Difference between revisions of "My Kingdom For A Book - RPLOG"
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=Log= | =Log= | ||
| − | <div></div> | + | All agents who accepted the mission where given coordinates to the entrance of the highway leading out of the city, The agents will be greeted by the sight of three other operatives, who work for Zephyr Inc from the sight of the 'Z' logo on their uniform. The agents are a female husky and a male human in blue uniforms with a slightly shorter human, with poodle ears in a black uniform giving talking to the other two in a commanding manner. Hovering around the last agent are four spherical drones that seem to scan their surroundings while the Zephyr agents discuss their work. Behind the three is the Zephyr helicopter, operated by Mike as always, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. |
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| + | When all of the agents arrive, the kemopoodle would approach the group and begin talking in a polite, emotionless, and commanding tone contrasting the slightly high pitched voice and the less than intimidating appearance, "Greetings ladies and gentlemen. I see that you have accepted my invitation. I am Agent Rokarion, I am the researcher responsible for this mission today, and as I have mentioned earlier, I will be hiring you to conduct this recovery mission on behalf of Zephyr, which will include the searching an abandoned library and securing as many books in good condition as possible. Your payment will be given at the safe recovery of the objects wanted. But there is no need to wait here for long. Please enter the helicopter and I will tell you give you a detailed explanation about the job at hand and also answer any questions you might have." | ||
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| + | And with that, the poodle gestures for the team towards the helicopter, while the other two agents began loading all extra supplies that they need. | ||
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| + | The arachnid surgeon known as Vari made her way to the helicopter, not really saying a word. She knew Rokarion from earlier, met him once. At least one person she could recognize. She looked at the other participants, her expression a bit cold, and thoughtful, like she was studying them. She crossed her two sets of arms, as she arrived, not taking one of the seats, due to her body, but rather sitting down on the ground. | ||
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| + | Fenris comes trotting down the highway, jingling and jangling in his jingle bell harness. The tubby tanuki is currently wearing the form of a big, slightly chubby reindeer in honor of the season, good natured smile pasted permanently on his face. His easygoing tanuki nature shows through even as a caribou! The wide bamboo hat he usually wears is on his broad back, tied around his neck. | ||
| + | "Glad to help on a library run!" Fenris cheers, dancing around a bit on his broad hooves, "I was looking for a new read anyway!" He leaves unspoken that he does not trust Zephyr any further than he can throw them and that he is there to keep an eye on things. Z doubtless knows about his feelings by now. Especially after that resignation letter and the itch powder bomb he had set off in the management suite approximately 15 minutes ago. "Hey, Mike!" he says happily as he scrunches his bulky reindeer body into the helicopter, "How's things?" He starts to hum Christmas songs quietly to himself. | ||
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| + | Lochlan felt both excited and anxious before the meeting. He was eager to check what happens 'outside' for a while, but his life and skills before p-day weren't that stellar and there was a small nagging feeling that Lochlan could fail badly. While he didn't rely on too many flashy mutant powers in combat, without them and his nanite-enhanced gear, he was only a teenager of average build and nothing more. Thus he had double-checked every single piece of his equipment and rehearsed more than once the tricks in his sleeve. But still - everything could fail. Forcing him to think for something different, he strolled down towards the poodle, with a combat helm just a tad big for his huskey head and gave a sloppy salute. | ||
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| + | Indra nodded lightly to Rokarion as she made her way toward the helicopter, doing her best to hide her nervousness at the possibility of combat. Sure, Indra was no stranger to it, but they were going to be outside the 'bubble' this time and she had yet to actually use her new abilities in combat; this would be a trial by fire really. The kitsune knew she looked strange with her armor and helmet, the latter of which had two slits in it for her ears, and gripped the handle of her saber tightly. With a polite nod to the others, she took one of the seats left, wrapping her tails around her waist as she did to avoid sitting on them. | ||
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| + | After all the agents entered the helicopter, Mike engaged the vehicle and lifted off, giving Fenris a nod, "I have been doing well thank you. Nice to see that someone is festive around here." Mike said with a grin before focusing on the ride. | ||
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| + | Rokarion gave a nod to each of the members as they entered the helicopter, the Zephyr agents not really distressed over Fenris's antics, after all to them Zephyr was merely the company that offered the most benefits. "Very well.” the poodle said as they spread a makeshift map in front of the group, "We will land here." Rokarion says while gesturing to a marked spot. "From there you are going to traverse the land towards a little abandoned town along the highway. The town contains a mostly unmolested library in there. We want you to enter this library and recover as many books as possible. We want you to prioritize books in good conditions over others. You are going to take this special container with you to put the books in. Any surplus can be carried around by you." The poodle added while gesturing to a large rectangular box at the back of the helicopter. "Any questions about the job or the area you are going in?" | ||
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| + | Vari looks at everyone in the heli again, still maintaining her cold expression. "Collecting books, sounds easy enough." She says after a while. "But...I assume Zephyr expects trouble." Her eight, blood-red eyes were now focused on Rokarion. "You said 'mostly unmolested'. So recon has been done, correct? And you found some eventual dangers in there?" She sighed. | ||
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| + | Fenris shakes his shaggy antlered head, setting the bells on his harness jingling merrily. "Any current tenants we ought to be aware of?" he asks, "And do we need proof of residence to get a library card? I don't really have a driver's license anymore, you know. And nobody sends me mail." The reindeer has the most unbelievably contented smile on his face. After asking his question, he rolls to his back, hoping someone will get the hint and rub his big, furry belly. He is really hoping that the next book in the series he is reading is at this library. He hates going to Zephyr for his reading materials. | ||
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| + | Lochlan scratches himself behind the ear, as he tilts his head to look at the map from a different angle. "Abandoned town. So no proof of residence needed. The opposite would be disturbing. Question is, why the hell is this town abandoned? If there is a nanite cloud, what did it cause?" | ||
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| + | Indra had questions for Rokarion, but anything she had planned to ask was already done so by the others... well, almost anything. Indra looks from the map to Rokarion, her muzzle already opening to ask her question. "What sort of books are we after? Any books or a specific kind?" This was important as well, almost as important as needing to know if they would have to fight. | ||
