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 Caitlin Cockfoster on May 12, 2018 1:18:33 GMT
Caitlin's eyes snapped to her father but at least someone was taking charge here. that reminded her to snap out of it. Edel's suggestion was a good one too, so when the redhead opened a portal, Cait did as she was bidden and dropped her mother in... a little less gingerly than she would have liked to, considering her 5 minutes was up and the spell wore off - plopping her mom through the gate unceremoniously.
"Right." She said, lifting her eyes now to the present, and living, company. "Yes, board the doors," She knocked some vases off of a corner table which made her father tut, but he even helped to grab the other end and help her lift it to block the door. "Take anything you need from the study or the kitchen to build a barricade. It wont last forever, but long enough for us to come up with a new plan." Or so she hoped.
After the deed was done, she waved everyone toward the stairs. "Theres a balcony hanging over the rear gardens. We can go up there for a better vantage view, then take the iron ladder-well down into the gardens below." It was a gorgeous piece of architecture, winding around the back of the first story atrium as it led them to the back doors below. Her father often locked the balcony doors when she was younger to keep her from sneaking out. Little good and short lived that method was.
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 Elaine Anncroft on May 12, 2018 2:29:50 GMT
The goose was angry but that had to be the least of the issues at the time. The wailing of the woman was eventually shut off as she was dropped roughly into a portal that swallowed up after her. That looked uncomfortable but it left the house in a few seconds of peace before the woman who had been handling the flailing undead set forth a plan. It would get them by for the time being, and once they got outside the assassin was going to see if she had access to the rooftops of the house to keep an eye out on the streets around them. Elaine helped to grab whatever furniture was given for the doors, stacking it up on top of one another and wincing as a small iron table leg scratched a well oiled wooden surface. They'd see that for years. She returned to Edel's side and stuck pretty close, picking at her claws almost nervously though she didn't seem to damage them.
Following them out to the balcony she looked up and around checking the walls for small crevices. Just anything she could get her fingers into for a grip and that will hold her weight. She found a decently secure set of ledges on the wall and turned to Edel, "I'm going to climb up and get a good look around." She'd come right back after a survey of the areas, she wanted to see if anything was sticking out any and then see if she could see the movement of more of the undead. She wanted to know if they were trying to move in packs or not. Reaching up she latched her fingers into a spot and pulled up as she kicked her feet on the wall a few times as she climbed up further.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on May 13, 2018 6:42:19 GMT
"Alright." She nodded to her Second-In-Command. "In case you need to fight, it seems beheading those things works. Just remember my reflections are too far from here to come as backup, and the times I can open gates are limited, so if you see trouble come back asap."
Now that they had already barricaded the entrances, there wasn't much to do other than wait for Elaine to access the situation outside and regroup so that they could decide where to head to first. The redhead supposed they'd either be using a magical gate again or the windows and run on the rooftops, and search for the author of that unholy mess, but the question was still where. Maybe they could just look for particularly chaotic areas or something on that line? Anywhere where an overpowered and possibly deranged Necromancy user might be.
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Everyone was handling things so calmly,and yet Wern was just shaking and Chakaia was honking at the woman of the house and then the floating woman was swallowed by a vortex and oh cogs. Chakaia was not entirely swayed by the ladies nice pats. She did calm somewhat, but the goose continued to hiss at Cait. The crashing of vases and furniture did not sit well with Wern either. He anxiously tried to help though— taking some furniture and barricading the door. If anything the task helped him keep his mind off of other things. Though, at the mention of a ladder Wern paled. I mean, he worked on ladders. That wasn’t the issue. But, generally he could take his time on said ladder and he was the only one on it. Surrounded by so many young and able people, it didn’t take a war general to calculate that him (and probably the sir of the house) would be the first to be picked off by a zombie attack. And, what of Chakaia? Going to the source of the problem did not seem like a god idea on any of their parts. In fact, he would have liked the total opposite— to stay away and wait for this whole thing to blow over. But, he wasn’t a fool either. He couldn’t defend himself. Especially not in a stranger’s home and protecting a goose. If everyone was going to leave and go and search for the one causing this, he sadly had to follow. Unhappily he approached the balcony, hoping that they weren’t too high. Or, if they were, there was something to cushion his fall if he suddenly had to jump off.
