[GRIM TALES] Wulf Ratbane's SLAVELORDS of CYDONIA

[Old One]

Brigitta

Brigitta glaces slowly at all the men.

'They are looking to me for answers that I don't have,' she thinks morosely.

In an instant, she makes up her mind.

"Gentlemen...I honestly have no firm idea what we are dealing with here. Let's catalog what we know. First, Dr. Parthenis, Malouz and and least some of their henchmen passed through this...portal for lack of a better word. Mr. Haskins experiment indicates it leads...somewhere...but where I am not exactly sure."

She pauses for a moment and looks at Joshua.

"This mystical light is, I believe, a passageway...a door to heaven, perhaps...but more likely a door to great danger...or even hell. I came here searching for an artifict, which we found," she points at the crystal imbedded in the arch.

"However, a more profound opportunity now presents itself and I, for one, have resolved to see what lies beyond the light...beyond the portal."

She looks at each one of them in turn.

"Each of you has fufilled your commission and is under no obligation to proceed further. I will write a letter to my employer...along with instructions on how to contact him certifiying that you have all met your commitments. You can return to him with the crystal...but I will step through within the quarter hour."

Without waiting for an answer, she pulls paper and pen from her satchel and starts scribbling a note furiously...

~ OO

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

THAT is how you earn an action point.

 

[BryonD]

"I've led the way so far. One more step can't hurt."

 

[Fenris]

"We never lost the Colours under my watch, no matter how bleak the battle looked. Your my employer now, you are my Colours now, I will not abandon you now, no matter where that blasted door leads to." says Haskins as he takes out his bayonette and afixes it to his rifle.

 

[nakia]

"Each of you has fufilled your commission and is under no obligation to proceed further. I will write a letter to my employer...along with instructions on how to contact him certifiying that you have all met your commitments. You can return to him with the crystal...but I will step through within the quarter hour."
~ OO

Teddy knew she was going to say that -- he knew, just like that time in Chicago where she insisted on climbing into the sewers after that "corpse" that got up and shambled off. She was always going in places she didn't belong, that no man, much less a pale, beautiful woman belonged. But Teddy followed her then, even though it cost him a week in the hospital and a month of nightmares. And, despite all of his misgivings, despite how wrong this whole caper had felt since the moment they set foot in this valley, he knew he would follow her now. He would follow her, well, he would follow her because he . . .
No, there was no need to even think about that. He would just hate himself for it later.

Teddy searched again in his duffel for the bottle of Jameson's. There was just a bit left. He unscrewed the top, took a sip, then offered the bottle to the other men assembled around the glowing blue arch. They were all in this together now.

 

[Hjorimir]

Bill drains the last of the Jameson's and lets out a sigh. "Hell, I don't have anything better to do."

 

[BryonD]

"So? Mam, you've got 14 minutes left. Anything you got planned for that time?"

Joshua moves in front of the archway, says a quiet prayer to himself, and readies to take a real big step.

 

[Fenris]

Bill drains the last of the Jameson's and lets out a sigh. "Hell, I don't have anything better to do."

"Damn it Brown!" says Haskins seeing the last of the whiskey drain down Bill's throat. "Pass it left next time" Haskins adds to Teddy.

Then turning to Rawley: "Well Sutton, you can go and writing up a little story about a jungle trip right now, or you can write the story of the century. Well, if you live. You in or out?"

 

[ragboy]

Still staring at the glowing archway, Rawley takes the bottle from Bill as it's offered. He lifts it to his lips, frowns, then looks at the bottle.

"Damn, Bill!" he says, flinging the bottle into the archway.

He looks at Haskins as if he just realized the sergeant had spoken to him.

"Hell, I reckon I don't want to walk home by myself," he says and rolls another cigarette. "Should we gather our stuff from our saddlebags and such?"

 

[Fenris]

Still staring at the glowing archway, Rawley takes the bottle from Bill as it's offered. He lifts it to his lips, frowns, then looks at the bottle.

"Damn, Bill!" he says, flinging the bottle into the archway.

He looks at Haskins as if he just realized the sergeant had spoken to him.

"Hell, I reckon I don't want to walk home by myself," he says and rolls another cigarette. "Should we gather our stuff from our saddlebags and such?"

"That's a damn good idea, no idea what's on the other side. Ms. Nielson, when you hired me to lead this expedition I told you I would lead you where you wanted to go, but that I was in charge. Well I am asserting that authority again. Since the entire expedition is going through that bloody door, we need to round up supplies first. So you have considerably longer than 14 minutes before we leave. And not one word of lip. This thing isn't over so my contract still stands as does my authority. Teddy, you watch her and make sure she doesn't go through the door. No wait, you can't say no to her. Brown, you stay here and make sure Ms. Neilson waits for all of us. The rest of you let's go and get equipment from the saddlebags and whatever else we can get by hook or by crook that we think we may need. Bloody Hell, maybe we should take the horses? Brown, Hambrick?"