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Nine hours of midnight - survival contest
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Lysandre walked around his kitchen, admiring the work of his robots. They had just finished polishing the silverware. He smiled; they were getting more intelligent. He paused and listened; the whirring and buzzing of the gears in his robots calmed him. All of a sudden, he heard a knock on the door presumably from a child asking for protection during the night. It irritated him but he ignored it, eventually, they always walked away. He looked out his window and saw a (look at that) child walking away.
(The card is a bit weird because I had no clue how to make the name fit the ability.)
Grey area as explained by Wikipedia.
"an ill-defined situation or area of activity not readily conforming to a category or set of rules."
What I mean is that your character's backstory can be in conflict with the lore of the midnight. No one would have clear memories about a 9 hour midnight.
If a mortal person would have survived, that person's mind would be fractured and destroyed by nightmares, memories and visions.
Surviving a 6 hour midnight would leave a much less fractured mind, thus fitting better with your character's backstory.
I'm sorry if I failed to explained the survivability during a 9 hours of midnight in the introduction and lore. I hope this spreads more light on that.
Kayne is resting against a wall, as he keeps an eye towards the clocktower. 30 minutes remains. He can hear the steps of wooden shoes against the cobble stones. He turns his head and looks down the valley. A girl, perhaps eleven years old, is looking down into a prison cell beneath the streets. She is dropping down a rose into the cell while speaking with the one down there. Kayne can hear the person call for her to run away, but the girl refuses. Kayne looks back towards the clocktower while trying to not pay attention to the girl and the imprisoned one.
After about ten minutes of hearing the girl refuse to leave the imprisoned one, Kayne walks down towards them. Upon seeing Kayne approach her, the girl moves as far away from him as possible while still holding onto the iron bars. Kayne stops at the other end, he looks down. At the bottom of the cell, that is the height of at least four adult men, beneath a rug covered in filth and surrounded by animal bones lies a man. He refuse to look up but it is clear that his eyes are almost glowing yellow, and his mouth is hungering for flesh. Joseph the butcher, the worst and deadliest of the werewolves in Eitnaheim. Hated by everyone, he still managed to be loved by one person.
Kayne looked at the girl who had grabbed the padlock to the iron gate. Kayne looked closer at the lock, then he reached down and grabbed it. He took out a key from his pocket and unlocked it, and let it fall down. It hit Joseph on the shoulder but he did not even flinch. Kayne stood up and met the girl's eyes.
"Go back to the orphanage, now." He said with a strict voice as to indicate that he would not accept her arguing with him. The girl did not argue. She ran off back from where she had come. To make sure that she did as promised, Kayne followed her.
As the girl ran down the street, Kayne just had to walk fast. A cold wave in the air blew over them. The forest to the south east began to move back and forth for a moment. Kayne grinned his teeth but continued to follow the girl. Wolves began to howl in the distance. Kayne looked towards the clocktower - 12 minutes left.
After a moment they finally came to the orphanage. It had been heavily barricade with no windows even visible anymore. The side door however had been barricaded but the stuff had been moved aside. As the girl approached the door, it opened. Out came another boy. He pulled the girl inside but before he went inside himself he looked towards the street where Kayne stood. Their eyes met just for a short moment, but long enough to tell. The boy's skin was pale and his eyes were glowing red. The boy closed the door and began barricading it from inside. Kayne returned towards the clocktower.
Kayne just managed to make it back to the clocktower where large groups of soldiers, alchemists and vampire captains had gathered. They all stood silent and watched the clock.
Then the clock began to ring.
The midnight has begun.
The first hour
Conditions: Animals such as dogs and cats are getting stress-attacks and might get violent. Trained war dogs are decent at resisting this.
The most notorious monsters of the hour are:
Roaming Undead
Strength - 3
Combat Skill - 2
Endurance - 3
Intelligence - 0
Knowledge - 0
Psychology - N/A
Vitality - 3
Magic prowess - 0
Quantity - Horde
Comes from: The forest, but also the sewers.
Special note: Walks in groups.
Strength - 5
Combat Skill - 2
Endurance - 6
Intelligence - 0
Knowledge - 0
Psychology - 7
Vitality - 2
Magic prowess - 0
Quantity - Lots
Comes from: The forest, the river, the sewers.
Special note: Very aggressive as their souls lusts for revenge.
Strength - 5
Combat Skill - 5
Endurance - 5
Intelligence - 3
Knowledge - 1
Psychology - 3
Vitality - 6
Magic prowess - 0
Quantity - Pack (Average many)
Comes from: The forest.
Special note: Good smell, difficult to hide from. They are still animals so they will hunt the easiest targets first.
Other wild animals and creatures might appear but in less frequency or with less impact compared to those above.
The probability of survival is: Very high
Good luck surviving the first hour.
The deadline won't be changed but I don't believe that survival will be a significant issue anyway.
The deadline for addons to be considered for the result of the first hour is Thursdays 28th of October
Reminder:
This contest is about survival. Death is to be expected. Survival would be a miracle.
Only bring characters that are allowed to die.
New players may join before the 28th.
This week you will write what your character does during the hours before the midnight to deal with the threat of the first hour.
I will write one such segment for Selina before too long.
