RWBYFanon v5

RPG World of Remnant => Everywhere Else => Topic started by: Riven on September 05, 2017, 08:59:10 AM

Title: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on September 05, 2017, 08:59:10 AM
  S C E N E ~ M U S I C 
Dead Man's Tale (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl2IvpJVlCo)
by Antti Martikainen




The mid-morning sun beat down, gleaming off the hulls of several airships sitting quietly on the half-dozen elevated landing pads scattered across what was otherwise mostly an open grassy field. It was a risky but necessary proposition to have an airship facility outside the kingdom's borders, as supply runners and passenger ships couldn't always manage -- or afford -- to make it to the more elaborate facilities within Vale's walls when they needed to refuel or repair. The towering concrete walls and a handful of robotic turrets did a decent enough job of keeping away the occasional Beowulf or Ursa, and there were always the Huntsmen and Huntresses to help cull the local population, so such places were usually safe enough. They were, however, also a bit of a gray zone... seldom regulated, rarely official in any sort of capacity, and a magnet for questionable ventures. Not the sort of place where people checked IDs, nor asked your business so long as you stayed out of theirs. It was, simply put, NOT the sort of place where an upstanding academic would feel the least bit comfortable...

Perhaps that was why Mr. Quisling, a scrawny mouse of a man in a loose-fitting sweater and thick spectacles, looked so very much out of his element. He clutched at a collection of folders and notebooks as though clinging to a life raft, eyes darting nervously about as he sheltered under the shadow of a large, not particularly impressive-looking cargo airship. The ship itself was easily the most shabby affair seated on a landing pad, looking very much like someone had cobbled together scrap metal to form the outer hull -- a patchwork quilt, to put it generously, of an airship, a lumbering hulk of undecorated steel and iron that looked far more fit to be a garbage scow than a passenger carrier. Up the main walkway it was possible to glimpse the ship's inner arrangement: dark, dimly lit, and narrow, like one would expect of a submarine.

Quisling's eyes darted upwards as a Bullhead began to descend from the sky, eager to see if it was whom he hoped. Sure enough, as the bulbous transport touched down and its doors slid open he caught sight of the brave souls hired for this expedition. Running -- and quite nearly tripping -- his way down the landing pad stairway, he rushed over to greet the three. "Ah, you're here! Good... good good good! Thank you all for coming. Now, ah, this way then!" He gestured over to the rustbucket-looking airship. "I, ah, know you just got off a flight to get here, but there's scarcely any time to waste! And, um, d-don't worry -- it's better than it looks, I promise you! Once you're all aboard we c-can be off."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on September 06, 2017, 08:27:12 AM
A fully armoured Alizarin stepped onto the landing platform with a yawn and a big wide stretch having decided it was in his best interest to sleep on the journey. With a quick look around at the facility Alizarin completely failed to conceal his smile. This was one of the best places for someone like him to be and having work for once was always a good sign. At that point he saw the nervous man come over and show them their mode of transport. A badly beaten ship. Hardly going to be the most comfortable ride but he could deal with it. He walked over and gave the man a good natured but possibly a bit too forceful pat on the back.  "Hell. It can't be worse than hiding in the engine crawl space of an atlesian bullhead. She'll do me fine."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on September 08, 2017, 04:55:15 PM
Akel looked at her other companions for the mission and then at the nervous wreck of a man. She raised an eyebrow at their mode of transport with worry. "Are we sure that's gonna hold up. I don't feel like being grimm shark food just yet."  Sighing to herself and walking over to join Alizarin.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on September 09, 2017, 05:52:26 AM
"I'll take your word for it. So, I think it's gonna be alright." Infrared, out of her specialist uniform and in her black T-shirt with a big round logo written with symbols that looked right out of some fanfiction with bad worldbuilding. Stepping aside to reveal her cart with all of her load of ammunition. She used one straight push to send it close to the edge and lined up with the rest to listen to any further instruction.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on September 09, 2017, 09:15:05 AM
Quisling couldn't help but stare slack-jawed at the cart of rocket launcher ammo -- he'd known one of the student hires dealt with heavy weaponry, certainly, but seeing the reality of it was still surprising. After a moment's hesitation he cleared his throat, straightened his spectacles, and took in a deep breath.

"Y-yes, well. The, ah, the ship, as I said, is quite more sturdy than it, erm, seems. The, er, pilot will address us once we're all onboard, and we'll go over the contents of these folders. Ah, these are your full mission briefing, by the way -- please remember that the information it c-contains is STRICTLY confidential u-under the nondisclosure agreements you all signed." Quisling began handing out manila folders to each of the three young warriors before gesturing for them to follow him up the ramp and onto the questionable-looking airship.


CONTENTS OF THE FOLDER

The folder you've received contains two thin sets of documents, each set no more than three pages -- a each brief summary of matters relevant to your mission.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HOWLING STORM
Spoiler: ShowHide
The first set of pages describes the life and career of the pirate Broderick Grimshaw, captain of the Howling Storm.

Captain Broderick Grimshaw is known to history for two inseparable things. The first is being the most sucessful pirate in Mistral's history, and the second is for the daring theft of an extremely valuable artifact known as the Sorcerer's Crown. He was born roughly two-hundred years ago in a village outside, but under the authority of, the kingdom of Mistral. At a young age he defected from the Mistal army and joined, then later led, a bandit clan known as the Iron Wolves. From this humble start Grimshaw began to build, attracting outcasts and criminals of all stripes to serve under his banner. His group, interestingly, was just as notable for its fairness as its ferocity -- Faunus were just as welcome as humans so long as they could prove themselves, nor do sources suggest any discrimination between men and women in combat, leadership, or other important roles, and not only were those who followed him paid for their services but also compensated for injuries they sustained and given a voice in the group's operations... modern and forward thinking, yes, but also a finger in the eye of Mistral's rigid monarchy of the time. This, no doubt, was part of the appeal of joining and why Grimshaw was so seldom challenged for his leadership role. Those who followed didn't just like him... they believed in him.

As the clan grew they eventually came into possession of a small number of airships, the type which were often modified sea vessels or made in the likeness thereof. Once outfitted with the armaments of the day, these fliers became the start of a powerful and much feared pirate fleet -- one ship in particular was adopted as Grimshaw's personal vessel and the default flagship: the Howling Storm. The ship's Beowolf-faced cannons were thunder from on high and the mere sight of it sowed chaos and panic in its wake. So successful was the ship's history, and so long was Grimshaw's tenure as her captain, that the ship's Floatstone was said to have strongly imprinted on his Aura such that only one other could fly it: Grimshaw's son, Kerwin.

As the years passed and the Iron Wolves' power and fame expanded Grimshaw set his sights on one legendary raid, something that would increase his influence and secure his personal legacy: the Sorcerer's Crown. Knowing that anyone who could claim the relic would be feared across all the continents, and knowing further that the Dust gems which comprised it would each sell for a fortune, Grimshaw hatched a bold plan to subvert the palace defenses and seize the treasure. However, the plan wasn't without detractors -- some of Grimshaw's oldest friends are recorded as having cautioned that seizing the crown could start what amounted to a war with Mistral, and that furthermore the crown itself was cursed to bring only madness and death. Grimshaw's silver tongue, however, silenced the worst of the criticism and the plan went forward. Using a heavy rainstorm to conceal their approach, the Iron Wolves flew over the kingdom's walls and successfully raided the Emperor's palace.

During their escape, Grimshaw was captured -- some say betrayed. He was held prisoner in Mistral for the next seven years, during which he learned that his flagship had caught flame and gone down in Grimm-infested waters two weeks after his capture, during a vain attempt to breach the kingdom's eastern coastal defenses. The Sorcerer's Crown was never recovered, and the Iron Wolves would go on to fracture into numerous smaller bandit and pirate factions. Grimshaw was eventually allowed to live out the remainder of his days under house arrest, having advised the kingdom on how to successfully put down many of his old comrades. Some scholars say he even married and took up work as a carpenter, though no children are to be found in official Mistral records. Kerwin, Grimshaw's one confirmed descendant, is thought to have gone down with the Howling Storm in its fiery demise.

Even two hundred years after his time, treasure hunters will occasionally search for caches of treasure hidden by Grimshaw and his Wolves during their heyday. Such is the man's legend. A few will even scour the eastern coast of Anima in hopes of finding the Howling Storm's wreckage or the prize of all prizes, the Sorcerer's Crown. None have yet succeeded.


SUMMATION: THE SORCERER'S CROWN
Spoiler: ShowHide
Over four hundred years ago, long before the first rumblings of the Grayed War, there lived a prince of Mistral known as Vasu the Wise. He was loved and revered by the citizens for all the reasons that any royalty are: he told them what they wanted to hear, made their lives a bit less harsh than they might be otherwise, and visibly contributed to the public good. He was mostly known for building the largest library on Anima, possibly the largest in the world at the time, and inviting scholars from the world over to come study and debate there. However, history documents that he had an ulterior motive... Prince Vasu was hungry for power, and yearned for the day when he had enough of it to throw off the petty games of politics and seize the throne of Mistral for himself. According to some sources he had ambitions far beyond that as well as a belief, not uncommon in that time, that magic was both a real power and existed out in the world, waiting to be found. So it was that he tasked his private scholars to use the grand library as a means to search the world's knowledge for any and all clues that might grant him magic's secrets.

It was to no avail. Years went by, then decades, and magic -- predictably -- eluded the prince's best efforts. In frustration, he turned to another type of "magic": Dust.

Enlisting the greatest minds of the age and the most rare and precious Dust crystals that money could fetch, the prince and his private cabal delved into a grueling investigation of Dust's powers, its limits, and its potential. From this painstaking research, an artifact of tremendous power was forged: Prince Vasu himself called it the "Sorcerer's Crown". With his prize creation perched atop his head, the prince set aside all pretense of kindness and restraint. He marched to the palace and demanded his father surrender the throne. When the Emperor refused Vasu unleashed a torrent of power from the crown's Dust jewels and reduced the royal guards to nothing in an instant. Vasu had his followers put the Emperor in chains and parade him throughout the city, to the shock and horror of it's citizens. For a year, the people of Mistral lived in constant fear of their new "Grand Sorcerer", as the prince insisted he be called. It was a dark time where people were forced to choose between braving the Grimm beyond the kingdom's watch or an all-powerful madman within. And as the weeks and months passed, the prince's madness only became more and more pronounced -- mania, paranoia, ranting and raving in the middle of the night, random executions of wholly loyal allies for the most bizarre of reasons... the stories paint a colorful picture of "the Mad Sorcerer King".

History isn't clear on exactly what ended Vasu's brief reign. Some scholars suspect he was assassinated, or that his own guards finally turned against him out of desperation. Others point to the highly potent Dust crown that he refused to be without and suggest that its energies may be the cause. The reason that the 'how' isn't known, however, has everything to do with the 'where' -- Vasu met his fateful end in his own grand library, the night the building burned to the ground. His bones and the Sorcerer's Crown were among the few things recovered from the site, and the rightful Emperor had both entombed together in the palace under lock, key, and heavy guard. The vigil remained as a palace tradition for roughly two hundred years until the artifact was stolen in a raid by pirates under the command of Broderick Grimshaw, then was subsequently lost when his airship went down off the eastern coast of Anima.




The inside of the ship was a far cry from the many-windowed fliers used by Beacon or the proud, precision halls of the Atlesian fleet, but it also didn't match the ramshackle outward appearance. The entry area seemed to double as a cargo hold, with a small number of boxes and crates scattered around near the walls, but it also had what appeared to be a newly installed round metal table with a built-in display screen and four nearby chairs with heavy safety straps situated towards the back. The dull hum of an idling engine of some kind could be heard from behind the back wall, but the attentive might also notice a certain energized quality to the air around them that suggested large scale and powerful Dust reactions from the direction of that hum.

Quisling quickly made his way over to a small intercom on the nearby wall, switching on the talk function. "C-Captain? C--can you hear me captain?"

There was a moment of static before a young woman's voice came over the speaker. "Aye, ye bleedin' nerd -- I hear ya just fine. We got everyone aboard yet?"

"That we do."

"Right, well..." The woman on the other end cleared her throat, her voice genuinely sounding like that of an olden days pirate -- whether that was a just or not wasn't immediately clear. "Introductions, then. As Quizy 'ere hopefully explained, this ship's yer ticket t' Anima an' th' treasure hunt o' yer lives. T' that end, he an' his bookworm buddies hired on one'a th' few pilots as can get ye there without drawin' attention -- which, considerin' th' state'a Mistral these days, is a damn good thing indeed."

The intercom crackled with static, then went dead -- a few seconds later, a large set of cargo doors on the room's upper level slid open with a loud pressurized hiss and a woman decked out in a red longcoat and fancy pirate hat (http://rwby-rpg.rwbyfanon.com/index.php/topic,1073.msg13235.html#msg13235) stepped into view on the overhead walkway. "What th' historian probably didn't tell ye was that his 'Society' be so desperate t' get their hands on th' treasure b'fore anyone else... that they hired a bona fide pirate to help get it! Welcome aboard me ship, currently in disguise -- a fake hull t' fool unwitting eyes." She spread her hands wide in welcome and grinned at the miniature poem.

"Th' name's Cordell, captain o' th' Red Corsair." She marched over to a nearby cargo elevator, hit the main control switch, and began to descend to the level of Quisling and the assembled treasure hunters. "No objections t' workin' fer' th' greater good with a wanted fugitive, I hope? Last chance t' walk away, lads an' lasses."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on September 09, 2017, 11:57:19 PM
Solar lay curled up like a cat sleeping atop a storage crate, how she got there is a different story. "Zzz...Zzz.." she snored away unaware of the newcomers aboard the ship. She was unlikely to awake unless someone tried if Cordell's entrance didn't do it. For some reason she was wearing two eye patches over both eyes as she slept.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on September 11, 2017, 11:54:32 PM
Alizarin cracked a smile as he heard the voice come over the radio. It seemed almost familiar. That couldn't be right though.  "Now that sounds like my kind of woman." Alizarin joked before Cordell stepped out onto the deck and he let out a low whistle and slightly under his breath  "damn." At that point Cordell gave her introduction and his eyes widened underneath his helmet. He was quite familiar with the stories about Cordell but never once had he dreamed he would actually meet the woman. As she asked about willingness to work with fugitives Alizarin chuckled slightly.  "I'd be a massive hypocrite if I did. I'm a fugitive myself. Alizarin Rust at your service."  With his introduction Alizarin gave what he considered to be the most pompous bow he could think of placing his right hand across his chest and extending his left outward.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on September 15, 2017, 10:38:30 PM
I do remember reading those files, maybe I should report her presence later... Wait, no I'd be questioned the circumstances and this mission probably is private for a reason. Alizarin on the other hand, well... shit. Although those files and news are probably to be taken with spoons of salt. Just how lucky am I not to be pushed that far...
"As a huntress-in-training... That depends on what greater good that is. A great archeological discovery is probably above your petty piracy." What she didn't say is what does she think as that.
Infrared carefully inspected Cordell and made mental notes. She also threw a glance to Akel meaning I told you so.
(Edit: Infrared's thinking, as well as some supplements.)
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on September 21, 2017, 06:28:15 PM
(OOC: Five day rule. Skipping Edgey to keep things moving along.)


Cordell couldn't help but turn up a wry smile at Alizarin's introduction -- his sense of flare and drama was a fair match for her own, it seemed, and it pleased her to meet someone who could play at such games. As for the huntress-in-training, the pirate looked Infrared's way and gave a gentle nod as the cargo elevator touched down. "Discovery? Aye, ye could call it that, if we find what we hope't. S'a bit more'n just that, though... WAAAY more important than old bones or books." She turned slightly to one side. "Del, prep fer takeoff an' close th' hatch."

"Certainly captain." A slightly computery-sounding female voice with a tone all poise and etiquette echoed from the ship's internal speakers. A moment later the entryway began to shut and the ramp retract.

"Delahaye be me first mate -- th' heart an' soul o' th' ship, if'n ye grasp me meanin'. An' th' fur-cloaked lump," She nodded her head towards the sleeping Solar. "Is me assistant-in-trainin', Solar. Hired her on as some extra help... think I might've tuckered th' poor lass out though." She shrugged and gestured for everyone to gather around the table towards the back of the cargo hold, proceeding to walk over and flip a switch on the table's underside. A small holographic display booted up, projecting in blue-tinted 3D haze just above the table's surface. The pirate turned to face the assembled group. "If'n ye'v never heard o' th' Sorcerer's Crown before, here's th' short of it: long time ago a blowhard Mistral prince got obsessed with power and made a crown outta Dust crystals. These weren't just any crystals, mind -- gemstone quality, full t' burstin' with power. A lotta historians, including Quizy here," She hooked a thumb in the historian's direction. "Think they were -- are, if'n the Crown be intact -- at or near th' highest grades o' Dust purity. We're talkin' th' sorta stones as sell fer small fortunes, usually to th' military cuz' o' th' havoc they can wreak."

She leaned forward on the table, looking from one face to another and locking eyes with each. "Th' Crown was a weapon, thought lost t' time. We all know how powerful Dust can be -- if history's t' be believed, though, th' Dust gems o' th' Crown are as different t' yer corner store variety as comparin' puppy dogs an' Beowolves. Nasty stuff, an' may'a drove th' bloke what made it insane, too. Don't get me wrong -- I'm as greedy fer treasure as any soul who's ever flown a black flag, but if anythin' remains o' th' Crown at all, it's dangerous. Quizy an me agree: it needs t' be under lock an' key in a museum, not fallin' into th' hands o' devil-knows-who."

She brushed her hand across the holographic surface and a map of northern Anima (https://i.imgur.com/mUAtztS.png) came up, with Mistral's boundaries highlighted. "Th' Crown was stolen from th' royal vaults o' Mistral some two hundred years back by th' legendary pirate Broderick Grimshaw. His ship, th' Howling Storm, supposedly went down in flames two weeks later -- here, just off th' eastern coast." She gestured to a point not far off the large bay, not far from modern Wind Path. "Buuuuuut..." She grinned, nodding at Quisling.

Quisling's excitement was exceedingly obvious, both in his voice and body language. "But the Historical Society not long ago came into the possession of coded correspondence between Grimshaw and his lieutenants. With our resources and, w-well, some help from Captain Cordell to acquire, er, reference materials, we were able to discover the TRUE resting place of t-the Howling Storm!"

"It was Grimshaw's son, you see -- he knew that Mistral would be hunting them, so he d-devised a clever plan: he had an air-s-s-s-ship made up to look like the Howling Storm and stage a pretend rescue attempt of the imprisoned captain. Q-quite clever, yes? Meanwhile the r-real Howling Storm put down at a pirate hideout in Anima's inland sea to p-p-plan a real rescue..."

"Somethin' went south." Cordell interjected. From outside the rising hum of engines beginning to warm up could be heard, suggesting the ship was nearing ready to take off. "Th' letters make clear that th' pirates couldn't return to th' Howling Storm after th' decoy mission -- no clear explanation o' why, only some talk about th' Crown being cursed by ol' Mad Prince himself. What's more, th' pirate armada began t' splinter an' fray without Grimshaw t' lead 'em; by th' writ o' th' letters, Grimshaw spent th' rest of his days sickin' th' Mistral army on th' disloyal while tryin'a lead what was left from under house arrest. Spoiler warnin': it didn't work out so well. Everythin' suggests that th' Howling Storm was left t' rot right where she was hidden... a sad thing, true, but opportunity fer us. Means th' Crown should be with th' ship, an' the ship right where they left it."

"So... questions?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on September 22, 2017, 10:22:38 AM
"Zzzz...Cap'n hungry...Zzzz...When grub...Zzzz" Solar somehow answered Cordell's question in her sleep.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on September 22, 2017, 11:22:13 PM
"Uh, no not really. What would be expecting to fight? Treasure hunters, grimm, bandits."  Akel rested casually with her back against a crate, looking up from her sitting position slightly to the first year that laid on top of a crate. 'she must really hate lectures if she fell asleep from that'.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on September 24, 2017, 10:04:03 AM
As they were directed over towards the display Alizarin followed and leaned against the table with his hands pressed on it. Paying as close attention to the display as he could. perking up considerably when the power of the crown came up. [1C6BA0] "Are you sure this museum is the right hands? Wouldn't we be better off destroying the damn thing? Ensure no one ever takes it?" Or more accurately. Let me get my hands on it. Could burn that fucking shithole to the ground with that kind of power.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on September 24, 2017, 10:53:00 AM
"Can we make one of equal or greater power with our current understanding of dust and similarly highest quality dust materials? If not, what makes it so special? If yes, then why are we bothering retrieving it?"
"Also, do we have a specific container to seal it in?"
In the meantime Infrared opens her cart to count her rockets, then move to the elevator to look around the ship for vantage point of fire.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on September 25, 2017, 05:41:47 PM
Cordell put one hand on her hips and whistled, her expression somewhere between amused and impressed. "You lot as a lotta questions... good. 'Tis a smart habit t' be in." She turned her head to Quisling. "Professor, yer up fer this bit."

Quisling seemed momentarily off-balance. "B-but I'm not a professor. It's a, er, more of a f-fellowship arrangement, really, and..." One raised eyebrow from Cordell made it plain she simply did not care and wanted him to get on with it. "R-right, yes, well..."

"Course set for pre-designated coordinates. Liftoff in four minutes -- all passengers are encouraged to find a seat or in other ways steady themselves."

