corneredbliss

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

"Oh, thank the gods," Ary murmured to herself upon seeing the warlock reappear before them and deliver the final blow to their last standing opponent. The statement stemmed from an overwhelming relief, a mixture of her own guilt and his well-being, punctuated with a long sigh as she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. It was finally finished; and yet, for her, it wasn't finished, at all. She knew these few seconds would be the only respite she would get before the travelers would bound in on her for the trouble. Or so she thought.

In all honesty, this hadn't been the result she was hoping for. Well, yes, she was alive and mostly well. That was good. But the way in which they reached that result was probably not the most productive route. Araerys was merely hoping for some negotiations, an exchange of words to help dissuade the males from punishing her. Now, most of the group was injured, they had just caused a terrible scene in front of the common folk, and they had a death on their hands. Before she could answer the inevitable question fired at her by the witch, the woman she had initially approached addressed the crowd at the stalls. A big part of Ary was in agreement with the announcement; the public assembly probably now thought of them all on equal grounds with the villains they were fighting. Though she wouldn't have gone so far as to apologize to a corpse, the one aimed at the general population may have been in order. Any bloodshed at all might have been avoided if the woman who then opposed the apology might have waited and allowed the group to talk it out. She was the one that had initiated the fight in the first place when no one had even uttered a word about the thought.

Granted, the ruffians didn't exactly seem like the negotiating type. In any case, there was no use in griping about who started what anymore. It was over and done with. Furthermore, who was Ary to complain about the help, regardless of whether it was how she would have preferred it to come or not? She would just have to deal with whatever they threw her way, and hope that her joining them in combat instead of fleeing might be enough for them to forgive and maybe forget. So yes, the nature-witch could loot the men as much as she wanted. Normally, Araerys would have joined in to search for pieces of gold - but that didn't matter to her at the moment. Their adversaries were finally out of commission, and that was what mattered. At least the tavern would have four less swine to house in the evenings.

In any case, Ary chose the words of her response carefully, taking care not to point out that the men might have not tried to kill any of them had they simply just stepped aside and let them pass. The half-elf was also unsure of how accepting they would be of her trade, and didn't think it the right time to bring it up. So she settled on a very fundamental explanation of the truth. "These ruttish brutes thought it a good idea to bedevil the ladies down at the tavern last night. I wouldn't have it, not in my home town - I decided to give them a taste of their own medicine." A nasty stinging from the wound at her gut paused her and she inhaled sharply through her teeth before continuing. "They did not take too kindly to it, the hypocrites. They tracked me down and gave me chase."

Again, she paused, though this time it was to listen to the others speak, and watch as the paladin moved the unconscious drifter closer to the group. "Rest, yes. That sounds wonderful," she said in reply to the feline as she made her way towards the male who had offered to heal them. The kurjian was as bright as she must have been before the battle started, even sustaining the wounds that she had. Araerys admired that, and gave her a tired, yet warm smile. It remained on her face as a sign of peace while she glanced around at the merchants who were recovering from the shock of the battle. Once she had arrived before the paladin, she cleared her throat and straightened her posture as much as she could with the throbbing laceration in her lower torso.

"I humbly express my gratitude for all of your help. If that was to be the way they were to handle me once I had been caught, I would be a bloodied pulp on the ground." And as if it weren't dramatic enough, the bard made sure to make eye contact with each of the group - even the woman who had stepped out of the sidelines to rap her stick on the rat's head. "I would say it a thousand and one times, though I'm sure you would probably finish me off before I could get there out of sheer annoyance, so I will say it once and be done with it: thank you." Ary stopped herself before she outright pledged loyalty to the group, though she really could have done so from the attachment she was beginning to feel for them. But that wouldn't have been prudent; she barely knew them, and vice versa. She was a sentimental women, and it had gotten her into trouble many times before. Still, she made sure to convey through her gaze the sincere thankfulness she felt.

Omega Station / Boop!

