Harrowed - First Encounter - RPLOG

Participants

• Ankh
• Arimia
• Fenris
• Lorethan
• Symaro
• Yejian

Date

28/5/2022

Log

(Symaro) "It's a glorious day." Symaro gleams upon exiting his abode, the kobold having opted to wear some looser threads rather than the usually tight uniform he was once so fond of. The smile on his lips was inescapably infectious, a glimmer of pride and joy as he paces out his abode and meets up with several mutants just outside. Two large military-grade trucks retrofitted with some new tech to operate using electricity rather than primitive fossil fuels stand right there at the entrance, loaded to the brim with gods-know-what kind of equipment. At the forefront were two guards, a pair of large intimidating doberman mutants, one male and one female, garbed in the telltale uniform of RSX' military division. Two more were at the back, though they were both of the feline persuasion instead.

The kobold approaches a fifth member of the gathered, an otter dressed in the RSX Operatives uniform of note, an organizer by the looks of things, given the distinct absence of armor or weaponry. The two exchange a few words, perhaps detailing the intricacies of their upcoming drive up the steep and perilous mountain. With a loud *CLANK* the front gate to Arborwatch Manor seals shut, and the armed personnel each move into their corresponding vehicles at the driver's and passenger's seat. They blare the horn, asking "What's the holdup!" To which their supervisor, the aforementioned otter answers loudly "Pipe down! You wanna attract all the ferals in the area?! We're waiting for the backup we were promised! They'll be along!" His gaze returns to Symaro's own, and the two continue to converse.

(Ankh) As before a large gnoll in modernized plate armor, though sans his helmet today, makes his way towards the location he was sent. Again, he carries a 3-day pack, maintained with nanites, duct tape, and luck to carry the mobile arsenal he usually equips himself with. While not expecting the dangers of the Dungeon today, it still paid to be prepared for feral resistance. The more lethal of his implements were left at home. Spotting trucks in the distance as he approaches the abode of their Director, the hyena sets into a casual jog in order to close the distance faster, waving once close enough to announce his presence.

(Fenris) Fenris walks up the road. The big, burly tanuki seems a bit out of sorts, without the usual bounce in his step. He looks different today too. Might be the presence of trousers. That is unusual.

He is wearing a button up shirt with suspenders and dark, pinstripe trousers, with a greatcoat draped over his shoulders and a dark fedora perched jauntily on his head. He is rolling a large, silver coin across his knuckles idly as he stops by the wagon.

"Here to help," he says with a smile, which seems genuine enough, though he still seems troubled.

(Arimia) A serpentine woman makes her way down the city streets, pausing when the gathering in front of the manor comes into view. After looking over those gathered she moves her head in a small nod and approaches closer. Once she's near enough she lifts a hand in greeting, before her tail coils around under her, offering her a place to sit. One hand reaches down to a belt slung around her waist, plucking a cigarette case from the side opposite a rather large revolver. As she fishes a cigarette out she says, "For those who I have not yet met, I am Arimia. Will we have a further briefing once all have arrived, or will we move out immediately?"

(Yejian) Sometimes form based urges and influences make themselves present in Yejian. Whatever her shape, typically the lapine side of her wins out but today it must be the feline because she's been perched on the perimiter walls for a little while now, watching the sky. When 'Symaro' steps out though, the lion rocks forward and slides off the wall, landing lightly enough despite her armour. Shifting her spear to her other hand, she leans over to wrap an arm around the kobold. "About time then, huh?" She says as others begin to make their arrival.

(Lorethan) Lorethan made almost no sound as he walked along, his wings flapping lazily to cool him off now and then. He soon find himself near the others.. The Kemonomimi Coyote looked a little lost but that was usual. He made his way to the rest of the group with a wave. "I uh.. I hope this is where I'm supposed to be.."

(Symaro) One, two, three... three of the souls that he'd condemned to the depths of the dungeon, the three that took the worst of it no less. Here they are, once again. Why? Symaro's scales turn a shade paler when he reads the looks on those faces. He'd hoped that the three had made a full recovery by now, but merely looking at Fenris alone suggested otherwise. When he sees Yejian however, one could practically feel his remorse from a distance. His eyes slowly turn to meet hers, the arm slung around his shoulders sensing a cold, lingering dread. He swallows quietly and gently slips free of her grasp, then opens his mouth... "You three. Of all the people. Ankh surprises me not all that much, but you two? I'd have wagered you'd opt to steer clear of my operations upon your return. I daresay it is good to see you, but only if the feeling is mutual. Has it been even a week since last you have involved yourselves in the O.A.'s efforts?"

