Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Aug 9, 2015 21:35:23 GMT
From the building’s shadow he could just barely make out the shape of Danny nearby and as he approached the guild leader, Caitlin turned a corner and rammed into her. Keep moving, she said. Well that was easy enough. Or, it would have been if a blaring alarm hadn’t sounded. Great, just their luck. Must have been whoever the Rogues ran into because Lasair left his guard dazed at the fence. No time for the others? Well, he hoped Edelweiss managed to keep up; otherwise she’d be left behind. And as for the lower levels, the red heads guess as good as anyone else’s.
Once Ikuze ran off he felt more comfortable using his voice, however he still didn’t know what to say. Follow the others, help however he could, don’t get caught; those were the only things he needed to do and that’s what he would continue to do.
Maybe cold feet was right wrong expression. Maybe it was the right one. Either way, Lasair was indeed still standing on the opposite side of the fence when the guard approached him. Don’t move? Hands up? Oh no, that wasn’t his style. When the lighting flashed, what she saw was foxy eyes and a devilish grin. “You didn’t see anything,” he mouthed the words, lacing them with magic. She might not have been able to physically hear them, but mentally she would. As soon as the magic was cast, he bolted to the side, away from where he heard another voice shouting at what could only be Caitlin and Ikuze. Danny was nowhere to be seen, as expected. His sprint coming to and end, he turned and threw himself onto the fence, pulling himself over and jumping to the ground on the other side. The guard he had just magiked would surely hear it, but that was okay. Would she realize magic was used? Or would she blame her eyesight instead? Either way, he was over the fence and she wasn’t there to catch him, so off he ran towards the shadows of the building, the rain-soaked ground squishing under his feet.
Deceit I, used once.
Jovena blinked against the fog that settled in, she remembered a fox, was it Lorraine's? She might have even convinced herself that it had been, if the chain fence didn't rattle angrily off to her side, she whipped around just in time to see the fleeting back of some person, a cape flapping against the rain, making it splash back up and splatter in mid air. "Intruder!" She shouted, then chased after the shadow that had long since faded into the darkness. Apparently she wasn't the only one. Vlad's large frame could be seen running back into the building, chucking his gun around carelessly as if it were a useless chunk of deadweight. Where was Gladys? Did the girl retrieve Androni--- Jove ran right into his chest.
Think of the devil and he shall appear. "Andro, we've got visitors, they're--" The alarm triggered and her eyes darted from her 2IC to the front of the HQ building. Finally. Wasn't the whistle she had been thinking of, more of a shrill siren but it would do the job even better than she had hoped.
Post by Lorraine Blackmoore on Aug 9, 2015 22:00:51 GMT
Lorraine remained silent as Andronikos bit the key in half then spit half of it against the wall while the other half fell to the floor. When he turned to leave, Lorraine smirked slightly. She had the foresight to have Felix leave the cell earlier and for that she was thankful. With the last fading light, she beckoned for the fox to fetch the key pieces. In the darkness, Lorraine would not speak to answer Skye's words but instead listen for two things, the shuffling of Felix and the departure of the other member if it would ever come. "Gladys," she finally spoke, having seen the girl before in training though never once speaking to her before.
"You should go assist the others. I cannot because Andronikos is upset with our prisoner and I must watch him. Go, make sure everyone is alright." Anything to get the other soldier out. A sound stirred from Felix brushing against the door and Lorraine recalled a mental image of the distance between herself and the wall then took as many necessary steps before reaching out to touch the metal of the entrance to the cell. Kneeling, she extended a hand out into the darkness from the hole meant to deliver meals and seconds later Felix dropped the key pieces into her hand. She then quietly slipped back toward Skye though she did so with much more caution to avoid the food on the floor and Skye. When she was sure she was near the commander, she knelt was more and reached out to feel the area with her hand until her hand touched his shoulder. Lorraine's fingers squeezed tightly about the key as she leaned in to whisper to him so the other woman would not hear, "can you still run? You're going to have to."