"To be brief," Quisling, enthusiastic to grab a chair whilst he could, strapped himself in and then turned to those assembled. "There may be Grimm on site, but the ship's weapons should s-s-s-suffice to clear any that are outside of the hideout. Inside m-may be anot-t-t-ther matter. Our s-secrecy means we s-s-s-should be the only people there, h-however."

"D-d-destroying the Crown c-could be catastrophic! Until p-properly s-s-studied, there is no way to know how p-potent the Dust crystals truly are and whether t-the Crown itself is, as s-some records suggest, a form of energy amplifier. T-t-the science used by Vasu the Wise was lost with his library a-and--"

"Liftoff in two minutes."

Cordell turned to Infrared, pointing to some of the many securing straps along the walls. "May wanna lock yer munitions down, just 't be safe. Don't go blowin' a hole in me ship, aye? As fer container, I've got that covered, no worries." She strode over to where Solar was snoozing, gently prodding the ram Faunus. "Oi, Solar! Rise an' shine lass -- it's time t' fly!"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on September 26, 2017, 01:57:53 PM
"Huh what?" Solar said as she stirred awake. Realizing she couldn't see with both eye patches over her eyes she lifts one up and looks into her Captains glare. Staring into her eyes for a second and processing what she just said, Solar hops off her crate and with a loud "aye aye captain!" and exaggerated salute she zips off down a nearby corridor that lead to a different room. The engine Reactor room, pipes rumbled and roared, heavy chunks of metal hummed and glowed with life, and dust powered the powerful vehicle they resided in. Solar headed towards a nearby section with gauges and complicated readouts displayed. "Right sooo...this one dust levels are green...all systems have power...hmm all gauges are good, no flashing lights, all systems green we're good to go Captain!" Solar said the last part into a nearby intercom. When Solar had initially begged Cordel to teach her  how to fly the ship she was instead taught how to maintain it. However this was just Cordel's way of giving her something to do, in reality the ship's Gear robots and Delahaye were sufficient enough to upkeep the ship. What Solar does is an equivalent to hitting buttons on an unplugged controller.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on September 27, 2017, 09:59:41 AM
Having little else to say Alizarin moved to find a way to steady himself as he waited for liftoff. Eventually opting to grab hold of one of the supports holding up the upper level.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on September 28, 2017, 08:46:35 AM
"Of course." Infrared turns and complies before resuming her course of finding firing spots and browsing the ship while she's at it.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on September 28, 2017, 08:52:29 AM
Akel hugged her weapon, having already sat down and not really feeling the whole relocate because of your weapon deal. Her weapon wouldn't malfunction on her, at least she hoped it wouldn't. "Ready when you are captain."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on September 30, 2017, 12:39:51 PM
(OOC: Thanks for your patience with all the scene-setting and adventure prep, all. We're gonna go ahead and jump into the start of the action now. ;D )


Hearing that everyone was ready, Cordell looked around at her passengers and flashed each a smile. "I promise, ye won't regret this. It's gonna be one hellova trip!" She turned and raced towards a metal ladder, leading up to the second level. "I'm off to th' bridge t' get us on course -- if'n ye need anythin' just call out fer Delahaye."

With that, the pirate made her exit the same way she came in. A few minutes later there was a distinct shift as the disguised Red Corsair lifted off, leaving the landing pad and docking facility behind. The intercom crackled to life once again. "Attention passengers, this be yer captain speakin'. Our flight time today be just shy o' one hour. Once we reach cruisin' altitude ye'll be free t' walk about, at which point we'll break open some provisions t' ensure nobody be treasure huntin' on an empty stomach. Strap in or hang on, an' thanks fer flyin' th' piratical skies t'day!"

No sooner did the intercom cut out than the force of the ship in flight could be felt. Roughly five minutes after takeoff, when the ship was above open waters, that force briefly doubled as the fake hull around the ship was cut loose and left to splash down into the ocean. From there the ride became much smoother as the airship rose to a comfortable elevation and, at a prompting from Delahaye, it was safe to walk about.

True to her word Cordell returned shortly thereafter, cracking open a refrigerated storage crate containing a decent supply of various sandwiches and drinks; what's more, to help "set the mood", a bottle of the captain's rum was popped open and made available to those so inclined. With a metal tumbler in one hand Cordell flipped on the holo-map again, giving the group their first look at the destination.

(https://i.imgur.com/DqywY3P.png)

"Based on what we've learned, th' hideout is supposed t' be around here." She pointed to a rough area on the main island encompassing the western face of a small mountain. "I got together all th' info I could on th' place, but it ain't much. Th' islands aren't safe or valuable enough t' merit th' investment it'd take t' clear 'em so everythin' we know comes from flyovers -- which I did m'self t' get this map together -- an' some fishin' villages t' th' north an' west. Grimm are spread out an' territorial, both in th' water an' up on shore. No idea why they like th' place so much, as people don't really visit, but from what I saw th' local ones ain't nothin' too serious: Breachers (https://demize00zero.deviantart.com/art/RWBY-Bestiary-Apocryphal-Records-Breacher-657352807) on th' beaches an' coves, Creeps (http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/Creep) inland, an' juvenile Nevermore (http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/Nevermore) roostin' in trees and whatnot. Shouldn't be a serious concern, as we'll have th' big guns o' me ship t' help clear 'em from our landin' an' cover us up 'till we find th' entrance."

"Past that, no idea." She took a long draught of rum from her cup. "Everythin' suggests th' hideout be underground, though I've no blessed idea how th' Howling Storm put down there. No cave entrances I could find looked big enough t' fly an ol' airship through, though could be th' entrance they used collapsed at some point. It has been two hundred years an' all. I've got gear in case there's cause t' dig... though, honestly, I really hope it won't come t' that."

It wasn't long after that when Delahaye notified them that the ship was nearing the Anima coastline -- Cordell returned to the cockpit at this point to "ensure their safe arrival", which sounded rather like evading detection by Mistral's coastal watch. The wait for arrival was short but tense; every time the ship banked or shifted Quisling could be heard to whimper nervously from his seat and shuffle through his notes, as though they were somehow going to protect him. After the long anxious minutes passed Delahaye's voice could be heard over the speaker system. "Attention passengers: we have reached our destination. The captain requests that you be ready to disembark." There was a faint sound from the ship's internals suddenly, an electric-sounding thrum as quick as a heartbeat. "There are Grimm on the beach -- on-board weapons are clearing them now. However, expect minor resistance to remain upon arrival."


  M U S I C A L ~ S H I F T 
Shiver Me Timbers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YTMTe8po64)
by Jean Georges Felix Nicolas & Salvador Casais


At the far end of the cargo bay, the main doors slid open, revealing sand and surf outside. The ship was in motion, hovering maybe thirty feet above the shallows and swinging to one side, its rapid-fire energy weapons strafing the beach in a cacophony of blue flashes and plumes of sand. The bodies of cut down Grimm could be seen in the distance ahead while more trickled out from a treeline of tall palms and woody scrubs. The upper cargo bay doors opened and Cordell, with a cutlass in one hand and a pair of pistols strapped at her waist, vaulted eagerly over the guardrail to rejoin the group.

"Right then, here we go! Should be less than a hundred feet from beach t' cave, an' these Grimm bastards are droppin' like flies. Del will drop us what we need once we find th' entrance, but fer now we flush out trouble so it can't stalk us from th' underbrush. Everybody ready?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on October 01, 2017, 01:03:37 AM
As the ship begun moving around Alizarin found himself regretting his choice to hang on to a support as he dug his claws into it in a failing attempt to keep his grip. When the forced doubled a scraping noise could be heard as Alizarin lost his hold and fell onto the floor with a metallic thud. When the ride smoothed out he hauled himself to his feet and went to examine the support and saw that his claws had left deep scratches in the metal.  "Oh shit."  A resigned sigh came from Alizarin as he looked at the damage he had done.  "I suspect I'm going to be paying for that later."

A few minutes later Cordell came out along with food and rum which allowed Rust to forget about his mistake for a while as he went straight to eating and drinking a bit while vaguely paying attention to the plan. He was confident he could remember the broad strokes if nothing else and rather occupied himself with his food and the occasional half-nervous and half for his own benefit glance at Cordell.

Eventually the cargo bay door opened and Cordell re-emerged seemingly very excited. A sentiment mirrored in Alizarin's own crazed smile.
"Right then, here we go! Should be less than a hundred feet from beach t' cave, an' these Grimm bastards are droppin' like flies. Del will drop us what we need once we find th' entrance, but fer now we flush out trouble so it can't stalk us from th' underbrush. Everybody ready?"
Alizarin's initial response was a laugh.  "Damn right I am. Just try to fucking stop me!" With that vote of confidence Alizarin strapped on Onyx Ripper and stood at the edge with his arms wide before jumping backwards into the open air and plummeting towards the sand back-flipping slowly as he did so.a few meters before he reached the ground he straightened out into a position to land and used his semblance to create a cushion of air the place him on the ground without hurting him to much. It did however have the unfortunate side-effect of spraying sand everywhere. Looking as if he had hit with the force of a hand grenade. Hopefully there was no one next to him at the time. With very little pause to think about it Alizarin began rushing forward to start taking out Grimm with claws fully extended and ready to go.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on October 01, 2017, 08:13:26 AM
As Solar listened to Cordell from the engine room as she stuck her face on a nearby window, watching the scenery change as the ship started to take off. 'I always love this part' Solar watched with awe as the ship ascended higher and higher. Even though she knew the force from the takeoff was coming she remained fixed on the window wanting to watch as long as possible as there was nothing to hold on to nearby. Sure enough the force of the takeoff knocks Solar off her feet and bangs her head into a nearby pipe "Ow! Can never get used to that..." she says out loud as she massages the sore spot on her head. Learning her lesson Solar holds onto the various pipes and metal that lined the walls of the engine room.

As soon Solar felt the force riding on her calm down and a call from Delahaye prompting it was safe to walk about. Solar dashed off to the room where the others were and helped herself to her much wanted grub. "Food finally!" She exclaimed as she gorged herself on whatever she could get her hands on stuffing her face, no manners or etiquette what so ever. As she was eating she got a look around at the members that were hired for the mission they were to be together on. 'Huh 3 faunus including me' she thought thinking Akeldama (who she was sitting next to), wasn't a faunus. " Hri! Yer ave rully rong 'air! Wha' ar' yu 'earing on yur 'ead?" Solar asked Akel about her headphones with a mouth full of food making idle chit chat as the hour to their destination went by. As she talked she still wore an eye patch over one eye, whether she forgot it was there or intentional only she knew.

The time went by and Solar was finally eager and ready to jump off the ship the second the doors opened. Though the weapons on the ship were still raining lasers of energy down on the Grimm, Solar jumps down without waiting. "Woohoo!" She cries out as she falls. With a glow from her body she charges an attack aimed for the sand underneath her, the moment she reaches the sand she swings her weapon down making an explosion of sand that breaks her fall. "Woo! Time for a treasure hunt!" She cries out, ready to take anything down that stood in her way.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on October 01, 2017, 08:58:20 AM
Akel kept her seating, not liking the idea of an airship without proper seating equipment. So she wrapped one arm around a large strap which kept the crate in place and moved her arm behind her head to prevent any jolting into said crate. Her idea proved to be very effective as she didn't really move much. The unpleasent sound of metal being ripped didn't register with her, the headphones blocking that particular sound by a preset done by herself.

The speaker letting her know that it was safe to get up, walk and get food was a relief. Unwrapping her arm from the strap and hoping up, albeit releasing that she did find her former seating  to not be so bad.

Akel grabbed a few pieces of food, not wanting to stain her clothes with food or waste any by dropping any on the ground. She took a seat back down where she previously was and started eating one of the sandwhiches: ham, cheese and strangely enough thin apple slices.

"My hearing is sensitive, without these I would be confined to a specially desifned room for my entire life". Continuing idle chat with her new friend along the journey with occassinally going back to the crate to grab a smaller amount of food each time.

The sound of weapons firing brought her attention, standing up and patting her clothing to get rid of any loose pieces of food that might of remained. Satisfied she stood at the main cargo doors and did a few basic streches as she saw Alizarin and Solar jump down ahead of her. "Make sure to limber up". in a joking fashion as they were already out of ear range with the sounds of the ships guns destroying the grimm on the beach.

Her streches done she unfolded her scythe and rested the handle on her shoulder. Taking a few steps back to get a running launch she boosted, the water receeding and her boots impacting the wet sand. She was a lot less battle crazed then her teammates and let herself take her time to scout out potential opponents as she reached the dry sand, putting the scythe in both hands she smiled and slashed a grimm that approached her down its centre.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on October 03, 2017, 12:40:45 PM
Infrared planted her footing, shifted her center of gravity and leaned on a wall to avoid tumbling in the initial ascension, then started to walk around, looking out of the window and into the engine room to appreciate the intricate machinery, and on the deck from the terminals to find what she's supposed to do, finding firing spots. Although that proved tobe meaningless for now as the weapons on deck cleaned out the Grimm around their landing spot as should be expected.
Getting back to the cargo bay she wondered how to get her carts of rockets down there. Oh right. I've always wanted to try that.
Infrared walked down after pushing her cart slightly in a attempt to time her landing just before her cart's. She bent her leg a little in a landing stance and put one hand on her cart. At the moment she touched the ground she activated her semblance twice to both launch herself and her cart sideways along the beach. After it finally stops having flung a good 20 meters or so she pushes back her cart to meet up with the rest of the party.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on October 06, 2017, 05:32:17 AM
Cordell watched with undisguised excitement as each of the other adventurers deployed, hitting the sands below and bringing a swift end to any Grimm unlucky enough to reach them. Turning to Quisling -- who was still seated and clutching his notes -- she couldn't help but toss off a barbed compliment. "Quite a crew ye found, Quizy! Join us fer a bit'ova tussle?"

The historian looked mildly terrified, cringing just a bit at the sounds of battle below. "I-i-if it's all the same, miss Cordell, I t-t-think I'll remain here until you've reached the entrance."

The young pirate shrugged her shoulders. "Thought ye might say so. Oh well. Del, keep an eye on our resident bookworm -- I'mma go bloody me blade."

With that, Cordell strode to the very edge of the doorway and aimed her cutlass, flicking switches on the handle as she went. The hiss of compressed air being released accompanied the blade flying from its socket, skimming just below the underside of the ship's hull until a jolt of electromagnetic force locked it in place. Drawing one pistol in her free hand Cordell swung out across the gap, taking aim and firing at Breachers and the occasional Creep as she found targets until she hit the nadir of her swing -- releasing the blade from the hull, she pulled herself into a flip and landed somewhat ahead of the others. Swinging the tether line whip-like, the pirate managed to embed her blade into the haunch of a Creeper that had dug under the killzone of the Red Corsair's guns, pulling the monster towards her and finishing it off with a point-blank double-shot.

"Right, then!" Cordell turned to the others, all grins and eagerness. "Let's mop this lot up, eh? Show me what you've got!"




(OOC: Next round of posts is open season on Grimm -- fight however you'd like and take out as many as you please. Basically, have fun with it! We'll move on to the cave entrance after that.)
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on October 10, 2017, 07:17:01 AM
Having relocated back to under the ship Infrared called on the top of her lungs. "Anyone need artillery support?"
While waiting for any of them to call back Infrared fired upon a few spots which she heard Grimm movements. She fires, the air roars and earth was spread. A round lands, pieces of creeps and nevermores turning into black smoke files into the air. Another explodes, another patch of dead Grimm smoking rises. Infrared keeps this up, changing target as she's being called. Pushing forward bit by bit the black-dressed rabbit faunus stopped on the edge of the forest waiting for instruction to advance.
(OOC:Meanwhile, feel free to replace the background music with the piano version of Credens Justitiam (https://youtu.be/4xVyBmkEZX4?t=6m9s), by Animenz. Sorry for overriding your music Riven :P)
Artillery positions sure are nice. Just listen to the coordinates, load, aim, fire, repeat until otherwise, all while under the protection of infantries. Although this feels wrong and would probably warrant a tongue lashing from her officers.
Here's hoping I never have to do this to regular troops... I don't even want to imagine this replaced by people screaming and blood spilling.
(OOC: The usual accompanying music for artillery bombardment, 1812 overture, turns out to be a bit slow escalating for me. I just happens to be hearing that and decided this version of Credens Justitiam would be a good choice as I'm writing.)
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on October 11, 2017, 06:35:46 AM
In a playful pirate voice of a poor imitation of Cordell's Solar goes "Arrgh! These landlubbers be after me loot! Hehe" she ends with a mischievous giggle. The weapon on her back unfolds as she grips her crimson axe with two hands. She swings the weapon in wide arcs cleaving any Grimm in halves, utilizing it's weight to swing her own body with bone shattering kicks. "Woah!" She had to leap out of the way as she accidentally found herself too close to one of Infrared's artillery rounds. "Oh so that's what artillery is" she said to as her question she wondered herself when Infrared called it out.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on October 11, 2017, 11:06:12 AM
Akel rushed the grimm that headed towards her, scythe in hand she opened up eith using a spin to slash a grimm by the legs to let it fall into the sand and receive the business end of her scythe in the side of its head. Several more followed through and she applied the same technique, changing her angle of attack to accomadate the direction that the grimm came from. All in all she took the creeps down without and trouble and any others that came towards her got hit by supporting fire from the ship.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on October 12, 2017, 07:07:47 AM
Alizarin used his semblance to empower a mostly forward facing jump once again spraying sand as he did so. He flew straight past Cordell with a hand and claw outstretched. After he hurtled past Cordell he reached a creep and flipped over it digging his claws in underneath it's mask as he did so.Upon landing he pulled upwards and tore the "mask" clean off the Grimm. His maniacal laughter drowned out by the creep screaming before it dissolved into ash. With barely a pause he turned and singled out the next closest Grimm. A breacher. with a crooking of his finger the Grimm suddenly flew uncontrollably at him only to find the claws of his other hand embedded in it's center. Alizarin tore across the Grimm's midsection positioning his arm across it's body before firing off Onyx Ripper. Sending spikes through the breacher and into parts of various Grimm that happened to be in their path.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on October 14, 2017, 11:05:27 AM
(OOC: No need to worry about music "overrides" -- think of what I post as just a suggestion, but if you find music that goes better with your post or the current scene feel free to post it up! Can never have too much awesome music, after all.)


In the midst of the battle Cordell called out a handful of targets to Infrared and cut down what Grimm she could, but the group overall was far outpacing her with their kills. After the first few minutes she literally just had the luxury to stand back and watch for the most part, and she liked what she saw. Infrared was just as deadly with that rocket launcher as one would expect, plus cool and composed in the heat of things. The placement of her shots was precise, deliberate -- no wasted ammo from this one. Solar's general enthusiasm carried into battle just like it seemed to with everything else, and she wasn't too shabby with that huge battleaxe of hers either. Akeldama was making it clear that any Grimm dumb or unlucky enough to get close were already dead, her precision blade work rendering one Creep after another into dissolving legless stumps. And Alizarin... well, the way he fought was enough to put a twinge of fear into the hearts of even his allies. He was a massacre on legs. Cordell wasn't sure whether to be worried by that or to get the man a drink as tribute to his sheer enthusiasm. Both, actually, seemed like a smart way to go. Definitely both.

Needless to say, it didn't take long before the beach was clear of threats. Cordell let out a long whistle, followed by a wide grin. "Well, blow me down if'n you lot aren't a force t' reckon with. Guess ol' Quizy's got an eye fer talent. Right, this way t' th' entrance cave."

The young pirate led them on a brief trek through the brush, hacking clear a path as she went. It wasn't more than a few minutes before they came to a gaping maw in the rising mountainside. The cave entrance was almost forty feet wide and opened onto a small inland lagoon -- even without going in it was clear that the water was less than a foot deep in most areas, fed into and out of by narrow underwater tunnels too small for a person to pass through. The back of the cave was mostly shrouded in darkness, though the Faunus among the group would likely see clearly that there didn't seem to be any other openings -- the back of the cave was solid stone, run smooth by water dripping down from the stalactites on the ceiling.

"Del, supply drop if'n ye please."

The shadow of the Red Corsair -- now in its true form after abandoning the fake hull -- fell over the group. From below the nose of the ship a hatch opened and a large metal box descended on a steel line. Quisling, now wearing a dark gray hard hat and knee pads, stood atop the box and clutched the line as he descended, finally hopping off with a relieved sigh upon touchdown. Cordell cracked open the case, pulling a rugged-looking backpack from the contents.

"Right, grab a pack an' take what ye think ye can best use. If our research be true th' entrance t' th' pirate hideout be just on th' other side'a that cave." She cracked an industrial-grade glow stick and clipped the radiant rod like a pendant over her cravat, then pointed to a few of the other items in the crate. "We've got a thermal drill an' mining charges in case we need t' get through rock, an' ten pneumatic support struts t' keep any low cave ceilings from collapsin' on us when we use 'em. Shouldn't come t' that, but it has been 200 years. Th' entrance is supposedly hidden in this here cave -- if so, I should be able t' find it. Let's gear up first, just t' be sure."





CONTENTS OF SUPPLY DROP
▪ [6] Backpacks (empty)
▪ [40] Industrial Glowsticks (small, not heavy)
▪ [6] Handheld Flashlights (small, not heavy)
▪ [1] Thermal Drill (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/27/ca/12/27ca121a1010063d06b57f8ac09f5833.jpg) (heavy, cumbersome, dangerous)
▪ [1] Box of Mining Charges (with Handheld Remote Detonator) (moderate weight, cumbersome, dangerous)
▪ [10] Collapsible Pneumatic Supports (small, not heavy)
▪ [2] First Aid Kits (small, not heavy)
▪ [2] Zephyr Cutlasses (http://i.imgur.com/5MxonNQ.jpg) (weapon, not heavy, functional tow line)
▪ [6] Pirate eye patches (for some reason...?)
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on October 16, 2017, 08:43:54 AM
As the last Grimm fell Alizarin returned to the Grimm with a wide grin.  "Well that was bloody good fun wasn't it?"  Alizarin had to admit that he was really enjoying the piratical talk of a couple of his comrades. Having now adopted a minor pirate accent himself as he spoke.