You can't write anything that happens after the clock rings at midnight,
Klavor preaches on the streets on the edge of the Old Town. He carries a bag of Black Powder, his favoured mechanical blade, and his robes have light armour underneath. He speaks:
"It is the night of annihilation! The Exstinctio per ignem cometh! Only those loyal to the undying flames will survive! Paradise through fire!"
(More some time)
(For those unfamiliar with necromunda, it might be good to note that Klavor's weapons are a chainsaw thing which has a flamethrower attached.)
11:40 PM:
The wind is howling through the town streets, It's waving the trees, slamming the un-reionforced window shutters, pulling and draging the ballons over the town.
Selina is standing in the shadows of the church, holding a blood bag in her hand which she had been given by one of the officers. Her eyes is resting on the bag. She knows she is supposed to ration it for later but the desire is irresistable. Is it that she had a taste for lifeblood or is it the night which is causing it.
Her vision blurs and her head is beating in rythm to her heartbeat.
She gives up trying to resist, she open her mouth widely and bites into the bag.
Sweet dark red blood sips down her jaw and drops down onto the ground below. Her senses are relieved and her vison clears up. The taste is better than it ever been before, as if she had not been drinking for days. When empty she tosses the bag aside. Though it was not as sweet as lifeblood. She reaches her hand into her pocket touching the second blood bag. No, she has to resist.
A pack of wolves are howling in the distance.
Selina begins to smile. She stands up and begins heading north towards the bridge in the Iron Square.
Around her the soldiers and alchemists have begun lighting up torches and braziers. Around them they have stacked boxes and crates to act as a primitive wall. Leaning on the boxes are polearms, spears and loaded muskets. Behind them on the ground are a couple of crates filled with bags of gunpowder, bullets of lead, silver, black grenades and oil flasks. Only humans are inside these small outposts as dust from the silver bullets could potentially harm the vampires.
The bridge have been barricad with three wagons filled with crates and barrels. On the wagon stands a couple of soldiers and alchemists. Mounted on the middle wagon is a flamesprayer. On the bridge a couple of citizens are just finishing covering the bridge in oil before heading back behind the wagon wall.
A short moment later the clocktower begins to ring.
Location: Old Town
"Looks abandoned, all the defenses make it hard to tell if anyone's in there." Alio was perched on a rooftop overlooking Old Town. Across the street a blue roofed manor stood looming in the night. He took a breath, he could see the clocktower from here. Time was running out. "I'll just have to check it out from the inside."
He climbed down from his perch and slinked across the street. The darkness his temporary ally. "All of the front windows are boarded up, might be something in the back." Alio climbed the fence surrounding the garden in the back. "A door!" He crept over and tested the knob -locked-. He pulled out his set of lock picks, "Need to hurry up, running out of time." luckily he still had some skills from his guild days. The lock proved difficult, but not impossible. In only a few minutes he had it undone and in a silent motion opened the door and checked inside. No barricade.
It was a dark room, an old lounge. He stepped in, snuck over to the doorway and listened for any movement. "Nothing, I swear if Marcus lied." he followed the hallway being careful not to alert any residents. Up a head he saw his first signs of life in the next room. "Lantern light" he moved up to the doorway. Two men were patrolling the house, headed towards him. He ducked back trying to avoid their view. Alio turned and slipped into another open doorframe just as the two guards entered the hallway. The new room was to dark to see in, he held his breath. The two men passed by, not noticing the intruder. Alio didn't wait for them to return. The lantern had temporarily lit up the room revealing a staircase and he dashed up it.
The second floor of the house was lit. Candles in almost every corner warding away the darkness. Alio exited the stairwell into a storage room. Shelves lined with all manner of goods, some of which he recognized. "Must be a smuggling ring." he started searching the room for his prize. "It's not here, but it's got to be here! Why isn't it here!", Alio's heart started loudly thumping, his thoughts started to fuzzy. Not thinking properly he grabbed a small box and chucked it across the room. Before he realized what he had done it was to late, the box collided with the wall shattering.
"What was that?" Someone spoke from the other room. Alio's thoughts cleared.
"No, no, no, no." He ran for cover behind a shelf as the connection door opened. Four people entered, the light illuminated drawn weapons.
"Check the room" Alio saw an older man dressed in battle gear. The three others nodded and started sweeping as the leader stood at the doorway.
"I have to get out of here!" It wasn't worth getting killed over. He needed to get out and find a place to hide before it was to late. "There is moon dust over there!" Alio was pulled from his planning when he saw it. two bags resting on a shelf over by the door. They looked just like the one Marcus had given him. "I need to get it."
Just then one of the guards turned the corner on his hiding spot. Alio was quick though, he moved silently adjusting his position with the guards. As they moved so did he staying out of view. His heart pumped as he made his way over to the moon dust.
"Over here!" One of them called out to the others -his heart dropped. "There's a smashed box." The older man left his post at the doorway and went to inspect the findings.
"Well then. Tell the others to search the building."
"Are you sure this is a good idea boss? We might still be able to get out through the sewers."
"I'm not leaving all I've built through my life to the hoards of the undead, now get"
Alio didn't hear the end of the conversation. The old man had left the door and he took the opportunity. He ran moon dust in hand deeper into the house looking for a place to hide. His heartbeat quelled as he started searching for a way out of the house.
Just then the clock tower rang, sending chills down his spine. It Had Begun.