Post by Danny Ravensdale on Aug 9, 2015 22:09:01 GMT
Danny watched both Caitlin and Lasair before smiling beneath her mask. "A'righ', Caity. Things're gettin' bad, so le's make this quick." She looked at Lasair and spoke. "Fox, yer guardin' our b'hind. If anyone or anythin' tries to sneak up on us while we're lookin' fer the Commander, take em out. I don' care 'ow, but make sure they ain' followin' us no more. Queeny, yer takin' point. We'll follow yer lead through this place. If either'a ya need 'elp, I'll be in the middle so I can ge' to both'a ya real quick." Danny peered around in the dark, thankful she wasn't as crippled by the dark as some of the others. The alarm was blaring, so they had to hurry.
Gladys remained quiet as Andronikos stormed past her, unsure what she should go do now; if anything. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a guard spoke to her. How did she know her name? And when did she get locked in a cell? Well no matter, she said leave so leave she did, regardless of the circumstances that Gladys failed to notice.
Returning above ground, she bit her lip, suddenly indecisive on what she should do. Go towards the battlefield where Andro was and get in the way, go back to her room and surely be yelled at later by the same man for not being involved; no matter what she did it would probably anger her boss, as usual. So she decided to head towards the very same place she sent Andro, just, not quickly. The alarm was blaring and she didn’t want to run into any of the intruders, so she moved through the halls, going so much as to walk in a square even, anything she could do to delay her approach to the outside door.
“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” ―William Faulkner
Caitlin didn't wait for Vlad's reaction, as soon as Ikuze ran, she ran.
They beat feet around the side of the building and almost collided with Danny. "The hell?!" she hissed, "Move, keep moving, lets go!" Caitlin slide down the dark wall till she felt a break in the brick pattern for a door. She tried the knob and it opened inward. The hallway was dark, no lights were on in this space. Emergency exit maybe? Smokers probably used it as a shortcut to get outside and puff on their pipes or cigars. She was halfway through to the next door when some kind of Alarm began to wail.
"dung. Ikuze, we're going to have to split, I need you to do something for me..." She reached into her bodice and pulled something out. A small ornate box of sorts. "Remember the demonstration Amon gave us in his shop? I need you to take this, and silence that alarm, if you can't find that easily enough, then emit the thing as close to their armory as you can get-" She shoved it into Ikuze hands. They'd have less than a minute of that noise before every soldier in the barracks was up and on their heels. Either the alarm, or the armory, whichever came first, she left it up to Ikuze to work out. "Do it quickly!"
Caitlin turned to Danny, "We need to get to the lower levels, there's no time to wait for the others to catch up - they either do or they dont, but we have to hurry." Except they were in the wrong building if they were looking for the old dank basement, cellar, or rotting prison cells. They'd have to leave the newer HQ building and make their way to some of the older land marks if they had any hope of success...
The thief followed Cait before the alarm went off and she blinked. "Well that's a new one." she grumbled before being handed a small box. She blinked as Caitlin gave her her instructions. "Gotcha." she said before she darted off into the mess that was the EIRAL HQ. She spotted one of the blaring trumpets and looked up towards a cable that it was connected to. "Bingo." she said before following the cabling as fast as she could. She soon blinked as she found herself in a large hallway... with lots of cables running around the place. "...Screw it." she said before activating Amon's device and legging it back to Caitlin, the alarm ceasing to function, along with everything else in the place that ran on power. The thief only hoped that wherever the armoury was, that it was locked with stuff that needed the power to open. If not... they were going to be in trouble if more had woken up than they could handle.
Andronikos grasped Jove in his arms as she ran into his chest. He looked down at her, his eyes still with the aura of death and his face as grave as ever. "Jo..." The sirens blared beyond the storm clouds and Andronikos' gaze softened as he put his hands on each of Jovenna's shoulders. "Fight like Hell." And with that, he turned on his heel and took a sprint in the direction beyond the fence. Anger boiled underneath his skin, fueling his actions. Dammit. DAMMIT! What the Hell did THEY WANT? The sirens should have woken up the rest of the sleeping soldiers - but he feared they would not come soon enough. He heard voices up ahead - and not voices that he knew...