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| + | Rokarion waits until all the group asks their questions, Fenris's remarks earning him a chuckle from the male human agent and an eye roll from the female husky. "This operation is supporting one of the less major research programs done by Zephyr. We have limited supplies and also limited use of this helicopter, which is why I summoned you and which is also why you are going to land away of the town, that is in addition to the fact that there is no proper ground for a helicopter to land there. The situation is as follows: This is one of the small, 'Never heard of it' towns, not even on the map, and that is the reason why there is no server in it. Why was it abandoned? We have no idea. The recon mission, done two days ago, has said that the library was blockaded from all sides and the area around the town clear with the occasional scavenger passing through it. We have no idea if the situation changed in the town or in the area surrounding it. As for books, then as I mentioned. We need you to get first and foremost all the books in perfect conditions; others are less important but as long as they are legible then you can also grab them." | ||
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| + | The trip goes on for some time, enough time for anyone to ask more questions on the way, before it lands near the derelict highway. Rokarion gets out first followed by his drones and then agents, getting the two rectangular containers down with them before setting them on the ground. | ||
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| + | After everyone got out of the helicopter, Mike gave Rokarion a nod, "Four hours before I come back to this location." He said as he lifted off and left the group to their work. "One or two of you can lift that container up, it is a bit heavy. My companions and I will be taking the other container and scouting another location." The poodle says politely as their companions grab the other container and move off the highway and to the east, Rokarion quickly following them after saying the following: "We will meet here in four hours. Just follow the highway and you will reach the town in around thirty minutes. Enter the library, retrieve the books, and meet us here in four hours. Good luck." | ||
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| + | With that the group is left alone on the highway, the container laying on the ground next to them, and the empty road in front of them. The highway was in a bad condition, abandoned cars in varying levels of disrepair strewn along it, cracks decorating the tar surface. Almost a picture one could find in Post-Apocalyptic novel, painting a foreboding image of what might lie ahead. | ||
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| + | "Scavenging for books..." Vari said. "Well, I think I know the reason." The arachnid was standing at the container studying it. "Well, at least those would preserve the books from crumbling." She turned around, looking at the other participants of this operation. "So, we are in this together, hmm?" She bowed down politely, still no real emotion showing on her face. "My name is Vari Arak'Than. I am a surgeon, so I can patch you up, even without the use of nanites...which we are clearly lacking here. Don't be reckless, and we will get along just fine." | ||
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| + | "Hullo, Vari!" Fenris says amiably, trotting up alongside the container, "I'm Fenris!" He does not bother to add anything to his introduction. "Well," he says, "I don't really have any hands to speak of just now. But if somebody wanted to hitch me up to that crate, I bet I could pull it wherever we need to go!" The chubby reindeer does a prancing sort of dance step and positions himself in front of the bulky thing, waiting for someone to get him all hooked up before using his bulky form to take the thing to where their cargo waited. | ||
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| + | Lochlan pants, "Lochlan, if I haven't mentioned it." The young male raises the container with some effort and places it on Fenris's back, then looks around. "Can someone pass me some ropes please. Else this thing will fall. And, by the way, I really want to check for nanites around here. It makes no fuckin sense sending us to grab books from a library, instead of just buying new ones. I don't buy that crap about not knowing what happened here."" | ||
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| + | Indra shrugs lightly as she hands over the rope and helping Lochlan attach the container. "Does it really matter though? This seems like an easy task which means easy pay for us," she says with a grin, a few tails unfurling from her waist to swish in excitement before wrapping back around her. "As for my name, Indra. Nice to meet you all," she adds. Once the container is hooked up to the festive reindeer, she looks around at their surroundings, her ears flattening to her skull. "It looks... wrong out here." | ||
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| + | <div></div><br> <br>The area around the group remains unchanged, except that the Zephyr agents are no way out of range. The marker of previous civilization, that is the highway, remains in front of the group. Beckoning for them to traverse its neglected surface<br> <br>Vari shook her head. "Yeah, this place is desolated. And I don't wonder why that is. I am more worried about what could await us inside of the library. Even if it was blockaded, it still would provide shelter. And shelter means possible inhabitants." She began to walk towards the said town. "Don't loose your heads, because here, wounds that you neglect can end up fatal for you, and I can heal only so much."<br> <br>Fenris grunts as the container is loaded on his back and secured to his bell strewn harness. "Perfect!" he says, shifting around a little to make sure the container is secure before he starts clopping along toward the library. "There isn't much outside the bubbles anymore," Fenris explains as he walks, "But then, there are some things out here that we have lost." The tanuki turned reindeer goes into tour guide mode for a moment. "The nanites in the bubble break down most organic and technological stuff," he explains, very technically, "And that means that they eat books. So Zephyr has been making this push to retrieve and digitize what books we can. Everything from Seuss to Shakespeare to Hawking!" Even though he is talking, the reindeer remains alert, his ears swiveling from side to side, though his happy smile never fades.<br> <br>Lochlan double-checks the ropes on the harness, then answers Fenris "I know about the paper preservation project. Me and a certain fox were planning to raid less-obvious places for survived paper, not necessarily books. We were thinking that something could have stayed untouched in sex-shops or places that sell journals. You know how they sometimes wrap them in shrinkwrap or put them under the counter somewhere..." He draws his laser pistol then looks around the scenery "Guys, I'll go scout a bit if you don't mind. We need to check what goes on here."<br> <br>Indra drums her fingers on the hilt of her saber as she looks around, her tails waving closely behind her as her ears swivel around on her head. "I don't mind if you do, though shouldn't you wait until we finish what we came here for?" Indra asks as she follows along behind Fenris.<br> <br>As the group traverses the rundown highway, some of them could spot two figures in the distance. The figures, a couple of hundreds of meters away, are rather large, bulky and obviously furry. The two wolfish beasts are right now busy hitting on a car, they seem to have not noticed the group yet.<br> <br>The arachnid looked ahead, spotting the figures, wolfish. In a lower voice, she said to Lochlan: "I told you about being reckless. Scouting ahead alone can be your death. Don't forget that the nanites can't heal you properly right now...see those two? What if there are more around?" She shook her head. "No it is best if we keep together. Since they are bashing that car, I am not too sure if they will greet us with the same hospitality we would want. And Fenris here...I don't think he would be efficient in battle right now, and I am in no form capable of fighting. I am here to patch up injured people. I vote on staying away from them, not wanting to risk a fight. After all, we don't need a thing from them, as we have our goal, and except for manpower, they couldn't provide us with more."