What is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay.- Andy Goldsworthy
Fawn lent her help in the bustle but once they got outside she leaned over the balcony to look down at the ground. She didn't mind the heights and she wandered around the balcony to look for potential interesting exits. She could fly, so in any instance, she had a swift way out of range. Fawn, of course, wouldn't leave them all in the dust unless the situation became utterly void of hope. Her hands gripped the cool railing tightly as one of the group seemed to have vanished by the time she turned around. The brunette with the curls had gone to scope the area, they didn't have much to do until she came back with hopefully, some good information.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on May 26, 2018 2:46:09 GMT
"Should I accompany --" she didn't know the girls name, and already the brunette was out of sight. "Or I could," The Green-haired woman leaned over the rails and looked out into the dark night plane.
"WEAPONS!" She practically shouted, nearly facepalming except for the fact she'd already turned heel and run back inside to recover the stash of weapons hiding in the nooks and crannies all over her bedroom. On the way she grabbed a short mans arm and tucked him along. She seemed to notice for the first time the goose hanging close to his legs, it didn't seem to like her very much looking at the way it stared at her glaringly.
"I need a hand," she explained as she led the way to her own room. "Take these, pass them out," She said without glancing back to see if he - or Edel - or any others had followed in her wake. She unearthed lots of prize goodies. Bows, swords, knives, the whole shabang. After handing off two armfuls of armament, she remembered her fathers presence and looked up abashedly.
"They were for - uh, practice, I swear."
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
She remained quiet for a moment, obviously thinking. No doubt the little one was thinking of the magpies when he claimed they should go to EIRaL. His attitude towards anders reeked of the idiots and if that hadn’t been obvious enough, his thoughts practically leaked from his head. EIRaL was a good option however, certainly the most practical one, but you could never be sure which kind of soldier you would get when going to them. Their new leader proved to have a sensible head on her shoulders but she would no doubt be busy right now, and just walking up to any old soldier left a one in three chance to get someone not so savoury.
There were other options too. Plenty of anders and humans alike that could fight, that wanted to fight. Just as the boy and others, they had lost someone dear, been forced to fight them, flee from them, kill them again with their own hands. She had little doubt in her mind that there would be people out there eager and capable of fighting the perpetrator/perpetrators and stopping this madness. The questions were how to find them, how to contact them, and how to point them in the right direction. Having an army was all fine and well but not much use if you didn’t have a direction to march in.
Formulating a plan in her head, the white haired woman held out her hand in front of her for a moment. The earth rumbled under their feet for a moment before vines and bones threaded up, creating a structure for her to grapple. Moments later she was holding a sword, sturdy and threatening and sharp, ready to slice through anything that might come their way. She held it out for the young boy to take, giving him a pointed stare.
“I hope you know how to fight. Try to stab me with my back turned however, and i’ll kill you where you stand. No second chances. Understand?” the words floated to them. She wasn’t sure if trusting him to be kosher was necessarily a good idea, but she doubted he posed any true threat to her. Besides, she needed him to be able to defend himself while she concentrated on her spell. She couldn’t stand there any nanny him at the same time. As for the dragon… well, he was a dragon. She doubted he was much of a fighter but tough scales would help defend him.