All the while the otter nearby was paying attention. Very close attention as a matter of fact. He opens his maw to say something, then gets interrupted when Symaro casts him one of those 'not now' glares. Arimia and Lorethan both ring familiar to him, a dip of his head following in acknowledgement of their presence. The kobold moves to stand upon one of the truck hoods, then gestures for everyone to gather up. "It pains me to see so many familiar faces here so soon. Even so I will not dictate how you choose to live your lives, and where to opt to expend them. To those of you hungry for a monetary prize to the tune of what was awarded on our last outsourcing mission, I regret to inform you that this venture will be nowhere near as lucrative. Thankfully it will also be nowhere near as dangerous. This." The kobold knocks on the hood of his platform. "This is a convoy. It is intended to reach Stargazer peak, where the Otherworldly Affairs Initiative will be expanding their influence. Our secondary base of operations will be situated in a valley high up near the mountain peak, in territory I personally own."

"Nothing will be built however, if these materials and equipment don't arrive safely. T'is not a long journey, an hour at most. What is problematic however are two factors. The steep climb being the first. I leave this to the Earth Nanomagi RSX were so graciously generous to provide us with. The second however is an organization we've been dealing with as of late. They refer to themselves as the Harrowed. Make no mistake, they are simply cultists. Brainwashed, crazed and disturbed souls swayed by disillusioned fools whom think that our realm needs merge with those around it. These zealots seek to expedite the instabilities and anomalies the O.A. has been combating since its founding. Needless to say, they'll be unhappy if we were to expand our borders. Expect an ambush, and if it is indeed them, then anticipate Necromantic Acolytes within their ranks. Your job? Keep the convoy safe. Questions?"

(Ankh) Ankh is more relieved that anything to see some familiar faces. Relieved that today was at least planned to be a relatively simple expedition, not one into the depths of the deep, dark abyss... Yeah, he might have had to take a pass for a repeat of that so soon. His lessons with Diya weren't that far yet. A respectful nod is given to Yejian and Fenris both, smile gracing his fanged maw. "Heya, you two. Glad to see you again."

With Symaro's briefing given in full, Ankh considers his questions. The idea of a cult wasn't all too wild to him. If anything, treating the anomalies like another god entering Fairhaven wasn't too far off from the truth, if you boiled it down to basics. Though... crazed, they were still people. Right? "Just one question, if I may. Are you intending to authorize deadly force, or do you prefer knockouts?"

(Fenris) Fenris smiles a tired smile at Symaro. "You know what happened wasn't your fault," he says, "And I try to stay busy." He frowns when he notices that he is playing with that coin, gives it a flip into the air, and then makes it vanish into a pocket or a sleeve. It is hard to follow. "Your organization and initiative are important. Don't worry about us, we know the risks and we can take care of ourselves."

(Arimia) Arimia plucks a match from the side of the cigarette case without any cigarettes. The case is then snapped closed and returned to her belt, before the match is struck against the plating on her arm. Using that to light her cigarette she shakes the match out then tosses it aside. "As a follow up to the question on lethal or nonlethal force, would you prefer any taken for questioning?" The medusa asks. "If they have been a nuisance for a while then seeking out their strongholds and removing them would be in line with your goals, I would think. But doing so requires knowing where to find them."

(Yejian) Yejian raises a brow at that and leans on her polearm. "Really? When have you ever known me to be someone that stays away from a call for assistance? Let alone stay away from you?" She clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes. "Anyway, I'm fine. It helps when you have a loving family to return to, right? Besides..." The lion gestures over the convoy. "It's heading up the mountain. Which is basically my back yard so... Even if I wasn't part of this I'd still be following you to make sure you stay out of trouble up there," she adds, a small grin spreading over her face. "No questions, though."

(Lorethan) Lorethan patted his jacket making sure the armor plating was still there, before checking the rest of his equipment. "I just.. I wanted to help people. So here I am?" He scrached the side of his head and looked at the others before speaking again. "I may not be as.. prepared as the rest but hopefully I can help in some way/"

(Symaro) "Between us all? I'd in no way hold you accountable should you send a few of their heads flying. However are are still in the greater Fairhaven area, and are all subject to the laws and regulations as instituted by the big three governing powers and the newly emerged Fairhaven Government itself. To that end, I'd rather you refrain from murder lest you've no other option. The O.A. can not protect you against expulsion or prosecution. We lack the ties to do so... currently."