<br> <br>Fenris listens to Vira, that infuriating little smile unaffected by the raging wolf beasts. "Around it is," he says cheerily, then jingles his way off the road, opposite the direction of the wolves, "Just keep me moving in the right direction!" The tanuki-deer has no doubts that he could handle a couple of mutants, but not with this thing on his back.<br> <br>Lochlan gives a glare at the arachnid. "We have jingle-bell Rudolf, and a self-proclaimed non-fighter, but you still call scouting reckless? Sure, let's just go in an ambush..."<br> <br>Indra shakes her head at Lochlan's apparent anger. "So long as we don't get distracted, we should be able to notice an ambush." Contrary to her words, Indra is a little unsure about that. Still, she continues to follow behind Fenris, making sure they don't step into a hole in the road every so often. "Any idea how much this container might weigh if we fill it entirely?"<br> <br>The group manages to avoid the wolf beasts, who none the wiser move in an opposite direction of the agents. After an uneventful trip, the group finally reaches an area near the highway where a small road diverges into an obviously small and abandoned town. The whole town could be seen from their position, a dozen or so houses strewn around, a grocery shop and other mercantile enterprises to the west side of the town, a gas station on the side road leading to the once habitat of humans, and a really large building in the middle of it all, towering above everything around it. That building is obviously their desired destination. If the group decides to approach the town, then it will become quite obvious that this place where people might have lived is now nothing more but a ghost town, the old sounds of children laughter and people going about their work replaced by an eerie silence and a melancholic air.<br> <br>As the group stood at the edge of the town, Vari got an eerie feeling. No, she didn't like silence at all. She remained alerted, but all she could hear was her own mind racing, and her heart beating. She looked around, nervously. "Yeah...easy task this is, alright." She whispered. "I've had surgeries which were more fun than this." She shook her head. "No, being here feels way to oppressive. I can't wait to get to the library." She said, as she started heading towards their goal.<br> <br>Fenris seems unfazed by the scene of desolation, and even less affected by Lochlan's disparaging remarks. It is sad that the people are all gone here, but he has seen Tanuki's realm and hopes that with the recent incursions by his adoptive people there will soon be a renewal here as well. The tanuki reindeer plods steadily along toward the big barricaded building ahead. He will be glad to get this thing off his back. "I think I am more of a Prancer than a Rudolph, really," he says absently, humming an obscure Christmas carol into the silence.<br> <br>Lochlan tilts his head again. The stillness of the scenery doesn't really make him feel that depressed. Paranoid on the other hand... "Guys, is there someone with a better nanite collector than me. We really need to find out what's with the nanites here. It can't be just two wolfbeasts" <br> <br>Indra sighs and shakes her head at the devastated town. It was beyond sad that such a thing had happened, but the most they could do now was try to rebuild... She looks up at Lochlan; they had raised a point though. "I'm not sure how nanite collectors work, I haven't been able to get one... but you're right, shouldn't we have seen more than just two wolf-beasts?" Just what, if anything, might be waiting in the other parts of the town? In the library itself? Once again, Indra set her hand on the hilt of her saber, just in case.<br> <br>Moving across the ghost town the group stands in front of the central large building, form its size and design one would assume that it most likely served as the town's library and town hall. The front door seems to be barred and so are all the windows. There seems to be no visible way to enter the building right now from this angle. The group now stands in the middle of the town, the library's entrance locked in front of them, leaving them alone with their thoughts on how to get in.<br> <br>Lochlan puts his pistol back in the holster. "I'm gonna check how it is on the roof. If I can enter from there, I'll throw a rope." With a weird, and somewhat ridiculous combination of flapping, jumping and climbing on the building, he quickly reaches the roof and immediately pulls out his weapon again, checking around if everything is safe. <br> <br>Vari looked at the building. "Listen...this might sound paranoid, but I don't like the looks of this." She said, still having her voice lowered. "The windows are barred from the insides, but the door..." She shakes her head. "It almost seems like someone wanted to lock something up in there. After all, why should they bother barring this thing up? I could understand the insides, if someone was seeking shelter. But how and why would he bar the door from the outside? And if they were simply evacuating, why bother barring this thing up at all? We...should probably tread even more carfeully in there...bookshelves provide good blind spots to hide in."<br> <br>Fenris trots happily toward the front door and hooks a large antler under the bar on the door and casually flips it aside. "Somebody get this thing off me, please," he says, "I think I may need to be able to move soon." He raps his antlers against the door. "Knock knock!" he calls out happily.<br> <br>Indra palms her face at Fenris. "Really? You're knocking?" she asks in disbelief. Shaking her head, she walks over and begins to help the reindeer remove the boards, though she keeps a hand on her saber just in case something decides to knock back. "I have the feeling you've done this before," she mutters, tossing another board aside. "You're going in first, by the way."<br> <br>Fenris's knocking confers no response whatsoever, The group remains standing there unbarring the door, while Lohclan stands at the roof of the building, and when they finish unbarring the door and attempting to open it they will find that the door refuses to budge, looks like it was also barred from the inside too. Glancing the front side of the library again the group does notices no other special features. The windows are still all barred and the door still won't budge.<br> <br>Vari just glares at Fenris in disbelieve. "Are...are you..." There was no anger in her voice, only utter shock. She recollects herself, after they unbarred the door from the outside, just to find it barred from the inside too, apparently. The arachnid ponders a bit. "Well, this means that someone really used this as shelter. Now we know. Then i am wondering if they are still alive. Who knows how long they were inside, when this town was abandoned." She sighs. "Don't drop your guard. Even if we got no response, if there is something living in there, it is alarmed to our presence." She looked up on the roof. "You found anything?"<br> <br>Fenris grins as he shrugs the big container to the ground. "Always moving forward!" he says happily, "It has worked for me so far!" The reindeer turns his back to the door and gives it a couple of solid kicks, hoping someone will answer. If there is no reply and if no one stops him, he will likely try to knock those doors down!<br> <br>Lochlan gives another nasty glare, this time at the reindeer. "Too much idiots..." he says to himself, before saying in a louder voice, so the rest can hear him "There's a door up here. I'll throw you a rope, one comes up for backup and we can try to open." He then secures the one end of the rope from his backpack and lets the other reach the ground.<br> <br>Indra immediately heads to the rope. Looking up, she nods to Lochlan and begins to climb up the building. It's a little difficult, but the windows make excellent footholds and she eventually climbs over the ledge. "I need to climb more often," she mutters, her grip having nearly slipped a couple of times. "Is it just going to be you and me?" she asks after a moment. They could probably get Vari up... but Fenris? That... may be a problem.