Kalmar

Tear the World Down

Beric Vendal

Though Beric had put in more than his fair share, he knew that was no excuse to sit out. The fight was not yet finished. Once again, he put his axe away and brought his bow back out. Ignoring his own ragged breathing, he notched and drew another another arrow. He noticed two women in either flank, and though some were trying to assist them, they both appeared to be on the verge of being overwhelmed. So he took a breath, and loosed.

One of the fighters attacking Adrianna suddenly stopped in their tracks. He dropped his weapon and his hand closed around the shaft of an arrow that had embedded itself in his throat. Then he collapsed to the ground, blood pooling underneath him.

Then another arrow came, this one towards those who were attacking Gwynne. The arrow grazed a soldier's neck, and Beric cursed himself. If he hadn't used all his energy at the start off the fight, he would be able to better concentrate. Thankfully, it did at least serve as a distraction, as the soldier staggered backwards in shock, and then stopped to see where the arrow had come from.

A third arrow was loosed, embedding itself in the shoulder of another one of Gwynne's attackers, wounding but not killing him.

Then he shifted his focus back toward Adrianna. A soldier tried to circle around and attack her from behind, but that attempt was halted when a fourth arrow was sent into the back of his knee.

Tear the World Down

Just popping in to confirm that I exist.

Tear the World Down

Beric Vendal

That was well played, Cassius remarked. Though you used too much of your power too early. Do try to be a bit more conservative in the future.

Beric grit his teeth, but he had to admit that the Trickster had a point. He was out of magic, so he had to fall back on the tried and true method of shooting his enemies from afar. But due to his winded state, he was at a slight disadvantage. At least he had a horse, and most of the mounted fighters had been dealt with, so there would be no trouble in escaping should it come to that.

He notched an arrow, drew back the string, took aim, and loosed.

The arrow embedded itself in the neck of one of the now-dismounted horsemen, who had just been picking himself off the ground to join the fight on foot. A few seconds later, Beric loosed another arrow, and it embedded itself into the back of another former horseman. The man staggered, but he did not collapse - his armour appeared to have prevented it from being lethal. Whether or not it actually wounded him was something that could not be determined at this distance.

At the very least, it got the soldier's attention. The soldier turned and snarled at Beric, before charging toward him. A stupid move, considering that Beric was dismounted, while the former-horseman was not. Beric drew another arrow, and this time aimed low. The arrow struck the man just above the knee, in the unarmoured gap between greave and chainmail, which caused him to cry out and fall to the ground.

Of the six horseman Beric had either killed or unhorsed, only one still stood, and he was running to join his comrades in the melee at the camp. Smirking, Beric sent an arrow into the back of his knee.

You take pride in this, Cassius observed.

Beric nodded, his smirk growing in to a full on grin. He had been about to say something when he noticed the man he had shot in the thigh struggle to his feet. "Why won't you die?" Beric grumbled. This time, however, the man did not insist on a foolhardy charge - instead he limped towards the woods in a desperate attempt to escape.

It would not save him. Beric spurred his horse forward, and swung his axe into the back of the man's helmet, knocking him out.

Three dead, and three who were either dying or disabled. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Gary Riley

Gary's order for everybody to leave in a calm and orderly fashion had not been heeded. Instead, the customers surged out like a stampede, shoving past each other and even knocking over furniture in their mad rush for the door. He maintained a death grip on both the door knob and his phone as they came rushing past him. In the end, they managed to make it through...

...except for the last two who became stuck, having tried to run through the door at the exact same time. Frowning, Gary grabbed one by the back of his shirt and hauled him back, allowing the other one to escape, before letting him go and allowing him to run out as well.

Gary had been just about to leave as well when he realized some people still remained, yelling frantically at each other. He could make out mention of a tiger, of a character from the Walking Dead - some Ghostbuster references, and how there was a woman trapped in the bathroom. They seemed determined to get her out, and Gary couldn't help but frown at that. Sure, they might potentially save a life, but it was also possible that they would get themselves killed instead, and fail to save anyone. This seemed like a situation better handled for animal control...

...yet he doubted he would be able to talk them out of it. No one had called animal control, and who knew what the police response time was in this area. If they were intent on this ill-advised rescue, another pair of eyes and hands would at least increase the chance of success.

Training his phone back on the chaos, he released his hold on the door and walked further into the diner, instead of outside which had been his original intention. The employee from before was in the process of explaining the plan.