Stixes wasn't uncomfortable taking lives. It was necessary, and with each one, his reserves in the flask grew larger. He was basically full up at this point, but to stop now would be crueler than it would be to continue.
"Out of my way."
Caronte paused and backed up. It was a vampire giving the order after all, taking care of the family group Stixes would have done.
"Yes sir. Good luck tonight."
The vampire merely grunted in response, eager for his next hit of blood without consequence.
Caronte stayed out helping those along as long as he could reasonably do, but when he started to hear the howling of the wolves and the groans of the undead, he knew it was time to head back. Back to the relative safety of the palisade and fortress. Back to the place with weapons far better for defending against these nine hours.
Screams begin to litter the air, some a little too close for comfort as Aoria looks down and sees a mother carrying a little boy about the age of five, attempting to run to safety. A man at the top floor of the tavern observes from a window hopefully as sorrow sows its threads with each passing second. The woman screams and pleads as she realizes the futility of her run before tripping. "Run Tom, run" she yells pushing her son away desperately. The large beast like creature behind her lunges at the mother, but the boy, Tom valiantly rushes In front of the mother as he lifts up his wooden toy sword and shield. For a moment time seems to freeze, as Tom closes his eyes, the foolishness of his action now turned to fear. Minutes pass as he begins to slowly open his eyes and an oppressive but comforting blue light reaches his eyes. His eyes light up in excitement and awe as the beast clashes with the wall of blue light and he swings his wooden sword in one fell swoop causing the construct to slash the beast in half. The construct disperses after the beast is slain, and mother grabs Tom and runs to the safety of the tavern.
"What can I say, even children deserve to dream" Aoria says to herself as she watches them get to safely into the tavern out of their view.
¨Hey! What are you doing in my home!" shouted an old lady, covered in a mysterious robe and odd objects on her arm.
The area around her was filled with oddly glowing light and other odd contraptions of the sort. Lysandre had heard of this woman. She made many shady deals, one of which almost led to his own death. Her name was Carla ´The Crazy´ as the people called her. This... complicated things.
¨Hello, Carla... It´s been a while, hasn't it?¨ Lysandre said with a small grin on his face. ¨It´s been what, just a few weeks since you sent those officers to kill me. Well, I lived and I´ve been wondering what I would ever do if I found you. Hmmm, maybe if you let me stay, I won´t kill you with my creations.¨ He extends his arms and intimidatingly shows his robots.
¨Is that supposed to scare me or something?¨ she said, disinterested ¨Ah well, I´ve been needing some scrap metal. Maybe if you hand over some of those robots of yours I´ll let you stay.¨ Lysandre looked back at them. He wouldn´t dare hand one of them over. Suddenly a growl reverberated through the tunnels. It seemed the creatures had found them.
Most of the people around him would probably die, but he really couldn't care less. Some tried to talk to each other, but no real conversation started, due to the tense atmosphere. Silence reigned, occasionally broken by the clattering of weapons or prayers of soldiers. Despite being sent to this place, Craith already had plans to retreat once the outpost would inevitably fall. He still had to find a meaning for all of this, so he could not afford to die that quickly and the officers would be too busy to stop him anyway.
Then the bell rang.
Craith emptied his mind and got up from the place he'd been sitting at. His entire body got encased in an ice armor and claws formed at his hands. Time to earn his share.
All but one of his assistants rushed off into the dark, moving to scavenge whatever ingredients they could find from the abandoned houses and other such places. The dead wouldn't need them after all.
A four-eyed, blue-spined lizard the length of his forearm clung to Nigredo's shoulder as he moved off into Old Town, looking to do some scavenging of his own. The orc kept his head down and walked quickly, giving nobody any extra reason to spare him a second glance.
Pushing into an ajar doorway, Nigredo searched through a dim foyer. Finding nothing, he crept deeper into the building. After a number of similarly useless rooms, he stumbled upon a pantry of sorts. The smell of cured meat hung in the stale air, coaxing an eager chittering from the lizard. Snagging a few rations for his little assistants, Nigredo gathered up every herb, spice and reagent he could find, stashing them in his robe's inner pockets.
That's a decent start to the hour, Nigredo thought. Let's see if there's time to hit another building or three before we need to head back.
Creeping back into the hallway, Nigredo could barely make out the clocktower in the distance from a dusty window. Current time appears to be within the margin of error; might have to hurry to hit more than one additional spot though.
Nigredo managed to loot two more houses before heading back. Nothing too great; mostly some relatively common ingredients. That was to be expected though; it's unlikely anyone with access to rare reagents gave up in the face of the night.
The lizard jumped off his shoulder, skittering off into an alley. "What is it Keris?" Nigredo whispered, following behind. Keris led him to a small, thorny plant growing around some old tree roots. A pyracantha bush. It's a shame it's out of season for the fruits, but this will do. "Good find," Nigredo said, giving Keris a small chunk of meat as he harvested the plant with practiced ease. Keris chirped proudly, climbing back onto her keeper's shoulder.
The pair hurried back to Nigredo's stall, greeted by a small chorus of excited creatures. "I'm back little ones," Nigredo said, an unusual modicum of cheer coloring his tone. He took out some of the pilfered meat, letting them divide it among themselves as he gathered up their haul. A third of them are still out; here's hoping they didn't get into too much trouble. No use worrying about it though.