<br> <br>Rokarion after Vari that is/<br> <br>Vari looked at Fenris. "Well, he could fly up there...but." She shook her head. "No, too exhaustive. We could tie the rope around you, and carry you up there, while you 'walk' up the wall. But...we also need the rope to get the container up there..." Vari sighed. "I don't like it, but I will go last. Unless your repeated 'knocking' will somehow break the door open." She stared at the deer, still in disbelive that he didn't stop.<br> <br>Fenris grins at Vari and shakes his big, shaggy head. "Got it covered!" he cheers happily before turning a quick little circle, humming the beginning of a tune, and suddenly rearing up onto his forelegs. "Fa la la la la!" he starts, "La la! La! La!" On the last melodic La he brings his hardy reindeer hooves crashing into the door!<br> <br>Indra looks over the edge, a confused expression on her face after the somewhat cheerful singing and loud bang. "Did... he just bash down the door?" she asks, more to herself than Lochlan. If Fenris did, then he just made their climb up the building pointless...<br> <br>Fenris's merciless kick at the door leaves it slightly ajar, the power of the kick making the door shake a bit as the loud cracking of wooden bars can be heard from the inside. From the looks of it another swift kick at the door will knock it open for the group to enter.<br> <br>Vari rolled her eyes...or at least would, if they weren't spider eyes. "Well, at least you get things done." She says, somewhat annoyed. "But YOU are going to be our lead now. I don't want to be the one jumped by some...entity in there." She looks up, no sense in hiding anymore. "So, our festive friend has bashed the door in. You can come down again, if you want to stay in a group. Alternatively, you two could look around up there, if you are so inclined. Maybe getting this job done quicker. But it'd be a risk of course, halving our manpower."<br> <br>Fenris gives the door one last hearty kick, just to teach it who is boss, then turns to lead the way into the building. "Hello!" he calls out genially, "We were just looking for the library! Sorry about the door, but it was blocked!" There is no greater defence than appearing to be a loveable idiot. Fenris is certainly loveable, but maybe not a complete idiot. Despite his silly demeanor, the reindeer is on high alert, ears flicking about for sounds in the building. "We can probably get you an evac if you want to come along with us," he continues to babble amiably, "We don't bite!" He hesitates a moment after that. "I don't bite, anyway!" he calls, "And I am sure these guys will wait until they know you better!"<br> <br>Indra once again facepalms at Fenris's idiocy... though, whether it's a mask to get enemies to lower their guard, she doesn't know. "I'm going back down," she tells Lochlan, descending a moment later. A few moments later, Indra walks in behind Vari and Fenris, her saber coming out with a near-silent hiss. "Yes, we don't bite," she mutters, her eyes darting from place to place. "But I certainly do stab anything that tries to grab me."<br> <br>The group enters the building and are greeted by the sight of...nothing. But clearly on the other side of the building is the fire exit door or rather the place where the door should be because the door is thrown on the ground, torn off from its hinges. Looks like someone forced his way in here before the group arrived. Small blood stains could be found all over this hallway which splits into two sections. The hallway opens up to the west on some offices with stairs leading upwards, to more offices most likely. The door leading to the east opens up on the library, or what's supposed to be the library. A lot of the books have been thrown on the ground and trampled underfoot, signs of battle if the blood stains inside and the corpse at the end of the room is any indication, however luckily some of the books seem unmolested, now the group need to simply search for the books that look in the best condition to recover, maybe even grab a few of the less needed ones just in case.<br> <br>Vari looked at the other door, rubbing her temples with her upper pair of hands. She shook her head. "You know what? I don't even care. Das GlSar k ist mit den doofen." She said, slipping into german without her even realizing. She looked around. "Quite a few nice books here." She said, looking at the books. Some had ripped out pages, but were still perfectly fine. Especially the medical books have her interest, as well as books with several small stories, perfect for reading with little time on hand. Her four arms were able to carry quite a number of books, most of them probably not in the condition Zephyr wanted them to be, but some perfectly good. She looked at the corpse. "And Lochlan wanted to scout alone." She looked around, still alerted, but to a less degree. "I...don't exactly know what I was expecting...in a library..." She sighed.<br> <br>Fenris looks sadly at the marks of struggle. He had really hoped to find survivors holed up in here. He does not seem to be all that put out about the already open door, but he is sorry to see so many ruined books. He has a feeling that before P-Day he liked books and libraries very much. Not that he can remember, but he remembers so many books and stories and histories that he must have spent a lot of time in places like this. The reindeer turns back out the door and returns shortly, pushing the container in front of him. "Let's get what we came for," he says, his spirits considerably dampened by the corpse in the hallway. The reindeer sets to work, looking over the overturned shelves and scattered books for those in good condition and maybe a novel or two for himself. "Hey!" he cries, suddenly brightening, "Comics!"<br> <br>Indra looks over at Fenris, her arms holding a few books that she thinks may be what Zephyr considers 'good condition' while her tails hold a few for her own use. "Comics?" she asks, a light smile on her crossing her muzzle. "Any Spider-Man comics?" she asks as she goes back to grabbing books and setting a few in the container with the few tails not holding other books. Tails were great for multitasking!<br> <br>Lochlan decides to simply look for the best quality books, as he doesn't really believe, that there hs going to be something that important in a library of such magnitude. The important part is the paper itself. He still checks the labels, but unless something really monumental alerts him, he won't be picky on topics.<br> <br>After the group finally finished collecting the books and putting them in the container, they begin their journey back towards the rendezvous point, leaving the bleak library behind them. The trip back is uneventful, the group passing the same derelict highway and its graveyard of cars. Nothing greets them but the occasional wolf howl in the distance, a purely animalistic one which makes the most likely culprit to be real wild wolves rather than ferals. | ||
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| + | After another half an hour, the group reaches the extraction point to see the helicopter and the Zephyr agents waiting for them. Rokarion immediately gestures for their compatriots to grab the container off the group and then gestures for the group to enter the helicopter. "You took long enough to retrieve the books, but a job well done. You will receive your payment when we return back to Zephyr's tower. It was a pleasure to do service with you." The professional poodle says in their usual cold voice as the helicopter takes the group back to Fairhaven for rewards and well deserved rest.[[Category:RPLogs]] | ||
Latest revision as of 03:11, 14 December 2014
Participants
Date
12/12/2014
Log
All agents who accepted the mission where given coordinates to the entrance of the highway leading out of the city, The agents will be greeted by the sight of three other operatives, who work for Zephyr Inc from the sight of the 'Z' logo on their uniform. The agents are a female husky and a male human in blue uniforms with a slightly shorter human, with poodle ears in a black uniform giving talking to the other two in a commanding manner. Hovering around the last agent are four spherical drones that seem to scan their surroundings while the Zephyr agents discuss their work. Behind the three is the Zephyr helicopter, operated by Mike as always, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.