All of the traumatic events of the day, occurring in such close proximity to each other, was finally getting to her. Janetta had covered her face while Ryobi spoke his own grief, trying to control the shivering that had begun creeping through her body. Her eyes were squeezed shut behind her fingers, still repressing tears of a medley of emotions. But Ito was right. This was not the time nor the place to mourn. Who knew if they ever would get to settle in their grief? Maybe this nightmare was meant to go on forever.

She felt him break away from her and let a few beats pass as the male spoke once again, clearly trying to lighten the mood and distract with banter. Though light quips were the last thing she wanted to hear, the logical part of her knew this would be the only way to get through anything right now. Your shit. Get it together. Jan nodded her head, though unsure whether Ryobi saw this, she finally revealed her face, wiping away the droplets of water that had managed to escape her eyes as she did. At the mention of his wife, she had cleared her throat slightly. "I've got to have my fun somehow, Ito," she called back to him, her voice still cracking slightly. Sick sense of humor, eh?

Janetta watched him loot through the Captain's - ah, Burchill's uniform with a subtle grimace, and reached out with a sigh to take the key card from him. Her eyes flashed with an idea and she turned her attention to the bot that was still standing sheepishly at the side of the room. "Kitt? Would you mind staying here and keeping an eye on the feeds for us? Officer Ito and I need to head down to Med Bay to find Dr. Widmher, but we'd like to be able to know if anything happens that the camera can see. Do you think you can do that?"

The receptionist blinked at her new Captain, still new to being given such responsibilities. While she was not really partial to staying in a room with dead human bodies, Kitt registered that she now had duties owed that went far beyond her normal name-checking ones. This was it, this was the big leagues. Granted, she wasn't sure she liked the big leagues that much; but she wasn't going down in Omega history as a scaredy cat. "Yes, I can do that, Captain Pryce. I'll stay here. Go find the doctor."

Jan waited for her confirmation before giving her a little, proud smile and moving to take her turn at fishing through Burchill's person. She retrieved his Comms device, the one she had called earlier, and passed it over to Kitt, who had come over to the control center. "Here, take this. Call me if you see the convicts moving from the reception lounge, or if you see Officer Gris on any of the feeds." Kitt nodded and held the device in both hands, then watched as the two of them made their way towards the exit. "I'm going to lock the door here, Kitt," Jan said, waving the key card once in the air for her to see. "You'll be safe. Just watch those feeds."

The Captain and Ryobi left the room, and after kicking the robot arm out of the doorway, Janetta swiped the card to lock the office. The two entered the elevator, and Janetta pressed the button for Med Bay. She looked at Ryobi, taking her gun from her waist band and checking the magazine out of habit, then held it at the ready. Her gaze was serious as she spoke. "It looks like we're going to have to put Gris down," she said, though Ito would know by her tone that she was asking him if he was prepared to do it.

Regardless of his answer, the elevator arrived at the Med Bay and the doors slid open. It was dead silent, so far as they could tell, and Janetta waited a moment before nodding at Ito and shooting out into the hall. She extended her arms and aimed the barrel of the gun towards the left of the way, knowing that behind her Ryobi was doing the same for the right. Another moment of silence, during which her gaze darted to every inch of the hall beyond her, before she said in a low voice, "Clear."

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

Araerys, already aware that she wasn't going to be any more helpful when it came to attacking these villains, watched the battle continue to unfold with a pained grimace. The wound still pulsed in her gut, reminding her of its existence. Two of the four had already been taken out (thank the gods), but the two that remained still held their own, and fiercely at that. The human and the rodent lay in heaps on the ground, but the goliath and the drifter remained steadfast; the latter having just disappeared one of the group's members on sight. Ary's eyes widened upon watching him vanish, and reflexively whipped her gaze around the alley to see if she might be able to find where he had been taken.

Of course, he was nowhere to be found, and the half-elf swallowed in concern. Another surge of guilt washed over her while she wracked her brain to see if there might be something she could do to retrieve him, wherever they had gone. She could only hope that it was a mere illusion, that they were safe together and not somewhere on the other side of the lands.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the feline kurjian, who had been hit and was clearly so close to ending up as the next unconscious of the group. She had fallen back beside Ary, and almost immediately the woman's hand flew out to grab hold of the wounded girl's forearm with a bloodied hand. The other one left her own wound to once again make gestures as she hissed the same words she did over the paladin's body. The spell was cast, and Araerys released her hold on the feline's limb without really registering her reaction as she was already focused again on the action ahead of them.

