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ximilialog2022-02-02 06:57 pm
- ! event log,
- ! open,
- altered carbon: takeshi kovacs,
- critical role: percy de rolo,
- doctor who: clara oswald,
- doctor who: river song,
- doctor who: the doctor (11),
- fear street: ziggy berman,
- grishaverse: alina starkov,
- grishaverse: the darkling,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- knives out: marta cabrera,
- marvel comics: gwen stacy,
- mass effect: kaidan alenko,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- mcu: shang-chi,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- pacific rim: raleigh becket,
- star trek aos: james t. kirk,
- star trek aos: leonard mccoy,
- star wars: finn,
- star wars: luke skywalker,
- supernatural: dean winchester,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the old guard: andromache,
- towards the terra: soldier blue,
- transformers: drift,
- transformers: megatron,
- twisted wonderland: deuce spade,
- yakuza 0: goro majima,
- yakuza: zhao tianyou
MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2
● ● ● M I S S I O N 4 . 2
It is barely past twilight in Scorpion’s Bend, the twin suns having just set, taking their light with them — but the moons delay, and so darkness lingers over the town as Lan Xichen’s conversation with one Welford Branson comes to an abrupt end. At the same time, all around the town, the team will notice the town natives around them stilling — some freezing in the middle of a sentence, a man with a fork in the air, a woman mid-step on the street, some youngsters with their mouths open in laughter. All of them become statues in less than a heartbeat; still, eyes vacant, like everything that made them seem alive has been taken away.
And then — a reverberating sigh, echoing heavily in the ears of all the Orbers. What follows are words, spoken by a chorusing voice now familiar to most of the team —
The orb’s echoing sound is filled with disappointment, even annoyance.
Some may see that amidst all the frozen townspeople, an old man runs, clawing at his thinning hair. Some of you may hear his words, muttered, desperate:
The disbelieving mumbles trail at his wake, making it clear he does not know what is going on at all — in fact, you may have a better idea as to what has happened than he does. But as you turn to follow him, open your mouth to yell at him to stop... everything around you shatters.
The lights in the buildings grow dim and break; the smell of food disappears; the horses in the stables simply fade away. You notice that if you were wearing or carrying something you bought while here, it too disappears, your clothes turning to those you had on upon arrival, all equipment shimmering away slowly.
But perhaps most importantly… the frozen statues of people crumble into ash right in front of you. It may fill the floors of the now-silent, dusty and worn-down houses, or it may blow away with the harsh desert wind — whichever it is, sans the team, the town of Scorpion’s Bend is now devoid of people.
The town that now surrounds the team is very different from the one it used to be — the houses are quiet, filled with sand and dust; doors broken, tables turned over, drawers open and mostly empty, aside from anything not valuable. The beds in Thornbush Inn are ragged, insects of various sizes skittering along the floors. The Saloon is dusty, furniture broken, and a lone piano stands in the corner, half its keys having crumbled away. The door to the Mayor’s office is ajar, a banging sound repeating as it hits the wall in time with the wind.
1.0 In the corners of the Sheriff’s office, the school and the church, the embera slither along, searching for food; owl-shrews hide from the Orbers on the streets, while feathered coyotes howl at the five moons now lending their light to see the town’s destruction better. The team may be the only living humanoids, but they are not the only living beings in the town anymore; in the absence of people, animals have made the town their home. And coexist they must, now, to survive the rapidly dropping temperature of the night that has fallen upon them.
2.0 The next morning, as the moons disappear underneath the horizon and let the two suns bring out their scorching rays once more, the team wakes up to the reality of having to survive Scorpion’s Bend… with very little supplies. So search the empty houses, for they still stand; the fire that has burned away the people has not touched the buildings… but they have not been immune to the passing of time, or the harsh weather in the desert. You may find clothing, basic equipment, pots and pans left on a now-cold stove; but no valuables, no money, no gems, no jewelry, no weapons.
But amidst your search through the town, remember that what you need, first and foremost, is to find water and something to eat — it will not be long until the suns are high in the sky, and some of you are already in desperate need of proper nourishment, without being left to endure the scorching temperatures the days on the planet of Badrock bring.
3.0 But should you want to brave the heat, you’ll find it is now possible to leave the town and venture out into the desert. Out there, the rock dragons search for prey, while bald vultures circle above your head in groups of three or four, their shrieks growing in volume the farther you walk. If you show weakness, any weakness, they strike — and the dragons, sensing their chance, are not far behind.