When all of the agents arrive, the kemopoodle would approach the group and begin talking in a polite, emotionless, and commanding tone contrasting the slightly high pitched voice and the less than intimidating appearance, "Greetings ladies and gentlemen. I see that you have accepted my invitation. I am Agent Rokarion, I am the researcher responsible for this mission today, and as I have mentioned earlier, I will be hiring you to conduct this recovery mission on behalf of Zephyr, which will include the searching an abandoned library and securing as many books in good condition as possible. Your payment will be given at the safe recovery of the objects wanted. But there is no need to wait here for long. Please enter the helicopter and I will tell you give you a detailed explanation about the job at hand and also answer any questions you might have."
And with that, the poodle gestures for the team towards the helicopter, while the other two agents began loading all extra supplies that they need.
The arachnid surgeon known as Vari made her way to the helicopter, not really saying a word. She knew Rokarion from earlier, met him once. At least one person she could recognize. She looked at the other participants, her expression a bit cold, and thoughtful, like she was studying them. She crossed her two sets of arms, as she arrived, not taking one of the seats, due to her body, but rather sitting down on the ground.
Fenris comes trotting down the highway, jingling and jangling in his jingle bell harness. The tubby tanuki is currently wearing the form of a big, slightly chubby reindeer in honor of the season, good natured smile pasted permanently on his face. His easygoing tanuki nature shows through even as a caribou! The wide bamboo hat he usually wears is on his broad back, tied around his neck.
"Glad to help on a library run!" Fenris cheers, dancing around a bit on his broad hooves, "I was looking for a new read anyway!" He leaves unspoken that he does not trust Zephyr any further than he can throw them and that he is there to keep an eye on things. Z doubtless knows about his feelings by now. Especially after that resignation letter and the itch powder bomb he had set off in the management suite approximately 15 minutes ago. "Hey, Mike!" he says happily as he scrunches his bulky reindeer body into the helicopter, "How's things?" He starts to hum Christmas songs quietly to himself.
Lochlan felt both excited and anxious before the meeting. He was eager to check what happens 'outside' for a while, but his life and skills before p-day weren't that stellar and there was a small nagging feeling that Lochlan could fail badly. While he didn't rely on too many flashy mutant powers in combat, without them and his nanite-enhanced gear, he was only a teenager of average build and nothing more. Thus he had double-checked every single piece of his equipment and rehearsed more than once the tricks in his sleeve. But still - everything could fail. Forcing him to think for something different, he strolled down towards the poodle, with a combat helm just a tad big for his huskey head and gave a sloppy salute.
Indra nodded lightly to Rokarion as she made her way toward the helicopter, doing her best to hide her nervousness at the possibility of combat. Sure, Indra was no stranger to it, but they were going to be outside the 'bubble' this time and she had yet to actually use her new abilities in combat; this would be a trial by fire really. The kitsune knew she looked strange with her armor and helmet, the latter of which had two slits in it for her ears, and gripped the handle of her saber tightly. With a polite nod to the others, she took one of the seats left, wrapping her tails around her waist as she did to avoid sitting on them.
After all the agents entered the helicopter, Mike engaged the vehicle and lifted off, giving Fenris a nod, "I have been doing well thank you. Nice to see that someone is festive around here." Mike said with a grin before focusing on the ride.
Rokarion gave a nod to each of the members as they entered the helicopter, the Zephyr agents not really distressed over Fenris's antics, after all to them Zephyr was merely the company that offered the most benefits. "Very well.” the poodle said as they spread a makeshift map in front of the group, "We will land here." Rokarion says while gesturing to a marked spot. "From there you are going to traverse the land towards a little abandoned town along the highway. The town contains a mostly unmolested library in there. We want you to enter this library and recover as many books as possible. We want you to prioritize books in good conditions over others. You are going to take this special container with you to put the books in. Any surplus can be carried around by you." The poodle added while gesturing to a large rectangular box at the back of the helicopter. "Any questions about the job or the area you are going in?"
Vari looks at everyone in the heli again, still maintaining her cold expression. "Collecting books, sounds easy enough." She says after a while. "But...I assume Zephyr expects trouble." Her eight, blood-red eyes were now focused on Rokarion. "You said 'mostly unmolested'. So recon has been done, correct? And you found some eventual dangers in there?" She sighed.
Fenris shakes his shaggy antlered head, setting the bells on his harness jingling merrily. "Any current tenants we ought to be aware of?" he asks, "And do we need proof of residence to get a library card? I don't really have a driver's license anymore, you know. And nobody sends me mail." The reindeer has the most unbelievably contented smile on his face. After asking his question, he rolls to his back, hoping someone will get the hint and rub his big, furry belly. He is really hoping that the next book in the series he is reading is at this library. He hates going to Zephyr for his reading materials.
Lochlan scratches himself behind the ear, as he tilts his head to look at the map from a different angle. "Abandoned town. So no proof of residence needed. The opposite would be disturbing. Question is, why the hell is this town abandoned? If there is a nanite cloud, what did it cause?"
Indra had questions for Rokarion, but anything she had planned to ask was already done so by the others... well, almost anything. Indra looks from the map to Rokarion, her muzzle already opening to ask her question. "What sort of books are we after? Any books or a specific kind?" This was important as well, almost as important as needing to know if they would have to fight.