"I'll take the fire extinguisher," Gary offered. "It'll be easier for her to grab whoever's in there if she doesn't have to lug that thing around."

Streetlight Dragonflies

"Alright, go time guys!" He said loudly as he ran back out front, torch in one hand and fire extinguisher tucked under the other. "Glasses, you an me are on the tiger! Keep the table between me and it, and I'll try to keep it from getting too close with the fire! Venkman, get the woman and Maddie out, assuming she's still in there and not the tiger itself! Also, take the fire extinguisher, just in case I accidentally set the vines on fire! Negan, you've got the easy job. All you need to do is shut the door as we come back out, so Glasses and I don't need to take our attention off the tiger. Now unless someone has a better plan, let's do what I said before, and get this shit done!"

@Rabidporcupine

...does Gary have a role in this plan?

Seriously though, the reason I haven't posted yet was because I've been waiting for some sort of in-character GM response about whether or not the other customers are actually leaving the diner, because that's going to influence Gary's next decision.
@Mokley

Tear the World Down

Beric Vendal

Beric had been one of the first to wake. His life as an outlaw had forced him to become a light sleeper, so all it took was a bit of sun shining on his face to rouse him from his slumber. Look at that, none of them slit your throat! Cassius remarked brightly.

Beric was about to issue a mental retort, when he became aware of a new sound. The galloping of horses. Not just one, but several. He felt a tinge of dread crawl up his spine, as he looked around and realized there was little cover. For a bandit, a cavalry charge on open, flat ground meant death.

You're not a bandit anymore, Cassius's voice snapped, you're a mage, in the company of ten other mages. You have magic. Use it!

Beric quickly scrambled for his equipment. There would be no time fully arm himself, but he could do his best. It took him a second to don his mask, He threw on his cloth gambeson in only a few more seconds, which thankfully covered the majority of his body. Some gambesons were thick enough to stop arrows, and he hoped that his was one of them. He grabbed the dagger he hid under his bedroll, and returned it to its sheathe, before grabbing his axe and returning it to his belt. Lastly, he slung his quiver over his arrow and grabbed his bow, notching an arrow.

Then, he saw them. No more than ten, but they were fast approaching. There was no fleeing from them. If they turn and ran into the streets behind them, they would have been run down. He was about to suggest they flee into the forest, but then he spotted movement in the trees, and realized they were likely surrounded. That left only one option.

"Stand and fight!" Beric shouted to his companions, "They're in the woods! If you run, we all die!"

He glanced forward at the riders, who appeared to be armed in chainmail, and probably had gambesons of their own underneath. The quality of their armour was anyone's guess. They all wielded spears and shields, so they could probably block anything he shot at them, and he wouldn't get close enough to use his axe.

The one thing that wasn't protected was their horses.

He raised his bow. He had shot more than one horse in the past. It was a tricky thing. In most cases, one shot alone was not enough to make them fall. It would slow them, and they might bleed out later, but they would not fall. The only way to instantly and permanently stop them in their tracks was to shoot them through either the heart or the eye. Difficult, but within his skill, at least.

Taking a deep breath, he drew the string back, aimed at the lead rider, and loosed.

The shot met its mark, and the horse screamed in pain as it fell, landing on its side and crushing its rider's leg, whose screams soon joined that of the mount.

Beric wasted no time. Slinging his bow back over his shoulder, he activated one of his abilities. He quickly disappeared, and was suddenly replaced by a rather confused and shocked rider. Beric himself appeared on the rider's horse, on the left side of the formation (from the cavalry's perspective). With one hand, he steered his mount towards the second rider, and with the other hand he drew his axe. Too fixated on the enemies standing before him, the rider didn't realize Beric was approaching until Beric's axe was swung diagonally into his neck, meeting the gap between helmet and chainmail.

The third rider noticed this, and was about to turn to engage, but then Beric slammed his axe down into the skull of his own horse, before immediately swapping himself with the third rider, who fell to the ground along with the freshly slain mount.

Beric immediately swerved his new horse back toward the right, and charged it directly into the mount of the fourth rider, leaping forward from his saddle to tackle his next victim to the ground. But before either of them could land, he merely swapped himself with the fifth rider, sending the two foes to the ground in a tangle of limbs and armour, likely breaking bones, while Beric was safely atop a fresh horse.