Turning towards Fenris, the kobold's features darken even further from the other's words. Seems he hit a bad spot. "My organization exists to protect the people, Fenris. I had not expected the Dungeon to meet you with such cruelty, had I known I'd never have permitted the operation to go through. I appreciate the kind words, but I want you to remember that nothing is more important than the wellbeing of those committed to the cause. I only wish unpredictability was a lesser factor than it has proven to be. Regardless... what you brought back was invaluable. However, if I had to choose between the artifact and your mental health, I'd chuck the tear back into the dungeon in a heartbeat."

Arimia's questions draw in his gaze, a shake of that kobold snoot following. "We've nothing to learn from them, and the ones who might divulge information that would be of use are simply too dangerous to restrain and keep. For now, simply protecting the equipment will do. Use the terrain to your advantage if you can. Today is not about striking back against these zealots. Today is about broadening our reach and establishing a base of operations in a critically important landmark of the greater Fairhaven area."

Yejian pulls in an unsteady glance towards herself, Symaro swallowing dryly before answering... "Your commitment is admirable, for the longest time you have been my inspiration. I'd not have followed through with a lot of what I am trying to do were you not always there to serve as an example. Someone to look up to. I worry, nonetheless. Yejian you have a terrible habit of underplaying your hardships. In essence you are selfless to a fault. So much so that I find myself opting to believe my own senses more-so than I would trust your words on the matter of your wellbeing. Even so... what I said earlier stands. I hold no sway over your decisions, and this will remain a constant."

Lorethan pulls in a quiet glance from the kobold, the shortstack climbing off his perch to move in and pat the coyote on one shoulder. "I guess we'll find out! I'd rather have a team of diverse skillsets than a single and tunnelvisioned squadron either way. So then! That's all the time we have! Let's get this moving before these trucks attract marauders!" Symaro moves towards the back cargo hold of the front truck and climbs in, then knocks on the metal shell to signal his drivers. Both engines roar to life, and the horns sound off once more, signaling that it's leave or get left behind time.

(Ankh) Ankh nods in the affirmative, reaching into his backpack for a sizeable crossbow. It is a uniquely modern design, by all standards, using winches at home on compound bows, and featuring a double bow design to make the considerable pullback force required easier to manage. Next, the gnoll pulls a magazine out, and clicks it into the top of the crossbow, giving the group a nod. "I'm ready to move out."

(Fenris) Fenris only nods. "I appreciate that," he says, "Don't worry, I'll get the help I need. Not dumb enough to try to get through this alone." The burly tanuki swings up onto the back of one of the convoy vehicles and carefully checks his weapons.

(Arimia) The medusa lets out a hum before replying, "Non-lethal then. Which, unless things have greatly changed in my absence, simply means you stop shooting when they are down so the nanites can heal them." Arimia makes her way toward one of the convoy vehicles and gets into the back of it, a process that involves more stretching her body upward and pulling herself in, rather than climbing into it in a more normal fashion.

(Yejian) "I suppose I am," Yejian admits, rubbing at the back of her neck as she climbs into the vehicle. "But it's not like I don't know my own limits, you know. I love living enough that I'm not about to do something I deem too reckless. Everything I commit to, I do so knowing, or at least feeling confident, that I can handle it. Bravery isn't the absence of fear, after all, just being able to press on despite it." She leans back and rolls her shoulders. "But I do appreciate your concern M- Magnus? Should I still call you that?" She asks with a raised brow. "Anyway, I know when to stop, I promise."

(Lorethan) The yote used his 4 arms to help pull himself into the back of the truck in the back, his ears turned back a little out of nervousness as he tries to keep a calm face.

(Symaro) With the trucks fully loaded up, Symaro having gotten onto the front one, the otter he was conversing with climbs into the back. The fella doesn't look very pleased, his glance cast between Arimia and Fenris. "Robert Edison. Apologies, didn't want to interrupt the proceedings. It's nice to meet you both. Seems like the shortstack's been busy, huh? You should have seen how badly they roasted him at RSX after you got your psych evaluations. Ha! Anyway... I'll be your resident Earth Nanomage. Closing gaps, forging paths and so on. Don't have much to protect myself with, mind. Think I can trust you two to keep me safe, yeah?" The charismatic lad shoots them both with fingerguns before setting his butt down on the floor of their chosen read truck's cargo compartment.