Rokarion waits until all the group asks their questions, Fenris's remarks earning him a chuckle from the male human agent and an eye roll from the female husky. "This operation is supporting one of the less major research programs done by Zephyr. We have limited supplies and also limited use of this helicopter, which is why I summoned you and which is also why you are going to land away of the town, that is in addition to the fact that there is no proper ground for a helicopter to land there. The situation is as follows: This is one of the small, 'Never heard of it' towns, not even on the map, and that is the reason why there is no server in it. Why was it abandoned? We have no idea. The recon mission, done two days ago, has said that the library was blockaded from all sides and the area around the town clear with the occasional scavenger passing through it. We have no idea if the situation changed in the town or in the area surrounding it. As for books, then as I mentioned. We need you to get first and foremost all the books in perfect conditions; others are less important but as long as they are legible then you can also grab them."
The trip goes on for some time, enough time for anyone to ask more questions on the way, before it lands near the derelict highway. Rokarion gets out first followed by his drones and then agents, getting the two rectangular containers down with them before setting them on the ground.
After everyone got out of the helicopter, Mike gave Rokarion a nod, "Four hours before I come back to this location." He said as he lifted off and left the group to their work. "One or two of you can lift that container up, it is a bit heavy. My companions and I will be taking the other container and scouting another location." The poodle says politely as their companions grab the other container and move off the highway and to the east, Rokarion quickly following them after saying the following: "We will meet here in four hours. Just follow the highway and you will reach the town in around thirty minutes. Enter the library, retrieve the books, and meet us here in four hours. Good luck."
With that the group is left alone on the highway, the container laying on the ground next to them, and the empty road in front of them. The highway was in a bad condition, abandoned cars in varying levels of disrepair strewn along it, cracks decorating the tar surface. Almost a picture one could find in Post-Apocalyptic novel, painting a foreboding image of what might lie ahead.
"Scavenging for books..." Vari said. "Well, I think I know the reason." The arachnid was standing at the container studying it. "Well, at least those would preserve the books from crumbling." She turned around, looking at the other participants of this operation. "So, we are in this together, hmm?" She bowed down politely, still no real emotion showing on her face. "My name is Vari Arak'Than. I am a surgeon, so I can patch you up, even without the use of nanites...which we are clearly lacking here. Don't be reckless, and we will get along just fine."
"Hullo, Vari!" Fenris says amiably, trotting up alongside the container, "I'm Fenris!" He does not bother to add anything to his introduction. "Well," he says, "I don't really have any hands to speak of just now. But if somebody wanted to hitch me up to that crate, I bet I could pull it wherever we need to go!" The chubby reindeer does a prancing sort of dance step and positions himself in front of the bulky thing, waiting for someone to get him all hooked up before using his bulky form to take the thing to where their cargo waited.
Lochlan pants, "Lochlan, if I haven't mentioned it." The young male raises the container with some effort and places it on Fenris's back, then looks around. "Can someone pass me some ropes please. Else this thing will fall. And, by the way, I really want to check for nanites around here. It makes no fuckin sense sending us to grab books from a library, instead of just buying new ones. I don't buy that crap about not knowing what happened here.""
Indra shrugs lightly as she hands over the rope and helping Lochlan attach the container. "Does it really matter though? This seems like an easy task which means easy pay for us," she says with a grin, a few tails unfurling from her waist to swish in excitement before wrapping back around her. "As for my name, Indra. Nice to meet you all," she adds. Once the container is hooked up to the festive reindeer, she looks around at their surroundings, her ears flattening to her skull. "It looks... wrong out here."
The area around the group remains unchanged, except that the Zephyr agents are no way out of range. The marker of previous civilization, that is the highway, remains in front of the group. Beckoning for them to traverse its neglected surface
Vari shook her head. "Yeah, this place is desolated. And I don't wonder why that is. I am more worried about what could await us inside of the library. Even if it was blockaded, it still would provide shelter. And shelter means possible inhabitants." She began to walk towards the said town. "Don't loose your heads, because here, wounds that you neglect can end up fatal for you, and I can heal only so much."
Fenris grunts as the container is loaded on his back and secured to his bell strewn harness. "Perfect!" he says, shifting around a little to make sure the container is secure before he starts clopping along toward the library. "There isn't much outside the bubbles anymore," Fenris explains as he walks, "But then, there are some things out here that we have lost." The tanuki turned reindeer goes into tour guide mode for a moment. "The nanites in the bubble break down most organic and technological stuff," he explains, very technically, "And that means that they eat books. So Zephyr has been making this push to retrieve and digitize what books we can. Everything from Seuss to Shakespeare to Hawking!" Even though he is talking, the reindeer remains alert, his ears swiveling from side to side, though his happy smile never fades.
Lochlan double-checks the ropes on the harness, then answers Fenris "I know about the paper preservation project. Me and a certain fox were planning to raid less-obvious places for survived paper, not necessarily books. We were thinking that something could have stayed untouched in sex-shops or places that sell journals. You know how they sometimes wrap them in shrinkwrap or put them under the counter somewhere..." He draws his laser pistol then looks around the scenery "Guys, I'll go scout a bit if you don't mind. We need to check what goes on here."
Indra drums her fingers on the hilt of her saber as she looks around, her tails waving closely behind her as her ears swivel around on her head. "I don't mind if you do, though shouldn't you wait until we finish what we came here for?" Indra asks as she follows along behind Fenris.
As the group traverses the rundown highway, some of them could spot two figures in the distance. The figures, a couple of hundreds of meters away, are rather large, bulky and obviously furry. The two wolfish beasts are right now busy hitting on a car, they seem to have not noticed the group yet.
The arachnid looked ahead, spotting the figures, wolfish. In a lower voice, she said to Lochlan: "I told you about being reckless. Scouting ahead alone can be your death. Don't forget that the nanites can't heal you properly right now...see those two? What if there are more around?" She shook her head. "No it is best if we keep together. Since they are bashing that car, I am not too sure if they will greet us with the same hospitality we would want. And Fenris here...I don't think he would be efficient in battle right now, and I am in no form capable of fighting. I am here to patch up injured people. I vote on staying away from them, not wanting to risk a fight. After all, we don't need a thing from them, as we have our goal, and except for manpower, they couldn't provide us with more."