Nigredo sat down, taking out a cauldron no larger than two fists, running a hand along the familiar dark metal. Time to get to work before the night begins in earnest. He ran a hand over some of the pouches tied to the black sash he wore under his robes. I have the basics covered, but extra precautions never hurt anyone.
With a short arcane utterance, a small flame enveloped the cauldron in his lap, warming it as he began preparing a number of ingredients. A small knife danced gracefully in one hand as the other steadied the cauldron, a deep gray fluid boiling within as a concoction took shape. Increasing the strength of the flames, the fluid turned a vivid scarlet as he added some of the pyracantha bush. Satisfied with his work, Nigredo poured the concoction into a flask, setting it aside as he began a new concoction. There was much that could be done before the midnight, yet so little time and information to work with…
Nigredo's Starting State
Inventory:
Nigredo's Portable Cauldron, Ricinus Dust (Smoke Bomb Variant), Pyracantha Tincture (the concoction made in the story segment)
<Might fit in a card for the scavenging before the deadline tomorrow>
The deadeye of Maikowan
Strength - 5
Combat Skill - 5
Endurance - 6
Intelligence - 5
Knowledge - 6
Psychology - 7
Vitality - 5
Magic prowess - 2
Marksman- 9 (The ability to hit far away idle and moving targets)
Starting Location: Duvgen town
Starting items:
Bottle of whiskey
Pouch with gunpowder
Bandages
10:15 Pm
The all too familiar smell of death was being swept with the wind through the narrow town corridors. The night had not yet begun but the presence of evil and madness had already begun to pull into the hearts and minds of the citizens of Eitnaheim.
Robert Tess had followed the path as instructed into the narrow corridors but by now the smell was so clear that he could find his way even in the blind. As he moved around the corner he was met by a man, a vampire, in dark Nox armor with his right hand on the shaft of his narrow sword. The vampire kept his head pointed down towards a pile of blood covered rags half tucked into a hole in the foundation of the building. A wounded white arm with broken fingers reached out of the rag pile. Robert made sure to meet the eyes of the vampire before investigating the corpse. It was obvious that it was not this vampire that had done the deed - his eyes were dark red without a glimpse of glow. This vampire had not feasted on lifeblood this night and probably not for many months or years.
Robert went down on his right knee beside the corpse. He pulled some rugs aside to reveal the victims face and upper torso. At the moment that he did, the smell poured over him. It was not a smell of rot but of death so clear that he could almost taste the iron. Robert laid his eyes on the eyes of the victim - a woman, probably 25 years old. Her face was covered in her own dried blood which she had been vomiting up during her last moments. Her throat had been ripped away as if attacked by a large predator. The predator had not stopped with the throat but continued down, tearing the woman's flesh down towards where her heart used to be. Now her chest was just an empty dark red hole with only traces of blood remaining. It was clear as night that she had been attacked by a neck ripper.
Robert kept investigating the victim. He came to the conclusion that she must have lived for a few seconds after the attacker had dropped her - enough for her to by instinct pull the rags over herself. Robert looked back at the vampire, this time considering his age. The vampire was not old but old enough to have been there before the crossbreed so he had surely been a neck drinker once in time like all older vampires. He did not show any facial expressions but Robert still recognized his feeling of disgust and hate. The vampire suddenly turned his head towards a house further ahead. At the same moment a cat on a balcony began hissing and growling.
The vampire drew his sword, he looked at Robert, then went straight towards the house. Robert quickly went after but instead of following the vampire, he went beneath the balcony. The vampire went to the front door. The door was unlocked so he quietly opened it and went inside. At the same time, Robert had already climbed on top of a lower rooftop from where he could reach up to the balcony. There he managed to climb unto the balcony where the cat sat growling at him. Robert paid little attention to it. He made sure that his pistol, his rifle and blunderbuss pistol were loaded. He went inside.
He appeared inside an empty room with bookshelves and a fireplace. From the other room in front of him he could hear the sound of flesh being teared apart, drops falling to the floor and muffled screams - as if someone was trying to scream with their lungs filled with blood. Robert sneaked forward. There was no reason to hurry, the person was already dead. He readied himself with the rifle in both hands as he approached the doorway. He sneaked into the room. There on the bed he saw a middle aged woman shaking as her throat was being teared open by the one beside her - a neck ripper vampire. The vampire was a young female, her skin was pale and the sclera of her eyes had turned red, with the pupils turned orange yellow. The eyes were glowing of intense bloodlust.
Strength - 7
Combat Skill - 7
Endurance - 8
Intelligence - 2
Knowledge - 3
Psychology - 5
Vitality - 7
Magic prowess - 3
Vampirism - 6 (The ability to drain strength from the enemy by drinking their blood)
Very aggressive when sensing the scent of blood. Unreliable as allies, unreliable as enemies.
Robert raised the rifle and aimed it at the vampire. He took long calm breaths as he tried to aim at the vampire's head. He would have aimed for her heart but she was positioned in such way that made it almost impossible to hit, and for Robert to relocate would be extremely dangerous. Robert took gave a thought of his pistols hang in his belt before putting all focus on aiming. He exhaled. Pang!