Meanwhile up front... "If you say so. Right, just for the sake of reference. Necromantic Acolytes are nasty business. The longer they have to weave their curses on you, the harder they get to kill, or takedown I suppose. Ankh? This stays between you and me, but if you see any one wearing a mask like this..." Symaro reaches into his pack and retrieves a charred wooden facecover shaped like an animal skull, most akin to a large stag with its jaw missing. "Don't hold back. That's how you deal with them. Crush them before they get their spells flying." His glance turns towards Yejian, the worry still evident in his gaze. "Tell me the truth, ever since you got out of there, have you been hearing or seeing things that shouldn't be there? Anything at all..."

As the trucks advance up the path, it would be a peaceful journey for the first fifteen or so minutes, albeit a slow one considering the amount of effort was needed to forge bridges and paths, the Earth Nanomagi needing a pause every so often to regain their focus or strength before resuming their work. The party ends up at around a fifth of the way up the mountain. Here the air remains warm and pleasing, a scenic overview of the woodlands below being the only thing their senses are treated to. No signs of danger quite yet... not immediately apparent at least.

(Ankh) Ankh takes his place in the truck, looking the offered mask over carefully to try and burn it into his memory. Charred wood stag mask. Not too complicated for the gnoll warrior. "Right. Focus fire on the charred stag masks. If... it's all the same to you, I'll avoid headshots. Long as they're still people, it's less messy to simply let them enjoy the nanites slowly putting them back together." Rummaging in his bag as he speaks, he looks through some spare magazines, shaking his head and putting one of them back in the bag. "I doubt we'll be getting much use out of nailing something to a wall, so I'll stick to the clean exit bolts. At least we're within the bubble. Makes reloading easier."

(Fenris) Fenris smiles at the otter. "Nice to meet you, tifl... er, Robert," he corrects himself, "Nice to meet you Robert." He shakes his head, then does a bit of a doubletake. "Wait a second!" the tanuki hauls himself up to look over the front of the truck at the lead vehicle, staring at the little kobold. Then he shakes his head and leans against the side. "I can ask questions later," he says, then looks back at Robert.

"What did the psych evals say?" he asks casually as he watches the mountain road.

(Arimia) The serpentine woman moves about in the back of the truck, until she is positioned so that she can easily see over each of the sides and, if she stretches upwards, the cab. Once the truck is in motion one of her hands drifts to the grip of her revolver, though she does not draw it as yet. "Arimia, as I stated," she replies to the otter, perhaps a bit rudely as she doesn't even spare him a glance. As the journey continues her eyes, and those of several of the vipers atop her head, swivel to look at something. "Fenris. Eyes up. Something above sent a rock down. It may be nothing. But it will not hurt to keep eyes there."

(Yejian) Yejian leans forward to peek at the mask. Between them perhaps, but she lets herself in on it as well, nodding along. When the question is asked, though, she considers it genuinely, and shakes her head. "I can't say that I have. I have weird dreams every now and then, but... Look, what we experienced down there was not the worst I've been through. It might have been unpleasant, but I have been dealing with far worse in terms of personal demons. I have been staying vigilant, however. So has mom." She sighs softly and looks out over the forst. Towards the distant clearing specifically. "Do you know how many times I've had to climb up this mountain," she says with a quiet chuckle.

(Lorethan) Lorethan checkes over his weapons and armor again, making sure everything is in working order as he looks at the surroundings as they travel up the mountain. His ears slowly returning to normal as his tail sways a bit, slightly more relaxed than he had been.. But still trying to be on guard for any on coming danger

(Symaro) "No no. This one is charred because I... look, just this shape of mask. They're not normally charred." The kobold clarifies, then tucks the ornament into his pack once more. "You know your weapons best. I will refer to your judgement on the matter." The kobold turns towards Yejian, a soft sigh parting his nostrils as he listens "Fair. I shall get off your case. I just..." his ears flit upwards, as though he'd picked up on something. Symaro merely remains silent for a little while as they advance. Though slow, their progress is steady, and the group finds themselves around a third of the way up towards their goal. Up here, despite the clarity and crisp coldness of the air, a sense of unease lingers.

Robert, or rather "Just Bob will do. Ick, I hate having to say the whole thing over and over again. Rolls out really bad when you're packing a muzzle, y'know? How do you not know your psych evals? Didn't they hand you the results? We got reports that you lot were severely shaken. Distracted and showing signs of mental trauma. I'd imagine that'd be the case, I don't know what you've seen or experienced... wherever it is shorty over there shoved you into, I'm just glad it wasn't me! I got enough to deal with. HR are a living eldritch nightmare in our own world. Haha!"