Anders were absolutely crazy. As the ground shook, Corey braced himself unsure of what was going to come out now. They already had a dragon, living dead. What could come from the ground? A giant worm? When it proved to be a sword, Corey couldn’t tell whether he was relieved or disappointed. His defensive stance lowered somewhat and even the flying snake calmed as well. Though, that all changed rather quickly as the woman held the sword out to him. Apparently his sword wasn’t good enough. Indeed, the newer one did look sturdier. Well, as sturdy as a sword made out of branches and bone could be. But, how would he know the blade wouldn’t turn on him? Though, it would be best to have it as a precaution. If he lost his one sword, at least he would have another one for a backup. Besides, he was already one weapon down with his gun lost. Reluctantly, he took the sword, sheathing his own. “I know how to fight,” he defended, “and I understand.” He figured he wouldn’t even get close enough to stab her. Between the rock giant and the dragon, Corey wondered if he could even get close enough to touch the woman’s cloak. The space seemed to widen as the giant lizard got between them as if to insure Corey didn’t attack. More and more, the dragon confused him. “Is he one of yours?” Corey asked, pointing to Sayvahn. Though, probably not, now that he thought about it. After all, the dragon had been surprised when they found her too. “You anders are so confusing,” Corey grumbled, testing the weight of the sword in his hand as he held it by his side. Sayvahn ignored him. He didn’t like how the woman threatened Corey, but he couldn’t do much about it— except put himself between the two. He figured that Corey wouldn’t do anything rash, but, past experience also spoke otherwise. Sayvahn sighed. “Where do we go now?”
“In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught." ― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Jun 7, 2018 0:38:23 GMT
Elaine was picking her way across the roof when the sound of the woman's yell made her jump and turn to look back at the edge she climbed over with an unamused glare. 'Yes. Attract them all. We haven't had enough practice running from them for sure.' She thought sassily as she went back to crossing the shingles. Her boots scrapped against the rooftop softly as she slid down an angle to the edge to peer over it into the highly maintained manors all around. The streets looked mostly deserted here so far. She could probably find a place to climb down and scout out a bit more. However, she hesitated and looked across the rooftops of Lodan first. Her eyes tracing the skyline before she started scooting down the length of the edge and found a pillar to slide down, dropping to crouch when she landed and moving towards the fence.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Jun 7, 2018 18:59:37 GMT
Edelweiss almost facepalmed as it seemed Wern would try to venture atop the rooftops with the girls, but with some effort she managed not to. She'd just managed to bring him to a safe shelter, what, 20 minutes ago? Half an hour at max. Thankfully Caitlin seemed to be on the right track, of at the very least making sure all of them (Wern included, she assumed) would be properly armed to face the undead hordes outside, and the redhead followed in their trail.
She had the sword in her cane already, but being handed a heavier, longer blade without having to use magic to extend her own was always good. And dual-wielding is a thing too. "'Practice' indeed." At least no one could say them sparring once in a while was a lie, although she knew Caitlin much likely had other uses for her weaponry stash. "Good thing we didn't slack enough to get rusty... do you have a crossbow?"
And then she turned her attention back to the shorter mechanic. "Wern, since we're going to hunt down a necromancer through a sea of zombies I can't really guarantee your safety anymore. If you tag along you'll have to fight for yourself, understood?" She couldn't protect him, not further than she already did. He'd have to protect himself, and fight alongside them, or stay behind in the mansion where it's safe.
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Jun 20, 2018 13:27:41 GMT
A crossbow.. a crossbow... a cross- there. It took some serious digging, but it was one of the hobbies she'd chosen to master, so sure enough the weapon was amongst her inventory. She produced said item for Edel then turned to face the rest. At least now their little militia was armed. She even managed a smile and perhaps if someone looked close enough, they'd see a glint spark back into her eyes. Something akin to excitement, a call to adventure, a need to be reckless and test her metal - literally and figuratively. The more Edel explained the situation to the goose-keeper, the more Cait felt like she was shedding layers of ice.
"Lets do this," she hummed as she crossed back to the balcony and looked out, squinting in the dark for the curly-haired missus that doubled nicely as a ninja in the night.