As the group walked along Alizarin continued looking around at the environment.  "Definitely one of the prettier places to go for a job. Corporate buildings covered in blood do get boring after a while."  

As the supplies. And the nerd came down from the sky Alizarin tried and failed to stifle a laugh at the way the man looked. Especially with how afraid the poor guy was. Before he could go and either torment or comfort the man depending on perspective he was distracted by the mention of supplies. He reached into the crate and immediately pulled out the thermal drill.  "Nice. I bet I could do some damage with this." before he pointed it in the general direction of Infrared and activated it for a second letting the drillbit spin.  "Bet it'd work just as well on Grimm and people as it's designed to on rock."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on October 16, 2017, 10:25:00 AM
"Wait whos that?" Solar asked out loud as she watched Quisling descend down with the supply crate. Before anyone could asnwer Solar bounded on the box of supplies like a child opening presents on their birthday, picking up various pieces not knowing what some of them did but was always curious. "Ooh dibs on the cool looking knife!" She said outloud giving the Cutlass a few experimental swings, the weapon matching her eyepatch, more and more improving her pirate look. Hmm first aid kits, flashlight wont need that, explosives!...should probably let artillery lady have these she had only remebered Akel's name on the way to their destination. "Hey Capn what're these things? How'd you turn it on like that?" Solar asked Cordell holding one of the Pneumatic supports in one hand and a handful of Glowsticks in the other, her second question reffering to the glowstick. Notcing something else in the box Solar dropped everything and picked up the last item, excitedly she turned to her brand new friend "Akel! Akel! Wear this it'll help you see in the dark!" Solar said holding up one of the eyepatches happily sharing her newfound toys , proud of her discovery with a huge grin on her face. "In fact theres enough for everbody!"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on October 16, 2017, 10:30:49 AM
"It's nice for me, especially when I play music in my head in the rhythm of the explosions." Infrared commented.

Walking down the forest she recalled what she knew of sea and archipelago adventures from the few books she read and the fan-made thematic overhaul of Remnant: The Game (http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/Remnant:_The_Game) and made a comparison. "Wooden ships and iron man, beating jungles in adventures, and looking for Macguffins. Reality is unrealistic after all, I guess..."

"I'm Infrared."She reached down into the crate, took a backpack as advised and strapped with the back on the front, then searched for useful tools, taking a flashlight, the box of mining charges, and a first aid kit and put them into her backpack."Probably not, since you can't crack flesh like you do on rock. The damage area is small too and the reach is short. Not to mention it's twohanded with weight for one hand." The unknowing Infrared gave her prediction on the combat use of that thermal drill before looking up and saw Rust pointing the thing at her. "Workplace safety buddy. don't ever point an on power tool at something you don't intend to use it on." She reminded him before gears clicked and she made a guess at the seeming hostility of the other Faunus. Her eyes widen and ears instinctively straightened, but do not make any reaction with her hand that would escalate the situation.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on October 22, 2017, 03:57:14 PM
(OOC: Skipping Edgey -- 5 day rule.)


" 'Ey, now, let's take it easy." Cordell tried to soothe over the sudden spike of tensions in the group. She looked Alizarin's way with an uplifted eyebrow. "Aye, it'll do plenty o' damage, alright... but ye ain't takin' nobody by surprise with it. Once it gets spun up an' producin' a heat lance it'll melt through just about anythin', but only after about ninety seconds or so, an' while its runnin' it sounds like an old gear box havin' a jolly romp with a dirt bike. Not somethin' worth it's salt in a fight. Besides which, yer plenty deadly without an oversize blowtorch, mate -- we saw that plain as day back on th' beach."

"Now these," She plucked a support strut from the box and gestured to a knob and switch on the side. "Are basically pistons, though only designed t' go one way. Place em' on the ground, turn th' knob, hit th' button. Goes up until it it hits somethin' solid, then stops. Instant roof support." She smiled bemusedly at Solar, picking up another glowstick. "These're simple -- jus' do like so." She proceeded to gently bend the glowstick until it made a faint 'crack' sound, then handed it off to the ram-headed Faunus girl.

Once everyone was finished gearing up, the pirate captain lead the group into the cave. The shallow water sloshed lightly underfoot, stirring up sand with each step, but the ground was otherwise solid. Approaching the wall, Cordell turned back to the group. "Quizy, fill 'em in while I do me thing, ay?" She then placed one hand on the smooth stone wall, closed her eyes, and fell silent.

"Y-yes, well," Quisling, who'd kept to himself until this point, cleared his throat and addressed the assembled adventurers. "Miss Cordell was chosen for this expedition not just d-d-due to her s-s-s-s-ship and knowledge of pirate lore. She's a-a-a-actually got a very useful talent -- a f-form of Aura-based 'radar' that picks up certain types of things. From the documents we studied it b-became clear that the pirates of old who u-u-used this island must have had a way to avoid detection by Mistral's n-navy, who would h-have s-s-s-s-surveyed these islands regularly. We can c-conclude that there must have been some sort of--"

"Gotcha!" A triumphal shout from Cordell interrupted the explanation, the pirate woman rushing over to a particular spot on the wall some feet away. Her hands reached about, as if feeling for something, for a minute or two before they brushed over a spot that started to glow faintly. Pressing her hand onto the spot, Cordell focused her Aura -- immediately, the sound of stone grinding against stone could be heard as a nearby portion of the rock face rose up from the ground, dust and pebbles falling into the water as it did.

"... secret door." Quisling, stunned, adjusted his glasses as he stared at the now-revealed entrance.

"Floatstone!" The captain, exuberant, explained. "Th' clever ol' bastards. Floatstone! Veins o' th' stuff're runnin' through th' whole mountain! Ye don't hear much about it these days, since Dust tech has basically replaced it, but wars used'ta be fought fer control o' good Floatstone deposits way back when. Some'a th' first airships are thought t' have used it -- a naturally found meldin' o' low quality Gravity Dust with common quartz. This much Floatstone would'a been a huge help t' Grimshaw assemblin' his fleets; explains a lot, honestly."

She peered down the tunnel, switching on her flashlight as she did. It was large enough for the group to travel comfortably, dry, and partially lined with old wooden slats. "Hellova thing... can't see how far it goes. Right then. Rust, Infrared, yer up front with me in case we need that drill or th' charges. Quizy--"

"M-miss Cordell, please don't think to have me stay with the ship!" There was definite fear in Quisling's voice, but also excitement. "This is the discovery of a lifetime, already! I can't just--

"--Was gonna say, b'fore ye interrupted me... you're behind us, with Solar an' Akel. This is all hands on deck, so stay close an' don't blind anybody with yer flashlights." She looked around at those assembled. "It ain't lost on me that so many o' ye are Faunus. Know that I got full respect for yer people an' what ye can do, so if'n anybody's got night vision or anythin' special as'll be useful in caves, by all means speak up. We've no right idea what we're gonna find past this point so every possible advantage counts."




Floatstones: ShowHide
[Floatstones]

Floatstones, more scientifically known as clathrates or cocrystal clusters of gravity-aligned Dust embedded into common quartz, are among a handful of methods used for the construction and propulsion of antique airships. Floatsone-using airships were, in fact, often built around the stone that would empower it, as the size and shape of the crystal were important factors in determining the layout of the ship's control systems. This was always a case of employing a single crystalline mass -- engineers of the age couldn't figure out the complex mechanisms that would be needed to guide two Floatsone cores at once, and by the time science and engineering were up to the challenge Floatstones had long since been replaced by more modern, more reliable forms of aerial conveyance.

Floatstones are curious objects. Typically possessing a low Dust-to-quartz ratio, the stones are not particularly valuable on the modern market but will occasionally be incorporated into novelty toys, interactive artwork installations, and other such fancies. The greater the concentration of Dust, however, the longer and higher a Floatstone can levitate. This made unusually large or rich crystal clusters effective for the airships of centuries ago; many fortunes were made and lost by those who prospected for Floatstone deposits, and history records several battles that were fought to control the largest of these. Use of Floatstones, however, has always been a bit tricky -- thus why not all ancient airship designs relied upon them. The stones themselves are incredibly stable and reliable but the directional thrust they grant, even in the best of cases, is rather paltry, making them more suited for long distance travel than fast maneuvering. Additionally, some stones have been recorded as having what scholars call an 'Aura bond', harmonizing with one or more particular individuals over time and use... but becoming unusable to others in the process. This made it hard for airship captains whose ships had a bonded stone to relinquish command; some cases have been known, often among family members, but the mechanism behind "transferable imprinting" isn't clearly understood.

Among the methods of controlling a Floatstone used throughout history, arguably the best was known as the 'conduit method'. Predating the discovery of circuitry, a Floatstone control conduit nonetheless resembled it in a primitive way. A dozen braided ropes, each infused with Dust in their weave, were attached to the ship's Floatstone core; these then ran throughout the inner workings of the ship (to ensure that they would not all be easily damaged or destroyed, sending the ship groundward) and converging at the ship's helm where the ropes were carefully knotted through the wheel's center and then wound tightly around each rung. With this method it became possible for a captain to both steer the ship physically and guide it by carefully exerting their Aura.

One notable modern use of Floatstone is its incorporation into the design of the grand Amity Stadium, where the single largest Floatstone cluster of modern times works in tandem with other systems to suspend the floating island high above the ground.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on October 23, 2017, 01:36:55 PM
A cloud hung over Solar as she was ignored by her attempts to share the eyepatches. Mmm...no one wants it she thought sadly.
She was brought out of her momentary sadness when Cordell passed her the lit glowstick. Huh, How does snapping it like that make it glow? What was that cracking noise? Whats this water in here that glows? She wondered, shaking up the fluid inside the stick looking at it with one eye. She was distracted by the glowstick fiddling with the illumination device, in fact she took it upon herself to crack another one. She mindlessly followed the group completely ignoring Quisling's explanation.
It wasn't until Cordell's discovery was she brought out of her stupor.


"Gotcha!" A triumphal shout from Cordell interrupted the explanation, the pirate woman rushing over to a particular spot on the wall some feet away. Her hands reached about, as if feeling for something, for a minute or two before they brushed over a spot that started to glow faintly. Pressing her hand onto the spot, Cordell focused her Aura -- immediately, the sound of stone grinding against stone could be heard as a nearby portion of the rock face rose up from the ground, dust and pebbles falling into the water as it did.


"Woow! Cool! Betcha there are traps everywhere like you step on a rock and arrows shoot out of the wall!"


"--Was gonna say, b'fore ye interrupted me... you're behind us, with Solar an' Akel. This is all hands on deck, so stay close an' don't blind anybody with yer flashlights." She looked around at those assembled. "It ain't lost on me that so many o' ye are Faunus. Know that I got full respect for yer people an' what ye can do, so if'n anybody's got night vision or anythin' special as'll be useful in caves, by all means speak up. We've no right idea what we're gonna find past this point so every possible advantage counts."


"Oh come on Capn can't I be in front too?" Solar complained childishly, her excitement taking over and ignoring the fact Cordell intentionally placed the older, more experienced members of the group up front. "And plus if it's nightvision you want I got you covered!" She said joyously as she at last removed her eyepatch and slid it on her head, a proud grin on her face that said 'wanna know a secret?'.

Taken:
1 Cutlass
5 Collapsible pneumatic Supports
10 unused glowsticks (2) lit up
1 first aid kit
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on October 25, 2017, 01:40:16 AM
"I've for night-vision." Pointing to her headset but not daring to take them off (Let's just say Akel grabbed a bunch of light, non-breakable gear). "Awww, you want to abandon me so quickly?" While Akel took the eyepatch placed it above her right eye and just allowed it be covered by her bangs. Listening to her companions as she just followed behind, she walked backwards as they entered the secret door, keeping an eye out if anything were to come from behind.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on October 25, 2017, 06:51:00 AM
"That's every faunus. Which is apparently all four of us." Infrared pointed out at the mention of night vision.
"I'm also pretty sure whatever that substance is, it isn't plain water. Either some Dust mixture or mundane chemical solution, seeing that it helps our sight". She tried to look up with her scroll exactly what those are. No signal, of course.
"Wearing an eyepatch would probably hinder that though."
She walked with the group and silently watched the gate to the cave open. Her guess was jossed at the explanation of floatstones, hoping for a mechanical gate rather than Dust. She flicked on her flashlight and observed what is in there. "Well does bouncing off whatever was shot out of a trap count?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on October 26, 2017, 01:43:14 PM
 "Guess I'll get the chance to find out soon enough." Alizarin responded to Infrared as he put the drill in his bag. Then Cordell interjected.  "There's no such thing as being deadly enough. In our line of work especially we always need to be getting better at getting something before it gets you. But I see your point on using it as a weapon. Shame. could've been fun."


 "You got it boss. Or captain I guess." Alizarin walked to the front of the group and shook his arms out slightly. phsyching himself up for whatever was to come.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on October 29, 2017, 12:07:48 PM
PROGRESS MAP: ShowHide
(https://i.imgur.com/ppmtnA6.jpg)




Cordell found herself both sighing and smiling at Solar's enthusiasm -- one thing the younger woman was never lacking in. "But who'm I gonna trust t' watch me back if everyone's in front, aye?" She added a telling wink on the end to let the ram Faunus know she understood her eagerness before addressing the rest of the group. "So, low light vision be a given for Faunus? Ehh, one more fer th' list o' things I should'a known, I guess. Right then, that'll definitely help -- an I'll be extra sure not t' aim me torch at anybody's face. No idea if there be traps like that, but let's go carefully juuuuust in case, aye?"

"If it's a-a-a-all the same, miss Cordell, I'll let you and t-the others handle any such things."

Cordell shrugged. "Figured as much. Just keep yer eyes peeled an' try not t' wet yerself, Quizy." After a brief chuckle at the historian's expense, Cordell gave parting orders to Delayahe to set the ship down on a nearby island and wait for contact -- it was likely, after all, that they'd be cut off from communications once the group entered the tunnels. As the ship turned and departed Cordell waved her fellow adventurers on, leading the way into the tunnels...





  M U S I C A L ~ S H I F T 
Dark Ambient Playlist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSS_tDfeLOk)
by (Various Artists)


Uncomfortably dark and dry, the tunnel wove, dipped, and climbed beneath the skin of the world, a path of shadows broken only by the beams of light and echoing footsteps that the treasure seekers brought with them. This was a place that no living soul had ventured in hundreds of years, and it gave off a distinct impression of not wanting visitors. Less than a dozen feet inside the group would find a rugged iron torch-holder bolted into the stone walls, though it was conspicuously empty. A hundred feet onward there was another... and after that they started finding the bones.

Those Faunus in the group with particularly keen senses of smell were likely to have sniffed out the scent of dry marrow and rust long before seeing the first skeleton. It lay up against the wall, seemingly untouched since death and allowed to rot away. Lodged between its lower ribs was an ancient looking steel cutlass, still showing the etched face of a Beowolf on the flat of the blade -- the mark of the Iron Wolves pirates. Quisling made a fuss about taking images of it with his Scroll before letting the group move on, but as it turned out that wasn't the only grisly specimen to be had. The further along the group went the more such ancient corpses they found, most with swords, shields, or flintlock-style pistols somewhere near at hand. It was hard to tell whether these were the weapons they'd been slain by or ones they'd died fighting with, but signs of the battle from long ago still remained: old fashioned bullets lodged in the stone or laying among the wooden floor slats, scorch marks on the walls and ceiling, gouges in the rock that looked like they'd been made with a blade, and distinct cracks and crevices that suggested brutal impacts. The dusty silence that accompanied them to each discovered scene seemed to lay heavy in the air, an almost palpable pressure...

"At least we know we're in th' right place." Cordell whispered as they trudged past what had to be the fourteenth or fifteenth pile of bones.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on October 29, 2017, 01:31:37 PM
Quote
"But who'm I gonna trust t' watch me back if everyone's in front, aye?"

"But I..."
Quote
"Awww, you want to abandon me so quickly?"
"What no! I just umm..." Solar panicking looking back and forth between Cordell and Akel, Akel's sarcasm lost on her Solar thinking she legititmately hurt her feelings. "Fiiine I'll be in the back" Solar said in defeat, she slowed down to wait for Akel and couldn't hold back her grin when she saw her wearing an eyepatch just barely poking out behind her bangs.
"That's every faunus. Which is apparently all four of us."
This comment confused Solar, there was the cat? Faunus with the black tail whos name was lost on her, there was Infrared who was obviously a rabbit faunus, there was her, sooo "Whos the fourth faunus here? Wait is it glasses over there, is he a mouse faunus?"  Indicating Quisling, she asked Infrared in a whisper slightly embarrased she wasn't able to tell by herself.

Upon reaching the bones she couldn't help but ask too many questions, perhaps louder then the situation called for "Woow! What happend here? Was it a mutiny between the pirates? Was it a fight between two different pirate groups? Wait if it was two pirate groups how did the second group find this place? *GASP Maybe the second group betrayed the first one!Or the other way around? Why were they fighting here of all places? Seems pretty dangerous to be settting off explosives down here, was there a reason they fought here? Doesn't look like a good place for an ambush, and why did the winners here leave behind their weapons? - Oh! Cool! An old pirate pistol! How the heck does this thing work?   she asked outloud picking up one of the rusted flintlock pistols that were no doubt beyond repair.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on November 10, 2017, 09:20:23 PM
"Who else could you reasonably group into 4 out of us?" Infrared pointed at the girl with the headphone.

Along the way Infrared kept her silence, only commenting once, preferring to watch the terrain ahead. "We're better off leaving them be and let the group of experts worry about them after we've finished this."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on November 10, 2017, 11:32:16 PM
"Well thank you for deducing that miss... artillery? I'm sorry but I can't recall your name." Akel tapped her headphones, particually the part which covered her bat ears in particular. "We talked about this earlier, remember?
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on November 11, 2017, 09:30:01 AM
(OOC: Skipping Arcus -- time to move the story along.)


"My, such an i-i-i-inquisitive young miss!" Quisling crooned at Solar's battery of questions and speculations, chuckling softly to himself. "All very g-good questions. You have the makings of a h-h-historian, perhaps!"

Before he could say anything more, Cordell stopped suddenly and signaled for the group to stop. Just ahead the tunnels opened into a large cave that stretched back into darkness -- sweeping it with flashlights revealed what looked like a miniature makeshift village of rough-hewn wooden buildings, more than half of which were nothing more than piles of timber collapsed from the passing of the ages. Barrels and crates lay littered about, the faint smell of what may once have been provisions wafting in the air, and here and there could be spotted yet more skeletons in various states. The Faunus in the group, if they strained their senses as far as they could go, would just barely make out that further back in the cave lay a large structure of some kind, though details from this far away just weren't possible -- it was a rough silhouette in the dark, nothing more.

"...By th' gods!" At first, Cordell could scarcely manage a whisper, flashlight going to and fro as she took in the pirate outpost. "This... this must be it! Has t' be! Grimshaw's base of operations, hidden down under th' mountain!" She turned to look at the others, her grin absolutely beaming. "If'n there's anythin' t' be found, it'll be here. Let's get --"

A sound echoed through the vast cavern, where nothing ought to be moving... a dry scraping sound, accompanied by what sounded like wind. Even though it wasn't loud per say it seemed to cut through the air like a knife, stopping the pirate mid thought. In the breath-held stillness, the sound repeated... then began to grow, both louder and closer. Whipping out a pistol, Cordell turned to survey their surroundings with an anxious urgency, trying to find the source with both her flashlight and her Semblance at once...

... until, unexpectedly, a pinpoint of orange light rose from behind one of the buildings. The flashlight focused on it at once, revealing what looked like a round bone-hued mask with a single glowing eye in the middle of it. The very air seemed to quiver around the thing, and the darkness grew thick as ink even where the flashlight shone. Cordell's next word put voice to the threat that now presented itself.

"GEIST!"


(https://i.imgur.com/0VtJdnN.png)



Tendrils of unnatural dark power materialized around the Grimm phantom, launching off into the shadows as it let loose an echoing screech that resonated throughout the whole cavern. Trying to seize initiative Cordell dashed forwards, firing shots as she went, but she didn't get far. The color of the Geist's eye suddenly shifted, becoming a deep purple, and in the next instant a bolt of energy like lightning lanced from its gaze and hit her dead-on, sending her flying into a building. The wooden structure, weakened after so much time, collapsed on top of her.

At the same time, the scraping sounds from earlier were becoming more numerous -- and getting closer. From out of the shadows came the reanimated dead, skeletons given motion and violence by the Geist's malevolent powers. Bony fingers picked up swords, clubs, pistols, any weapon that was lying about, even grabbing up broken bits of wood where nothing else presented itself. Their empty eye sockets glowed the same unnatural amber hue as their master, and with a silent rallying cry the skeleton army charged the explorers who'd dared trespass this ancient tomb.

"From b-behind! T-t-they're coming from behind!" Quisling, terrified, pointed his flashlight back into the tunnel as the sound of bones scraping stone reached him, and not moments after the first skeleton stepped into the light with a cutlass in hand.

