[M&M2e] Red Sands Chronicles

[Shayuri]

Inside the Beast, Deezy fumed and flipped a few switches too hard. One popped out of its socket, and she had to fumble with it in the cramped cockpit and fit it back into place; which she did with gentle fingers.

"It's okay there," she said affectionately, patting the console as if it was a puppy scared of a sandstorm. "Shh. I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you."

She organized her thoughts, then decided. The Gearsmith was at Slaughtertown. It was probably well defended. Therefore...

She flicked the radio on again and tried to deepen her voice, adding a little phlegm at the back of her throat to make it scratchy and unpleasant.

"I think I see where the bastards are! The ones that blew us up! We're gonna need reinforcements from Slaughtertown though! Call it in!"

Deezy then went listen-only on the radio and powered up the speakers again.

"We're going to need to get moving if we want to get to Slaughtertown before its troops get back."

 

[Binder Fred]

She glance Ottoman then back to Seif. "You companion has sense. I lost a duel to the death, therefor, by Darwin's holy law, my fate is in your hands. Kill me or declare that I am fit for survival. No more false choices."

Three, four, five long heartbeats... "Disappointing."

<Assuming nobody speak up really quick right about there!>

For some reason, he lifted the sword up midway before driving it down, past her ribcage and through her young heart!

<When the deed is done:
Seif laid her out matter-of-factly on the rocky ground, hands clasped, closed eyes towards the sky, niqab back in place -- respect for a fallen warrior (for as long as burrowing insects and scavenging crabs would allow). Her sword, all her possessions, were technically his.

He looked at it - lightly curved blade flowing directly into the grip, ending in a subtly bulbous pommel - before sliding it back into its sheath. "I will return it to your master when I see him," he gently promised.

"We're going to need to get moving if we want to get to Slaughtertown before its troops get back."

"They will be charging straight for the fire," mildly agreed Seif, noting that she was speaking again. After a last nod of respect, he rose from his crouch by the body and strode towards his strange mount, "We should head north to the road and rejoin our caravan there. Then we can bypass their charge by heading straight for Hectate Tholus and Slaughter Town." Assuming the Lord still saw value in 'rescuing' a conquered and dismantled caravan, of course... He had a sneaky suspicion that somehow, for some reason, he probably would.

Despite his words, he felt somehow... unfulfilled. Restless. A hope he had never thought existed seeping into the sand before its face could even be glimpsed.

OOC: So that would be the plan for now: go meet the caravan and then have a serious discussion with lord Burroughmeister et al about their objectives and tactics. Anything special about the sword, Relique?

 

[Relique du Madde]

Weird IC was down during most of the post...

Abal's body slumped to the ground without protest.

Seif searches her body finding an assortment of throwing daggers. Abal's knife and sword are both highly ornate and finely crafted.

[sblock=Weapon Stats]
"Dessert Bloom" Shashka: +3 slashing damage, Improved Critical 19 -20 [5ep]
Khanjar Knife: +2 Piercing damage, crit 19-20 [4ep]
Thrown Knife: +2 piercing, crit 19-20
[/sblock]

"I think I see where the bastards are! The ones that blew us up! We're gonna need reinforcements from Slaughtertown though! Call it in!"
Deezy Bluff: 12 vs
WM 1 Sense motive: 3 ---> Deezy successful
WM 2 Sense motive: 4 ---> Deezy Successful
??? Sense motive: 17 ---> ??? Successful
"Ya betta not be Holden out on da info mate. Tell me where ya sees dem so dey can die! We gonna do dis ourselves an show de warlord dat da whore was da who was keepen us down!"
"We're still 20 minutes away on the south road! Bubba, don't kill them till we arrive!"
"Heh.. ya too slow, mate. Imma gonna make dem die quickly."

Brian Notice: 26
Brian notices a distant dust cloud on the horizon coming from the west...he can see three heat sources within it.

 

[jkason]

Brian Shaughnessy

Brian swears and slides back down the dune so as not to call out too loudly.

"Movement west, kicking up a lot of dust, so I'm going to guess vehicles," he says, pointing. "I make out three heat sources." He glances to the dead form of Abal, but chooses to hustle back to his watch position rather than enter into any kind of exchange on the matter. Seif and Sahid were the ones used to deciding who lived and died; he'd let them keep making those decisions and hope his heart didn't freeze with the apathy of that choice.

 

[Binder Fred]

Seif simply swung into the saddle, after sliding her sword into his beast's harness, on the side. With a quiet gesture he pointed them north, down a side-gully that would minimize exposure to the west. He - he stayed behind for a little while longer, obliterating their trail with short, directed bursts of steam from an unclipped sword hose, and then he too was gone.

OOC: Skill master Survival to obliterate their trail: 21. Then guide back to the caravan, maximizing cover and not going fast enough to kick up significant sand.

About midway, as it looked like they were going to make it without too much trouble <I'm assuming>, Seif looked around until his eyes fell on the Great Metal Beast, paused... and then leapt to a one-kneed landing on the Beast's armoured shoulder, signaling his former mount to follow with a short whistle. He then settled in place...

OOC: Ride Skill mastery to stay mounted.

<Response Deezy?>

 

[Shayuri]

The armored sensor cluster atop the Beast...it's 'head'...turned and regarded Seif for a moment, but Deezy didn't voice an objection. In its belly she was busy trying to get the ECM suite warmed up. She turned the scanners in the direction Brian had looked, searching for the heat patterns and radar information that might give her more details about what was coming.

(Not sure if you need a roll...or if it'd be an operation roll like Knowledge: Technology, or if it'd just be a Perception roll...but the Beast has a pretty extensive array of sensors. Rangefinding, IR, and radar...)

 

[Binder Fred]

The desert man slowly let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and settled deeper, idly contemplating the roiling and jerking scenery with parts of his never-resting mind -- rock, dirt and sand, with the occasional miniature bush, spiky head of rusty desert grass in the hollows, the hydrocarbon breath of the still raging fire (even this far a piece of deeply impacted twisted metal or smoking concrete was not uncommon)... moving metal under him, never-tiring... the smell of overheated oil and electricity that was the Beast's own... "Proximity is meant to encourage conversation," was his opening statement.

<Response Deezy?>

OOC: Was waiting to see if we really got away scott free or not, but I got impatient.

 

[Relique du Madde]

I was going to update this afternoon or later tonight. For some reason I only thought there were two posts after my last update (not counting Binder Fred's second.)

But getting away "free" depends on three notice checks and who was listening into the radio message: Was it Lord B or was it a badguy... oh the suspense!

Also... stupid tapa talk updated and now every post is a wall of text and the dark color scheme is broken.


Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Relique du Madde]

Deezy glances at the distant wastelanders Beast's range finder...
[sblock=Range Finder]
Distance: Aprox. 3.0 miles and closing.
Speed: Approx. 55 mph.
[/sblock]
... before moving to the beast into the gully.

A raspy voice is heard over the radio."The warlord.... offers a prize. Bring back the head of the enemy.... and then you get to defile.... your choice from the Galaxian women... before tonight's auction." There's a pause. "That is assuming... you do so before Warlord Gibs men finish... with the caravan.... they spotted."

 

[Shayuri]

"They'll be here in a few minutes," Deezy reports through the speakers. "They're about three miles off now. Coming fast. The warlord is offering a...uh...prize to whoever gets our heads before he and his men finish with a caravan they see. Not sure what the caravan is."

She pauses, then adds, "Hope its not Lord Burrow's."