Post by Alistair Malak on Aug 9, 2015 23:02:44 GMT
The Alarm may have been silenced, but it was enough to knock Alistair out of his pleasant dream. In moments he was sitting on the edge of the bed, tying his boots and already in full uniform. That accomplished, he walk outside of his room just in time to see all the lights flicker and die.
"Magical's," he muttered and headed for the first floor where he knew the troops would be assembling for deployment across the compound. He kept a fast pace, but stopped himself from running. It set a bad example to others to show even a hint of panic. Not that he was panicked, no, he was delighted. It had taken them long enough to attempt to get the man back, and he was sure that Caitlin Cockfoster was part of it. Another piece moved on the chess board.
As others stumbled around in the dark for torches, he marched on, knowing the building like he would an old lover. Soon he stood in the central room, high atop the stairs. "Attention!" A voice shouted and all came to a rigid stance.
"My fellow Soldiers," Alistair began, "Our sanctum has been breached, but each of you now stand at a momentous point in our history. After this night we will have control of the city. No more will we have to maintain a polite facade, no more will we be bound by public opinion. The Queen will give me full power to declare martial law, and we shall use that to root out all who threaten this city. We will be able to prepare a solid defense against Sveden, and we will be the dominant guild. This city is infected with a sever disease, and we are the cure."
He paused and there was a brief cheer from the assembled crowd. Some looked around in confusion and Alistair noted them. They would be killed in their sleep. There was no room for dissent, and the higher the body count, the more blame he could shift onto the Ander scum. "Return to your rooms, those already on patrol have the situation well in hand."
He watched as they all filed out, and turned to his advisers. "Find my Second and let him know I wish the prisoners to escape. Further, tell him to find a Sniper. I want Skye wounded in the escape, enough that he can not oppose us." With that said he returned the way he had come, whistling a tune he had learned in his childhood.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Aug 9, 2015 23:23:25 GMT
Danny gave orders to her guildmate and all were in agreement as Caitlin lead them toward the rear of the building, never bothering to look for the stairs or a lift. She knew from her date with Skye on his turf, this wasn't the right building for holding prisoners.
The lights went out. The sirens stopped. There was silence. Caitlin kept moving forward, taking comfort in the darkness knowing that if they couldn't see, they also couldn't be seen. Though her heart rate sped up when she heard running footfall in their direction. She held her breath and tried to stay ahead of the sound. She couldn't see, but Danny being a feline Ander would have known that it was only Ikuze, catching back up with their cluster. Hopefully Lasair wouldn't outright attack her, but he was tasked with watching their backs so one couldn't be sure...
No matter what happened, she stayed focused on the task, she couldn't let them fail or all their troubles would have been in vain. Never hesitating, Cait led them out another exterior door and back into the stormy night. The wind whipped the door open and slammed it against the wall after she cracked it the slightest bit. The bang made a lone blond soldier jump in her skin and turn around fearfully.
Unwilling to make the same mistake twice, Caitlin advanced quickly on the girl so she wouldn't have the opportunity to run off and inform the rest of their troops. "Stand down, or draw," Caitlin called out, her voice getting lost on the wind. Regardless of whether she was heard or not, the glint of her blade as she leveled it at the other blonde would be difficult to misunderstand. Caitlin knew that they were well trained in the EIRAL's, but it was the four of them against just one of her - not to mention Caitlin's lifetime of training with the blade.
Caitlin narrowed a deadly gaze at her opponent, the outline of the old- barracks blurring in the background. "Just where were you coming from, anyway?"
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Aug 9, 2015 23:53:38 GMT
Watch the rear, no sneak attacks. “Got it,” he said quietly as he fell into step behind Danny. His eyes were locked on the heels of the guild leader, paying no attention to what he could see around him, instead focusing on his hearing and the sounds that could be heard below the thundering rain, the siren, and their own footsteps. When the siren stopped he was relieved, even though it meant he had to squint a little more to keep his eyes on Danny.