Culling the Grimm on the beach had been a good warm up, but there was no support to be had here. The adventurers would have to fight for their lives.



(http://i.imgur.com/0PZnw9S.png)
TARGETS:
▪ BOSS: ANCIENT GEIST ▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉
▪ Reanimated Skeletons (various weapons) [36 / 36]
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on November 11, 2017, 10:28:23 AM
Solar couldn't help but smile, this was another obstacle she had to overcome before she could reach that place, she had to get stronger then she was yesterday, and tommorow she'll get stronger then that, and then the next, and then the next. She watched in fascination as she watched Cordell get easily knocked away, gauging just how strong and fast the creature could hit.
"Alright come on!, Bring it!" Solar roared, she took a modified runners stance with one hand on her weapon outstretched to her right side. Her body glowed orange for as long as possible before the skeletons could reach her.  10 second charge... FIRE!
Solar fired off like a human rocket straight for the Geists mask, the most obvious weak point.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on November 11, 2017, 11:23:43 AM
With the appearance of the Geist and skeletons Alizarin made a few quick assumptions. The Geist is probably controlling the skeletons. So If I kill it the skeletons die. With any luck they may rid me of some of the cannon fodder in the process. With plan firmly in mind Alizarin clamped his hands together as the blades on his right arm attached to his left before fusing together into his arm mounted chainsaw. With his semblance Alizarin flung himself straight at the Geist. Coincidentally arriving at about the same time as Solar. Alizarin swung his chainsaw wide hoping to cut horizontally across the mask.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on November 13, 2017, 05:43:55 PM
"Guess I'll be protecting Quisling then." Akel looked at Solar and Alizarin with discontent, seeing them rush off at the first sight of a large grimm. Granted it was controlling the skeletons but putting some thought into who or what you're protecting amd given roles. Letting the weapon transform into its scythe form she moved back and placed a hand on Quis "Don't stray from me and you'll be fine, all the guns should be rusted beyond use and their melee weapons won't be much to deal with. Just don't run away."

Akel begun her little dance, hitting the skeletons at their torso with the blunt side to scatter their bones all over the place so they hopefully wouldn't just come back to life. The length of her scythe made it easy to stay out of reach of the skeletons whilst keeping them away from Quis, although she did wish she someone would check-up on Cordell to make sure she wasn't dead. "Is the captain alive?! Anyone with an idea?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on November 17, 2017, 12:01:15 PM
"It's Infrared. I don't think I've caught your name either."



As the only girl protecting Quis calls out Infrared rushes to Cordell, even though she's more than confident that she wasn't harmed judging from the fact that a dust shield (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SmokeShield) formed after the wooden building collapsed on her. Still, in case that is subverted and as appropriate in combat, she need to check on her. She rushed to the side of the debris and found Cordell. she brought out the Med-aid kit and check for wounds.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on November 19, 2017, 12:44:38 PM
Solar and Rust's aggression seized the initiative, forcing the Geist onto defense. As they were coming at it the creature manifested two large black arms with sharp, talon-like fingers and crossed them over itself protectively -- these took the brunt of the impact from the attacks but still caused it to shriek in pain from the force of Solar's impact and the bite of Alizarin's blades. Reeling backwards, it retaliated; once more it's eye flashed a deep purple hue, but instead of an energy bolt this time it released a spherical shockwave to repel its attackers. As soon as they were at a distance the Geist aimed its hands at them, summoning clusters small orbs of orange energy in its claws and lobbing them vengefully at Solar and Alizarin. These would explode the moment they touched anything; though not doing a terrible amount of damage each they were still best avoided.



Quisling, looking absolutely terrified at this point, nodded fervently at Akel's instructions to stay close by. The scythe was making quick work of any skeleton foolish enough to close in on her, sending loose bones flying this way and that. The bony bastards seemed like absolute pushovers... until they started firing at her. The Beacon student was right that the old pistols and blunderbusses were long since rusted beyond use, but that mattered less to the Geist that was animating these minions than the fact that these tools of violence could conduct its power. From the skeletons charging out of the cavern's darkness a sound vaguely imitating pistol-fire could be heard, followed by several bullet-sized bolts of amber energy shooting Akel's way.



"Argh..." Cordell, clearly a bit shaken by the impact she'd taken -- as well as having a house dropped on her immediately thereafter -- was still struggling to get out from under debris and pick herself up when Infrared got to her. The captain coughed and sputtered in the dust, her right arm moving far less than the other as she struggled to free herself. Seeing the rabbit Faunus, she managed to lift away a wooden beam and drag herself from the debris. "Do yerself a favor, lass -- do not let th' Geist hit ye with that. ACK! I think me arm's messed up -- damnit!" Indeed, Infrared's inspection would find, along with several scrapes and cuts, that Cordell's right arm had been dislocated somewhere between getting blasted and getting house'd.

There was little time to treat the injury, however, as a gaggle of skeletons started coming towards the two women, two of which were firing pistols at them. The first volley of shots struck wood as Cordell leapt to cover, sending up a spray of splinters and grit as they impacted. "You deal with them, I'll set me arm. Go!"





TARGETS:
▪ BOSS: ANCIENT GEIST ▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉
▪ Reanimated Skeletons (various weapons) [27 / 36]
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on November 19, 2017, 01:50:33 PM
As Solar impacted with Alizarian, his chainsaw was closer to her then she would have liked. A ten second charge wasn't too taxing on Solar but it was enough to prevent her from backing off from the Geist. She was pracitcally standing right in front of it when its eye started to glow purple again, she was scared for a moment as she wasn't sure she could dodge the blast that knocked away Cordell at such close range.
Instead she was relieved as the lightening never came but instead a shockwave blast knocked her backwards a fair distance. Tumbling backwards Solar scrambled to get back up just barely in time to see the orange orbs that were no doubt not anything good. None of them were direct hits but she was still too close to the explosions to earn her a few burns and shards of shrapnel for her trouble. As she regained a rythem for dodging the orbs she yelled at Alizarian "Hey Tails! Watch where your swinging that! I can take this thing myself!"  she couldn't. She just wanted to see for her self if she could.

Aura:80%
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on November 20, 2017, 02:22:24 AM
Rust grunted as his attack was blocked by the geist. He revved the chainsaw in an attempt to cut through the Geist's arm before it pulled away and sent him sprawling across the ground.  "ok. that didn't work quite like I'd planned. Oh crap." As he got to his feet he saw the orange orbs incoming. he reached back with his right arm and made an action similar to grabbing something before flinging it forward making a throwing motion in front of him. Using his semblance the gesture caused a forceful gust of wind to slam into the orbs causing them to detonate in mid air and spreading the explosion around him without him suffering any of the impact. From the outside it may look as if it had connected however due to the blast still visibly enveloping him. Following the blast he heard the shouting from Solar and decided sarcasm to be the best response.  "Sure you can kid. We need to drop it quickly though so you'll have to deal with my help." As he spoke he saw more projectiles incoming and once again used him semblance to destroy them  "Guess I'll give that a try. Let's see you block this!" Alizarin raked his claws across the air in front of him while simultaneously "punching" the Geist in the side of the head with the air surrounding it. Should this have any visible effect he would begin rapidly swinging his arm around in front of him. Each swing relating to a strike with the wind on the geist.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on November 25, 2017, 09:14:51 PM
Akel gazed into the tunnels as more of the reanimated forces came at her, with guns no less. She didn't think much about it until she heard the familiar sound of pistol fire. Bringing her weapon into its sword form she let the flat of the blade make contact with the energy bolts as she replied with her own bullets. The rims of the moving as she pressed the buttons to allow the handguard to manipulate the weapon. The skeleton remains of the enemies meant she didn't have a large target, so she shot off four bullets to the skeletons and kept up her defence.

"How are you holding up Quisliing? Having a good time?" Akel making casual conversation before the skeletons would come into melee range and just smash them to pieces, it was better to do that since she didn't have a shotgun, explosives nor a nice easy target with flesh plus the addition of a target to protect meant she should keep him close as a bodyguard.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on November 26, 2017, 12:14:53 AM
"Your Aura is out ALREADY!? It just Worfed you?" Infrared is stunned at just how powerful the Geist is. To distract the skeletons Infrared ran among them hitting them with her sword and luring them away. A charge is planted on the way. So when they're just far away enough, "EXPLOOOOSION!"

Running back to Cordell she helped checking on her arm, ready to pull out the Med-aid kit again.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on November 26, 2017, 11:03:24 AM
With the explosions from the Geist's energy attacks lighting up the cavern, Rust would have a clear enough view of it to direct his Semblance with accuracy -- the surprise strike came, literally, out of thin air and took the adversary completely by surprise. It didn't quite seem to understand how it had been attacked either, spending several seconds searching the cavern for additional attackers instead of continuing its assault.

Unfortunately, its eye fell upon a bright explosion below, and a scream that accompanied it...





Quisling was basically cowering at this point, ducking low and glancing about nervously as Akel's blade flashed through the air in sweeping arcs. "PLEASE, don't let them take meeeee!" Was the only response he could muster to the bat Faunus' question. Fortunately for them both Akeldama was proving more than a match for her opponents, juggling the incoming fire with practiced, steady ease and swiftly dispatching each walking bone pile as it came within reach. The remaining skeletons coming at them were far fewer now, and it seemed that their position would hold.

And then, the cavern rumbled with a sound like thunder.

The first round struck well wide of the entrance but impacted the cave wall with terrible force, kicking up a cloud of dust as rock fragments went flying. Perhaps two hundred feet away on the rooftop of one of the taller buildings stood a pair of skeletons manning an old fashioned airship cannon, already beginning to reload it with a glowing clump of red Dust, a heavy iron ball, and a dry old rope fuse. In the dark cavern they stood out only due to the dim, unnatural-looking amber flame of the torch one carried, lit by the Geist's power, no doubt. There was no guarantee they would miss the second time -- Akel and Quisling needed either to move, take out the pirate artillery piece, or both.





Cordell had no time to ask what "worfed" meant, taking the opportunity while Infrared fended off the attackers to brace herself against the wreckage and try, through gritted teeth, to force her arm back into place. She'd seen it done in movies and the like, but never quite imagined herself ending up in such a spot. Yet, here she was... on a treasure hunt, surrounded by "ghost pirates", and trying desperately to shove her arm back into its socket. In some ways, this was a nightmare.

In other ways, she'd never felt so damned ALIVE.

The captain's scream was partially masked as Infrared let loose one of the mining charges -- for a moment she mistook the bright flash for just another layer of searing pain, but the moment passed. Her arm hurt like hell itself, but she could move it again. None too soon, as it turned out, as their phantom "friend" had suddenly taken a renewed interest in their end of things. Cordell found herself looking the creature's way as a faint electric sensation filled the stale dusty air, something she realized she'd felt just before it had hit her with that dark energy bolt earlier; once again its eye had changed color... and as Infrared was returning to help Cordell the Grimm's gaze fell on the rabbit Faunus.

"DODGE!!"





TARGETS:
▪ BOSS: ANCIENT GEIST ▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉
▪ Reanimated Skeletons (various weapons) [19 / 36]
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on November 26, 2017, 01:55:26 PM
 "Sure you can kid. We need to drop it quickly though so you'll have to deal with my help."
The sarcasm wasn't lost on her,
angirly she roared "I'll show you!" She would not show him.

Chief and Dad could beat this thing in their sleep, I'm gonna be better then them! With that thought in mind she blinded herself to everything else. She never saw if Infrared got hit or not, and left Akel with the cannon. Watching Alizarin manipulate the very air like some kind of magical ability, she couldn't help but be jealous. Solar cursed her own semblance, she loved its raw destructive power and speed, it was simple and she used it often. But she hated its drawbacks, she hated waiting, she hated how useless she felt after using it, and she was way too impatient to truly use it effectively. So for now she didn't.

    She just charged, no plan, no thought, no fear. Axe in hand she once again leapt straight up for the mask and cleaved in an upwards motion, reaching her peak she followed up with a downwards slam with her whole body weight, whatever lay in her path she would break. Or try anyway.

Aura: 80%
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on November 27, 2017, 10:13:10 AM
Seeing the his success Alizarin increased the speed and power of his semblance assault on the Geist completely disregarding all of the others in the room. Leaving them to sort their own shit out. This however lead to him not noticing Solar charging at the Geist. Straight into the area around it when he was manipulating the air. With not time to call for her to stop Alizarin resolved to continue his attack. If she's dumb enough to get hit by her own side that's her problem.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on November 27, 2017, 03:08:02 PM
Akel covered her eyes at the sound of dust and fragmented rocks going everywhere, her eyes trailing towards the old building with a lit torch on the top, and a cannon. Great. Akel didn't possess the necessary firepower to cause the giant clump of dust to explode nor the means to get up there in time. So without wasting a moment she placed her weapon on her magnetic holster and grabbed Quisling in a princess carry to get behind the cover of a nearby building. She could deal with the cannon easier when Quisling was moderately safe, but for now, she had to take care of the scientist without the all-powerful defensive barrier called aura.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on November 29, 2017, 11:36:04 AM
Infrared did not look at the other big explosion, trusting her teammates to whatever they're doing, and so herself to whatever she's doing, in this case checking on Cordell. She dusted off the splinters and tries to disinfect the wounds from them with alcohol from the kit.
"Confirm with me, is your Aura up?"
Infrared asked, then followed the sight of the captain when she provided no response. They fall on the geist, watching the two smack away at them, and then the eye turning a purple that resembled the light gave off when the bolt-

"DODGE!!"

Infrared braced the impact with the bolt but it hit her stomach. As soon as she's hit the poor rabbit faunus drops to the ground crouching and rolling. If you're really observant you can even see a hint of tears. A great effort is made to hold her screaming into whimpers and as soon as the need of that rescinds she started panting heavily still kneeling on the ground. It's going to be fine though, she thinks, as her semblance should have returned the thing to sender.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on November 30, 2017, 07:47:15 PM
TRIPLE THREAT
TEAM STRIKE ACHIEVED!



Solar's upward cleave came just after the Geist unleashed its blast, and it was timely: the creature seemed to be sluggish for a few seconds after firing off the energy bolt, and although it tried to turn out of the way of the ram Faunus' strike her weapon still scraped across its mask with a shower of sparks, eliciting a ghastly, echoing howl of pain from the ethereal Grimm...

... and leaving it wide open.

Somehow, Rust's air strikes managed not to hit Solar directly, causing only a glancing blow from below that actually lifted her up and away from what was to come -- the Geist, meanwhile, was pummeled from all sides and effectively pinned. The reflected bolt of dark purple energy came screaming back across the cavern with all the power and fury it'd been unleashed with, striking the Grimm in it's vaporous side. Erratic energies sparked and fizzled around its body as it tried to cope, stunned and dazed... and, again, left wide open when Solar came crashing down on it blade-first. The mask splintered and cracked beneath the blow, and sheer strength sent it flying downwards to crash into one of the buildings. The structure collapsed around the point of impact in a huge shower of sawdust and flying timber.

"Hot damn..." Cordell remarked at the spectacle, then quickly turned her attention back to Infrared. The poor girl had taken the blast head on... and somehow reflected it back. The pirate captain couldn't help but be impressed, but the state the rabbit Faunus was in was no joke. Gritting her teeth at the effort, Cordell made her way over and tried to figure out what she could do for her teammate. "Hang in there, ay! That was a hellova thing you did. Don't go givin' up th' ghost just -- "

She was briefly interrupted as a familiar red energy crackled back to life around her body; Cordell felt her Aura -- weakened, but still there -- flow back into her. The blast from earlier had cut her reserves down to about half, but had somehow also disabled her Aura's protection for a matter of minutes. "So that's what happened." She put her hand on the Atlas student's shoulder. "It knocks yer Aura out fer a bit, disrupts it somehow, but it comes back -- most o' it, anyhow. Stay strong, yer gonna be okay, alright?"

For the moment, it seemed as if the Geist was done for. As the fallen building settled the skeletons throughout the cave stopped in place, then collapsed into inanimate piles of bones. Cowering where Akel had put him down, Quisling noticed the silence and dared to peek his head up. Silence had fallen throughout the underground once again...

... only to be shattered by the sound of shifting timer, clattering bones, and a ghostly scream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kguQ4TDiETA). The Geist, half its mask battered and barely-held-together, rose from the wrecked building and drifted upwards towards the cave ceiling. It was glowing an unearthly purple hue around the edges, it's darkened eye seeming almost to burn with an unsteady purple flame. Spreading its hands outwards it wailed like a banshee -- all at once the rattling bones leapt upwards and shot towards the Grimm beast, swirling about it like a cyclone before one by one settling into place. From the remains of the long dead it forged long spindly hands with cutlasses for claws, six spider-like legs, a rough imitation of a ribcage for a torso, and a protective bone "helmet" to shield its one real vulnerability. A tendril of dark essence shot out and scooped up the cannon from its rooftop vigil, encasing it within the bones of its chest so that only the end of the barrel protruded. With its new form assembled it set its malevolent gaze on Solar; landing between buildings, it raced forward on skittering legs with claws brandished, slashing at her as it closed the distance.


(https://i.imgur.com/FoNjGev.png)
  M U S I C A L ~ S H I F T 
Heart of the Swarm Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaBnHTZXrOo)
from StarCraft II





TARGETS:
▪ BOSS: ANCIENT GEIST ~ NECRO GIGAS FORM ▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉
▪ Reanimated Skeletons (various weapons) [N/A]

[The Necro Gigas is an unsettling abomination, its body assembled from the bones of its victims and whatever trophies it deems fit to take. Unlike the Petra Gigas, which focuses on heavy blunt attacks and a solid defense, and the Arma Gigas with its overpowering size and deadly blade, the Necro Gigas is comparatively fragile, swift, and focused on attacking wildly and aggressively. This is a form of vengeance and bloodlust, and should be answered with swift, accurate, decisive counter-attacks by anyone bold enough to engage one in combat.]
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on December 01, 2017, 12:22:37 PM
Feeling the rush of air below her, Solar felt herself propelled much higher then she had intended. She mistook this for Alizarin intentionally helping her "Thanks for the lift!". With the monster battered around by both Alizarin's semblance and the reflected blast from Infrared she had an easy shot at the mask on the way down. "Take this!" she roared with a slam right on target, with a satisfying crunch her axe embedds it's damage into the mask, but still not quite breaking it. By her strength the mask gets sent flying with a crash into one of the buildings.

     After some time passed with no movement and Solar breathing heavily catching her breath,thinking she had beaten it Solar triumphantly faces Alizarin with a victorious grin "Ha! Told you I could beat... a terrifying ghostly scream interrupted her, high pitched and shaking her very eardrums the shriek forced Solar to cover her ears. "...it?" the Grimm was clearly far from beat, witnessing its new form she couldn't help but admire the monster's clever use of bones and its enviroment as both armor and an entirely new arsenal "ooh cool..." she admitted. 
     Until it came slashing at her with its brand new claws with merciless fury. "Not cool! Not cool! Not coool! she retracted immediately, She backed up from the monster batting away the sword fingers with her axe, but her weapon was no sheild. While she knocked away one hand with a swing, there was nothing she could do to prevent the other to come swiping at her. The result was her taking an entire handful of the blades for damage as she was knocked away and sent flying.

Aura: 45%
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on December 02, 2017, 12:01:14 AM
As Solar landed and seemingly took the Geist with it Alizarin returned her smile.   Well that went better than expected.  "Nice work! AAAAGGGH WHAT THE FUCK!"  Alizarin yelped as the scream reached his ears and caused them to hurt from the volume. After the sounds stopped and Rust finally re-opened his eyes and un-gritted his teeth he looked up to see what the Geist had turned itself into.  "Was wondering when he was gonna do that." As the Geist charged at Solar Alizarin went to swing the wind at the second claw but was too late and saw Solar knocked into the air. In response he boosted himself upwards going to catch her before a bad landing hurt her any further.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on December 03, 2017, 08:48:18 AM
[OOC: The montage linked is not comical at all and a big spoiler of Puella Magi Madoka Magica but it's an accurate montage for Infrared.]

Still gritting a bit Infrared gets up and explains. "That didn't technically hit. It was the work of my S-" She stutters as she staggers, and another flash of pain courses over her. "-Semblance. And I thought I have been through everything worse than Mom's 'final solution'..." She confirmed to herself that her aura is indeed there albeit with only five eighths of it left and a comical montage (https://youtu.be/QqeBNPTt1rU?t=1m28s) of pain. She looks towards the geist just in time to watch the geist being sent into a building. The pride of hers overcomes any traces of pain and she casually punches Cordell on the arm with combat level strength in joy.

Then the scream from the geist made her cover her ears both with itself and her hands. She frowns at the tactical choice of the gigas. "If you can go one-winged angel, why don't you do it right off the bat? Goes against every principle of combat I've been taught. Well, most of them."

While she brings out her charges once again she bears witness to it avenging its strikes beating up the Ram. I do plan to do exactly what you suggested with them... She monologued internally to her. She started throwing them to everyone she can see. "Don't do him directly!
 Use these!"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on December 03, 2017, 11:21:15 PM
Akel couldn't see what had happened to the geist, the quiet had given her the thought that it was destroyed, rather quickly at that. She looked towards the cannon and saw that the skeletons had indeed fallen. She was about to speak only for the ear-splitting scream, dropping her weapons as she pressed her hands against her human ears before she was able to adjust the volume on her headset. Bringing it back up to her regular volume as the scream died down she could hear the bones rattling as they moved to the Geist for round two.