The bullet hit the vampire just beneath her right eye and through her head so blood splattered across the wall. Robert realized his failure and threw the rifle to the side while reaching for the pistol. The vampire screeched as blood poured out of her silver burnt wound. She grabbed the victim and threw her to the side with extraordinaire strength. She went over the bed and straight towards Robert. The door to the room slammed open as the vampire knight ran inside and pierced the neck ripper with his sword. Robert raised the pistol and fired off towards the vampire's chest - but he missed the heart.
The neck ripper screamed. She continuously hit the vampire's head with a blood infused strength that he could not withstand. As he lost balance, the neck ripper threw him over the bed. Robert raised his blunderbuss pistol but the neck ripper was now too close. With her hand she swept the blunderbuss from his hands. Before she could tear Robert apart the vampire knight threw a dagger that hit her in the upper shoulder. He dashed and jumped over her, forcing her into the fireplace. He pulled out the sword from her chest and tried to cut her head off but the neck ripper scratched his face and pushed him away.
Pang!
She screamed of intense pain as she covered her burning face with her hands. Robert dropped the smoking blunderbuss and pulled out an axe, but the other vampire was already over the neck ripper again. He thrusted his sword through her throat and into the logs behind. The neck ripper violently tried to get away but she was stuck and blinded. The vampire took his dagger and cut her chest open. He thrust his hand into her chest. He grabbed her heart and crushed it in palm. The neck ripper was now shaking violently as blood poured out of her mouth, nostrils, eyes and the burnt skin. The knight pulled the crushed heart from her chest and threw it to the side. Robert sat down on a chair watching the neck ripper draw her last breaths.
The night had not even begun but monsters have already infiltrated the town. At least now there was one less of the.
I'm sorry for the slight delay. Robert Tess was supposed to be posted earlier, but this work week has been more burdensome than I had predicted. Also finding good artwork for all monsters is very difficult and time consuming so I have to change some monsters.
So the conclusion of the first hour will happen tomorrow instead together with the introduction of the 2'nd hour.
Due to the delay I will accept new entries, stories and cards for about 14 more hours.
I think due to the nature of this contest that hour transitions will be moved from Fridays to Saturdays instead. That will give me more strategic placed time.
Ding!...
Ding!...
Ding!...
Ding!...
Ding!...
Ding!.....
Six times the clock rang.
All who had hopes stared at the clock while they listened to the mechanism within, and the wind howling around the town. Sixty seconds. For sixty seconds they did not turn away from the clock. Then after sixty seconds the mechanism within the clock sounded again - but the minute hand did not move. Proof had been given - the night had truly begun.
"FIRE!!!"
Kanye shouted as the undead began crossing the eastern bridge. The guards opened fire, ripping pieces from the approaching dead. Fingers, ears, eyes and chunks of flesh were blown off the undead. Some even had their legs blown off so they fell over their dead comrades. Even with such destructive force, the fire arms did little to stop the zombies from crossing the bridge.
"ARMS!"
Kayne shouted anew. The soldiers raised their spears and polearms, and they assembled a formation to keep the undead back. Like a wave they moved onto the spear wall. The soldier cut and pierced the undead but they were too many to keep back. Kanye then shouted "Alchemists!". Two alchemists came running with a flame sprayer in their hands. They put the heavy piece behind the soldiers. The soldiers opened up a line in front of the flame sprayer. The alchemists ignited the barrel and fired off a stream of fire towards the horde in front of them. The fire caught onto the undead like dead leaves. The flames quickly burned the muscles of the zombies to uselessness, and they fell over. It did not take long before a wall of burnt rotten bodies and ash had formed at the front. The soldiers took a step back and gathered their strength while keeping a distance from the inferno in front of them.
"UGH!! WAAA! HEL-!" A man screamed in pain. Kayne turned his head and saw one soldier pushed to the floor by a huge wolf. The wolf bit into the screaming man's shoulder tearing his gambeson into pieces and spitting blood all over his attire. Kayne did not even have time to give the order before a vampire knight had drawn his sword and pierced the wolf. The wolf screeched and growled as it tried to get a hold of either the vampire or the man, but the vampire was too strong. He grabbed the wolf's neck with his left hand so that it could not breath. It drew it closer and bit into its throat draining it of blood. The wolf quickly became numb, then the vampire tossed it aside and drew a couple of deep breaths of satisfaction of having his thirst cleansed - for now.
One soldier and a medic came running towards the moaning man who was bleeding heavily from his wound. They pulled him up on their shoulders and ran off towards a house further back. Kayne decided to leave the defense to the vampires and began moving further into he town. Skeletons had begun crawling up from the sewers.
The following people have died this hour:
- None
The health condition of the characters are at the end of this hour:
Selina Velintes: 75%
Klavor, Priest of Annihilation: 80%
Kethran Churchson: 70%
Alio the Sleepless: 65 %
Craith, Force of Ice: 75 %
Lysander, Mad Mechanist: 60%
Aoria, Vessle of the Mind: 85 %
Pillmaker Nigredo: 60%
Caronte, Possesed Watchman: 70 %
Since this was the first hour, no ill conditions have been received.
The health is not a direct indicator of how well your character is doing. A well made character can have poor health while a bad character can have a high health.
The health can be considered a summary of the total wellbeing of the character, both physical, psychological. It can be purely because the lack of sanity which causes the character to take worse risks and recieve worse wounds.
It's a total of how close the character is to be killed.
Your character could thus be at 20% health without a scratch on their body, but their mind would be in shambles - and vice versa. How this harm is distributed is up to you, waht you feel is correct for your character.