Fenris listens to Vira, that infuriating little smile unaffected by the raging wolf beasts. "Around it is," he says cheerily, then jingles his way off the road, opposite the direction of the wolves, "Just keep me moving in the right direction!" The tanuki-deer has no doubts that he could handle a couple of mutants, but not with this thing on his back.
Lochlan gives a glare at the arachnid. "We have jingle-bell Rudolf, and a self-proclaimed non-fighter, but you still call scouting reckless? Sure, let's just go in an ambush..."
Indra shakes her head at Lochlan's apparent anger. "So long as we don't get distracted, we should be able to notice an ambush." Contrary to her words, Indra is a little unsure about that. Still, she continues to follow behind Fenris, making sure they don't step into a hole in the road every so often. "Any idea how much this container might weigh if we fill it entirely?"
The group manages to avoid the wolf beasts, who none the wiser move in an opposite direction of the agents. After an uneventful trip, the group finally reaches an area near the highway where a small road diverges into an obviously small and abandoned town. The whole town could be seen from their position, a dozen or so houses strewn around, a grocery shop and other mercantile enterprises to the west side of the town, a gas station on the side road leading to the once habitat of humans, and a really large building in the middle of it all, towering above everything around it. That building is obviously their desired destination. If the group decides to approach the town, then it will become quite obvious that this place where people might have lived is now nothing more but a ghost town, the old sounds of children laughter and people going about their work replaced by an eerie silence and a melancholic air.
As the group stood at the edge of the town, Vari got an eerie feeling. No, she didn't like silence at all. She remained alerted, but all she could hear was her own mind racing, and her heart beating. She looked around, nervously. "Yeah...easy task this is, alright." She whispered. "I've had surgeries which were more fun than this." She shook her head. "No, being here feels way to oppressive. I can't wait to get to the library." She said, as she started heading towards their goal.
Fenris seems unfazed by the scene of desolation, and even less affected by Lochlan's disparaging remarks. It is sad that the people are all gone here, but he has seen Tanuki's realm and hopes that with the recent incursions by his adoptive people there will soon be a renewal here as well. The tanuki reindeer plods steadily along toward the big barricaded building ahead. He will be glad to get this thing off his back. "I think I am more of a Prancer than a Rudolph, really," he says absently, humming an obscure Christmas carol into the silence.
Lochlan tilts his head again. The stillness of the scenery doesn't really make him feel that depressed. Paranoid on the other hand... "Guys, is there someone with a better nanite collector than me. We really need to find out what's with the nanites here. It can't be just two wolfbeasts"
Indra sighs and shakes her head at the devastated town. It was beyond sad that such a thing had happened, but the most they could do now was try to rebuild... She looks up at Lochlan; they had raised a point though. "I'm not sure how nanite collectors work, I haven't been able to get one... but you're right, shouldn't we have seen more than just two wolf-beasts?" Just what, if anything, might be waiting in the other parts of the town? In the library itself? Once again, Indra set her hand on the hilt of her saber, just in case.
Moving across the ghost town the group stands in front of the central large building, form its size and design one would assume that it most likely served as the town's library and town hall. The front door seems to be barred and so are all the windows. There seems to be no visible way to enter the building right now from this angle. The group now stands in the middle of the town, the library's entrance locked in front of them, leaving them alone with their thoughts on how to get in.
Lochlan puts his pistol back in the holster. "I'm gonna check how it is on the roof. If I can enter from there, I'll throw a rope." With a weird, and somewhat ridiculous combination of flapping, jumping and climbing on the building, he quickly reaches the roof and immediately pulls out his weapon again, checking around if everything is safe.
Vari looked at the building. "Listen...this might sound paranoid, but I don't like the looks of this." She said, still having her voice lowered. "The windows are barred from the insides, but the door..." She shakes her head. "It almost seems like someone wanted to lock something up in there. After all, why should they bother barring this thing up? I could understand the insides, if someone was seeking shelter. But how and why would he bar the door from the outside? And if they were simply evacuating, why bother barring this thing up at all? We...should probably tread even more carfeully in there...bookshelves provide good blind spots to hide in."
Fenris trots happily toward the front door and hooks a large antler under the bar on the door and casually flips it aside. "Somebody get this thing off me, please," he says, "I think I may need to be able to move soon." He raps his antlers against the door. "Knock knock!" he calls out happily.
Indra palms her face at Fenris. "Really? You're knocking?" she asks in disbelief. Shaking her head, she walks over and begins to help the reindeer remove the boards, though she keeps a hand on her saber just in case something decides to knock back. "I have the feeling you've done this before," she mutters, tossing another board aside. "You're going in first, by the way."
Fenris's knocking confers no response whatsoever, The group remains standing there unbarring the door, while Lohclan stands at the roof of the building, and when they finish unbarring the door and attempting to open it they will find that the door refuses to budge, looks like it was also barred from the inside too. Glancing the front side of the library again the group does notices no other special features. The windows are still all barred and the door still won't budge.
Vari just glares at Fenris in disbelieve. "Are...are you..." There was no anger in her voice, only utter shock. She recollects herself, after they unbarred the door from the outside, just to find it barred from the inside too, apparently. The arachnid ponders a bit. "Well, this means that someone really used this as shelter. Now we know. Then i am wondering if they are still alive. Who knows how long they were inside, when this town was abandoned." She sighs. "Don't drop your guard. Even if we got no response, if there is something living in there, it is alarmed to our presence." She looked up on the roof. "You found anything?"
Fenris grins as he shrugs the big container to the ground. "Always moving forward!" he says happily, "It has worked for me so far!" The reindeer turns his back to the door and gives it a couple of solid kicks, hoping someone will answer. If there is no reply and if no one stops him, he will likely try to knock those doors down!
Lochlan gives another nasty glare, this time at the reindeer. "Too much idiots..." he says to himself, before saying in a louder voice, so the rest can hear him "There's a door up here. I'll throw you a rope, one comes up for backup and we can try to open." He then secures the one end of the rope from his backpack and lets the other reach the ground.