Akel decided that since it was only one it would be best to hide Quisling from the geist sight. Grabbing by his arm and moving him into the building and into an old bathroom with walls on all sides "Stay down, stay quiet and don't you dare open this door." Before promptly leaving to retrieve her weapon to join the fight against the geist.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on December 08, 2017, 08:43:06 AM
Solar's defensive bash of the Necro Gigas' claw managed to send bones and blades scattering across the floor... briefly. A few moments later the materials of the lost "hand" rattled, glowed briefly, and leapt back into place, the Geist-form flexing its digits menacingly before reeling back for another blow.

It stopped when it saw Alizarin leap in to catch Solar, its arm relaxing slightly. Instead, a whirl of dark energies suddenly began to flow into the mouth of the canon, building to an ominous point of orange light. The Gigas seemed quite keen on an opportunity to attack two targets at once -- it would fire in a matter of moments if not interrupted.





'What're these references she keeps making?' Cordell wondered to herself as Infrared began tossing remote charges to the rest of the team, leaving the pirate to rub the freshly-punched and relocated arm. Confusion aside, it was clear that the rabbit Faunus had a plan -- a pretty good one at that. With the Geist-thing's chest canon starting to glow, however, it seemed like the plan needed a little help -- specifically, a distraction.

Switching out her ammo types as quick as she was able, Cordell opened fire on the Necro Gigas with a full volley of double-shot. The C-04 rounds weren't particularly damaging, especially since most of what they hit was just bones, but the coating of ice they left behind was enough to make it hard for the Grimm cadaver to move -- and draw it's attention. When its burning eye turned in her direction the captain was quick to fire the blade of her cutlass into the cave ceiling and zipline up and away from Infrared. "I'll distract it -- you make sure yer plan works!"

More ineffectual frost shots rained down as Cordell swung above the abandoned pirate outpost; the Necro Gigas, determined not to have its "body" frozen in place, shattered the ice layer from Cordell's shots and turned to fire at her. It's first round blew a hole in the side of one of the larger buildings just as she swung by it -- and like a struck pinata, a shower of gold coins, glittering in the explosion's brief light, flew from the freshly-made gap. The pirate couldn't help but gasp at the sight; the Geist's aggression had just revealed the hideout's treasure depot. Now their group just had to survive -- preferably by winning -- long enough to collect the loot.

There was something else that caught her eye, however, as she rose towards the cavern roof. In the distance, barely discernible in the gloom of the cave, was what looked to be an elevated platform of some kind... and resting on it, barely a silhouette to the eyes...

... was the outline of a ship.





Shoved into a tiny, dark, stale bathroom. If it weren't for the sounds of battle outside his current predicament would have been shameful... yet Quisling hunkered down and made the most of it, hoping desperately that the old building wouldn't come crashing down around his ears from an errant shot -- or just a board jostling loose. He closed his eyes and listened attentively, trying his best to make out the flow of events.

He was close now. So close to the treasure he sought...
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on December 09, 2017, 12:25:16 PM
Ow...Solar thought as she realized too late an entire hand of blades slashed at her and weakened her, she would've slammed into the ground if it weren't for an unlikely hero. "Hey! I didn't need your help"  she commented stubbornly as she found herself carried by Alizarin. A glint of orange caught her eye as she suddenly noticed the Grimm's cannon aimed at their direction ready to fire, still airborne Solar panicked "Putmedownordodge!
Putmedownordodge! Put me down or dodge!" though he didn't give him a choice as she unintentionally clung to him. Lucky for the two the monster was interrupted by Cordell's shots, and revealed the shower of treasure hidden by the structure. Though the reveal of the treasure caught her attention for a moment,her desire to beat the Grimm was stronger, rewards later.
Finally being let down and Alizarin landing she couldn't face him as she mumbled her thanks, she knew herself she wasn't strong enough yet, but she wasn't ready to admit it. "I broke it once I can break it again!" she declared, ignoring the first time was a group effort. Catching one of the charges Infrared threw, her arm begins to glow with the explosive raised above her head. 5 second charge, she counts and throws the bomb powered by her semblance.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on December 11, 2017, 12:41:33 PM
Well that's not good. Alizarin thought as he saw the cannon aiming at him and Solar.
"Hey! I didn't need your help"  she commented stubbornly as she found herself carried by Alizarin. A glint of orange caught her eye as she suddenly noticed the Grimm's cannon aimed at their direction ready to fire, still airborne Solar panicked "Putmedownordodge!
Putmedownordodge! Put me down or dodge!"
Alizarin went to comply and drop her only to feel her hands digging into his armour.  "LET GO OF ME IF YOU- OH SOD IT!" Alizarin coiled his legs up preparing to kick off the air in an attempt to evade the attack. As he propelled himself and Solar through the air Cordell successfully managed to draw the fire away from them. Landing finally Rust once again used the air as a cushion but even so landed on one knee, letting Solar off. He didn't hear her mumbled thanks as he was too busy focusing on his own labored breathing Damn. I overused my semblance. then a charge landed at his feet and he picked it up.  "Screw it. I got one or two more in me." He then wound back a whipped the charge at the Geist as hard as he could. Using his semblance to get eve more distance, aiming straight for the Geist's head. After which he collapsed to his hands and knees panting heavily.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on December 14, 2017, 02:13:31 AM
Infrared flipped off the cover of the detonation button and pressed it at once given how ferociously they threw their charge, hoping for a proximity detonation as close to the head as possible which she remarked at her mistake of not specifying. She now can only tense up and wait for the results, as well as anything the geist can throw at them.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on December 23, 2017, 03:40:53 PM
It seemed the Necro Gigas didn't even notice as the remote charges were hurled its way, so intent was it on targeting the swinging pirate -- only when Alizarin's charge, guided by his Semblance, stuck to the cage-helmet of bones around the Geist's mask did the phantom suddenly discover the devices which had adhered themselves to its cobbled-together body... and by that point it was already much too late.

BOOM!

The mining charges were, as one might expect, shaped explosives designed to punch a clean hole through solid stone. What they did to the Necro Gigas was akin to having several loaded shotguns go off at point-blank range, but dialed up to eleven -- for a brief moment of fire and fury the combined detonations forced it violently in several different directions all at once while simultaneously lighting up the entire cavern in stark flame-hued relief. If it screamed, it was impossible to hear over the force of the unified blasts, and in the aftermath the only sound to be heard was bone fragments scattering across the cavern floor.

In the renewed dark, now hazy with smoke, a single clawed black hand scraped against the stone as it pulled itself forward. The Geist was in tatters; its mask, fragmented and falling to pieces with every movement, was just the most visible sign of how utterly destroyed it now was. The hand it was dragging itself with was the only one it had left, and its ghostly body trailed behind it in barely clinging together ribbons. The orange light from its lone eye flickered, and with a dry, airy gasp it reached futilely towards the other end of the cavern -- as if willing itself towards something -- before the light went out entirely and the arm dropped, limp, to the ground. It was naught but black haze within a few moments.



(http://i.imgur.com/uDMsviI.png)




"Is... is it o-over? ...Hello? A-a-anyone out there?" Quisling voice echoed from the old building he'd been forcibly sheltered into.

Freeing her tethered blade from the stone roof, Cordell landed atop one of the remaining buildings and pulled her flashlight out, sweeping its beam over the scorched stone where the Geist had been slain with a satisfied grin. So much for the "curse" that had kept the pirates of old from reclaiming their hideout. "Oi, nicely done! You lot are a right terror when provoked -- my kinda people." Curiosity getting the better of her, she turned her light towards the far end of the cavern and squinted, trying to make out that shape again and wishing very much that she'd invested in night vision goggles for this endeavor. "Looks like they kept treasure in some'a these buildings; far as I'm concerned, if ye grab it now it's yours. I'm sure ol' Quizy'll wanna take pictures an' such, but ye damn straight earned it."

"I saw somethin' I wanna check out -- back in a jiff." There was something about the way she said it -- and the fact Cordell was willingly passing up an opportunity to dig into the treasure they'd discovered -- that suggested whatever she'd seen was not only important but personally so, like the cusp of a realized hope. In no time at all she was down from the rooftop and heading across the pirate shanty-town, her flashlight's glow getting further and further away with each urgent step.





(http://i.imgur.com/Bk1g9Kx.png)

 
If you opt to search the nearby buildings, you can simply decide for yourself what your character discovers (old gold & silver coins, jewelry, as well as Dust are all perfectly acceptable loot -- anything that reasonably could be pillaged and endured for 200 years) or if you'd like you can use this random generator (http://redkatart.com/dnd5tools/) (set to '17+') to determine your discoveries. Not all items in the generator are Remnant-applicable.

You also have the option to follow Cordell, though this passes up the first chance to claim loot. There will be additional loot opportunities before the thread ends and further treasure distributed upon completion of 'Hunt for the Howling Storm'.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on December 27, 2017, 10:51:57 AM
Sheilding herself from the explosion and projectile shrapnel, Solar tucked her eyes inside her elbow. With the blast passing over her she uncovered her eyes to see the remains of the Geist struggling to piece itself together in vein, only for it to fade away. "Woohoo! Nothing to it!" she cheered victoriously despiting taking many hits from it.

Quote
"Looks like they kept treasure in some'a these buildings; far as I'm concerned, if ye grab it now it's yours. I'm sure ol' Quizy'll wanna take pictures an' such, but ye damn straight earned it."

"I saw somethin' I wanna check out -- back in a jiff."

Treasure, Solar took a second to gawk at it scattered all over the ground, then at the building with the hole it came from, gold and jewels littering the floor like golden confetti. But that wasn't her nature, it wasn't lost on her that Cordell had a gift for finding things, it wasn't too long ago she watched her open the secret door that lead the group to their current location. Solar wouldv'e never found it on her own in an eternity. Secrets, the unknown, mystery, if there was something Cordell wanted to 'check out' so did she.
 "Cap'n wait for me!" as she followed the self-proclaimed pirate leaving behind the house full of treasure, but not without first at least picking up a single gold coin off the ground on the way to her, she was after all, always curious.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on December 30, 2017, 03:53:19 AM
Alizarin already had his head down when the blast went off and thus didn't see the fate of the geist. He could however figure out what a loud bang, silence and Solar cheering meant and thus allowed himself to take a few additional moments to catch his breath.
"Looks like they kept treasure in some'a these buildings; far as I'm concerned, if ye grab it now it's yours. I'm sure ol' Quizy'll wanna take pictures an' such, but ye damn straight earned it."

"I saw somethin' I wanna check out -- back in a jiff."


with that final comment Alizarin's interest went right up. What could she want other than treasure? I guess there's only one way to find out. With a grunt Alizarin dug the end of his chainsaw into the ground and pushed on it to get himself to his feet. he moved to follow Cordell and Solar but not before reaching into the revealed pile of treasure and pulling out whatever he could fit in his hand. he wound up retrieving a few coins and a vial of fire dust.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on January 12, 2018, 05:11:38 PM
Akel glanced down at all the treasure that had made itself known by the grimm's impromptu chest cannon. Glancing at everything she looked towards the Captain as she headed off into the darkness. Glancing at the treasure and at the quickly disappearing Captain followed by Solar and Alizarin. Also looking back towards the scientist she could only sigh and let the others run off 'I guess I'll just collect some treasure while I wait for Quis to collect his data'.

Kneeling down and glancing at the treasure she wasn't sure what she particularly wanted but thought about her friends back at Beacon. "Guess I'll try and pack light. I do kinda wish there was a pirate hat that wasn't ruined"

Items: ShowHide

3 Ruby embedded silver brooch
1 pair of silver earrings with small sapphires in a small silver box
2 small silver chain with holding an encased diamond
1 jewel-encrusted chalice filled with gold coins
1 chain-linked collar and a matching key
1 ivory birdcage
1 ceremonial dagger with a large ruby+ sheath

Akel used her own pockets for the small items and had the birdcage hang off her belt, the chalice and its contents were placed in the bag with what space was left making the bag a lot heavier than it previously was  and lastly the dagger plus its sheath was attached on her other magnetic holster for her main weapon."Don't be too slow about your pictures Quis, we still need to catch up with the Captain after all."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on January 15, 2018, 04:17:02 AM
Infrared rechecked her documents. Let's see... So our mission should be on... the ship? Which is probably wherever the pile of treasure isn't, if they have any tint of common sense. Mission comes first, let's catch up to them.

She made a mental note about aiming for the most inconspicuous pieces of valuables when returning to the hoard and followed the group into whatever they're heading for.
Plus how can I miss out on the macguffin?
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on January 16, 2018, 05:40:59 AM
(OOC: Gonna cover a fair bit of ground here -- we're nearing the last major events of the thread and I don't want to keep anyone waiting, so hold onto your hats!  ;D )



Up ahead in the darkness, Cordell's flashlight danced up and down as she ran, the pirate moving with ever increasing urgency. It wasn't that she was trying to put distance between herself and the group... more that she had suddenly lost herself in anticipation, drawn forward by a desperate need to know. Was it? Was it truly? The cobbled-together buildings gradually gave way to an empty stretch of cave where the wooden walkway nearly doubled in width, leading a clear path across the bare natural stone. And at the end of that path, like an altar to some ancient god, rose a single huge platform: an elevated dry dock of thick wooden beams and huge stone blocks, with zig-zag stairs leading up both sides of it. Seated in the cradle of that docking platform like a sleeping behemoth rested a ship...

... THE ship.


  M U S I C A L ~ S H I F T 
Riders of the Seas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBuIBPstvHU)
by Peter Crowley



Those closest to her when Cordell came to an abrupt stop would hear her gasp, the sharp intake of breath held for several long seconds before an entirely out-of-character fangirlish squee of joy and delight came from the normally unwavering captain. "It's here... I can't believe it's HERE!" Awestruck, her flashlight shed its ray across the huge hull of the ship, going from the sealed under-slung gun ports to the fore and aft propeller blades, the turreted top deck cannons wrought into the likeness of snarling Beowolves, all the way up the rising masts to where the sails waited in furled-up rolls. "It's . . . intact. After all this time, two hundred years. I... I can't believe it..."

Pausing to wait as her companions caught up to her, Cordell turned at their approach and smiled a grin that simply beamed with excitement. "Th' Howling Storm! I'd hoped, but not even dared t' believe, yet... it's in one piece! C'mon!" She waved them on, then began bounding up the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her.







Quisling hadn't waited long with Akel at the treasure pile, snapping a few hurried photos of old coins and jewelry before quietly slipping off into the dark, not even announcing his departure from the scene. He could hear, at the far end of the cavern, that Cordell had found something that had her in a tizzy, and that likely meant that the Crown wasn't far.

It was almost time. Almost...






Though the deck of the ship creaked and groaned beneath the adventurers' steps, it held fast. The old airship was remarkably intact despite its age, no doubt due to the dry and sealed-up conditions within the cavern; every step resulted in a stirring of long-settled dust, but otherwise the ages seemed to have done little harm to the vessel. Cordell pointed this out as they boarded, explaining that the wood of the ship would have been treated to endure both moisture and altitude, giving it impressive staying power and limiting the need to replace anything that didn't end up damaged in a raid. She walked the deck with an almost religious reverence, breath half-held as she ran her hand across the surface of the main mast, lost in an almost dream-like reverie.

And then, something entirely unexpected occurred. It began with the faintest wisp of light tracing along a length of iron-corded rope, almost like phantom electricity moving in slow motion. Then another, and another, and another. Shocked as she caught sight of it, Cordell instantly drew pistol and blade... but no enemy appeared. Instead a network of ropes that seemed to lace into and throughout much of the ship slowly began to glow with a soft, pulsing blue light, enough that the entire deck and much of the surrounding cave could be made out with mere human vision. For the most part these cords disappeared into small holes in the deck, almost like circuitry installed in a building's walls, but there was one point where they seemed to come together -- one point glowing far more brightly than the rest: the ship's main wheel.

"... No." Stunned, Cordell could barely whisper at first. "No. No no no. No! It' can't be!" These, however, were words of awe, not fear or concern. The young pirates eyes were wide with wonder as she looked at the glowing lines, then turned to her companions. "It's the ship's Floatstone -- it's reactin'!" She spun on her heel, tucking her weapons away as she ran with childish abandon towards the helm, hesitating just a moment in nervousness before gripping the spokes and closing her eyes. Long moments passed, whole minutes... and as they did, the energy in Cordell's expression gradually subsided and dropped away. Finally, with a sigh, she let go of the wheel and shook her head. ". . . But not to me, t'would seem." The disappointment writ on her face was as plain as day, but she did what she could to gather herself.

Closing her eyes once again, she pulsed her Semblance for a moment and concentrated. "So th' ship's Floatstone is still imprinted on ol' Grimshaw, it seems -- not just anybody can use it. But it is responding t' somebody here, somehow. Could be yer Aura's just similar enough... or might be somethin' more." After another moment her eyes snapped open, blinking in surprise. "Blow me down an' call me a bilge rat... two of ye! Rust, Solar, th' ship's Floatstone be reactin' to yer Auras! And not just that. The strongest concentration o' Dust I've ever sensed is in th' ship's hold -- it's gotta be th' Sorcerer's Crown. I think... I think we can use th' ship t' haul it and all the treasure we can find outta this hole."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on January 17, 2018, 09:50:29 AM
"Woah coool!" Solar was awestruck at the sight of the legendary ship. Not so much as Cordell herself who understood its historical significance, but still enough for the twinkle in her eyes to shine bright with anticipation.
Upon climbing aboard the ship, like a child in a candy store Solar took it upon herself to explore and touch just about any part of the ship she came across. "Soo how does this ship work? Is it like the captain's ship powered by dust? Its got sails so is it powered by wind? Ooh these cannons are so cool!" playing about Solar pretended to fire off one of the Beowolf shaped cannons. "Arr fire the cannons! Hehe" She commanded in a her pirate voice at no one in particular. Facing the middle of the ship something else caught her interest as she went bouncing towards the ship's main wheel.

 But it happend before she could reach it. The faint blue light that snaked all over the ship, like roots of a tree that spread everywhere the light enveloped the vessel and centered at the wheel Solar was headed for."What is this?"


Closing her eyes once again, she pulsed her Semblance for a moment and concentrated. "So th' ship's Floatstone is still imprinted on ol' Grimshaw, it seems -- not just anybody can use it. But it is responding t' somebody here, somehow. Could be yer Aura's just similar enough... or might be somethin' more." After another moment her eyes snapped open, blinking in surprise. "Blow me down an' call me a bilge rat... two of ye! Rust, Solar, th' ship's Floatstone be reactin' to yer Auras! And not just that. The strongest concentration o' Dust I've ever sensed is in th' ship's hold -- it's gotta be th' Sorcerer's Crown. I think... I think we can use th' ship t' haul it and all the treasure we can find outta this hole."

"What does that mean cap'n? What's the Sorcerer's Crown? What's our aura doing?" Cordell's words didn't sink into Solar, she had to understand better what her role in all this was.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on January 17, 2018, 11:28:57 AM
Rust followed Solar and Cordell aboard similarly awestruck but demonstrating more composure than them. Pacing around and slowly turning as he took in the details of what he was seeing and submitting to just being in awe for a time. That was until the ropes started pulsing light. At which point a metallic screeching rang out as Onyx Ripper was revved hard and raised in a defensive stance before being promptly lowered and idling as it became apparent there was no threat. At Cordell's reaction Rust turned to her. An unseen eyebrow raised skeptically.  "What? You think my aura is somehow similar enough to this Grimshaw guy that the ship thinks I'm him, or one of his relatives? Also how exactly do you plan to use it? We're in a sealed cave." Despite his voiced doubts Rust's voice made it very apparent he was just as excited as the two pirates and looking forward to Cordell's response.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on January 18, 2018, 05:34:38 AM
(OOC: Gonna briefly break sequence here to keep the conversation going.)


Cordell's gaze passed between Solar and Rust, bemused by the former and chiefly curious with the latter. She opted to start with Solar first, since the ram Faunus was closer. "Right, ye were asleep durin' the' briefings and such. Well... long story short: really powerful bad news ancient Dust artifact, worth a bloody fortune but dangerous as hell." She put her hand reassuringly on Solar's shoulder. "As fer th' ship... ah, how t' put this in brief? There be a crystal built into th' center that makes it fly -- old-school airship thing, before Dust tech as we know it now -- but it's mighty selective due t' bonding to a famous pirate some two hundred years back." She looked over at Alizarin. "I'll be up front with ye: I don't rightly know how this is happenin', just that it is. Could just be yer Aura is a good enough 'key' t' fit the 'lock', so-t'-speak... but there's also been six or eight generations since th' great pirate-lord Grimshaw. It's possible -- crazy, but just barely possible -- that you're both his descendants, an' th' Floatstone's respondin' t' that. Can't say I rightly know..." A silly grin spread across her face. "But th' two o' you being distant cousins o' a legendary bloodline, comin' here entirely by chance, is about as crazy an' amusin' a scenario as I can picture!"

"Anyways," Cordell stepped away from Solar and pointed to a high up segment of the cave wall about fifty feet from where the ship rested. It was hard to make out on the dim light, but it almost looked like there were long chains handing loose there, tethered to the rock itself with spikes. "They had t' get th' ship in here somehow, don't forget. Remember th' secret entrance when we came in? I think there's another, one big enough fer th' ship t' come an' go. Hopefully still works. If so," She made an upwards swooping motion with her hand. "We can sail right out, with all th' treasure in th' cave at once!"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on January 20, 2018, 11:39:05 AM
Infrared caught up when Cordell is explaining the situation. She blinks a bit to adjust to the light, and spoke when she did.