Now it is up to you to write what happened during this hour, and prepare for the upcoming 2nd hour. How did your character get wounded or otherwise have their health reduced? Are they doing anything do deal with it?
You decide what you want to write.
Deadline for submissions is Friday the 5th.
Saturday 12 Pm London time to be precise.
I'll post the introduction to the second hour later today.
Kethran watched the windows, and when monsters attacked, fought them off with the light and fire magics he learned in service to the church.
Once he's repelled them, he turns to the parishioners and heals their wounds, praying for their salvation through this trial.
"Oh, Lady Lumena, Keeper of Dawns, Breaker of Darkness, grant us the strength and courage to make it through this Night, such that we may be blessed with your noble light. Grant me the strength to protect my flock, and the wisdom help those in need."
The final toll sent shivers down Alio's spine. He ducked into a corner closet and pressed himself up against al wall. His vision blurred as gunshots sounded off in the distance. The first hour had begun. He needed to run, to run, to run, to think. He needed to think, he couldn't think like this. He couldn't think like this, not with his heart racing the way that it was.
Alio loosened the strings on one of the bags of moon dust and prepared to take it.
"What are you doing?"
She raised an eyebrow, "That's not it, you're lying." He tried to ignore her, she wasn't real. Just another phantasm made by his mind.
"Alio I'm very real, just as real as that stuff your taking."
"No you're not, I'm crazy and my brain made you up because it hates me!"
She stepped back, her form shifted becoming less recognizable."
"You're running, that's it. When you take that stuff you run, run from the truth."
"Of course I'm running. Running works, it always worked for us. The problem is we stopped running!"
"There's someone in here!" The closet door was open, a guard stood there. Must have been called over by the yelling. "Someone help me-" the guard reached for his sword but never got the chance to use it. Alio drove his knife into the man's throat. Blood splattered across his angered face as he pulled the blade out. The guard collapsed as another rounded the corner blade drawn.
"Shouldn't have come here!" the two men charged at each other. The guard's blade bit into Alio's side. He yelled out in pain, as his mind was filled with phantasmal rage. He jumped on top of the guard and plunged the knife into his face. The guard screamed Alio grabbed the sword and hacked down silencing his opponent.
Thunk! Thunk!
Two bolts landed in his back, Alio turned. Two more guards began loading their weapons.
"Need to get out, need to get out."
Alio threw the knife. It missed colliding uselessly into the wall behind them. But one of them flinched, and that was all he needed. Alio's sword cut through the first guards arm, they dropped the crossbow reeling back. The second fired, it almost hit but splintered the wooden door next to him instead. Alio rammed the second guard up against the wall pinning them there with the sword. The first guard pulled away reaching for their own knife. The effort was fruitless though as Alio's blade ended them.
"Need to get out, need to get out."
He heard more coming, metal boots making loud slams against the floor. He ran towards the staircase he came from. Leaving a trail of blood behind him. He saw her on the edges of his vision drawing him to an escape.
But escape was blocked, two guards weapons draw waiting for him. A crossbow bolt fired as soon as he appeared. It cut across his arm splattering more blood across the room. He kicked, knocking the guard in front off his feet. They fell backward and collided with the one in the back. he grabbed the bolt from his arm and jumped on top of the first one. In an unthinking fury he unleashed the bolt like a knife into their chest. He drew the now dead guards blade and swung it at the other one. In his fury the swing went wide and collided with the banister. The guard went to fire at Alio, it would have been a heart shot. But Alio was quicker, he dove and grabbed the guard. Pulling both of them down colliding into the staircase. The two tumbled down the staircase ribs breaking and body bruising on each collision. They hit the bottom after only a few seconds, Alio was launched off the now dead guard's body.
"Need to get out, need to get out."
Alio's head spun, his vision blurred. Pools of blood collected on the floor around him. He wanted to die. But he pulled himself to his feet and ran for the door. The house was sounding off, guards searching for the intruder.
(I'll write more but this is getting long so I'll cut it here for now.)
Conditions: The wind is beginning to carry something, a smell, a smell that reminds those that taste it of death. Pets are leaving the town. Children unaware of what happens outside are starting to get anxiety and hear sounds that disturb their minds. Some of the beasts of men are beginning to turn into werewolves and break out of their prisons.
The beasts of the second hour:
Same as the first hour but with two additions.
Strength - 6
Combat Skill - 4
Endurance - 4
Intelligence - 5
Knowledge - 2
Psychology - 3
Vitality - 4
Magic prowess - 0
Quantity - Horde
Comes from: The sky
Special note: Flying, attacks in groups, often trying to get into buildings through chimneys and windows. They primarily attack anything that cannot defend themselves - cats, dogs, birds, children.
Strength - 8
Combat Skill - 3
Endurance - 7
Intelligence - 1
Knowledge - 1
Psychology - 2
Vitality - 7
Magic prowess - 0
Quantity - Some
Comes from: The forest, the sewers.
Special note: Stupid but durable and strong, They attack anything and everything they put their eyes on.
Wild animals and lesser creatures are dwindling in numbers from earlier.
The probability of survival: High
Good luck surviving the second hour.