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
Weapons? Wern didn’t care for weapons. Or, maybe more accurate, weapons didn’t care for him. Though, he was whisked away by the woman before he could say anything, or do anything. Chakaia honked angrily in response, waddling after them frantically. The woman had abandoned her, and now was taking her servant? Chakaia did not like this. Wern could barely manage a squeak as the woman dropped weapons into his arms. He was to hand them out? He could do that, but, well, would anyone actually wield one? Sweating, Wern turned to the closest person and asked, wearily, “Um. Do you want a knife?” When Edelweiss spoke to him, Wern frowned. H-he wasn’t sure what to do. Instinct told him not to go. Logic told him not to go. But, shouldn’t he try to protect Polinya and Alisa? What would Alisa want him to do anyhow? “I… want to go with you, but… I know my limits. I’ll just be a burden to you,” Wern spoke slowly, looking at the others there— all thin, agile women— except for the older man, but even he was a fighter. “I’m not a fighter, but… I am a father. And, I want to go to my family. I can carry some extra weapons. Strap them to my back or something. Maybe be a look out. I may not be able to fight, but maybe I can do something for you.” Wern, stated, holding tightly to the weapons he held in his arms. “U-Unless you don’t think that’s wise, Edelweiss.” After all, Edelweiss had done this sort of thing before. Maybe not exactly like this situation, but she was a leader. She knew the limits of her people and what they could do. “If you think its better that I stay, I’ll stay.”
What is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay.- Andy Goldsworthy
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Jun 28, 2018 0:28:24 GMT
Elaine remained in the shadow of the mansion as she prowled around the grounds. Nothing was coming too terribly close at the time and it sounded pretty quiet along the streets. Finishing a round of examination as she paced along the steps of the home she turned and walked for the balcony in the back as grass silenced her footsteps. Looking up at the lights shining in the door with an inquisitive tilt of her head as someone leaned over looking probably for her. She looked across the sides of the building and gave a little shake of her arms before attempting a climb up along the right side of the balcony, peeking up above the bottom of it and hauling herself up.
Her fingers wrapping around the railing as she pulled herself up and swung a leg over to sit with one leg on either side. "The streets around us are mostly clear. No noise and no people, undead or otherwise." She reported promptly as she waited there a moment unsure if she should bring both legs over or if she might need to go out again. "If we start to move in to try and find the source now is the best time." She briefly wondered what to do about the man who'd come along with the pretty goose.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Jun 29, 2018 16:28:18 GMT
"I can't decide this for you, Wern." The redhead sighed. ""I'm just warning you it'll be dangerous, and I won't be able to keep protecting you out there."
From the point their group plan had shifted from 'bring civilians to a good shelter and meet an ally' into 'track the source of an undead horde, she could no longer be held responsible for the mechanic's safety. Neither Caitlin, nor Elaine, nor even Fawna would, because they aren't going out there to play or even to negotiate. They are going to fight, and fight to kill. Attempting to do so while protecting a non-combatant person at the same time would be practically asking to fail in both tasks. In a situation when risking failure meant either one dead friend at best, and the whole group dead at worst, she wouldn't be naive enough to risk it. "Someone who summoned this ungodly wave of walking dead is both an incredible caster and likely not well in the head. One can't reason with madness. So you can be useful coming, but you have to decide whether you can fight for yourself, or stay and wait. No in-betweens."
Once Elaine slipped her way back in from the window, Edelweiss gave her an acknowledging nod and gestured in Caitlin's direction, before turning to step onto the sill as well and climb outside. "Got it. Get any extra weapons you need and let's go." It was about time for some rooftop parkour.
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Jun 30, 2018 15:19:55 GMT
Caitlin looked around as the group deliberated their options. What few there were. Her own people were out there, but they too were bred for this kind of thing. They thrived on conflict. the men in their present company.....
Not so much. She looked at her father, who'd already been brave enough for one night. He was staring at her with a carefully blank expression. Toughening himself up to follow her she thought with a creeping feeling of anxiety. How could she be herself with him eyeballing her every move, or worse, throwing himself in the way?
"Father, I think... I think it's best you stay here with Maria and set up a sanctuary. We'll send all the refugees we find back this way so we need someone here to receive them." Maria for her part looked ready to collapse with relief that she wouldn't be joining the bloody expedition. The baron didn't look wholly convinced, but after a few moments thought he nodded in agreement.
"Very well, but do hurry back. the longer you're gone the more I worry you know." he said with a kiss on her forehead. A rather fatherly gesture.
She smiled back tenderly, gave him a quick hug, then as the nightcrawler woman had indicated - Cait lept off the balcony ready to stalk the villain at large with whomever else chose to come.
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
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