"So not me, I guess. ...We probably don't want to do that, as we don't know how well it's hull integrity is preserved. Plus selling the ship as preserved as possible is probably as profitable if not more than the crown. Speaking of which where is it? Would want to bring it into containment as soon as possible."

"...Wait. Why are we talking about sales? Aren't we supposed to hand at least the ship and the crown over to the society?"
..!
Realizing the potential implications, Infrared jumped away from them instinctively, Not making any aggressive or defensive gestures but attempted to keep being alert. She is now worryingly looking for the confirmation that she's just overreacting.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on January 30, 2018, 07:56:39 AM
While away from the conversation Akel had heard everything that had been said, adjusting the input from her headphones to a percentage between what she was just at and her default setting she couldn't help but wonder how the ship worked. Making her way to where the rest of her teammates were and feeling slightly embarrassed with the treasure that she held.

"Wouldn't it be absolutely ridiculous if Quisling was a descendant, although in saying that he would have needed to have his aura unlocked." Taking a moment to look at the structure of the ship she couldn't help but wonder. "Any idea how the ship actually works?" In saying so she couldn't help but wonder which one of her companions was a descendant of this great pirate.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on January 31, 2018, 05:31:12 PM
Seeing Infrared suddenly go full alert, Cordell raised her hands reassuringly. "Whoa, hold th' Scroll lass! Nobody's sayin' nothing about sellin' th' ship or th' crown... though, I think we can all agree, those historians'll owe us all one hellova finder's fee, plus hazard pay!" She chuckled, then turned serious. "Nah... no matter what it's worth, I couldn't bear t' sell away an ol' piece of pirate history like this. Th' Howling Storm deserves t' live out its retirement as th' grand centerpiece of a museum, an' th' crown... well, no matter how much I may dislike th' kingdoms it's far safer in their hands -- least, I sure hope so."

Hearing Akel's question -- and giving a deep, mirthful laugh at her remark about their meek historian tag-along -- Cordell glanced around. "Some idea, yeah... though I doubt anyone in th' last hundred years has flown a Floatstone airship. I'll give th' ship a full inspection before we seriously consider whether t' move her, but fer now..." She gestured for the others to follow her before heading for the stairs leading below deck. "Who wants a peek at th' Sorcerer's Crown, eh? Quizy better hurry along an' catch up!"





Below deck was dusty, and just as dry as the rest of the cave, but the old wood continued to hold up beneath the steps of the adventurers. Blue-glowing ropes the way ahead, illuminating crates, chests, faintly red-glowing barrels marked with the image of flames (no doubt containing fire Dust for the cannons), piles of rough iron cannonballs bound securely in nets... and, at the far rear of the ship, the door to the captain's quarters, swung slightly ajar. It was there that Cordell's "treasure sense" was leading, but even without such a sixth sense there was a palpable thickness about the air, an invisible energy pressing in on everyone present that, while subtle, was also hard to ignore.

This, then, had to be it. The door groaned on its hinges as it swung, revealing what was surely at one time a lavishly appointed, if surprisingly small, room. A small wooden desk sat off to one side, the long rotted away remains of a bed secured on the opposite side... and right against the back wall, a large elaborate metal treasure chest decorated with the howling Beowolf faces that were the ship's undisputed theme. Hesitating only briefly, Cordell swallowed hard before approaching the chest and cracking it open. She couldn't help the gasp that slipped out as she gazed inside: the contents included dazzling jewels, piles of gold and silver coins, ancient-looking tomes, richly embellished flintlock-style pistols, storage cylinders sure to contain maps... but right in the center of all of it was a small, undecorated steel chest. The chest had been fitted with reinforcing metal bands to secure it closed -- these now were broken around an empty hollow where a large central lock probably went, no doubt removed by the pirates of long past so they could get at their prize. With slow, steady hands Cordell reached down and lifted the lid, not even realizing she was holding her breath as she did...

(https://i.imgur.com/2SLzP6s.jpg)

The flickering dim blue light it gave off was ghostly, candle-like in a way -- it seemed to writhe and pulse like a thing alive, a source at once of soft radiance and deep shadow. If one looked closely at the intricately cut Dust gemstones there seemed almost to be wisps and whirls of color dancing within them, and the silvery steel ornamentation barely concealed dim pulses of light that traveled along the gossamer threads of some unknown material that bound the stones together. It was hard not to think of a Dust reactor, yet with this crown there were no safety barriers, no protective casing, no failsafes or mechanical systems at all. The thing looked like it ought to be magic, even though it clearly wasn't. The more one stared at it, the harder it was to look away . . .

Hard to look away .  .  .  .  .

Drawing in a sudden, sharp breath, Cordell snapped the lid closed and stepped away to take a slow, steadying breath. "Okay... okay. That -- that -- is a lot of Dust energy." She realized her hands were shaking and quickly grabbed her own wrist to steady herself. Her Semblance had been practically going haywire the moment she cracked the lid open... and the really crazy thing was, she hadn't even been trying to use it at the time. The feeling was like looking at the sun with your eyes closed; even through senses that were "off", its presence was impossible to ignore. Put simply, the crown even felt dangerous, and that was just from looking at it.

Putting her backpack down and zipping it open, the captain reached in and drew out what looked like a flattened metal accordion. Pushing a button on the side caused it to expand into an open-top box shape. "No tellin' if it's still stable -- best take no chances." Gingerly she lifted the small chest and placed it into the high-tech container, then pulled several tiny metal-hued pillows out and ringed them around the precious cargo. "This be top o' th' line portable storage specifically for fragile or reactive Dust, best option I could find for storin' somethin' like th' crown." Adding what looked to be a heavily computerized lid to the top, the pirate turned a knob and pressed it down like a button; with a hiss of compressed air being released the entire storage device sealed and locked shut, displays flickering to life as it did. "Hot damn... th' readings are nearly off th' chart..." Cordell's gaze went wide as she surveyed the readings.

"Y-y-you've found it, then?"

Quisling seemed to appear out of nowhere, rubbing his hands together with eager glee as he walked up to the group. "Realy and t-t-t-truly?! The Sorcerer's Crown??"

"Geez! Where th' hells have you been?"

"Oh, surveying the vessel! It's amazing -- quite intact despite its age, a m-m-marvel of engineering! It seems they c-coated the w-w-w-wood they used with a thinned l-layer of t-t-t-tar, then resin to s-strengthen and pr-preserve it against high altitude exposure. Remarkable! But th-th-the crown?"

"... Intact, an' very much energized. Dare say it uses Dust in a way I ain't ever seen before. Quizy, this thing's dangerous."

"Oh, no d-doubt. Prince Vasu did use it to keep the whole of Mistral terrified of him, after all, e-e-e-even though his r-reign was brief." He eyed the box like a schoolboy eyeing a jar full of candy. "I assure you, it'll be k-kept most safe. I've made s-s-special arrangements to see to its care. All we need d-d-do now is make our way out of here, yes?"


(OOC: Artist credit (https://crimson-shad.deviantart.com/art/Frozen-crown-488182981) for the original 'Frozen crown' design I worked with to make the Sorcerer's Crown.)
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on February 04, 2018, 07:15:40 AM
Was this the treasure room? Captain's semblance always lead her to the most interesting places. She couldn't help but be a little jealous of it. In usual fashion Solar took it upon herself to pick up and touch everything in the room. She was especially intrigued by the intricately decorated pistols that lay about. She was even about to sneak one into her bag until something else caught her eye. The maps, one of her most prized possesions was a map of Remnant marked by the few places she had traveled to, given to her by her father. She unfurled one at random and wondered what was there.
A poweful blue light that engulfed the room took her attention again. The sparkles that shined off the crown were reflected back in Solar's eyes. She barely paid attention to the conversation until Cordell began to store it away. "Aw come on Captain can't we try it out before putting it away!? Let's at least see what this thing can do before we never see it again!" Solar whined, this thing was an ancient treasure brimming with power, she had no interest in keeping it but at the very least wanted to see what it was capable of.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on February 06, 2018, 09:14:51 AM
Infrared drops to the ground facepalming herself at her own stupidity, rolling on the ground in a similar fashion as when she bounced off the geist's attack. "What did I roll to fail that check, a nat 1?"

Following the Captain down the deck she look around the ship and found what probably is a few errors in their routine, most obviously leaving the door for dust barrels wide open, leaving it vulnerable to fire spreading to it and detonating dooming everybody inside but it does make loading quicker so she finds their success fascinating.

At the room she paid the most attention to the group photo with all his clan. Stroking through the everybody she imagined how Grimsaw must feel when his true companions dissolved so violently over himself. It must be heart wrenching. Then the attention was turned on the literally breathtaking crown.

(OOC: Probably play Blumenkranz (https://youtu.be/FRivqBxbHRs) for the crown.)

It's majestic, delicate and attention grabbing. It looks incredible. She gazed long at it before realizing how... charming it is and turned her head away a bit before Cordell snapped the lid back shut. Seeing how herself and captain have been drawn to it so powerfully she immediately shot down Solar's suggestion. "Hell no. Remember how Vasu grew immediately power hungry and waited not even a bit before staging a relatively bloodless coup and went for a forceful takeover instead? It's not worth the risk to try it out especially uncontrolled. It's way better to put it under the security of a Kingdom, contained in a secret vault, to protect us from its temptation."

"Oh hey Quil. Eh, why did you not tell me your arranged containment procedure when I ask about containers? I know it's not the exact thing, but you would think it'd be clarifying to put it as a side note. So what is it?"

Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on February 09, 2018, 09:12:04 AM
At Infrared's reaction Rust turned and begun revving his weapon again hoping to all the gods he didn't believe in that she would give him an excuse to butcher her. Unfortunately Cordell stepped in and calmed things down.  "I wouldn't be so sure of that. From what I've seen you can trust kingdoms as much as you can trust a Grimm not to eat you alive. Atlas especially."  As he spoke he glared at Infrared from under the visor of his helmet although it would be hard to detect. As the group moved on he quickly switched his attention from malice to interest and a little bit of lust as he followed Cordell down below decks. He was quite content to follow along and take in the sights until another specific statement caught his interest.


 
"I assure you, it'll be k-kept most safe. I've made s-s-special arrangements to see to its care. All we need d-d-do now is make our way out of here, yes?"


  I don't think I trust this little rat. He's been jumpy this whole time and might be just a little TOO intent on getting the crown in his hands. Another loud metallic screeching roared to life as rust put Onyx Ripper into full throttle and swung it straight at Quisling's throat intending to stop just short of slicing into him unless someone intercepted the strike.  "I'd like to know what you intend to do to keep the crown safe as well. I'd also like to know what the fuck has made you so nervous this whole time. You wouldn't happen to be trying to take the crown for yourself would you you little shit!?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on February 09, 2018, 06:18:26 PM
(OOC: Well now... congrats, Arcus. Rust just triggered my "trap card"! ;D Tad earlier for this than I'd originally planned, but it'll still work just fine.)


For a long moment Quisling stood, seemingly frozen in place with big, fearful eyes glued to the revving blades of Alizarin's weapon. It was a breathless moment -- their band of adventurers stood one wrong move from turning on each other.

And it was about to get so much worse.

The transformation in Quisling's visage was subtle but striking; one moment he was a petrified academic whose life was under threat, the next minute that veneer was dissolving away into a slowly spreading grin. "Why, mister Rust... how very perceptive of you." Gone was the hesitancy, the stuttering, the weak trill that undercut his words like a badly tuned instrument -- suddenly Quisling was somebody else entirely, someone entirely comfortable in his own skin and disquietingly at ease with the current situation. "But no, not quite. It's not for me, my friend... rather, I'll be claiming it for a cause. One which you yourself have, in the past, aided."

Cordell was suddenly on full alert; she wasn't reaching for her weapons but her posture and gaze showed concern. " 'Cause'? We had a deal, Quizy -- th' crown gets locked away, studied but outta reach." Her eyes narrowed. "Who're ye backstabbin' us for?"

"Quiet now, captain -- you've served your purpose, mostly." There was venom and hatred in his gaze. "Be grateful you're more useful to us alive, for now."

"You little sh--" The pirates words were cut off as a tiny pellet silently launched from a concealed corner of the cabin, twisting in the air to impact the side of her face. Cordell's Aura meant that the impact was all but meaningless, however the pea-sized gray orb burst into a small cloud of haze immediately on impact. The gas was quick to disperse but the damage it did was swift; immediately the captain fell into a violent fit of coughing and gasping, dropping to one knee and clutching at her throat. Her entire body felt like lead, heavy and unresponsive and dangerously cold.

"That should have you knocked out in a little bit, human filth." The traitorous academic then locked eyes with Rust, smiled... and leaned in towards the spinning blades. Where there should have been a gout of blood there was instead only a hazy electric crackle like TV static -- this Quisling wasn't real, just a high-end hologram. "You and I have business to discuss, mister Rust. And perhaps miss Blood-Heart and Raise as well, if they're of a mind to."

The hologram reached up and off to the side, touching a rocky surface that suddenly appeared at the hazy edge of the projection. A faint light spread from his hand -- those paying attention would recognize it as being the same sort of glow from when Cordell opened the cavern's secret entrance. From outside of the ship a thunderous sound of rock grinding against rock could be heard for a few moments before an intense light washed over the ship, daylight streaming in from a much larger and now-open secret entrance. "My brothers will be here soon, you see -- they've been awaiting my signal, and now they have it. Oh, it wasn't easy impersonating a spineless bookworm all these months, leading on our dear captain to believe anyone legitimate would ever work with her vile ilk -- for a pirate she's surprisingly naive and understanding, it turns out. Now it all pays off, so... let me give the four of you a choice:"

"Hand her, the crown, and the riches of this old treasure pit over to us, and we'll let you walk away -- we'll even let you keep the shiny mementos you collected earlier, just to show that there's no hard feelings. But her," His face twisted into a scowl, suddenly seeming very rat-like in aspect, and he glared in Cordell's direction. "Well, once we have control of her ship we'll decide what her fate will be. No need to worry yourselves over that; she's just a common criminal, after all, and deserves what she has coming."

"Or... you could side with her. I wouldn't advise it, though." The sinister grin on his face said all that needed to be said about the second option...


(OOC: Adventurers, please wait to post. Gus, yer up!)
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Dr. Gustave on February 10, 2018, 09:45:50 AM
(http://i.imgur.com/iWW19A1.png)

The grinding and groaning of the stones high above the crew were slowly replaced by the sound of airship engines as a modified bullhead entered the cavern, several searchlights mounted on the nose spread out over the cave with one staying centered on the ship. As the group down below readied themselves, the side door of the bullhead slid open. Standing just beyond the exterior wall of the bullhead were two men, one decked out in complete White Fang attire with a light looking outfit with a mask that stretched around his head and instead of two eye slots had one large, red and opaque screen stretching over most of the mask, the other in what appeared to be Atlesian body armor underneath civilian jeans and a jacket with a mask that covered everything but his hazel eyes. The White Fang member held in his hand a standard white fang shortsword and nothing else and the other man held a large rifle by its barrel, using it to lean on.

It wasn't long before the man nodded silently to all but Akel who heard a slight murmur and the White Fang member jumped from the bullhead. As he fell, two deep blue bid wings spread from his back to either side, framed in metal. As he neared the ground, dust boosters on his wings kicked into gear and he shot back up into the air before plummeting down onto the ship with a loud THUNK on the opposite end of the ship, his wings folding to his back as he stood up straight.

"Well, well, well." The man spoke in a relaxed tone, almost nonchalant. "Looks like we've finally found the treasure." His grip on his weapon tightened as he extended his other hand, palm up. "This *really* isn't a hard choice." His eyes darted back and forth between the group aboard. "Do what he says, hand over the crown. You can even keep the ship if you want to.... hm..." He tilted his head slightly toward the collapsed pirate. "Hell, you can keep her. Just give us the crown, I'd rather not having to kill any faunus."

Far above, the other man had set to crouching down and carefully selecting a magazine before loading it into the rifle and leveling it towards the group.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on February 10, 2018, 11:08:41 AM
Akel stood for more than a few moments, the initial shock of seeing the huntsman draw his weapon on the same person that she had saved. Following through with the fact that Quis lied about who he truly was and his teammates. Many emotions overcame her, shock, confusion than being brought to anger.

"I RISKED MY LIFE FOR YOU!" Her short outburst was met with composure. Pushing her glasses back up to the proper position on her face she was mad but, she couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. Cordell obviously didn't look well and Akel had to act quick, but with an unknown shooter who had a sleeping agent, she didn't want to take her chances.

The bat faunus looked up as she heard the sound of the ceiling open up, the sudden barrage of sound made her press her hands against her headset as she adjusted her volume. Akel shook her head as she saw the Bullhead appear through the somewhat blinding light as her glasses dimmed turning from a clear pair of reading glasses to a golden tint. Akel readjusted her headset to filter out the Bullhead's whirring engines which allowed her to listen in on what the WF member was saying before bringing her settings to still allow herself to hear whatever the name in the Bullhead was saying yet didn't make other voices that loud in her ears.

A quick glance at the bird Faunus descent gave her an opening to get Cordell out of sight. She didn't know how her companions were going to react and considering Rust's previous actions she chose to run to the only human, grab her by her jacket and threw her towards the direction of the wooden dock for this ship. "Cordell AURA!" she yelled to the airborne girl with the hope that she was still conscious enough to do that. Drawing Blood Ignition from her hip she took a defensive stance, the flat of her blade resting on her left forearm at an angle (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hnQ375ArlaU/UFJseZw8X9I/AAAAAAAAAaI/m8TsWN3KBLc/s1600/Lizzy.jpg), covering a majority of her body from the mercenary in the bullhead with a rifle and whatever immediate attack the bird faunus could attempt on her.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Dr. Gustave on February 10, 2018, 11:51:28 AM
Far above the ship, Kol murmured something again and the White Fang member suddenly lifted his sword and plunged it into the deck of the Howling Storm, gripping the handle even tighter. As if in the same moment, a shot rang out from the bullhead, landing next to Akel's feet. As soon as the bullet found its mark, Akel was knocked off her feet, pulled into the direction of the bullet hole as Cordell's body was sucked back toward the ship and slammed into Akel.

The rest of the crew felt the strong pull too and stumbled back slightly, those who were tensed inching back and those who weren't sliding back into Akel.

"In all honesty," The faunus began, "I don't want to hurt any of you or damage a piece of history. But I will if you don't hand me the crown and let us be on our way."

Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on February 10, 2018, 12:11:10 PM
Solar had so many questions, who the hell was Quisling? This bird faunus? Why are they here? Why do they want the crown? What's that uniform they're wearing? What the hell is going on? With all the things she didn't understand at the very least she understood what mattered, these guys are bad and they want the crown.She hated not knowing. Solar wanted nothing then to fight, charge through any and all obstacles to show she could prove to herself she was getting stronger. She tried to lie to Rust and to herself she could handle the Geist alone. Though she would never admit it out loud, she was gullible and believed most things people told her, but if there was one person who's lies she could see through, it was her own. She'd let Rust fight and she moved to protect the box that was the crown, if she wasn't pulled backwards by the effects of the bullet. She was mid run when she felt the effect and stumbled backwards falling into the pile that was Cordell and Akel. She broke her fall with her hand and instead of the ground she grabbed Akel's backpack

Which gave her an idea.

"Akel let me borrow this!" Solar said as she forced Akel's backpack off her and got up towards the box that slid closer to her. She took off her own bag and set both of them next to the box. She turned her back to face the enemy so they couldn't see what she was doing. What did captain do? Was it this?
Oh got it
Solar shoved the box in one of the backpacks and zipped them back up."Red! Rust bags!" she called out to her other team mates hoping they'd understand what she was doing.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on February 10, 2018, 02:01:34 PM
Infrared is more than concerned about Quisling's choice of words in the reveal. She tried to probe more intel of their identity and the nature of the hologram but the last thing she wanted to confirm rendered that nil. This is bad. (https://youtu.be/JC0mFHN7r2c)
It's the Fang...
Given the history of the crown, this could only mean...
Nonono that is bad...
What do I do... There are 2 obvious choices, need to find that third option... I didn't... not for this...
She is still frozen in thought as she witnessed Akel attempt to withdraw Cordell from the scene. Then Solar made a move and she had to act.
Knowing full well the consequences of the worst case scenario with this choice, she used the force of the pull to turn around, detached the backpack on the far side and reached into it, took out the Med-Aid kit and activitate as many mining charges as she can, then threw the backpack to Solar in a guess of her intent and made sure the the remote is thrown in a way that is obvious to her but not exposed as a form of suggesting a booby trap. Then glancing at the two threats yield important information: The sniper looks Altesian with no Faunus traits, so probably not a Fang and can potentially be bought off. So just one of them needs to be neutralized, and a sniper wouldn't pose that much threat to her anyways.
The next thing is to see how Rust reacts. Would be a good time to be able to get flung.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on February 10, 2018, 11:23:59 PM
As Quisling described his goals all Alizarin could respond with was.  "Aaaaahhh shit." Then suddenly all hell broke loose. The sky opened up above them and in came a bullhead bearing foes demanding the crown. Cordell was down and suddenly Alizarin was dragged back and slammed into most of his fellow adventurers. Then came a call from Solar.   Not a bad idea. Grabbing Cordell's unconscious form as he went Rust ran over to Solar and dropped his bag at her feet before grabbing another one at random and leaping over the side of the deck and breaking for the cave exit the way they came in. Intending to get Cordell back to the Red Corsair.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on February 14, 2018, 09:49:10 AM
(OOC: Sorry for the delay in posting -- I got hit with a mini dose of the flu over the last couple days and it really took the wind out of my sails. Just to keep things flowing, you can skip me in the rotation going forward until the White Fang encounter is over; I'll jump in and post as-needed.)