Indra immediately heads to the rope. Looking up, she nods to Lochlan and begins to climb up the building. It's a little difficult, but the windows make excellent footholds and she eventually climbs over the ledge. "I need to climb more often," she mutters, her grip having nearly slipped a couple of times. "Is it just going to be you and me?" she asks after a moment. They could probably get Vari up... but Fenris? That... may be a problem.
Rokarion after Vari that is/
Vari looked at Fenris. "Well, he could fly up there...but." She shook her head. "No, too exhaustive. We could tie the rope around you, and carry you up there, while you 'walk' up the wall. But...we also need the rope to get the container up there..." Vari sighed. "I don't like it, but I will go last. Unless your repeated 'knocking' will somehow break the door open." She stared at the deer, still in disbelive that he didn't stop.
Fenris grins at Vari and shakes his big, shaggy head. "Got it covered!" he cheers happily before turning a quick little circle, humming the beginning of a tune, and suddenly rearing up onto his forelegs. "Fa la la la la!" he starts, "La la! La! La!" On the last melodic La he brings his hardy reindeer hooves crashing into the door!
Indra looks over the edge, a confused expression on her face after the somewhat cheerful singing and loud bang. "Did... he just bash down the door?" she asks, more to herself than Lochlan. If Fenris did, then he just made their climb up the building pointless...
Fenris's merciless kick at the door leaves it slightly ajar, the power of the kick making the door shake a bit as the loud cracking of wooden bars can be heard from the inside. From the looks of it another swift kick at the door will knock it open for the group to enter.
Vari rolled her eyes...or at least would, if they weren't spider eyes. "Well, at least you get things done." She says, somewhat annoyed. "But YOU are going to be our lead now. I don't want to be the one jumped by some...entity in there." She looks up, no sense in hiding anymore. "So, our festive friend has bashed the door in. You can come down again, if you want to stay in a group. Alternatively, you two could look around up there, if you are so inclined. Maybe getting this job done quicker. But it'd be a risk of course, halving our manpower."
Fenris gives the door one last hearty kick, just to teach it who is boss, then turns to lead the way into the building. "Hello!" he calls out genially, "We were just looking for the library! Sorry about the door, but it was blocked!" There is no greater defence than appearing to be a loveable idiot. Fenris is certainly loveable, but maybe not a complete idiot. Despite his silly demeanor, the reindeer is on high alert, ears flicking about for sounds in the building. "We can probably get you an evac if you want to come along with us," he continues to babble amiably, "We don't bite!" He hesitates a moment after that. "I don't bite, anyway!" he calls, "And I am sure these guys will wait until they know you better!"
Indra once again facepalms at Fenris's idiocy... though, whether it's a mask to get enemies to lower their guard, she doesn't know. "I'm going back down," she tells Lochlan, descending a moment later. A few moments later, Indra walks in behind Vari and Fenris, her saber coming out with a near-silent hiss. "Yes, we don't bite," she mutters, her eyes darting from place to place. "But I certainly do stab anything that tries to grab me."
The group enters the building and are greeted by the sight of...nothing. But clearly on the other side of the building is the fire exit door or rather the place where the door should be because the door is thrown on the ground, torn off from its hinges. Looks like someone forced his way in here before the group arrived. Small blood stains could be found all over this hallway which splits into two sections. The hallway opens up to the west on some offices with stairs leading upwards, to more offices most likely. The door leading to the east opens up on the library, or what's supposed to be the library. A lot of the books have been thrown on the ground and trampled underfoot, signs of battle if the blood stains inside and the corpse at the end of the room is any indication, however luckily some of the books seem unmolested, now the group need to simply search for the books that look in the best condition to recover, maybe even grab a few of the less needed ones just in case.
Vari looked at the other door, rubbing her temples with her upper pair of hands. She shook her head. "You know what? I don't even care. Das GlSar k ist mit den doofen." She said, slipping into german without her even realizing. She looked around. "Quite a few nice books here." She said, looking at the books. Some had ripped out pages, but were still perfectly fine. Especially the medical books have her interest, as well as books with several small stories, perfect for reading with little time on hand. Her four arms were able to carry quite a number of books, most of them probably not in the condition Zephyr wanted them to be, but some perfectly good. She looked at the corpse. "And Lochlan wanted to scout alone." She looked around, still alerted, but to a less degree. "I...don't exactly know what I was expecting...in a library..." She sighed.
Fenris looks sadly at the marks of struggle. He had really hoped to find survivors holed up in here. He does not seem to be all that put out about the already open door, but he is sorry to see so many ruined books. He has a feeling that before P-Day he liked books and libraries very much. Not that he can remember, but he remembers so many books and stories and histories that he must have spent a lot of time in places like this. The reindeer turns back out the door and returns shortly, pushing the container in front of him. "Let's get what we came for," he says, his spirits considerably dampened by the corpse in the hallway. The reindeer sets to work, looking over the overturned shelves and scattered books for those in good condition and maybe a novel or two for himself. "Hey!" he cries, suddenly brightening, "Comics!"
Indra looks over at Fenris, her arms holding a few books that she thinks may be what Zephyr considers 'good condition' while her tails hold a few for her own use. "Comics?" she asks, a light smile on her crossing her muzzle. "Any Spider-Man comics?" she asks as she goes back to grabbing books and setting a few in the container with the few tails not holding other books. Tails were great for multitasking!
Lochlan decides to simply look for the best quality books, as he doesn't really believe, that there hs going to be something that important in a library of such magnitude. The important part is the paper itself. He still checks the labels, but unless something really monumental alerts him, he won't be picky on topics.
After the group finally finished collecting the books and putting them in the container, they begin their journey back towards the rendezvous point, leaving the bleak library behind them. The trip back is uneventful, the group passing the same derelict highway and its graveyard of cars. Nothing greets them but the occasional wolf howl in the distance, a purely animalistic one which makes the most likely culprit to be real wild wolves rather than ferals.
After another half an hour, the group reaches the extraction point to see the helicopter and the Zephyr agents waiting for them. Rokarion immediately gestures for their compatriots to grab the container off the group and then gestures for the group to enter the helicopter. "You took long enough to retrieve the books, but a job well done. You will receive your payment when we return back to Zephyr's tower. It was a pleasure to do service with you." The professional poodle says in their usual cold voice as the helicopter takes the group back to Fairhaven for rewards and well deserved rest.
