EliteCommander

The Cradle

The difference was subtle when Marae started to hear her language natively from Wallace, rather than through an automated translation. Translation software tended to do quite a good job of conveying the intended meaning behind even aspects of speech like tone, but the difference was still noticeable. Not many people bothered to learn alien languages, but if anyone would do such a thing, Marae supposed it would make sense for someone like a diplomat.

Marae gave a quick look towards Skopec. She had been wanting a change of scenery for a while, and she felt that there might have been an opportunity for it here, if only for a little while. There was a legitimate need to worry about danger, she supposed, but she also had an idea in mind to deal with that. “If I may, perhaps you would feel more comfortable if a member of Void Company accompanied us? One of our supersoldiers can do more to keep us safe than an entire security detail. I would feel quite comfortable being protected by one of them.” Marae suggested.

The Cradle

In truth, Marae was fairly disappointed to be interrupted, for a few reasons. For one, she had already spent most of the day working, and she was doubtful that this could be anything that could not wait until after a good night’s rest. Aside from that, she also genuinely wanted Freyr to be able to relax her mind, even if just for a little while. Freyr was the leader of the Human contribution to the science team, and Marae had seen her do nothing but overwork herself for weeks. She worried that the stress would end up compromising Freyr’s judgment, if she did not try to mitigate it.

Regardless, Marae still took the interruption in stride and, for now, followed along with this Plenipotentiary Wallace to hear what she had to say. Marae had never met her before, but a quick search showed that she was a diplomat on Rothia. Officially, at least. She did not know why she would be back on Outremer now, of all times. It seemed like her services would be needed on Rothia, now more than ever.

“I am afraid we haven’t met. I am Marae’Ano, the leader of the Rothian science team.” Marae introduced herself.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Do’rhajul shook his head. “The shield forms an impenetrable wall against magical attacks, but there is little it can do against another ward.”

Inside Vile’s shield, Hircine had quickly regained his footing, lunging back with impossible speed. His great spear glowed with an intense violet light as he thrust it forward, but Vile simply held out his hand to project another ward that stopped the attack seemingly without difficulty. Clavicus Vile had once been among the weakest Daedric Princes, but now he bore stolen power that even Hircine could not approach.

Ahnasha looked around frantically for anything they could use, any other options. Fendros was right, the Staff of Magnus had been their weapon. Mortals might not hope to challenge a Daedric Prince, but that Staff was a thing of the gods. It could have given them the strength, even if just for few moments, to do what they needed to do. Now, they had to find some other way.

The unlocking spell was not enough to unseal the cage, and Barbas simply kept his eyes looking up at Sabine with his head laid down on the floor of the cage. “Well, that’s awful nice of you to try. You were closer with the first spell, you’d just have to be a lot stronger with it. The ward on the cage is really meant more to keep me in, than to keep anyone else out. I figure a mortal could…probably do it.”

“Strong dispel magic, then.” Ahnasha remarked. “I…don’t think I could do it. Meesei had learned some powerful forms of dispelling, I know. Did she ever teach you, Sabine? Do you think you can do it?”

Lorag looked to be growing more and more frustrated the longer he could find no way around the barrier. Despite that, though, he still heard enough to tell what Sabine was trying to do. “Why do you even want to let that thing out? You actually trust that mongrel? It’s one of Vile’s.”

“Hmm, well Clavicus is my master.” Barbas remarked, strangely in seeming agreement with Lorag. “I’d say not to be too hard on him. My master just tends to get too focused on the wrong things without my helpful advice. I keep telling him this whole plan isn’t going to work out in the end. I mean, sure, he can defeat Hircine, take most of his power, and rebuild the Tower. That part will work fine. But…like I said, I don’t think he’s thinkin’ the next part through after that. ‘Course, I could never fight my master. Why, that would be almost like fighting myself!”

There was a brief pause as Barbas weakly stood up to his feet, which his cage barely even gave him the room to do. “If I did get out, I could get my half of our power back. I’m sure master would want me to help him, but...well, it would probably take me a few days to acclimate to my power again. Couldn’t really do much until then…”

Halo: Aegis Team

@EliteCommander I'll be working on a character sheet soon and submitting it when I can. I'll be reading to catch up, but I'd like to work the Banished into my character's backstory, and I'm curious if any of the PCs or major NPCs have had experience with them.

@Charlie Foxtrot

I would have to double check, but from my memory, I do not believe so.

Halo: Aegis Team

@EliteCommander he could come in when the armor gets dropped off after we take out the aa gun

@ReusableSword

That's what I was thinking.

Halo: Aegis Team

@Charlie FoxtrotIt is your choice, but a while could be quite a while. This particular mission ties to a character's backstory, so we'll probably be taking our time with it. My recommendation would be to join in the middle, if it is possible.

Halo: Aegis Team

@Charlie Foxtrot I think that would be more possible to bring in during the mission, I would just need to brainstorm how. We are soon going to be in a large-scale assault on a Sangheili Keep, so that is a potential point for an addition.

Halo: Aegis Team

@EliteCommander Out of curiosity, is there still room for characters in the RP? I may as well try my hand at a group setting.

@Charlie Foxtrot

I can accept new players, but it usually has to be between missions. To give you fair warning, though, it may be a while before this mission is finished. Though, we have found other ways to introduce people before.

What kind of character are you interested in.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

---

All at once, this entire cave had become their battlefield. They had reached the heart of this monster, and it would do everything it could to protect itself. Vael’s blade had already been at the ready when the vines started to move, and it begand to slice with precision the moment they did. He was still near the front of the group, behind Tar, who had gone ahead as they had entered the chamber. He was not worried about thorns being able to pierce his armor, but they could well have the strength to pull him in if he was not cautious.

Vael could not help Tar at first, as merely protecting himself required all of his focus. Smaller vines could do little to affect him, so his principle focus was on the larger ones. The first wrapped around his right foot faster than he could react, but before it could pull him off-balance, he quickly brought around his other foot to crush part of the vine under his boot. With his sword, he focused on vines moving in closer from different angles towards both himself, and Ryker nearby. He was still in tight quarters with his allies, so his swings had to be calculated and precise.

Unfortunately, Tar had been caught and dragged down towards the pit, though she did find a handhold to resist being pulled in completely. Vael drew his plasma rifle with his free hand and fired on the bulb itself for several seconds. The plasma could easily burn through the outer layers, but it was a massive being, and the heat seemed to be trapped in those outer layers. It would take far too long to damage it with anything short of heavy weapons, but right now, Tar was too close to use such weapons safely.

“Grik, ready your fuel rod!” Vael ordered before rushing forward to try and assist Tar. ”We must get her out quickly!” He said to the others.

The Cradle

“To the contrary, I think now is the best time for you to relax.” Marae replied. “Trust me, I know all about that obsession for answers. That frustration when an answer feels just out of reach, and that desire to just keep pushing, keep trying until it finally comes to you. And the worry you might never find it. Don’t think I haven’t gone through that whole cycle a thousand times over. But our minds aren’t that different. If you just take a step back, let your mind relax. Reset. It can make it easier for you to come back to the problem later and approach it from a different angle. With the added bonus of relieving some stress in the meantime.”

Marae hummed to herself for a moment, this time turning around and looking back towards their own building. “Let’s see, we can’t go everywhere, but we do have a fair amount of options here. We could go get some drinks, or maybe see a movie, or something more specific to this place? I mean, you could say I am like a tourist here. What would you want to show to someone who is an alien to your world? Anything about this place that you’d be eager to ‘show off’?”