PM happyturtle if you wish to interact with Gersemi.)

[Redbrick Falls]

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A mountainous, cliffy region with a prominent waterfall. A large quarry once was worked in these cliffs. Now, only a few scattered villages and solitary dwellings remain.

[Castle Silhouette]

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Genesis' base of operations.

[Club Banana]

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Here be primates of all sorts and much silliness? An aircraft hanger turned into a club used exclusively by intelligent apes.

PM Reinholdt if you wish to add locations to Outside.

Special: Reinholdt will update the Outside threads and post new ones when it is time. Please don't post a new thread without his permission or he is away for an extended period of time.
Thank you.

[Neon Knight]

[Johan's Place]

Trying to stab someone who is shooting you with a shotgun is a stupid idea.

Most of RSG2's face comes off in a red spray as he collapses to the floor.

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

RSG1 starts firing at Reinholdt. He is hit in the chest by one of the shotgun blasts and goes flying back from the impact.

Some of the other men start to follow after Reinholdt. They are wearing mostly just their pants and a gun.

{Ocean Palace}

Then how are we supposed to get it? Wait. I know. Vincent challenges your best warrior to a duel. Whoever wins, gets the prize!!

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Lofty Mountains]

Felix takes a rather low route through the mountains to their destination. Well, if he goes too high he'll have to faff about with more spells to help him breathe in the thin air. anyway, low route. He might arrive a little behind the others as his route is more twisty turny, but better that than...well...anything else really.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Reinholdt whimpers as a bullet tears through his shoulder, his flak vest protecting him from a second well placed shot.

Reinholdt quickly dumps another flash grenade behind him, continues moving forward, empties a shot at the guard 1 on the ground, before trying to close the gap the rest of the way to the door, while pulling the pin on a third and holding it in his hand. Anything to slow the people behind him down. He just needs a few seconds...

Hinges on the other side? Visible locks?

{Ocean Palace}

"He does?"
"I do?"
"We have warriors?"

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

There are noises of slight confusion and upset behind Reinholdt.

No hinges. There is a handle, not a knob. No visible locks.

{Ocean Palace}

Fine! Caroline pulls out her blowgun and lifts it to her mouth. Give us the Fish Bowl, or I'll hurt the queen!!

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Reinholdt tries to crack it open and throw his third and last flash in the room and wait for it to go off.

Until it does, he'll dump the shotgun, pull his second pistol, no silencer or anything, and fires down at anyone he spots rounding the corner. Though saves a bit of ammo. He'll need it for Johan.

{Ocean Palace}

"Caroline?"

"Wait what?!"

"Fine. Fine. Please don't hurt anyone." The adviser runs off to go get it.

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

A couple of thugs are killed as they stupidly charge around the corner.

There's a bright flash behind Reinholdt.

Reinholdt almost hits a third thugs head as he peeks around the corner.

{Ocean Palace}

Sorry. Caroline says sheepishly to Vincent. I got a little carried away, I guess.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Time for Reinholdt to open the door, keeping his back against it and sweeping with his pistol as he looks for Johan. If he spots the guy and doesn't get shot at or anything by him, Rein will dart forward to put the gun to the guy's head and try to grab any weapons away from him. In other words, take him hostage.

{Ocean Palace}

"Try just asking what they would take in exchange for it."

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

Johan is at the far side of the room, holding a gun up. When Reinholdt first enters, he begins firing wildly toward the door.

{Ocean Palace}

Oh now you make a suggestion. You couldn't say that before I threatened the Queen?

[Artemis97]

[Lofty Mountains]

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" the fae beasty cries before taking off in a dead run. Hopefully Kessel is hanging onto her leafy mane. Jumps and bounds and leaps!

And with a powerful beat of her verdant wings she's airborn! Airborn and headed toward the rift in the mountain. "Remember to spread out a bit everyone!"

Kessel will be in for quite a ride as the forest shrinks below him, the crisp mountain air stinging at the eyes and nipping the nose. The flight is actually quite steady. Zee seems to have practiced flying with a rider before.

Kessel holds on tight as Zee runs and jumps and launches herself into the air. "Weee!" The boy giggles. "This is great." He says as they level off.

Just behind them, Renault is rising swiftly into the air, lifted by the slopw beats of the ethereal, golden wings on his back. Once he is high above the montains, he veers off, circling to take a wider path to the cleft in the mountaintop and seperate from the others a bit.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Ouch. That was Reinholdt's leg. Good thing he swung in with the door though.

Reinholdt aims and shoots at the hand that's shooting him while moving to one side. Just to stay on the move. Though he's definitely limping now. He really needs Johan alive right now.

{Ocean Palace}

"I... but... you..."

The adviser returns with the fish bowl. "Here. Just take it and go. And don't come back."

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

With a missed shot, Johan ducks behind the table for cover. What is it you want!? I'll give you anything!!

{Ocean Palace}

Caroline takes the fish bowl. Thank you. I'm really sorry about this your Highnesses. She curtsies and backs out of the hall.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

"Wanna get back outta here alive for starters." Reinholdt half mutters.

He goes to shut the door and looks to see if there's someplace he can get his own cover.

"Drop your weapon, kick it over here, come out slowly, and we'll talk about bribes." He keeps his gun trained on the table, prepared to shoot if he sees anything resembling a gun.

{Ocean Palace}

"Umm... have a nice day." Vincent hurries after Caroline.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Weak spots?

It's a behemoth-sized living engine of war. There are not weak spots. There are slightly less massively plated spots, namely, the joints of the chitinous plating.