(Ankh) "Not charred, just the shape. Got it.", Ankh corrects himself. Fair enough, could have been they char it themselves, it's a look... actually, maybe he'd take himself a little trophy if he did encounter one. Would actually go great in the living r-The gnoll shakes his head. Focus. With a deep breath, the hyena focuses on the sounds around them, ears perking towards noise. He attempts to still himself, and his mind. Sharpened for the battles ahead. Ankh would need a steady hand. Though the sounds reaching his ears did give him the feeling that something was about to go very wrong. "Movement. Speed us up and get the other one reversing. Fast."

(Fenris) Fenris snaps his attention up to where Arimia indicates and nods. "I got two," he says, "Ready to pull an India Jones on us."

"Bob," he snaps, whipping his pack from under his coat and rummaging about, "Can you earth magic that rock?" he jerks his head toward a precariously positioned boulder ahead above the convoy's path, "Stick that thing to the cliff."

(Arimia) Letting out a soft hiss and staring upward the medusa moves to the cab of the truck, lifting herself enough to reach over the grating betweeen the cab and the cargo area. Banging a fist on the cab Arimia calls out, "Stop here and start backing down the path!" Having done that, and hoping that the driver can hear and obeys, the serpentine woman draws her revolver, lowering herself back down to the cargo area and bracing herself against the side as she alternates between keeping an eye on the rock above and glancing around at the surroundings.

(Yejian) "If you want to talk about it later we can," Yejian offers, "But maaaybe not right now," is the follow up suggestion as she leans to the side to peek up at the path ahead from the window. "I feel like we might run into trouble here soon, and I'd rather talk about such heavy things over tea or something." She settles back down and takes hold of her spear, ready to bail out.

(Lorethan) While he doesnt seem too aware of what is going on, he does notice the others getting ready for something, so he tries his best to be ready for whatever is coming their way.

(Symaro) "It's a setup. IT'S A SETUP!" Symaro yanks out his comm device and yells into it. "TRUCK A, FLOOR IT! BACK US UP, B!" Seems he'd taken Ankh's advice. At the given order, the forerunning truck immediately accelerates, shearing past the dropline of their impending doom. The other stops narrowly just out of the rolling path, then backs up a little bit, the drivers having perhaps picked up on what's happening. For those in the front truck, there would be a lot of crackling and crumbling as Earth seemingly starts to jut out and hold the bolder in place, the supports crumbling away moments later as though undone by a similar force with different intentions.

Where Fenris, Lorethan and Arimia meanwhile were, they feel the truck beneath them shoot off sharply, jolting all of them harshly enough that they lose their footing. Or rather they would have, Fenris managing to keep his balance by sheer grace of motion alone, Arimia grasping and clinging to the nearest surface with all her might, and Lorethan taking a tumble to the ground, though not so severely that he is thrown out the back of the truck. The three of them would witness Bob hard at work delaying the boulder's fall, just enough that both trucks clear the danger path before the massive chunk of earth is sent barreling, crashing down between the convoys, harming no one. "Shite, we're under attack!" Robert exclaims and ducks down. "I did my thing! Now do yours!" He rasps at the three.

Loud cursing is audible above the party's heads, a small party of six darkly-dressed individuals peeking over the edge, armed with rifles aiming down the sights towards the convoy. Symaro ducks for cover under the armored railing of their transport, a firefight starting. He casts Ankh a glance and shouts. "I can give you some easy cover. Just a few seconds. See if you can make them count! Yeah?" The kobold presses his hands together, a crackling blue light manifesting between his fingers, opening and expanding into a translucent field before them, barricading their truck against a salvo of gunfire from above. Soft whirring and buzzing and hissing noises permeate the air as the temporary barricade guards them, for now at least...