On the way back to the defenses, Caronte was stopped by a tug on his pants. A shivering child looked up at him, fear in his eyes. The boy's mouth moved, but no words came out. Only a brief tug, pulling him towards a house. Caronte's eyes flicked towards the clock. 7 minutes. Enough time for a quick mercy if he was lucky. He shouldn't push it, but he had to. The wide eyes. The cold, clutching hand.
He followed the tug, breaking into a jog as the child did. Pushing open the door, the scent of cheap beer and flatbread wafted towards his nose. Glancing around, he saw stairs leading down to the cellar.
The child pointed to it, and against Stixes better judgement, he went down. The child stayed up there, perhaps too scared to watch, perhaps on guard. Down in the cellar, a unshaven, drunken man sat, one final beer in hand.
"Ahhh.... theressa gard. Mah boy did gud. Please. End it for th' both of us. 'is mother passed two weeks ago, and we don't got no reason to push through the night."
Caronte nodded, pulling out a knife. Wordlessly he put it to the man's throat, then tugged. The sound of the death was barely audible. The man's eyes rolled back, and his unfinished bottle dropped from his hands, shattering. Seconds later, there was a mirrored sound of shattering upstairs and a child's scream. Caronte, already on his way up, hurried even more, sticking his head out through the trapdoor to see a bat-monseter growling, shaking the lifeless body of the boy who had brought him here. At the sight of the guard, the creature leaped at Caronte, who knocked aside the jaws only to get hit by the brunt of the body. Pulling himself out, he ran out the door and slammed it shut, hearing the thud of the beast on the wood behind him. His shoulder groaned in pain from where he was rammed, but he ignored it. 3 minutes to get back to the barricade. 3 minutes or he wouldn't make it.
Aoria stars intently as the woman and child enter the barricades. Already more signs of those wolf like creatures have began to appear. She observes the pack of five from a distance as they trail blood in their surrounding, trying to snuff out hints of fear and despair in their surroundings. Aoria, glares at the moon in silence, before staring at the four wolves below.
"Wait four?!?" Aoria yells as she gets struck from behind by a powerful force, its impact minimized only by her immense psychic prowess. She manages to stabilize herself, and adapt an umbra of flight, before she lands at the ground near the wolves below. The wolves jump around her as she flies around the town dodging and weaving as she loses three of the wolves along the path. As she flies she around each of the beasts leaping at and around, she spots an injured man, but despite her wishes to help him, she disregards him. Finally spotting an opportune she turns around and unleashes a blast of psychic energy missing the first time, and the second, before finally right as a wolf leaps at her focusing a blast causing the poor creature's brains to spatter in her face to her dismay. Finally, deciding that Aoria is not worth it, the remaining wolf retreats cautiously and heads towards the direction of the wounded man.
Aoria lands on the roof top of another building, deactivating her umbra as she lands. While she only sustained minor scratches, her greatest fatigue comes from maintaining her umbras.
As the final bell tolled and the clock ticked fruitlessly, the soldiers turned to do their duty. The undead monsters were crawling on the planks, and the wolves and other horrors clambered over them. Gunfire was heard as the issued rifles were discharged into the mass of bodies futiley. Sure some zombies and others dropped, but more took their place. The normal routine was to build a mound of monsters that the others couldn't pass, and those on the east bridge were doing wonderfully. However, here, things were a bit more difficult.
It may have been a greater command. It might have been an accident. Heck, it could have even been an accident. But Stixes was sure he had seen some of the monsters pushing their own dead off the bridge. Even if it was an accident, it meant that there were more things that had to be killed before it was too difficult for the grounded horrors to cross. He shrugged and grimly got to work with his spear, as his gun had run out.
Jab. Thrust. Whack. Each move was the end of one of these night terrors, and each time another and another pushed forward to take it's place. Five minutes. Ten minutes. The numbers were overwhelming, but the pile was growing too slowly. They couldn't send in the flamers without making sure that those with that sort of weaponry wouldn't be killed, or turned against the defenders. The east bridge already had the flaming pile of corpses blocking the path, providing at least a slight determent to all but the most passionate of the creatures of the night.
At thirty minutes, Caronte was getting tired. There weren't enough people here to switch out and get a break. And while it's simple motions that aren't too hard in training, each blow is hitting a body. A heavy body. A body it takes force to move. The pile is finally getting closer to being a blockade though.
Something taps him on the shoulder and he whirls. It's a vampire, a female one, with a spear.
"Move, soldier."
Her voice is melodic to some extent, and it clearly is laden with charm. Caronte obeys immediately, but Stixes isn't truly effected by the lady. He merely obeys because that is what you do to a vampire. She takes his place and is immediately way more effective. An almost holy magic seems to pour into her strikes, eliminating the undead and driving off the rest.
"Get the alchemists in here. Now."
Her order is carried out at once, and the bodies are lit up to match the easternmost bridge. As the smoke rises, she turns her back on the enemies.
"You held well enough. We have many hours more to go. Take your respites now, for there won't be any later on."
But first he needed to think. Alio took out the pouch of moon dust and took some. His thoughts recollected from the frenzy.
"A church…they’ll be healers at a church…" He stood up and started racking his brain. Were there any nearby? There's got to be one. A snarl alerted him to the group of wolves stalking down the street. They must have smelled his blood. He ran moving into the shadows to avoid the hunters.