By now, the rest of the riders were likely about to engage his new companions. That was not enough space to maneuver and take down another one, so instead he turned and galloped away. Only as he turned away from the battle did he suddenly realize just how taxing his magic had been - he was heavily out of breath. There was still some fight in him, but he doubted he could cast another spell.

Beric came to a stop a safe distance away from the fight, where he was in no immediate danger but well within longbow range. At this point he could have fled if he wanted to, but instead he drew his bow and turned to see how the rest of the fight was progressing.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Gary Riley

Gary turned to the man who had approached, the same one who had taken a picture earlier. There was something vaguely familiar about him, come to think of it. He showed Gary a photo of a dragonfly, and Gary held his own photo up for a side by side comparison. His brow furrowed in mild confusion - they were exactly alike, only one was older. What were the odds that a dragonfly had landed in the exact same place and a picture had been taken at the exact same angle? Zero.

He was about to say as much, when the manager spoke up, explaining that calling the parents would be up to the sheriff.

Gary didn't entirely agree to that - after all, surely a parent would have the right to know that their child had gone missing. But there was some logic to it - no doubt the parents in question would drop everything they were doing to come here, no matter how important.

Watching the door was something he could do, at least. Then he remembered why he was here, and realized his boss would be pissed if he didn't bother to collect any sort of footage or pictures. With some hesitation and a somewhat guilty expression on his face, he pulled out his phone and accessed the camera, switching it to video. "I am here at the Fed Zone diner," he explained, switching the camera view and pointing it at the bathroom door, "one of the missing people have been sighted, a little girl named Maddie. She is-"

Gary paused, as suddenly roots began to grow underneath the door, while the door itself and the walls surrounding it began to rapidly crack and decay. And then the manager disappeared.

The oddly-dressed woman from earlier had now equipped a helmet and some sort of weird gun device. Was she some sort of cosplayer? Or had the paranormal happenings in town attracted some sort of ghostbuster LARP? Either way, what the hell was she doing? He moved his camera from the strangely-dressed cosplayer to the employee, who had taken charge and begun shouting for everyone to leave.

Gary rushed towards the door, accidentally knocking over in the process. He was the first to reach it, and immediately proceeded to hold it open, which would allow the other customers to more easily make their mistake. But he also kept his phone camera on, and zoomed in on the bathroom door. This way he could help and still keep an eye on the scene. "Everybody out!" he shouted. "Form a line! No stampedes!"

Streetlight Dragonflies

@DJAtomika I wouldn't say they know each other by name, but I'm fine with there being a bit of familiarity. It would make sense if they bumped into each other a few times while following the same stories.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Hey @Not Fishing, d'you think it would be feasible that Gary and David know each other? I ask this mainly because both our characters are jornalists, although David's already retired and probably has at least ten years on Gary.

@DJAtomika

How long has he been retired? I'm thinking Gary might be in his mid or early twenties.

Streetlight Dragonflies

Gary Riley

Gary's initial amusement quickly turned to annoyance, as Guy with Glasses went with the classic 'I'd like to speak to your manager.' He was clearly in the wrong, so why did he insist on making this even more difficult for everyone? It's as if he had been trying to cause a scene.

Then the manager stepped out of the kitchen, and immediately proceeded to intervene. She had been handling it professionally enough, until she suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as she appeared to recognize a girl in the diner.

Initially, Gary was confused, but it only took him a few seconds to deduce what could have been happening. Perhaps the girl was one of those who had gone missing. Based on the severity of the woman's reaction, as well as the fact that it had been enough to snap her out of her professional demeanor, that seemed to be likely.

The girl dropped her milkshake, spilling it on Glasses Guy's likely-expensive shoes. The manager shouted for someone to call the police, but before Gary could pull out his phone, the girl bumped into a nearby table and dropped something else on the floor. He watched her run into the bathroom and lock it.

Then he looked down at the item she had dropped. A photograph. Curious, Gary reached down to pick it up, and examined it. He looked up at the diner lampshade, where the dragonfly rested. He hated dragonflies, but that wasn't important right now.

Photograph in hand, Gary rose to his feet and calmly walked over to the bathroom door, despite the urgency of those around him. "She's one of the missing people?" He asked the manager, already knowing the answer but wishing to receive confirmation. Based on the way she ran and hid upon discovery, she was probably a run-away. "It might be a good idea to get in touch with her parents as well, unless that's you."

His second day in town, and it seemed he had already found his first story.