The paladin was back on his feet and fighting, and Ary opened her mouth to give him courage. "They struck you down once - but that was only fire for this vengeance! Do not waste this fuel, let it lead you to strike true!"

Boop

Ary uses Cure Wounds on Yvah (4), then grants Lex Bardic Inspiration.

Affected: @Ms Ravenwinter@Turbowraith

@JBRam2002, drifter is next.

¶ erturbation

Interesting. Will be keeping an eye on this.

End + Sleep: A High Fantasy Adventure in Cursed Land

King Masbeth, haha. Clever. Will be keeping a eye on this.

neotokyo ⋮⋮ ネオトウキョウ

Late to the game but yeah, I'll edit something in. It'll be super minor so no worries.

Edit: Edited, just a sentence or two at the end there.

@Grimhildr@JBRam2002

neotokyo ⋮⋮ ネオトウキョウ

((OOC: Combo Post with Phoebe-@corneredbliss & Sarah-@JBRam2002))

The morning began as normal. Sarah awoke much earlier than Phoebe, taking care not to disturb her sleeping wife as she arose from the bed. Her clothing was retrieved and donned in as near to silence as she could achieve, and Sarah made the short journey to the kitchen to begin the tea kettle. Her skills with tea were second to none, and although it was likely not the reason the two had gotten married, it was definitely a perk.

As Sarah set the tea to brew, she quickly hopped on her computer to learn the news of the day and to catch up on the daily gossip on her favorite social media site. As she surfed through the mundanities of the morning, something felt off. Stories she had expected to see were missing, and she could have sworn there was an unread notification from last night. A little bit of searching revealed what she did not want to acknowledge at first.

“You.... bitch...”

Phoebe locked her accounts. There was no other possible explanation. Sarah quickly tried to log in again with her username on the site. Username/Password incorrect. Instagram? Same thing. Youtube? Ditto. Twitter? Fail whale.

“You... you little piece of shit. I can’t believe it.”

The tea kettle began to whistle and Sarah marched over to the stove to remove the kettle. She poured herself a cup and returned to the computer to resume her searching, steaming nearly as much as her tea was.

Back in the bedroom, a pillow was in danger of being drooled on by the bitch in question.

Be-beep! Be-beep! Be-beep! Be-beep!

A sleepy hand wandered out from underneath the covers to pat around the night table beside the bed until it finally found the off button of the alarm. Phoebe sighed softly, reaching up and over so that the blanket was no longer covering her head but was instead trapped between her arm and her body. With her eyes still closed, she wiped the side of her mouth, felt the lingering saliva there, and grimaced slightly. Zombie-like, the woman pushed herself up into a sitting position, swinging her legs up and over the edge of the bed before rising from its comfort. Phoebs wasn’t really a morning person, apparent by the way she nearly walked into the doorframe of the bathroom as she entered it.

A quick splash of water on her face to rid it of whatever nasty crusts had accumulated overnight and she was back out into the world with her phone in hand, padding slowly over into the kitchen where she knew Sarah would be waiting for her with a cup of tea. Still half-awake, she found the figure of her wife at her computer and moved to press a groggy but affectionate kiss on the top of her head. “Morning...”

However the female reacted went unnoticed by Phoebs as she turned and let her sluggish eyes search for where Sarah had put her cup of tea… And finding none set out for her. Huh. Only slightly phased by the strange detail in her drowsy state, she lifted a hand to scratch the back of her neck and turned again to her wife. She croaked out, “Did you pour me a cup, baby?”

Sarah said nothing, an odd reaction for her that normally would give pause to anyone who knew her. With her jaw set, Sarah stood up abruptly from the computer chair and walked over to the tea kettle. She filled her own teacup back to full, then promptly dumped the remaining tea down the sink drain, her gaze pointed at Phoebe and an eyebrow arched high. She then took her cup back to her computer chair and sat back down. Sarah remained staring at Phoebe as she crossed one leg over her other thigh and took a sip from her cup. “Is there something you have forgotten to tell me?” she finally asked, her less-than-impressed visage staring back at Phoebe.