"Quisling" shook his head in disappointment at all that followed his offer, the hologram watching as the group scrambled to act. His Fang brethren were showing restraint for now, which was good -- with the exception of Solar, whom Cordell had brought into the mix without his knowledge -- he'd hand-picked each of the Faunus here not only because he'd believed they could face the challenges that this treasure hunt entailed but had at least a chance of cooperating at this point of things. Rust, after all, was a mercenary who had served the interests of the Fang before; Akeldama was a roll of the dice but still Faunus, and although his info on Infrared showed all the fingerprints of Atlas he still held some small measure of hope she might be turned. Sadly, it seemed he was to be disappointed; one by one they all took actions which proved they wouldn't just simply cooperate. The rat Faunus shook his head, clicking his tongue in disdain. "You're all making this so much harder than it has to be..." The hologram flickered and disappeared, revealing a small spherical drone hovering in mid-air that had served as its projector. The fist-sized robot slipped silently away into the shadows, watching the group from a distance.

Cordell, meanwhile, was not in a good way. Whatever the traitor had hit her with had rendered her functionally paralyzed, only able to move just enough to breathe -- and even that was proving far from easy. The impact as the gravity Dust effect slammed her into Akel was enough of a physical jolt to force her body to reflexively draw in a deep gasp, but only after it knocked the wind out of her. The world spun in unsteady cacophony, a cold sweat beading on her brow. She was in no state to protest as Rust plucked her up and made a break back towards the tunnel.

Rust, unfortunately, wouldn't get far. In the gloom ahead of him a tendril of deeply unhealthy-looking green haze slithered through the air like some kind of misty serpent, dancing and writhing in the air, and abruptly a throwing knife embedded itself in the stone floor not more than a dozen feet ahead of him. Quisling, one hand peeling away cosmetic elements that had concealed his Faunus traits and the other sporting a thin blade, walked into sight around the edge of a building off to Rust's left. "Mister Rust, you disappoint me so. This is just business -- surely you'd rather be on the winning side here, hm?" With his true face revealed Quisling looked every bit like a devious rat, pale skin giving way to long whiskers and short fanged yellow teeth. The green haze responded as he approached it, curling around him responsively -- a Semblance of some kind, one could assume.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on February 14, 2018, 06:31:40 PM
Akel was quick to recover after the sudden burst of gravity dust knocked her forward, her sword acting as support so she didn't become vulnerable. However, Cordell had changed that with her sudden reappearance towards the spot of the bullets impact. 'So that's it'. Akel thought as she remembered what the man had said, although she doubted this information could be useful now that the form of Quis was only a hologram.

"Wait a momen-- Rust!" was all she could think of. It was the only plausible explanation since she remembers grabbing him very clearly during the fight against the Geist. Granted Rust was a huntsman. Shaking her head she decided on an action "Red." was all Akel said, making a gesture with her right hand of an explosion and using her eyes to point towards the Bullhead.

"If you need help just shout." Before the bat faunus grabbed her weapon and one of the bags and jumped off the railing of the ship to the dock below and braked into a sprint with her sword at the ready towards the ruins.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on February 16, 2018, 03:13:31 AM
The same thing that have clicked in Akel's mind have clicked in hers. He handed documents to all of us didn't he? I was literally just checking those...
Infrared glanced at Akel's gesture, then at the bullhead, then at Akel again, and almost moved her hand towards Reaction, but vetoed the suggestion as it is in her mind. It would most probably be shot down if she aimed at the ship at all, then she's out and need 10 entire seconds to reload which she don't have when facing two opponents presumably at least on her caliber.
Not yet.
Infrared moved into right in between Solar and bag and the still standing sword wielder, taking a deep breath, looking around the surroundings and gesturing to Solar with a sign of flinging, she launched the first attack of the encounter with a straight charge-plunge with left hand drawing Action, the creak puntating her heartbeat and the stress of the deck resonating with her stress in her mind.

(OOC: Using the tournament system for this fight. Also she gets to fight with a theme (https://youtu.be/ZahU3MsSzlQ) for the first time!)

Battle Data: ShowHide
Aura: 75%
Reaction: One in the barrel, 2 at hand
Plunge: 10% maybe?
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on February 16, 2018, 08:53:50 AM
Rust was fully intent to ignore the green haze and simply use his semblance to dispel it if it turned into a threat. That was until a dagger hit the ground nearby to him and Quisling revealed himself.  "I don't like working with the kind of cunt who tries to kill his employees. Oddly enough until you threatened to kill Cordell I would have been on board with giving you the crown. too bad for you." Rust looked down at Cordell to check her condition. Doubt I'll get much help from her. Good. No one to get in the way. "You have one chance to get out of the way and target the kiddies instead before i tear your fucking heart out." As Rust spoke he was snarling and kept Onyx Ripper at full throttle.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on February 16, 2018, 10:10:40 AM
Good everyone now has a different bag, so now these guys don't know who has the crown. wait whats this Red just threw at me with her bag. Before she could think about it, Akel and Infrared took a random bag that Solar mixed up. The gears in Solar's head turned as she gave the object in her hand a blank stare ....the detonator for the charges she used earlier...why did she give me this...she threw me her bag...she turned on the charges in her bag......So who has it!!??. She dared not set that off while she had no idea who was currently carrying a bag of bombs.
   Speaking of which, Solar donned her own backpack and found it to be considerably heavier then her previous once, in fact it was practically bulging from whatever was in it. Akel was the only one who loaded up treasure... she was gonna have a hard time fighting like this.

She suddenly noticed Infrared give her a hand signal, for the second time now was Solar bewildered by what Infrared was trying to tell her. .....She wants to throw...what? Solar wondered, she took in her situation. A bad guy on the ship with the two of them, and a shooter on a ship above them that was gonna keep taking potshots.
 
...how brave of her

Solar took cover from the sniper and left Infrared alone to hold out for as long as possible. An orange glow brightened up her arms. This should be enough... she thought and charged in Infrared's direction, weaponless.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Dr. Gustave on February 17, 2018, 12:49:33 PM
The White Fang member stood unusually still as the group before him scrambled to get away, deathly still even. It wasn't entirely surprising that they would try to run, they were outclassed after all, but that was why they had Quisling stay by the entrance to prevent escape. No, none of them would be escaping the cavern unscathed. He allowed himself a small smirk at that thought, breaking from stillness in the smallest sense. It was a good plan, he'd have to give them that. Mixing up the bags ensured they would have to track down each one to be entirely sure and even then they could hide the true treasure somewhere as they ran. That was no matter, though, they would have the crown by the end of the day.

He forced himself to keep from widening his smirk as two of the group stayed behind, couldn't afford the movement now. This was surprising, this was interesting, but he kept himself still as Kol spoke into his ear, silent to all but the two of them. A fourth year and a freelancer, easy money.

The tension left his body as Infrared began to charge toward him and, after a quick glance toward the airship encircling overhead, activated the rockets on his wings.


(https://i.imgur.com/Iu906qZ.png)


Cade shot into the air, just barely above Infrared and locked his eyes on the charging Solar. In one swift motion, he pointed his sword toward the boy and pulled a trigger, firing out a spray of tiny spikes that embedded into the deck and bounced mostly harmlessly off of his aura.

Cade turned his back to the boy as soon as the spikes left the two small ports on either side of the sword and properly plunged his sword down toward Infrared's back just as the plethora of spikes exploded into blinding light and deafening pops behind him.



Above, in the air, Kol immediately looked away as soon as Cade had pointed his sword toward the freelancer boy, using the break in focus to strap the dust pack that lay against the other side of the bullhead onto his back. He would stay in the air, but it was better to have the option to fight on the ground than not. The boy wasn't dangerous but the girl presented at least some threat. A threat would be need to be neutralized.

He quickly ejected the magazine from his rifle, still well over half full, and exchanged it for another hidden from the battle, just behind the bullhead door labeled, "Blizzard".



(https://i.imgur.com/Eus8Avf.png) 100%/100%  //  100%/100%
Spikes: 2% + Flashbang Effect
Plunge: 15%
Cade and Kol Boss theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb37KSmByg4)
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on February 19, 2018, 10:25:02 AM
When Infrared missed her charge she she ran straight past, not wanting to slow down one bit to get herself aimed at, not paying attention if Solar is getting her correctly and unknowingly escaping a plunge.
She gave a command trying to make her plan work. It had to work.
Check the bag! Then throw it left and off! That should convey it fully. As she gave this she turned and jumped off the starboard of Howling storm, facing away from the flash that presumably was set off by one of them.
When she reached the ground she used her semblance twice in quick succession to sneak her way to the port side of the ship waiting for the bag to drop down. She'd be lying if her foot doesn't hurt like stepping on a toy brick, but that's necessary lest she'd be intercepted trivially.
Trying to minimize the chance of being spotted as well as setting up an ambush she stuck near the surface of the ship. There are many things she need to be paying attention to now: searching for a viable cave ceiling, waiting for Solar and/or her bag, and trying to sneak up on the bird Faunus. There's something else, oh right the bag- she's leaning on it and she didn't even feel it. This means it's empty. it also means there's nothing she can use in it.

This should be a small breather if they lost her. She tries to think up something but all the things she already have to process prevents her from generating any new thoughts. For now she activates her dust in Action. A cold breeze tells her what she put in earlier which she've long forgotten by now.

Battle Data: ShowHide
Aura: 75%
Action: Using ice dust
Reaction: One in the barrel, 2 at hand
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Dr. Gustave on February 19, 2018, 11:24:27 AM
As the cold breeze drifted over Infrared, a burst of hot air pushed through and coated the area for the briefest of moments. From far above the ship, Kol descended on the wings of a dust jump pack, periodically activating the dust to slow his descent. Once he was close enough to the ground, the dust cut off and he slammed into the rocky ground, a silver-white sword in one hand and a white pistol in the other.

His eyes locked onto Infrared's, not moving an inch as he deliberately removed the white fang styled mask from in front of his mouth. "A faunus from Atlas." He said in a rough voice as the mask dropped to the floor. "You must be mighty special, Infrared Ray." The grip on his sword tightened as he prepared for his opponent's semblance. "Atlas tends to make a fuss about missing students so I'm going to offer you one chance to stop fighting and I won't hurt you." His eyes glanced away from the girl to either side of her for just a moment. "And don't even think about running. I promise I'm faster."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on February 19, 2018, 12:37:02 PM
White, Solar's vision went completely white as she rushed at Infrared. Her charge was hindered but not stopped, disoriented Solar blindly threw one of her charged fists in the direction she could hear the sound of something landing on the deck in front of her.
Check the bag! Then throw it left and off!
Solar had no time to figure out what exactly Infrared's plan was, so she thoughtlessly obeyed. Continuing her momentum, Solar slipped one arm out of her bag and with her other charged arm chucked it over the port side of the ship, where Infrared and her opponent stood.
Now it was just her and the bird faunus. Her arms were weakened sore as she waited for her strength to return, hoping he wouldn't attack. She looked at his weapon and considered what just happend.

With a shaky hand she put one hand up to her head and slid the eyepatch over her left eye. Grinning proud of herself, her other hand took out her weapon blade face down and leaned on it as she addressed her opponent. "Hey it's rude to pick a fight without even introducing yourself. Hi i'm Solar, and who are you? Why do you want the crown? And what did you mean not wanting to kill faunus? What does that matter to you?" she asked irritated most of all by the lack of answers then her life being threatened. Slowly her strength returned as she held her weapon in a proper stance, her desire to understand the situation taking precedence over her desire to fight.

Aura:73%

Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on February 22, 2018, 09:20:56 AM
A sudden sputtering cough at Rust's side followed his threats against Quisling; Cordell stirred, fitfully at first but with growing resolve. She even went so far as to bang her own unsteady fist against her chest in an effort to force clean air into her lungs. She didn't bother to look up at Rust as she spoke. "Ye *cough, wheeze* can put me down now, mate."

"My word." The traitor seemed genuinely surprised. "You shouldn't even be conscious right now, let alone able to move."

"I've had worse." It was partially a lie; Cordell wasn't exactly broadcasting it, but her body felt like it weighed a ton -- what's more, her right side was completely numb from hand to foot. She reached for her belt and drew one of her pistols, leveling it unsteadily with her left hand at the scowling rat Faunus before looking up at Rust. "Somethin' ain't right back there -- could feel it through me Semblance. I know ye wanna gut this bastard, believe me, but th' team's in trouble... an' right now you'd be a hellova lot more help than I would." She paused, struggling to her feet and breathing heavily from the effort. "But I ain't got th' right t' give ye orders, do I Rust? Consider yerself hired, then. Half me treasure share plus a thousand lien, cash," She glanced over at him. "T' save our team from th' Fang. Do we have an accord?"

"You talk too much, pirate." The haze around Quisling suddenly intensified, obscuring his form in a cloud of ill-hued green. He leapt back, putting the toxic fumes between them, and in the next moment a throwing knife came flying at Cordell out of the dark. She dodged to one side, narrowly avoiding a direct hit and causing the blade to scrape against her Aura-protected shoulder.

It was now up to Rust which battle he was going to fight...
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on February 22, 2018, 10:13:05 AM
As Akel reached the area she did one last check. Stopping short and quickly pulling the bag off of her shoulders. Her eyes went wide and her heart had definitely skipped a beat when she saw that her backpack was full of explosives. Not to mention that she was 100% sure that the detonator wasn't on her and wasn't in the bag from taking a quick look through them. Deciding to take the potential death bag in with her, she just needed to hope that they wouldn't be triggered.

Making her way to the Captain and was only able to see the knife leave the smoke and only scrape off of the captain. Taking a defensive stance in front the captain she could hear the footsteps of the rat easily and could keep track, but, entering the smoke was something she didn't want to risk. After all, she was assuming that the gas was some kind of poison, she didn't want to make mistakes and running into it was a sure way to mess up.

Taking the same defensive stance that she had taken upon the ship, she readied the rotatable gun on her weapon. Firing it off towards the area where she heard someone land inside the what she assumed to be poison.

"Rust, Are you going to help us or save yourself?" Akel kept glancing at the mercenary and the green smoke, cautious of what action he was going to take and who or whatever could appear from the smoke at a moments notice.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on February 23, 2018, 07:47:35 AM
"But I ain't got th' right t' give ye orders, do I Rust? Consider yerself hired, then. Half me treasure share plus a thousand lien, cash," She glanced over at him. "T' save our team from th' Fang. Do we have an accord?"

In response to Cordell's offer Rust's expression changed from a snarl to a smile.  "Funny how things work out. I was planning to ask to work for you once this was over. Just be sure to live long enough to provide the payment."
"Rust, Are you going to help us or save yourself?"

 "You'll figure it out soon enough.  Unsure of where quisling was and well aware turning to head back would lead to a throwing knife in the back Rust drew his hand back and threw it forward into the smoke sending a heavy gust of wind in the hopes of both dispersing and knocking quisling square on his arse before he turned to return to his allies.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on February 24, 2018, 08:25:38 AM
Infrared stares at the presumed mercenary talking her into stopping. He knows my name. (Pre-)Atlas Officer confirmed? Well proceed as it were anyway. Trying to keep her composure and act as if her name hasn't been mentioned she counter-offers.

"Why don't you stop fighting instead," She softens her voice in fear of being heard, "There's more we can offer than they do no? Lien and dust, can't imagine them offering nearly close to what's worth here if they make the treasure cache such a big deal that they didn't give it up while being all compromising? They only skimmed over it when you're coming in, but really they just wanted to coax you out of the BIG profit we have on hand. Surely you won't care about what happens to us or the humans, but just think of the Lien. This is just business -- surely you'd rather be on the profitable side here, hm?" Making a few glaring assertions that would make people frown on second thoughts, but getting him to emotionally agree is the priority here.

The falling bag was semi-ignored by Infrared using her semblance to launch it straight up, making a small mmm as it made contact. But the sound the bag makes is distinctly different from the one she craves to hear so she just caught the bag after one flight of the it. Wearing it over her chest she puts Action back into its scabbard and backed away slowly with her hands raised and eyes looking around still for spots with somewhat loose rocks. "You get a share of the entire pile, plus a quarter of mine. Deal?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on March 18, 2018, 01:59:46 PM
(OOC: So, to keep everyone in the loop...

Gus, unfortunately, has told me that he won't be available to keep posting in Howling Storm. To keep things going -- and give everyone the shot at victory you've earned -- I'll be taking things over for him. If the transition causes any in-character friction or uncertainty just let me know and I'll do my best to clear it up or adjust my post.)


Infrared's offer hung in the air for what seemed a long moment, as though Kol were considering it. However, something entirely different was, in fact, happening -- a conversation that none of the adventurers were privy to. Similarly, and for exactly the same reason, Cade left silence to be his answer to Solar's agitated questions. To their ears only a message had been relayed. They were needed elsewhere, urgently.

The shadow of another Bullhead darkened the daylit entryway into the cave, it's doors swinging wide open as it swept in to take position opposite Cade and Kol's craft. From those doors descended half a dozen masked and rifle-armed Fang troopers, led by a lieutenant in a long white trenchcoat. They hit the deck and immediately took up positions, weapons aimed at Solar and Infrared while the squad leader addressed his superiors. "We can take things from here, sir. Squads two and three are inbound."

With clear reluctance the two departed, their Bullhead swooping in low so that they could easily board before turning and angling out of the cavern. Another tense moment settled in as the Fang Lieutenant drew his sword (https://pixelworlds.deviantart.com/art/Mithrodin-Sword-85505280) and pointed it at Solar. "You have no chance! Our superiors may have seen fit to play with you, but if you oppose us I will show you no mercy. Surrender the crown and leave with your lives, or continue to resist and suffer the consequences!"






Disappearing into the dark, Quisling too had heard the transmission -- though, this far from the entrance, it was garbled and distorted by the mountain. Still, he was able to make out enough: Kol Augur and Cade had been recalled, though for what he couldn't fathom. Didn't the Fang understand how important this artifact was?! He'd made its power and usefulness abundantly clear over his months of posing as a historian, and yet now, with one of the most potent Dust weapons ever conceived nearly in reach, they were gambling the mission on their reserves?! The rat faunus scowled in distaste; those squads hadn't been intended as anything more than an insurance policy in case things went wrong or, if things went right, extra hands to help gather and haul away anything of worth. Lieutenant Fallon was an arrogant glory-hound who, out from under the restraining hand of his betters, would surely make a botch-job of this entire operation. How had it come down to this?!

Clutching his drone, the infiltrator programmed in a few pre-rendered maneuvers that would help him buy time before releasing it into the air. He just had to incapacitate these fools, then even Fallon couldn't screw this up.

They would have the Crown... and with it, the White Fang's enemies would tremble!




(https://i.imgur.com/EQQIzPc.png)

BATTLE:
ENFORCER ~ Lt.Fallon :: ██████████████████ [100%]
WHITE FANG TROOPERS :: [6x]

Enemy Reinforcements in Two Turns!
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on March 21, 2018, 09:19:00 AM
Questions marks popped up all around Solar's head. " Hey where do you think YOUR going!? Who's this your replacement!? Someone tell me what's going on!" Solar enraged at not fully understanding the situation.
"You have no chance! Our superiors may have seen fit to play with you, but if you oppose us I will show you no mercy. Surrender the crown and leave with your lives, or continue to resist and suffer the consequences!"

Her reckless nature and lack of patience was getting the better of her. With an irritated glare Solar mindlessly charged at the man with the fancy sword, swinging her axe with heavy but slow blows. " Who. Are. You. People!?" Solar breathed in between swings, putting more emphasis on last word to get her point across.

Aura:73%
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on March 30, 2018, 09:25:43 AM
Akel brought her right hand up to her headset, the drone made a sound when it hovers that much was obvious, but the problem was that she didn't have time to isolate the new sound to give herself the advantage. However in saying this, she had a clue, the drone would either needed to be controlled or needed to move by presets. Pre-sets meant everything from the sound it made to the movements it would make.

Bringing her sword to a stance she also had an idea of how he fought: a coward lingering in the darkness, hidden by his poisonous smoke to not allow himself to be seen. A rat walking through and among disease and death. "Hiding like a rat? Absolutely despicable. A coward through and through, you won't be getting that crown, not today and not ever."

Akel dropped the bags of charges and threw them over to the side, they hopefully wouldn't go off by some means during this fight. Akel knew wouldn't fight them directly. the drone would be doing that just like how he tried to win them over by bribery before. So, without waiting she shot three bullets off towards the footsteps that she could hear. Switching targets she shot another four towards where she heard the footsteps start from. Since it was a plausible spot for him to be if he wanted to go by undetected. The first shots would reveal if that was the drone or not, based on her earlier assumption there would be no change of movements if it was the drone and if it was Quisling she would hear some form of change in movements, a change in footwork, a sudden stop, even the tiniest hint would tell her what she needed to know.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on April 13, 2018, 11:15:55 AM
...For one moment Infrared thought it actually worked. Nevermind. What she got instead is dropping the number of threats from two bosses to a boss in mook's clothing. Let's hope it's not from a Princess Taijitu to a Re- class- oh wait both of them are just fan-created expansions- Beringel. And it's also probably to no credit of hers, which kind of hits a little at her oft-boasted savviness. At least the odds are now not definitely overwhelming now. That was definitely an unwinnable situation especially if the 1v1s were to be secured against us. This seems much easier.