He ran through the streets, the church. Maybe there would be a healer there. All he had to do was get there, all he had to do was get there. More snarling, the wolves had found him. Almost five of them, he ran, they gave chase. Normally he would be fine, he knew these streets and his strength could carry him. But the injuries stalled him, his body wanted to give up. The wolves would quickly outpace him if he didn't find a quick escape. He turned a corner, then another and another, the darkness had turned the streets into a maze. He turned another wolves still at his heels. It was a dead end. Just a brick wall resting below someone's balcony.
"Damnit!" he only had a second to react before he collided with the wall. Alio reached out his hands and jumped. Letting out the last ounce of strength he vaulted up the wall and grabbed onto the balcony railing. One of the wolves pounced after him, clamping down on his leg. He screamed out as the canine tore through his boot. With a kick he slammed it against the wall dislodging it and pulled himself onto the balcony finished the chase.
He lay quiet as the wolves eventually skulked off looking for new prey. He was safe, for now. "Make it to a church..." he got back up and started moving.
It took him a while but he eventually reached it. He ran into no more wolves and thankfully the Zombies that roamed lost streets were not hard to avoid. The church was silent as he approached. Alio limped his way over and started banging on the door praying someone would answer.
@TemurGideon
Nigredo quickened his pace as the bell tolled, finishing one last concoction before the midnight truly began. As the mournful toll began to fade, Nigredo could hear moans and wails echoing in the distant darkness. Time to go. May the other little ones be safe.
Nigredo gathered up his tools and cauldron, carefully tucking them away among his robes. Better to take a few extra moments now than find oneself compromised during an encounter. He looked back down at the three newest concoctions. A flaming red vial of pyracantha tincture went onto a bandolier under his robes. A few extra medicine balls went into a leather pouch, the rough brown pill balls not yet fully firmed up; there was no time to let them settle properly. Finally, Nigredo looked over a pair of sweet-smelling grey-white pills. Murkmist, one of his most potent escape tools, brought those that smelled it into an illusory dreamlike state, usually rendering them unconscious in the process. If only there were time to make more. This is far too little to work with, but there's no time left. We should find some shelter before things get–
A howl tore through the air, cutting off Nigredo's train of thought. That sounded close. Nigredo tucked the murkmist pills into an inner breast pocket as he and his assistants fled the market. Just as they made to cross into Old Town, a large wolflike creature leapt into their path, snarling madly.
Nigredo stepped between the beast and his assistants, brandishing the scarlet pyracantha tincture. He glanced carefully to each side, keeping the creature in sight at all times. If this thing is like regular wolves, then one being here means there should be others–
A second wolf creature lunged out of the bushes to his right. Nigredo barely stumbled out of the way, earning a few gashes along his right arm of the trouble. He flung the tincture, scattering the fiery fluid across both wolves in a brilliant searing splash. The wolves howled and thrashed as the acidic solution ate at them.
"Let's go," Nigredo said, moving to lead his assistants away. The first wolf lunged, eyes wild and fangs bared. Just before it could sink its teeth into Nigredo, a screeching ball of fur and claws fell onto its face, knocking it aside. The two beasts tangled as Nigredo looked on in confusion, both falling still moments later. The other wolf lay a short distance away, appearing to have succumbed to the tincture.
Approaching carefully, Nigredo drew his dagger, in case either combatant was feigning death. Pulling them apart, he felt a small pang of grief gnaw at his heart. A creature that looked like a cross between a ferret and a porcupine bore deep gashes across its small body. A number of its quills had broken off, piercing the wolf's skull. Thoris, one of his assistants that hadn't made it back before the bells. It's barely begun, and we've already lost one of you. While unfortunate, this sentiment matters not if we don't survive the midnight, so we must push on.
A few of the others were keening softly, but they understood as Nigredo led them away into Old Town. As they looked for shelter and a decent vantage point, Nigredo swallowed one of his medicine balls, feeling the gashes across his arm beginning to close slowly. It'd leave a scar when they finally closed up since the pill wasn't quite finished, but there was no time to be concerned about that. I understand that these creatures aren't normal, but the pyracantha should have been more effective against them. If that was only the beginning, then I am compelled to wonder if it's even worth fighting for our lives…
Nigredo felt something rubbing against his leg, pulling him out of his thoughts. Keris was trying to comfort him, clearly having caught on to his worries. "I'm fine Keris," he said, crouching down to be closer to his little ones for a few moments. Convinced he was better now, they followed as Nigredo moved into one of the larger buildings near the Church Quarter. Stalking up to the second floor, he found a quiet bedroom with a window facing the Church Quarter. A large tree reached up to the window, obscuring a small part of the view but providing an additional potential means of escape. This should be a decent place to rest for now. I'll have to find time to make more concoctions once my arm heals more. It doesn't bode well that someone as ill-suited to combat as I am has already been wounded. Perhaps I should set some traps along the lower floor.
Nigredo passed a small pouch of flash powder to a small black-and-green-furred primate. "Scatter that in the foyer for me please. If someone comes barging in, they'll get a nasty surprise."
The creature scampered off with the pouch to set the trap. Now it appears all I can really do is wait and see what happens next. I need more information, but it won't help much if I don't have time to analyze it. No point in rushing; I still have a number of tools at my disposal. Assuming they still work on whatever else is lurking out there…
Cards for this Hour
Unsettling Thoughts represents Nigredo's current state of mind about the value of trying to survive.