Obviously, this sort of behavior was abnormal for Sarah. The mornings usually involved Sarah babying her wife, setting out her morning tea and breakfast without being prompted. It often involved a soothing backrub or Sarah’s tiptoeing around, depending on whether Phoebe had much to drink the night before. Today, Sarah showed none of this normal concern for Phoebe’s well-being. In fact, even in Phoebe’s morning stupor, she could likely see Sarah’s ire burning strongly... directly at Phoebe.

“Uh…” Genuinely bewildered, Phoebe’s gaze trailed from the now empty tea kettle next to the sink to her quite obviously upset wife. Bulldozers were more subtle than she was. The usual warmth and affection between them were so clearly absent, and if she were being honest with herself, there was a hint of growing annoyance at the situation. It was one thing to be upset with her for actually having done something, and another to be upset with her for absolutely no reason - at least, none that Phoebe could recall. And now she was acting up with this weird attitude when she knew very well that Phoebs was only half-awake at the moment? This was just not how their mornings were supposed to go, and she wasn’t going to let Sarah throw a tantrum without properly explaining why.

“What are you talking about, Sarah?” First names. Her wife knew it was serious now, though she forced her tone to remain even so as not to freak her out even more. “Did I forget to kiss you goodnight, or something?” Of course, that wouldn’t be it. But perhaps it would calm her down enough to let her in on what the hell she had supposedly done to earn this spiteful treatment.

“Playing dumb, I see.” Sarah sighed and shook her head. Phoebe was normally above this, but Sarah never quite knew entirely what was going on in that woman’s mind. She hoped it was similar to what scenes played in her own, but evidently, someone who would stoop as low as this had some other motivations. “Fine. I suppose I shall tell you.”

A couple of clicks with her mouse, and her screen was showing the empty page that should have held all of Sarah’s statuses, pictures, and other social media. Instead, the page was completely empty, replaced with a standard message of an incorrect username and password. “I cannot believe you would lock me out. All I said was that I disliked your cheesecake. I didn’t think that would cause a reaction like this.” Sarah stood from her chair, letting Phoebe sit if she wanted and stepped away from the computer desk. “Go ahead and sugarcoat it as much as you want, Phoebs. I checked every site. You locked me on every... single... one. That’s not funny.”

“What?” Phoebe half-grumbled as she sank into the chair Sarah had just vacated to see for herself. Of course, she’d done no such thing, so what was she going on about? “Babe, I didn’t lock you out. On anything.” She tried logging into Sarah’s accounts herself; perhaps she was making constant typos? No, that wasn’t it. Strange. “Why would I-?” Oh, no. Phoebe had just tried logging into her own accounts, entering and re-entering the letters she knew were correct, and the same screen appeared for her. Username/Password incorrect. Then it began falling into place, the realization sinking into her like ice water trickling over her skin, and it was a matter of moments before she could bring herself to speak the words into existence. “I’m locked out of my accounts, too…”

Seeing the look on Phoebe’s face and hearing those words made Sarah realize that she may have overreacted or misjudged her wife. She set the teacup down on the edge of the computer as if in apology as she leaned over Phoebe to watch her work. “Wait... this isn’t about that guy from the other night, is it?” Two and two were slowly starting to add up in her mind as her thoughts turned towards the flow of data on the screen.

Phoebe, reeling from thoughts of how she might have gotten caught and the serious danger she had just plunged them both into, kept trying to log into something, anything. Still incorrect. For a few moments, she tried applying her skills in order to retrieve the proper log-in credentials, but she found walls at every turn. “Shit…” Every single trace of her social presence on the internet, now absolutely out of her control. She didn’t answer the question, already knowing they both were being bombarded with the same anxieties. They didn’t need verbal confirmation; all the confirmation needed was right there on the screen.