More undecipherable cursing emanates from above, one large cloaked figure coming into view, its hands holding aloft a heavy-looking tome. It utters something in a garbled language, one hand held aloft to put the first of its wicked spells into motion. Another two threats are made manifest to the front and back of the convoy, savage beasts forged of what appeared to be ethereal purplish tendrils ooze out of the ground to the front of one truck and the back of the other. Each one is distinctly lupine in shape, down on all fours and feral in build with two brightly glowing purple lights where their eyes would be~

(Ankh) Glad at least that his advice worked for the most part, Ankh lets out a relieved sigh, springing into action and following up on Symaro's magically appearing barrier. He'd... have to ask about that one. Later, though. For now, he works to steady the crossbow, waiting to pick his target without giving his weapon away. But then he sees it. A larger figure with a book. He'd have to act fast. With a flick, he turns on the crossbow's motor, ready to feed an extra bolt back, and sends one aimed up into the book, with aim to send bolt and tome flying off out of reach.

(Fenris) Fenris finally finds what he was looking for and swings a battered looking rifle from his pack, which has no right to hold anything so large. He swings the rifle up and takes a shot at the cloaked figures up above, then launches himself from the truck toward the steep cliffside, tucking himself into a ball and beginning to roll!

(Arimia) While Fenris fires at the cloaked figures above, Arimia launches herself from the back of the truck at the lupine shaped thing that was summoned. As she moves a thin blade extends from the back of her arm, past her hand, which she proceeds to drive into the summoned critter.

(Yejian) And here Yejian was without her rifle. The rifle her sister got her specifically for situations like this. That rifle. The lion sighs and takes hold of her lance, that she definitely, had with her and mistook for her spear or something. With that in one hand and her shield scooped into the other, she climbs out of the vehicle. The shield is raised high to provide cover from the attackers above while she sets her offense on the peculiar wolf-creatures.

(Lorethan) Lorethan lifts himself up as one of his tentacles hands him his blunderbuss. He keeps his aim on the beast, waiting for a clear shot as to not hurt his team members.

(Symaro) Ankh's crossbow bolt flits off to the side a bit, his aimed shot impacting the cloaked figure, but just barely in the leg. Though this is far from enough to down their adversary, it does at least interrupt the next malicious spell he was winding up. The barrier holds, pulling in another salvo of rounds, though even at a glance one can see cracks starting to form upon its surface. Yejian uses the cover of her shield to step out of the barrier's protected area, then moves right in and thrusts her spear directly into the manifested monster's head. It rears back and sharply shrieks, clutching its head and falling onto its backside, flailing about helplessly from the critical impact. Meanwhile on the other truck, Fenris is lucky he hadn't just shot himself in the leg. That misfire was so tragic it should have provoked a few laughs from up top! Arimia meanwhile goes in for the kill, brandishing her rapier to deadly effect as she too goes right for the head, searing directly into their own monster's scalp and sending it reeling back in pain! Lorethan pulls out the motherest of all party poppers, a blunderbuss of new design that is primed and ready to explode. AND EXPLODE IT DOES! Sending a veritable cascade of searing pellets into the conjured beast. This proves too much for it, diffusing its semicorporeal state into thick, purple mist... one monster down!

(Ankh) Ankh growls in annoyance, getting the next bolt loaded with the motor, and trying to use the previous shot as guidance for the next one. Correcting his aim up to compensate, and loosens another one. "The one time I would actually appreciate a long gun...", he mutters, readying himself to fire again.

(Fenris) Fenris rolls and bounces along the ground erratically, dodging bullets and being generally distracting. As the tanuki pinball reaches the base of the cliff, he unfolds and begins running up the sheer rock face. Bizarrely, his cape-like coat rises up and splits, forming two black feathered wings, which the tanuki flaps to thrust himself up the cliff toward the hooded and masked figures above!

(Arimia) Arimia is spun partially around when a bullet impacts her shoulder, her own personal mass not enough to prevent her from moving with the blow. Sharp teeth bared in a scowl she lifts an arm, the uninjured one, and twinned beams of pure light lance out toward two of the figures atop the cliff. The one holding the book and one of the gunners.

(Yejian) Yejian is glad she brought that bulwark- But, that's what it was for. Stopping bullets while she got close enough to things to hit them. Though before she could reach them they had to finish contending with this monstrous thing. She continues to hold the shield high and takes another stab at the wolf(?). Clear the way, then she only has one point of danger to focus on. Hopefully.

(Lorethan) Lorethan tries casting Burninate at the beast again, staying inside with the Otter to try and offer some sort of meat shield for him if it came to it. But he was hoping it wouldnt come to that.