A pair of footsteps, more specifically, running steps, could be heard approaching at an alarming rate. Reaching out with a hand, he tapped Danny on the shoulder, letting her know that something was coming as Lasair turned to face it in the darkness. Take them out; don’t let them follow us. Those were Danny’s orders. But he didn’t want to use magic if he didn’t have to. So instead he decided to use the darkness and flattened himself against the wall, waiting in silence until the footsteps got closer.
Just before they were going to pass in front of Lasair, he stuck his foot out, and when it collided with an ankle, he swung back. Whoever this was would land on their face, at which point he could bend down and knock them out. But he paused when a streak of blue caught his vision.
Oh. It was Ikuze.
“Sorry,” he grumbled with only a hint of sympathy, being careful to mask his voice and tone. He offered no help or hand to the girl laying on the ground, turning to catch up with Danny and Cait instead.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 10, 2015 1:49:58 GMT
A soft sense of emptiness rose in Edelweiss' guts. And it wasn't hunger. That siren meant so many things and none of them were good. She slipped into the base staying out of sight of anything the siren attracted, and as the sound stopped and the lights went out she could focus less on sticking to the shadows and more on speeding up. Ahead, ahead, and ahead, make sure the cap is in place and pull the hood further just in case. Don't say a word. This wasn't the right building, that was easy to deduce simply through the fact it was too close to the entrance. And as much as it would be great for their 'little sneaky operation' if the EIRAL personel were dumb, she's aware they're not, which meant they'd not keep Skye so closeby She crossed quite a distance, and took a turn, before catching sight of a glisten of sharp metal and heard Caitlin's voice. She caught up. Finally. And it seemed like they'd be having a minor fight, or taking a hostage. If that soldier is good at math, better bet on hostage.
Jade was inwardly cursing her shorter legs as the much taller secretary took her 'to a safe place'. The blond sentry from before had left her with this person, and Jade had made sure to never, by any chance, wipe her own tears as they hardly would keep falling forever and she needed the 'clueless scared kid' look to go home. There was noise, some sort of siren, and she saw lots of people moving, and the secretary had grabbed her hand and told her to walk as fast as she could too. Probably keep her in another room while the mess around settles down because, as a kid in a military base, Jade was a misplaced hindrance and she's fully conscious of that fact. Walking at a pace that to her felt more like running, just a moment after they had passed by a place full of cables everything went black. Jade managed to 'acidentally' slip her hand out of the secretary's grasp and fell down. "Ouch!" She whined, more on reflex than pain, and jumped back on her feet. Something pointy was hurting her hip, and she grabbed it; it felt like a small cube or box. The secretary was understandably annoyedly searching for her, and after sticking the box in one of her dress' pockets she replied with a childish "I'm here!" and flailed around till finding the hem of the secretary's shirt. They could keep walking like that, and she would follow nicely since Edel had said she shouldn't be suspicious and stay safe to go home when she can. She just didn't like strange people grabbing her hand.
Lorraine remained silent as Andronikos bit the key in half then spit half of it against the wall while the other half fell to the floor. When he turned to leave, Lorraine smirked slightly. She had the foresight to have Felix leave the cell earlier and for that she was thankful. With the last fading light, she beckoned for the fox to fetch the key pieces. In the darkness, Lorraine would not speak to answer Skye's words but instead listen for two things, the shuffling of Felix and the departure of the other member if it would ever come. "Gladys," she finally spoke, having seen the girl before in training though never once speaking to her before.
"You should go assist the others. I cannot because Andronikos is upset with our prisoner and I must watch him. Go, make sure everyone is alright." Anything to get the other soldier out. A sound stirred from Felix brushing against the door and Lorraine recalled a mental image of the distance between herself and the wall then took as many necessary steps before reaching out to touch the metal of the entrance to the cell. Kneeling, she extended a hand out into the darkness from the hole meant to deliver meals and seconds later Felix dropped the key pieces into her hand. She then quietly slipped back toward Skye though she did so with much more caution to avoid the food on the floor and Skye. When she was sure she was near the commander, she knelt was more and reached out to feel the area with her hand until her hand touched his shoulder. Lorraine's fingers squeezed tightly about the key as she leaned in to whisper to him so the other woman would not hear, "can you still run? You're going to have to."