Leaning back in a momentary show of defeat, Phoebs covered her face with her hands and tilted her head so that it was touching Sarah’s shoulder for comfort and acknowledgement of the silent apology. She needed to be the one to apologize now. “Shit,” she repeated, voice muffled against the skin of her palms.

The silence only lasted a few seconds as Sarah pulled Phoebe close. “We need to get out of here,” she murmured finally, breaking the quiet between them. “Grab your go bag and meet me in the car. If it’s what I think, we’re in some deep shit.’

A quick squeeze and Sarah left her wife’s side, nearly running back towards their bedroom. She had never packed an emergency bag of her own, but she kept a duffel handy for long-term missions or emergencies. And if this were not an emergency, she had no idea what the hell would count as one. Armfuls of clothes flew into the bag, little care taken in figuring out matching outfits or ensuring that she had enough of any particular article of clothing. Once she figured she had enough haphazard shirts, skirts, and underwear, she ran to the bathroom, grabbing her toiletries and throwing them into a plastic bag. In all, this only took about five minutes before she had everything packed... well, thrown together at least.

It had only been a few minutes since Sarah left the kitchen, but the minutes felt like hours and Phoebe remained still in the chair with a terrible pit in her stomach. How had this happened? She was careful to cover her tracks, careful to keep herself and her wife protected; was it just not good enough? Was she not good enough?

A buzzing from the phone she’d left on the counter beside her jolted her from her reverie. As if in a daze, Phoebs reached out and opened the message, a string of letters followed by an attachment that solidified her fears. This was it. It didn't even cross her mind that this was unusual, that someone somewhere was giving her a head start on the timer. She was just grateful at the coordinates listed at the end of the text. The emotion propelled her from the chair and into the hallway, grabbing her already-packed go bag from the top shelf of the closet just as she heard the front door open.

Sarah collected her keys and the bag was thrown into the back of their car. There was no question who would be driving as Sarah took the driver’s seat, ignoring the buzzing from her phone. Once Phoebe was ready, Sarah took a deep breath. “I love you baby,” she said as they pulled out of the driveway. “Where are we heading?”

“I love you, too,” Pheobe replied as she shut the door behind her. She was grateful that Sarah wasn't blaming her for the trouble, and grabbed her hand to give it a quick squeeze before shoving her phone into the woman’s hand. “There, we’re heading for those coordinates. Apparently there's a safe house.” It wasn't the most prudent to be following a random message’s instructions, but she figured it couldn't be a trap if they were being warned. Someone was on their side, and that was the only lifeline they had right now. Sarah punched in the coordinates, and when Phoebe took back her phone, she replied to the message with a simple, Thank you.

And they were off.

Urban Shadows (apocalypse world hack)

I'd be interested, although I'd have to learn up on it.

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

Araerys's feeling of triumph at sending the human scampering backwards on the ice was short lived. Mere seconds afterward she felt a terrible piercing at her side, an intrusion in her body that was so painful it forced a yelp from her, like an exclamation mark to end her spell. For a few moments her vision blurred at the edges and a ringing appeared in her ears, dampening all other sounds from the battle as her gaze fell down to the handle of a dagger protruding from her gut. The wound it had opened was fresh and bleeding, dying the fabrics of her dress a darker red.

Once again in shock for the second time in a matter of minutes, Ary swallowed and attempted to turn her attention back to the action, eyes wide and mouth agape. The half-elf was breathless for a moment, caught in her moment of surprise. To her, this all felt as if it spanned an eternity, as if everything were happening in slow motion. It was her perception through the shock, she knew, as this wasn't the first time Ary had been stabbed, unfortunately. This was, however, the worst of the times. Still, she knew what she needed to do - for herself, and for this unfortunate group of travelers that were being cut down because of her. Araerys forced herself to breathe deeply, through her nose and out of her mouth, as she watched one of the males of the group crumple into a heap on the ground, clearly unconscious. There it was, an unfortunate cue. With a sharp inhale, as if courage grew in the air, Ary clutched the handle tightly and tugged the dagger out from inside of her, crying out in agony.