The Battletitan, now fully out of the ground, turns around, it's titanic mandibles swiping at the two merely from the movement, it turns to face the pair, maws dripping with acid, and a glowing light gathering behind the jagged "teeth".

And then it shoots the beam of caustic energy characteristic of the largest karish.

Ebon Mirror ducks beneath the swiping mandibles and tightens his grip of darkness on the massive creature, little by little trying to crush it to death as strains of ominous music fill the air. The caustic beam rips a hole through his chest, but he only laughs. "Wounds mean nothing," he declares, as the injury heals instantly.

Tamesis, meanwhile, leaps onto one of the giant mandibles as the pass and runs up it, jabbing her rod at the monster's eyes and firing a blast at its eyes. Given her location, the caustic beam doesn't come near her at all. "..."

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

I don't think so, what did you say your name was again?

Hearing the door being shut, Johan peaks out and takes a couple of shots toward it. My men will be here soon and then you're going to die. But if you give yourself up, I may be convinced to kill you quickly.

{Ocean Palace}

Caroline quickly leaves the palace, with the fish bowl.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Fortunately Reinholdt had the foresight to not stand in front of the door when he closed it and doesn't get hit.

"You'll be dead before then in that situation."

Reinholdt will silently fly up and try to go over the table, gun aimed down, hoping Johan won't expect that angle and will be peering around the sides. If Johan swings his gun upwards to shoot Rein, he won't hesitate to fire, even if it means losing the hostage.

{Ocean Palace}

Vincent follows. A few hours later, the surf comes in and wipes the place out.

"Back to the mountains?"

[Draken]

Close proximity will allow Tamesis to gleam into the malevolent intellect behind the karish behemoth. Before it loses its visual organs.

Nothing very important, it can still sense things through tact.

The monster resists well to being crushed by the grip of darkness, bug as it might look, a battletitan will not be squished.

Still, the monster is angered, and shakes violently, and then shoots a stinking, dense, black musk in all directions, Tamesis'proximity will not prevent her from being hit by the substance.

It is toxic, but that is hardly going to be an issue is it? Infectious too. It carries an terrible viral agent, not that it matters either, I believe. But the main purposes of the musk are much simpler.

It is sticky, very much so, it binds the limbs and blocks the senses, vision and scent anyway, this wave of musk is followed by a spray of a corrosive agent that does not affect the substance.

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

Johan barely sees Reinholdt in time, and quickly tries to bring his gun to bear on him. But Reinholdt shoots him first.

If Johan hadn't been moving, reinholdt may have hit him in the head, but instead, he hits Johan in the side, just under the kevlar vest he's also wearing. Gaah!!

Johan starts to lift the gun toward Reinholdt again.

{Ocean Palace}

Yeah. I guess so. Caroline says sadly.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Reinholdt's in an ideal spot to kick the gun away and land on Johan. Which is what he tries to do.

{Ocean}

"You alright?"

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

Which is what he does do.

{Ocean}

No. Caroline pouts. I don't know what came over me in there. She kicks at a rock.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Reinholdt's gun is soon in Johan's face then as he tries to pull the man up and standing.
"Up up up, NOW!"
If everything goes according to plan this time, they'll both be facing the door in a pretty standard hostage situation.

{Ocean}

"You probably just got curious about the mean option. It happens. Want to restart?"

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

Johan is taken hostage. You won't get away with this, you know. If you kill me, my men will just kill you in retaliation.

{Ocean}

We... we can do that? Caroline asks, looking hopeful.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

"Been through worse. Can't frighten me with that. What happened to give me whatever I want anyways?"

He'll start moving towards the door slowly, Johan in front. "Open it just enough for you to peer out and tell them not to shoot. Funny stuff and we all go down in a blaze of gory."
Typo intentional.

{Ocean}

"Yeah. We'd go back to the last place we saved." Their last deadtime.

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

That ended when I recognized your voice. So, what is it you want?

He opens the door just a crack. Don't shoot men!! he calls out.

{Ocean}

And they won't remember? she asks hopefully.

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

"For starters, you're going to free all your slaves. Here and now. Tell them to do just that."

{Ocean}

"Not one thing."

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

Reinholdt may notice a glint in Johan's eyes as he opens his mouth to give the command.

{Beach}

Okay, let's do it. Caroline hugs Vincent. Thank you!

[Reinholdt]

{Johan's Place}

Sadly, that's incredibly doubtful since he's behind Johan. Reinholdt can't notice.

Just be prepared to kill him if any sudden movements happen. Which he'll do without hesitation.

"Your daughters say hi by the way."

{Beach}

"Don't mention it."

Everything starts to go black.

[Rebonack]

Kessel holds on tight as Zee runs and jumps and launches herself into the air. "Weee!" The boy giggles. "This is great." He says as they level off.

Just behind them, Renault is rising swiftly into the air, lifted by the slopw beats of the ethereal, golden wings on his back. Once he is high above the montains, he veers off, circling to take a wider path to the cleft in the mountaintop and seperate from the others a bit.

"Of course it's great!" the fae beast laughs in return. "Why do you think birds sing all the time? It's because they're happy!"

Probably not completely accurate from a biological standpoint, but it sounds nice enough.

Far below the rift looms, wide and dark and treacherous. The darkness seems deeper here than it was back in the city. Less twilight and more the dead of night. Horrid shapes move within the thick fog that clings to the mountainside.

"That looks like our spot. I'm heading down," and with that said she does, dipping one wing and swooping toward the nightmare infested mountain to get a better look.

[Lex-Kat]

{Johan's Place}

Release the slaves!!

{Beach}

Caroline clings to Vincent as everything starts to go black.

((DEADTIME))