Run? What was this woman on about. There was nowhere to go. The door had been slammed and Andronikos would likely not assign another person to the duty of feeding them. He shook his head at the sheer lunacy of it. To top that off, if she could have seen him she might not ask such a question. Most of his muscle was gone due to lack of movement and the small portions of food he received. He was a shadow of his former self. He might be able to hobble with assistance but running was out of the question.
"You speak as if he is going to come back and let you out. I doubt either of us will see daylight again. If we do it will be on the walk to the gallows, and on that day I will do naught but stumble to my fate." It was the most he had spoken in 10 months. It felt good, even though there was a pain to it. Just as all muscles, his vocal chords were much in disuse.
Should she be over there by now? Or was pacing in the hallway still okay? These were the thoughts interrupted by a loud bang and Gladys jumped and turned to face whatever had caused it.
Whatever color was left in her face immediately drained as she faced an intruder in black. As her eyes adjusted, she say that there were more people with them; four—no five to be exact. She almost wet herself from the fear she felt facing them all like this.
And the only thing she really wanted to do was turn around, run away, and hide. But she knew better to with so many of them here like this. However she felt the need to try anyway. She took a few steps back out of nervousness and then turned around and outright bolted, running for her life because she was certain her life was in danger.
“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” ―William Faulkner
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 10, 2015 2:33:09 GMT
Edelweiss' eyes caught the exact moment the blond soldier started turning around. She wasn't going to fight neither surrender - just flee. That made her a scared target, and at that assessment the redhead realized Gladys could be an excelent hostage and be coerced to show them around to where Skye was as well as offer some insurance for when they start making their way back. At the same time, she could also delate their position to others if she escapes. Quick decision to make. The blond woman was fast. Do not let her flee. Instead of braking and stopping running once she reached the spot the others were, she ran straight past them without reducing her pace. [Speed II casted once] Letting the spell flow through and propel her legs quicker, Edelweiss practically bolted forward, enclosing the distance between herself and the fleeing soldier to tackle her to the ground.
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Andronikos grasped Jove in his arms as she ran into his chest. He looked down at her, his eyes still with the aura of death and his face as grave as ever. "Jo..." The sirens blared beyond the storm clouds and Andronikos' gaze softened as he put his hands on each of Jovenna's shoulders. "Fight like Hell." And with that, he turned on his heel and took a sprint in the direction beyond the fence. Anger boiled underneath his skin, fueling his actions. Dammit. DAMMIT! What the Hell did THEY WANT? The sirens should have woken up the rest of the sleeping soldiers - but he feared they would not come soon enough. He heard voices up ahead - and not voices that he knew... ((team B?))
Her first glance up at his eyes had an icy cold sinking deep into the pit of her stomach. "Andro?" She questioned... "Jo..." then his eyes changed and his hands softened on her shoulders. She expelled a breath of air she didn't know she was holding. He scared her, in some unexpected way, just the look on his face - it was a kind of merciless anger she'd never seen before. But it was gone now. "Fight like Hell," he told her before sprinting toward the fences. She spun around to watch him, the noise from the barracks rising with the alarms, people rising, running, asking questions, needing answers. Then it all died off.
"They're already here!" She shouted belatedly, after he'd already gone too far away from her. They weren't at the fence anymore... as far as she knew the enemy was inside their gates. This was serious. She saw it in his face... not a drill but a real battle... the thing they'd warned her of. The Anders were attacking. She checked her rifle, and pressed her lips in a hard line. "Hell on Earth, coming right up," And she ran through the rain in the direction she'd last seen the caped individual go. It was the long way around but it was a solid lead so there was no sense in ignoring it.