Through sheer determination she kept her focus, however hazy it was from the pain. She released the bloodied weapon from her hand and it fell to the ground as she forced one foot in front of the other, a hand planting itself firmly on top of the opened wound in her belly. Araerys made her way towards the unconscious paladin, barely noticing the danger that was so close to his body; she had a mission, and she needed to to do right by these creatures for putting them through so much trouble. She darted forward as fast as she could, minding that she kept herself as far from the human as was possible and still be able to touch her ally. She knew she would only have enough within her to heal him and flee the spot, but it would have to do.

Once close enough, Araerys bent down as much as she could, her small hand flying towards the male's ankle and grasping hold of it. She was panting from the effort and the aching in her side, but she pushed forth nonetheless, knowing this needed to be quick. Her bloodied hand left the wound and made a few hurried gestures while she hissed something underneath her breath. Immediately she felt the slightest stir from him and knew he was awake - her mission was done. Unfortunately that was all she would be able to do for him in the state she was in, and released his ankle. "Move yourself!" she cried at him as she straightened herself up, raced back towards the wall that she had been previously standing near and pressed herself against it for support once she reached it.

Gasping and whimpering simultaneously, Araerys took survey of the landscape through the tears and sweat that had accumulated in her eyes. One of the other females, the feline kurjian who had been standing near the unconscious male, was to be the next victim of that unrelenting human. Feeling suddenly overcome with compassion for her, Ary opened her mouth and fiercely shouted: "Hell hath no fury like a woman with claws! Show these poor bastards to their hell!"

Mechanics

Ary moves 10 feet forward in order to be able to touch Lex and casts Cure Wounds on him (8 + 5 = 13). She then flees 15 feet towards the wall near Daisy, and uses Bardic Inspiration aimed at Yvah for her bonus action.

Affected: @Turbowraith @Ms Ravenwinter
@JBRam2002, Drifter and Ratfolk are next!

Omega Station / Boop!

Janetta's brows pulled together as her hand toggled the switch making the camera feeds the central focus of the screens. This was a lead. Leads were good. She was in the midst of typing in commands to trigger the ability to cycle through them when she felt Ryobi's arm wrap around her. The sensation of touch was strange and out-of-place, especially in the context of such a morbid scene. Their boot soles were covered in the blood of their dead comrades and their faces were illuminated by the figures of their inmates on the big screen; but Jan welcomed the gesture without resistance anyway, pausing for a moment to lean against the only reason she was keeping her composure at the moment. She remained there for a few seconds, before nodding her head and lifting a hand to graze her fingertips lightly against his jawline.

"This is why I keep you around, Ito. Someone's gotta be optimistic," she murmured before returning her attention to the feeds. Soon they were staring at empty hallway after empty bay, finally landing on the one from the med bay:

The room was still, save for the sleepy blinking of lights on certain machines. Two med bots stood near a closet-looking door at the far end of the room, appearing to be off as they weren't moving. Slumped in a heap on the floor was a body, and even from the somewhat low-resolution of the video it was obvious that this body was badly beaten and bleeding. Standing above was another figure, shoulders moving up and down as if they were breathing heavily. In the clenched fist of the figure glinted a metallic object - perhaps a scalpel? A few more breaths passed, the figure looking this way and that way as if searching for something... Before suddenly whipping around towards the camera, revealing that it was Officer Gris. His face looked distorted, and though nothing was outwardly wrong aside from several scratches and a growing shiner, there was definitely something off about his demeanor. He took one more sweeping glance around the doctor's office before storming off to the right of the screen and out of the room.

"Shit..." Jan breathed, and as she was about to change the feed, the bots came alive and stepped aside as the closet doors opened and out stepped a nervous Dr. Widmher, eyes wide with horror at the pile on the floor that had to be Officer Davis. She cupped a hand over her mouth, looking as if she were about to throw up as she stepped around the body and gingerly made her way toward the exit, followed by her two bots.

"She's alive. Thank fucking god. But Gris is still out there... We need to find her before he does. Or any of the other inmates." Right. There was still the matter of the psychos they were normally in charge of. Great.