And when you least expect it, the ground underneath you trembles, like a small earthquake is approaching you… and then you see it: from the sand, a whale surges up, then another, and another, arcing through the air like suspended there, before the sand swallows them once more. Should you get too close, you too may be swallowed underneath the sand; unless you’re very, very careful, or have in your arsenal something else that may help you to deal with these near-immortal giants that have swam across the deserts for hundreds of thousands of years.
Time passes at a snail’s pace without the comforts of the town you were used to. Scorpion’s Bend is now a wasteland you must survive, and it clearly isn’t easy. Some of you might question whether retrieving the orb is still an endeavour worth pursuing after all of this, but the rest of you know that it is. That you’ve come this far and you’re nearly there; you just need to band together and form a gameplan.
As the suns begin to set over the horizon on yet another grueling day of scorching heat and rough, dry sand in the ghost town of Scorpion’s Bend, you might begin to hear a distant thunder that has nothing to do with an oncoming desert storm or otherwise. It rattles at the already weakened structures of the old Saloon and the General Store, bits of broken glass and debris vibrating with the raucous sound of clattering hooves, feet, and paws. And as the sound of the invasion grows louder – you’ll hear the unmistakable manic howling and bellowing in accompaniment: these are the Bouldersnakes that some of you have already heard much of.
4.0 The Bouldersnakes are not a group to be taken lightly, and have garnered the fearsome reputation that they now hold for a reason. Kicking up dust, they arrive like a cloud of chaos in different sizes, shapes, and forms. Some have the ability to shrink and grow in size to match their opponents in physical size and weight. Other Bouldersnakes are agile and quick; and others yet are superhumanly strong and robust – either way, they make for formidable opponents when you, yourself, have been weakened from weeks of a lack of proper nutrition and sleep. The individual members of the Bouldersnakes are like a band of bloodthirsty brothers: from all walks of life and all colours and creeds, with a severe and mean streak to them, who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
What goals, you ask? Should you listen carefully, their leader, riding a winged lizard-like creature, shouts to their underlings:
As it so happens, you are not the only crew in search of that elusive orb; the Bouldersnakes have been tracking down the whereabouts of this mysterious and all-powerful object themselves, burning through towns – quite literally – to get it. News that Scorpion’s Bend has seen a resurgence of life and might still be the resting place of the orb has the bandits seeking out the town again. Their first round through Scorpion's Bend about a year ago had them coming up empty-handed (save for a few bits and baubles), but this time they are determined to find what they've come here to find. Though if there’s anything left here to salvage... they’ll ransack as they please.
Whether you confront them head-on or they catch you in hiding, they won’t easily back down from a fight. It will be best to keep your distance if you can manage it, and hope that they’ll pass you by. But the Bouldersnakes have their weaknesses too: once maimed, they still bleed, and none of them are immortal, though they are notoriously difficult to kill based on their talents alone... and when they carry weapons, too, well — those not accustomed to battles may find it best to hide. And even for those with fighting experience under your belt, teaming up with your fellow Orbers and combining your shared skills will be your best chance at survival.
5.0 By the time the suns have disappeared and the moons have risen, the Bouldersnakes invasion will make the bandit attack from the other night seem like a childish tussle. The Bouldersnakes don’t play nice and have adapted to the harsh lands as ruthless survivors. They arrive like a wave, many equipped with weapons: guns, sabers, pistols and small knives. A few others have engineered their own specially crafted weapons made of metal and magic (in the shape of guns, blow-torches, and blades) that wield a special element harnessed from mined ore called ‘pulsefire’. It is this pulsefire, glowing a deep blue (like the hottest colour of flame), that has the capability to destroy all living beings and allows the bandits to systematically ravage unsuspecting towns down to ash, reap its benefits (either for the town’s riches and wealth, or and especially: for any supply of ore), and then leave without a trace.
The best way to fight against pulsefire is to acquire weapons of pulsefire of your own and best a Bouldersnake before they best you. (Think high stakes, noon-time duels of the pistol.) Of course, this is a very risky and very dangerous affair as one shot by pulsefire could mean your untimely demise and the element itself isn't easy to put out either, so it might be best to work in teams to strategically disarm and swipe a pulsefire weapon to use before they manage to overwhelm you.
All through this, you must still remember your goal — it is not to stay in Scorpion's Bend, or even fight the Bouldersnakes, but to find the orb... and that means finding Welford Branson. How will you convince him to give you the orb, when all signs point to him not even knowing what it is, or what it has done? That is what you must decide... if you survive the Bouldersnakes in one piece, of course.
F Y I
• The voting for how to get the orb is now open! Please head HERE to submit your idea for how the team should proceed to get the orb, or +1 others’ ideas.