(Symaro) Ankh seems to be having a very hard time with his crossbow. The second shot flits right past his target's arm, the cloaked figure casting an amused glance down at the entire party. It finishes another spellcast, and directs it down towards the group... only to witness a winged tanuki of all things barreling directly towards his group! His malignant effect instead afflicts the airborne and very easily noticeable Tanuki, aiming to stiffen and paralyze him such that he's rendered immobilized and helpless. The Tanuki's limbs stiffen and he feels himself starting to falter, though thankfully his body manages to repel the the curse just well enough that he doesn't fall out of the sky. Arimia makes manifest two brilliant bolts of light, each one coming clashing down to sear one enemy, upsetting their aim and forcing them to move out of the way haphazardly struggling to extinguish themselves. Yejian presses her blade directly into the beast's belly, its prone state making it easy to dispatch into a thick cloud of purple mist that swiftly diffuses into thin air. Lorethan of all things up and fires off a gushing blaze of fury directly at their attackers! ...and misses, the high ground really working in their favor right now!

(Ankh) Sighing in annoyance, the gnoll is coming to realize that long distance shots are definitely not his strongsuit. But, lacking another means of range for the moment, it's all he can do but to empty the clip and try to correct his aim between shots. It's all he can do but use his failed shots into a means of making the next one count.

(Fenris) Fenris rejects subtlety and uses his entire body as a weapon. He flaps his wings once, hard, then lets gravity do all the work, rolling himself into a ball once more and plummeting down on the cloaked cultists.

"CANNONBALL!" he roars gleefully.

(Arimia) "Stay a ball, Fenris! And crush them on the way down!" Arimia calls out as she narrows her eyes, focusing on the cliff. Again something comes tumbling down from above, though this time it isn't a boulder, instead being debris. As well as four figures from atop the cliff as what was once stable ground becomes a steep slope instead.

(Yejian) Yejian, upon seeing that the forces are being somewhat divided with some of the beings coming down, decides to press onward and upward. With the beast dispatched nothing would be left to bar her path, hopefully. And she remembered the words from the trip: The one in the mask was dangerous and not to be left to their own devices. Sparring with her siblings gave her enough experience to know that the best way to keep the backliners from doing their thing was to keep putting pressure on them.

(Lorethan) Lorethan does his best to take another shot with his blunderbuss, still in the truck, trying to keep anyone's sites off the Otter and on him instead.

(Symaro) And that is another shot and a miss from the enthusiastic gnoll! Ankh was having the roughest of times right now, though at the very least their bizarre attackers were both dispatched with a divided effort between Arimia and Yejian! The tide was turning in the party's favor once more when another Earth Nanomage among them reveals herself! That steep cliff edge their attackers were standing on sharply gives way and buckles, crumbling down into a steep drop that sends four of the six figures sliding down flat on their asses. Though their masked and cloaked friend with the tome was among them, when the earth gives way under his feet, his body instead dissipates into thick and incorporal smoke! The wispy entity backs away and retreats into the distant unknown, flying roughly ten feet above the ground as it goes. Without their leader, the two yet up top scatter and flee, seared and burned from the fiery wrath they were forced to suffer. The four down below land with a loud *THUD*, their weapons falling to the ground, prone and helpless...

(Ankh) With a group being sent down closer to the truck, Ankh sees opportunity to actually make use of what he is trained to do. Setting the crossbow down, he vaults over the rail of the truck while drawing a familiar lance and unfolding it. Though, today it is lacking its explosive ammo. It still has a wicked end to plunge into the downed creature's chest.

(Fenris) Fenris is trapped by the power of inertia! The big ball of tanuki thunders down onto the ramp made by Arimia's earth power and careens down it, crashing down on the prone attackers with a squishy thud.

"That could have gone better," he groans, unrolling, his wings vanishing and once more becoming a long coat.

(Arimia) The medusa makes her way around the truck to Fenris' landing zone. "I don't know. It worked out pretty well from what I could see," Arimia comments as she moves among the fallen foes, picking up their dropped and scattered weapons and tossing them well clear. She moves amongst them, checking to see if any are still conscious after the fall and tanuki-drop, with those that are getting a swift fist to the head.

(Yejian) Though she'd been intent on pressing on, when Yejian sees the leader of them vanish abruptly and the other two flee she stops in her tracks. She wasn't foolish enough to give chase on her own, so she doubles back and jogs back over to the others to assist in apprehending those that fell, just in case they happen to resist. "Is everyone doing alright?"

(Symaro) With their leader dispatched, their high ground lost and their squadron scattered, these attackers were mere sitting ducks, ripe for the picking. Before they could so much as recover from their prone position, two of them are immediately knocked right out, one brought to the brink of death by having their body impaled by what could be generously described as an explosive armament with a pointy tip! The two that remain shuffle back, crawling away from their attackers before reaching up towards their masks. The moment their fingers make contact with the wooden material, a bright purple flash follows, and whatever flesh or bone was one filling those four robes simply disappears into thin air, leaving only the clothes and weapons behind! With all the enemies dispatched and silence having consumed the area, Bob peeks out from his cover and notes "...is it safe?"

(Lorethan) Lorethan looks over to bob and nods. "I think its safe for now but Id be on guard." He said as he lifted himself onto the roof of the truck to look around. "Are y'all all right? I can try to patch you up some if need be..." two hands still held the blunderbuss as another came up to scratch the side of his head

(Ankh) Ankh shields his vision from the flash. Though, seeing the odd motion that preceded their disappearance, he looks down at his impaled pray and reaches down to rip its mask off himself, before it has a chance to cast whatever magic it planned to save itself. Provided it worked that way, of course. The gnoll wasn't much knowledgeable on these majicks.

(Fenris) Fenris hauls himself to his feet, muttering something in an unfamiliar language, though, by the tone, it can only be swearing.

"Everything just feels WRONG!" he growls, then shakes his head trying to make sense of what he is seeing here. "Suicide?" he asks, looking over toward Symaro, "That something we should have expected?" He pats his pockets as if looking for something, then looks at Arimia as if he has remembered something, then allows his arms to drop by his side.

(Arimia) "How interesting," comes the murmured comment from Arimia. Reaching down she moves to tug the mask off of one of the unconscious foes. At the questions of wellness she looks up and replies, "I have been shot. I will live." The movement of Fenris draws the medusa's eye, and the mask she'd retrieved is tucked under an arm, the injured one, while her good arm moves to pull a cigarette case from her belt once more. "I would offer you one, but it would not be Fenris asking, would it?" Having said that she opens the case and does her best to extract one of the carcinogenic tubes one handed, to avoid moving her injured arm.

(Yejian) "Ah... Well, that is good then because I'm afraid I have next to no knowledge about first aid," Yejian says with a sheepish grin, before looking over the two that remain. "Interesting escape option they have, though... It'll be tough to pin them down if they can just poof like that, but however it happens, as long as they are out of the way we can consider it a victory."

(Lorethan) Lorethan climbs down from the truck roof to climb back inside, whishing he could have done more.. but knowing he needs the training to get better if he wants to help his job, and the world.

(Symaro) The kobold hops off of his place in the truck and nears the robes. "I..." He reaches down and nudges the fabric aside a bit, before reaching in and pulling out a handful of what looked like some strange soot-like powder. "I don't know. No, this is unlike what we have seen before. I..." He rubs at his forehead, then simply backs away. "Leave it be. Let's get where we need to go and then worry about this. Robert! Path!" The otter was however, already working on their way out of here. "Treat Arimia's state. For all we know they've just escaped and are plotting another ambush further up."

(Ankh) Making sure to give the mask he yoinked a firm singe with his fire before slipping it into his pocket, he re-folds the lance and looks around. "Strange creatures and stranger plans. Not so different from the Dungeon after all.", he mutters, working his way back into the car to collect his crossbow.

(Fenris) Fenris sighs and nods at Arimia. "I appreciate it," he says, then hauls himself back into a truck, this time along with Symaro.

He sets himself up with his rifle braced against the side of the truck and looks over his shoulder at the kobold. "So," he says hesitantly, "Symaro?" he lets it trail off.

(Arimia) Seems entirely unconcerned with having her wound seen to, as she makes her way toward the truck she was in previously. Once more she lifts herself off the ground and pulls herself into the vehicle, albeit with slightly more difficulty than previously, due to her injury. Once there she settles in, setting the mask she'd grabbed to one side, and prepares to keep an eye out for further trouble when the vehicles begin moving again.

(Lorethan) Lorethan decided against better judgement to try and use his nanite wizardry and medical nanomagic to heal Arimia's wound.

(Symaro) "So... things are getting worse." The kobold answers quietly. "That's all you're hearing on the matter right now. Let's just focus on getting this haul up to its destination. "Fenris, when it comes to the otherworldly, one should expect anything. These were Harrowed, that's for sure. If this group's leader up and ran off like this, then we can expect to see him again. Or her... I didn't exactly see under the mask." Symaro hits the armored shell of the forerunning truck. "Get her moving!"