• The conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on February 13.
• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.
• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪
no subject
[ the combination almost makes up for her lack of ax. but once she's sure the girl is going to tail her, andy starts moving; her steps are careful and easy and she hugs the walls, ducking her shoulders to shrink herself a little bit. ]
What's your name, kid?
no subject
[She keeps her caution focused, but - might as well learn who it is that's helping her out right now.]
You're — Andy, right?
[She's pretty quiet around the station, but she's made it a habit to pay attention, figure out little things about her crewmates; a name is just easy mode.]
no subject
[ she pauses at the corner of the building, listening and peering around the edge. nothing to see, nothing to hear, but she gets the feeling they're being watched and lifts her gun higher. she holds up her hand for ziggy to wait a moment as she steps around, tip-toeing on the sand as the road is far more open; the less attention and sound they make the better. ]
[ naturally, a bouldersnake bursts out of a nearby building a few moments later and swings his knife at ziggy. andy swivels without hesitation and takes the blade in her own chest with a grunt, in the lower ribcage. blade still embedded, she rushes him and slashes with her sword, slicing his arm clean off at the elbow. she stabs him in the gut next and kicks him to the ground with the sword still in, then yanks the knife out of herself and hurls it at a second bandit lying in wait inside, getting him in the upper chest. it all happens in quick succession, maybe ten seconds max. ]
no subject
[She quiets though, because she's got some experience in knowing there are times where you need to be as quiet as a mouse, whether you're sneaking out of your window at 10 at night or hiding from a fucking serial killer. But she's no bandit, hasn't made it a profession to get the jump on people, so she doesn't see one of them coming until Andy's intercepted and gotten a knife to the chest for all her efforts.
Ziggy gasps out in panic, staggers and falls with her hands protectively shooting to her stomach. Staying on the ground will get her killed, so she hurries to scramble to her feet again; there's a knife on the floor, and she retrieves it to point at the figures now fallen. One is groaning, pouring blood from his wounds, and she stays in awe for a moment.]
Holy sh... Are you okay? You were stabbed!
no subject
I'll be fine. [ she is already fine and is not holding herself like an injured woman. only once she's sure they're safe does andy lean over and pull her sword out, wiping it off on the bouldersnake's pants. ] Neither of them got you, I hope?
no subject
[She looks at the space where the woman had been stabbed, the blood still a stark reminder, and she can't quite tell how bad the wound was. With a frustrated stutter, she steadies her words and says:]
But you don't just get a whole knife to the body and walk away fine!
How do you know it didn't hit anything vital? Your organs go there, FYI!
no subject
[ andy doesn't really think they have the time to spend appropriately and calmly convincing ziggy of her fineness, so she shifts the grip of her gun and lifts her shirt just enough to show the space she was stabbed. there's a smear of blood, but the skin is pristine. ]
I hear the liver grows back. [ she doesn't even know if she was stabbed in the liver. ]
no subject
[What a graceful sort of reply she's got to offer, looking at the fixed skin. She almost reaches out to touch it before remembering Andy is a living person and not, like, a great paint job. She purses her lips, looking awed.]
... The only people I've seen do that are undead serial killers. [She lifts the edge of her shirt, just enough to show three of many stab scars on her abdomen.] I mean, mine didn't exactly heal like magic. Seems pretty unfair.
no subject
I promise I'm not a serial killer or undead. [ she peers at ziggy's scars in return; they look more recently healed than old, and something twists a little bit in her gut as she thinks about how young the girl looks. andy has a hard time with age and youngness - she's now given two children knives in scorpion's bend - but sometimes she is hit with reminders. ]
Yeah, you're definitely the one with the short end of the stick here. I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. [ here, at least. ] You okay now?
no subject
I'm on both feet. That's as okay as anyone can be around here.
[Sighing tiredly, she adds:]
I'm starving, though. I miss real food.
no subject
They don't really have any of the right spices or ingredients here to make the snakes more versatile and tasty, no.
[ she pauses. ] Are you ready to keep moving?
no subject
[She says it with a quirked brow and a preparedness in the way she stands. She knows there's no time to not move; they either get going or they're dead meat. Or, well, judging by what happened... just her, probably.]
Let's get this over with; I'm sick of sand and I'm sick of bandits.
[The sooner the mission's done, the sooner they can go 'home'.]
no subject
[ it's easy to offer a minute when you have had an abundance of time, even now in the middle of a bouldersnake showdown. ]
I don't think I need to argue with you about the value of sticking close anymore, do I?