Mooks would be easy, one activation of the semblance per mook should do it. But she doesn't want to expose her dangerous not-forbidden technique since she already got a plan, thus having a good reason to not open with her strongest move first. Noting her previously spotted ceiling of rocks she moved towards the original entrance where he and Akel are. This is so cool and would work so well she just had to execute it. There's an unattended bag, let's start with this one. The sooner she got back her charges the faster she can reinforce Solar and the earlier it happens the more damage she can inflict.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on April 22, 2018, 12:16:12 PM
"Who. Are. You. People!?"

The lieutenant with the sword met her axe-swinging charge blade-to-blade, deflecting her heavy swings a few times before sidestepping and taking a swing back at her. "What?? Do you live in this cave, girl?!" There was a laughing mockery in Fallon's voice that shifted over to pride and arrogance with his next words. "WE are the White Fang -- protectors and avengers of the faunus, bane of bloody-handed humanity!" He feigned another swipe, then pulled the blade back and thrust it into a jab aimed at her shoulder. "We're the ones you and the others should be siding with..." Moving back a step, he pulled a pistol from a holster behind his back and aimed it squarely at Solar. "... The ones who will bring peace and order to the world, and justice to our oppressed race."

"So... last chance: surrender yourselves and the crown, and all will be forgiven. What do you say, hm?"

Meanwhile, the White Fang troopers had moved to secure the area as best they could. Three of them had their rifles aimed at Infrared while the other half of the squad made their way down the ship's ramp, heading for where Rust, Akel, and Cordell were. Those who'd stayed on deck seemed wary, watching Infrared as she began to head for the unattended bag. "YOU! Stop, or we'll open fire!" It seemed she'd have to choose between dashing for the bag, taking on the threats, or juggling both at once somehow.





"Hiding like a rat? Absolutely despicable. A coward through and through, you won't be getting that crown, not today and not ever."

From his hiding place, Quisling scowled. He hated when people called him that; he hadn't worked his way into being an infiltrator for the Fang just to get treated like some... some rodent! He was really starting to detest this lot -- even if they were fellow faunus, they were making this much harder than it had to be. When Akel's first shots rang out, though, his scowl turned to a slight grin. Thinking his decoy had already drawn their attention (and entirely unaware that Alek was two steps ahead of him), the saboteur began to ease out from hiding with the aim to ambush the student and the pirate -- however, he wouldn't even get his second step before a volley of fire came at him. Two shots went wide but the other two made their mark; screeching, Quisling reeled back as his sickly green Aura flared from unexpected impacts to his chest and arm. The light, however brief, was enough to clearly paint his location in the dark.

And that wasn't the only fire coming his way, either.

While Akel had been employing her clever tactic, Cordell had been pulling out one of her space ammo cartridges. Now with Quisling visible she quickly swapped it in and fired -- an FE-02 that lit up a huge area as its fireball erupted. Her first shot went wide, hitting the floor some distance from target, but it exposed his location plain as day. "There's th' bastard!"

Terrified, Quisling scrambled towards a large pile of rocks. He was out in the open until he reached it, though... a prime target for Akel's .223s.





As Rust went to rejoin Solar and Infrared onboard the Howling Storm, he'd find himself with a bit of a speedbump -- three White Fang footsoldiers coming down the boarding ramp towards him. Seeing the merc in modified Atlas armor coming towards them, all three abruptly halted in their steps, raised their rifles... and hesitated. They were exposed and wide open on the ramp. All that Alizarin had to do was choose how to handle them.



(https://i.imgur.com/EQQIzPc.png)

BATTLE:
ENFORCER ~ Lt.Fallon :: ██████████████████ [100%]
SABOTEUR ~ Agent Quisling :: █████▫▫ [65%]
WHITE FANG TROOPERS :: [6x]

Enemy Reinforcements in One Turn!
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on April 23, 2018, 09:10:43 AM
As the explosion went off Akel was able to clearly see her target as well as glad that her plan worked, she didn't waste time and kept firing round after round at Quis as he bolted for cover. "Captain, take care of his drone, I'm going to deal with that backstabber." was all Akel said before she went after her target, she didn't know if Quis could see through the smoke so she had to play around.

As Akel went around the smoke she kept a meter gap and kept making a clicking noise with her mouth, the sound coming back and giving her information to make sure she knew where she had to strike. Without waiting a moment longer then necessary, she covered her mouth and nose with a hand and running into the smoke, her eyes were closed as she focused on the sound and let the sword transform into a scythe, she needed to get Quis into the open, so she was going to go for a downward strike at Quis, using the same tactic from before she was going to do a horizontal strike to diagonal strike upwards, she needed to get Quis into the open for the Captain to perform some serious damage.

Whether the strike succeeded or not Akel would make a break out of the smoke to get out of the poisonous smoke before she inhaled too much, even with aura protection she didn't want to risk it.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on April 28, 2018, 04:59:05 AM
 "Outta the way pissants." Rust snarled as he charged straight at the three unfortunate white fang soldiers that had decided to stand in his way. Their hesitation giving him the time to use his semblance to blitz forward grasping his free hand around the face of one and moving past him using the momentum to lift him from the ground and spin him once before throwing him into one of his friends. as he finished spinning he used the momentum to kick at the weapon of the remaining standing fang member, having disarmed them a full throttle Onyx Ripper was slammed into the poor bastards shoulder quickly ripping through his meager aura levels and into his shoulder leaving a deep gash, non functioning arm and screaming soldier.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on April 28, 2018, 08:12:37 AM
Solar lost the clash that occurred with the newcomer, not only were her attacks deflected but she found herself victim to the lieutenant's counterattacks as she felt the point of his sword slam into her aura.

The lieutenant's explanation of the White Fang may have been lost on her but the taunt was not.An angry vein grew on her head "Shut up! What do you guys want it for anyway?" Solar roared at her opponent's offer to surrender. Upon seeing the pistol, Solar blocked the weapon's line of sight with the head of her axe as a sheild . A soft glow emitted from a part of her, while still using the axe as a sheild, Solar recklessly charged at the lieutenant keeping her body low to the ground. Upon reaching him she swung a low horizontal cleave that she planned for the lieutenant to dodge upwards, while the lieutenant moved away Solar released the charge that she built up on her forehead striking him with a powerful headbutt.

Aura: 63%
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on April 28, 2018, 02:40:03 PM
Open fire? Oh, right I can ignore that. Definitely not stopping Infrared ran straight for the bag but turning back to face the guns. Any bullets fired are reflected with the semblance but through the sword pretending it is a deflection. One burst and many clanks later the deck is littered with three shot(lethally or otherwise) mooks. She gets her focus back to the back and zips it open.

...Found it.
Her mining charges. Now we can watch really fatal fireworks. Get back to the ship it is, but make sure we get back to helping Akel. Making her way up the ramp and moving over the downed mooks, she drew her sword and lunged towards the enforcer with her right hand still holding the bag. If he gets a hold of the bag the would be over in an instant. Could be hard to get him to fall for it though. Lights, camera, Action.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on May 06, 2018, 09:49:05 AM
SOLAR & INFRARED


"Shut up! What do you guys want it for anyway?"

"Not your concern, child!" It seemed Fallon was done trying to talk things out, opting instead to fire round after round at Solar. The pistol shots crashed against the head of Solar's axe, deflecting on impact as she made her charge. Just as she'd predicted, when she came in for a low cleaving strike her opponent leapt away from it into a backflip... and that, as it turned out, was a huge mistake.

The charged-up headbutt caught him square in the middle of his back while upside down, and completely by surprise. Being in mid-air he had no effective way to dodge or even brace against the force that Solar slammed into him with. Lt. Fallon was sent flying through the air -- if uninterrupted he'd likely end up falling over the edge of the ship. There was, however, a small window of opportunity for Infrared to throw her explosives-laden backpack at him before he fell, potentially ending this fight just like the one with the Necro Gigas. It was at that moment, thought, that another option came into view: two Bullheads, emblazoned with White Fang iconography, moving towards the still-open airship entrance at low speed. She had mere seconds to make a choice.





RUST


Having easily (and rather brutally) dispatched the Fang grunts that had stood in his way, Rust was able to make it onto deck just in time to see the Fang lieutenant go flying and two Bullheads, likely full of reinforcements, appear outside the entrance.





AKEL & CORDELL



As Akel's shots came flying at him Quisling dashed to get to cover, keeping low to the ground to make himself a smaller target and scrambling along like... well, like a rat. He silently swore that if he survived he'd pay back this indignity ten fold, on both of them. His lightweight Aura took hit after hit despite his best efforts and the partial concealment of his toxic haze, the pirate's fiery munitions not just lighting up the cavern around him with each shot but scorching away the fumes of his Semblance on contact. Curse these fools and their blind stubbornness!

He was three-quarters of the way to the rocks when Akel dashed out of the poison fog, blade bared and ready for him. He'd seen what she could do with it, watching from up close when she'd dispatched the skeletons earlier, and knew that a weapon like that would vastly outclass his short blades in striking power and resilience. His plan had been to keep her at a distance... and yet, now, she had the advantage. Eyes going wide, Quisling winced... knowing well what was to come next. The blade slashed at his Aura, uprooting him from his low stance and flinging him back out into the open -- the treacherous rodent hit the stone floor like a sack of bricks, his Aura crackling and dispersing as he did.

"Mercy! M-mercy I... I beg you!"




BATTLE:
ENFORCER ~ Lt.Fallon :: █████████████▫▫▫▫▫▫ [72%] (EXPOSED)
SABOTEUR ~ Agent Quisling ::▕▫▫▫▫▫▫ [0% - AURA BROKEN]
WHITE FANG TROOPERS :: [6x] Defeated

Enemy Reinforcements have arrived!
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on May 06, 2018, 10:32:44 AM
"Mercy? hahaha .No." Akel said as she walked over to the rat, her sword casually against her shoulder as she walked up with all the confidence she had, mostly satisfaction from beating the person who had deceived her temporary teammates and brought the White Fang.

"All according to plan!" Akel said as she had a satisfied smile while looking at the captain, her tactics were successful and she didn't even receive any aura damage to boot, a short jump up and down showed her excitement in being able to beat a villain even if he was nothing but a coward "So, winning side? I like to think that you're not on it right now." Akel mocked the rat faunus as she forced him onto his belly and sat on his back, her hands holding the rat's wrists in place as she looked around. "Hey Captain, could you see if we have any rope around here. I want to make sure this guy doesn't escape."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on May 07, 2018, 07:24:10 AM
Reaching the deck and seeing the man who seemed to be in charge flying through the air Rust decided to pursue finishing him off leaping directly at him and swinging Onyx Ripper full force at his midsection in the (likely vain) hope of cutting him clean in half.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on May 19, 2018, 11:20:54 AM
Solar grinned to herself at the satisfaction from landing a clean hit on her opponent. She followed after the flying lieutenant in a dash, only to stop at the sight of Rust beating her to him "Hey he's mine!" Solar cried out to Rust. The sound of an engine stole away Solar's attention, the two bullheads entering the cave dropped low into view.

Solar looked from Rust to the bullheads, in frustration she turned to one of the airships and crouched down with one hand on the deck. A soft glow emitted from her whole body this time, slowly becoming brighter. With an explosion of air Solar rocketed for one of the bulkheads, axe in hand intending to break off something important crashing the bullhead.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on May 21, 2018, 08:12:17 AM
Finally comes the chance to pulverize the enforcer... that or the bullheads it seems. Although having two piles of flaming debris would make it quite difficult to get out with Howling Storm as they planned earlier. She had a split second to make a decision, but then she hesitated and both choices are invalidated. Well, she'll just have to act up a little bit more.

This time wearing the backpack on her back she came at the other side of Rust, hoping to catch the enforcer where he dodges with a slice from the other side. "He's mine! Help Solar board the bullheads!" Drawing both of their attention Infrared then closed in and whispered at the veteran's ear when they landed hoping to get his help enacting her plan, "And tell her to get ready for fire in the hole." After hinting at her ploy the specialist readied herself with Action in a twohanded grip in a standard front-facing stance and channeled frost dust into her blade a step or two away from where her match would be raising up.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on May 28, 2018, 02:20:16 PM
AKEL & CORDELL

"Rope? Probably not -- 'sides, I've got a better idea." Taking off her backpack, Cordell produced a small dagger from her boot and deftly cut loose one of the shoulder straps, taking a moment to hold up the rugged length of reinforced fabric and testing its strength. Yes, it'd do for now. Leaving the backpack where it was, she strode over with her cutlass held ready. " 'Course, a sneaky rat like you probably has a few things tucked away, aye? We'll have t' deal with that, an' I've no time nor intent t' ruffle through yer jimmies, so..."

"Wait, wait! What are you going to--"

Cordell gestured to her ears, then pointed to Akel's headwear. "Gonna want to step back for this bit." Keeping her pistol levelled at Quisling, the pirate took Akel's position the traitor in their midst. A faint electric hum pulsed as the electromagnet in the cutlass switched on. With Akel holding Quisling in place it was just a matter of holding the energized blade close enough and finding the right spots, resulting in over a dozen small knives and throwing blades, along with an assortment of small spy electronics and spare parts for the holo-drone, literally ripping right through the traitor's clothes. Convinced she'd extracted everything metal (shy of his belt buckle), the pirate bound the infiltrator's hands behind his back in a complicated-looking knot. Quisling was now officially out of the fight.

"We'll figure out what t' do with this bilge rat later. Damn good work, by th' by." Cordell flashed a smile and thumbs up to Akel, gathering up her things and the odds & ends from Quisling. The captain was still looking a bit green around the gills from being poisoned earlier, though most of the color had come back into her face now. She turned her gaze towards the Howling Storm and the cave entrance, just in time to see Solar shoot like a comet at one of the approaching Bullheads...





SOLAR, INFRARED, RUST


Fallon recovered from the force of Solar's surprise strike just in time to see the teeth of Onyx Ripper coming right for him. For a brief moment terror was writ large over the Fang lieutenant's face, knowing only too well what was likely to happen in mere moments. Twisting mid-air, he managed to bring up his own weapon to block, but barely -- his Aura flared as the whirring spikes crashed against his blade, but the outcome wasn't really in doubt. Even blocked, the sheer force behind Rust's strike would've been enough to send him flying, so when Infrared added her own strike to the mid-air mix there was only pain, whiplash, and the distinct thud of his body smacking into the cavern wall. He dropped and slid, landing in a crouch on the cave floor.

"Damnit... they weren't supposed to be this strong, were they?!" He half-muttered to himself, staggering to his feet. White-hot electricity surged as he pulled a concealed trigger on his blade. "Fine then -- no more playing around!" With a burst of speed he leapt up, kick-jumped off the cave wall, and proceeded to leap from stone to hull and back again until landing on the Howling Storm's deck once more.

In that time, however, a fair bit had happened. Solar's unexpected strike against the Bullhead had severed one of the engines completely, sending it veering wildly before crashing just outside the entrance, tumbling in a fiery wreck down the mountainside and out of sight. And Infrared was preparing some sort of Dust-powered strike... even at a glance, Lt. Fallon knew this wasn't going to go well. He was down a transport and more than half his forces. How could a ragtag band like this best the White Fang -- best him?!

"Kill them!" The lieutenant charged Rush, the outlines of his electrified sword suddenly blurring and becoming indistinct. This was a Semblance at work, no doubt -- to Rust's eyes the blade, and even the arm attached to it, suddenly became hard to track. "Kill them ALL!" At the same time the remaining Bullhead turned to track Solar, opening fire with a nose-mounted minigun. The Fang were losing ground fast and becoming desperate to even the odds...


BATTLE:
ENFORCER ~ Lt.Fallon :: █████████▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫ [40%]
[Semblance effect: Melee strikes are more difficult to anticipate.]
[Lightning Dust effect on melee weapon.]
SABOTEUR ~ Agent Quisling ::▕▫▫▫▫▫▫ [0% - AURA BROKEN]
WHITE FANG BULLHEADS :: 1 Remaining
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on May 29, 2018, 03:14:43 AM
Rust simply rolled his eyes as both Solar and Infrared decided they wanted to call dibs on targets.  "More kids getting in the fucking way." At that point he heard the man he had just smacked around calling out orders and saw him rushing forward. Rust took a second to register what the hell was going on with his arm and opted to not let him get close enough to find out. snapping his arm out he used his semblance to gut punch the commander with the wind.  "Are you fucking kidding me? Just piss off before I have to kill more of my employers."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on May 29, 2018, 07:38:11 AM
As expected, Solar felt the backlash from her semblance as her strength left her again falling from the cavern. She didn't have any way to break her fall so she braced herself to take minimal damage as she landed. At a small cost to her semblance Solar lands with a heavy crash planting her axe down. "huff...Too...easy" she said to herself in between labored breathes. Over use of her semblance was taking a toll on her.
There was no time to rest for Solar however as the second bullhead turned in her direction to avenge their comrade and open fired with relentless machine gun fire. !!! Solar's eyes went wide as she didn't move in time to feel the hard bites of bullets spraying her. Luck was not on her side and there wasn't even anything to take cover behind making Solar completely exposed out in the open from the hail of bullets.

Aura: 40%
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on June 01, 2018, 05:51:08 AM
The enforcer isn't drawn to me, and Rust is not getting any hints... Nevermind, I'm helping Solar then. Two piles of debris aren't going to cause more trouble than one.
Infrared took a deep breath and leaped from the deck of the floatstone galleon. She went high into the air, getting a bird's eye view of the picture of the fight at hand. Captain already recovered and tied up the Quisling, that's great, and the Enforcer may or may not be beatable by Rust alone but he's not letting us interrupt anyway. Looking forward is a pile of splintered rocks and one hapless Solar. That's bad for her.

Infrared boosted forward with her semblance applied on the ground, turning her fall into a supply of horizontal velocity aimed at the clear shot path at Solar and then another use to plant herself right in front of the ram Faunus making a shockwave that blows away the splinters that have been piling up. Infrared then dropped to the ground because of the immense pain dealt to her legs. But then she had to use her semblance again if she wanted to not get torn to shreds, so she against all fears raised her hand to send the spewing rounds back to the sender. Three limbs under the feeling of having a nail bolted into them Infrared can only now ask Solar to execute her trick. "Think you still have some more throwing in you?" She gritted out as she handed her her backpack and gestured Solar for the detonator.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on June 10, 2018, 06:33:22 PM
Akel did as she was told and hopped off of Qusling to let Cordell take over with a few extra steps to ensure that her headphones wouldn't start acting up on her, she was glad she did when the metallic weaponry and parts started bursting through the traitor's clothes

The bat faunus flashed a smile in return to the one that she had received from the human but didn't waste any time but had her concerned with that hint of green "Don't push yourself, I don't want to see you get injured."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on June 14, 2018, 06:00:13 PM
AKEL & CORDELL


"Yer compassion's appreciated, trust me." Cordell took a slow, deep, steadying breath. As if on cue a small wisp of green haze began to emanate from Quisling's bound hands -- dissipating to nothing as the pirate gave the traitorous rodent a swift kick to the head, knocking him out cold. She smirked. "May not be at me best, but I ain't licked yet. Ye'd best see t' what's left o' th' fight -- no worries, I'll make sure this rat bastard don't slip his leash."

"By th' by," She added, scooping up Quisling's arsenal as she powered down her blade. "Lemme know if'n ye want any o' these, aye?"







SOLAR, INFRARED, RUST


Fallon was, at this point, beyond reason -- so blinded by fury and desperation that he didn't know when to quit. Even getting the wind momentarily knocked out of him by Rust only slowed his pace, and in that gasping, wheezing interlude he'd pulled out his pistol, quickly using the same blurring trick on it as his saber. Rust would have a difficult time deflecting or dodging the incoming three rounds, though they also weren't likely to do much to his Aura. Clearly, the lieutenant was just buying time to close the distance... though given Alizarin's specialty, he might well regret doing so.

With the feed from their machine gun abruptly getting turned back on them, the one remaining Fang Bullhead completely lost its initiative and seemed at a loss for how to respond. Bullet holes now pocked its hull and thruster housings, with one particular shot having splintered the armored glass of the canopy like a spider-web. After a clear moment of hesitation the ship began to veer aside, clearly intending to disengage and deploy the grunts on board -- this was the best opening Solar would get to take her shot and end this.




BATTLE:
ENFORCER ~ Lt.Fallon :: ███████▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫▫ [30%]
[Semblance effect: Melee strikes and pistol fire are more difficult to anticipate.]
[Lightning Dust effect on melee weapon.]
SABOTEUR ~ Agent Quisling ::▕▫▫▫▫▫▫ [0% - AURA BROKEN]
WHITE FANG BULLHEADS :: 1 Remaining {damaged, disoriented}
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on June 15, 2018, 07:32:00 AM
Rust grunted as the shots hit him as he decided to match his victim's advance stepping forward and swinging Onyx Ripper wide at Fallon's left shoulder. intending to crush into him and then maintain pressure allowing the chainsaw to rip apart aura and not let up once he reached flesh and bone.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on June 17, 2018, 02:01:48 PM
"Think you still have some more throwing in you?"

The answer was no, but what Solar said was "You bet I do!". Solar braced herself to feel more bullets but Infrared's save gave her the opportunity to counterattack, if she didn't take the chance now, they would both end up in trouble. There was no other choice. With a swinging arm Solar grabbed the backpack full of bombs and continued to spin around with the bags weight. An orange glow spread as she spun in three circles building up momentum, and at the end of the third spin Solar let go of the bag. The bag soared through the sky just above the hail of bullets and the force stopped just short of the ship. But by that time Solar set off the detonator with a click. She didn't even bother to see if it hit as she collapsed spread out on the floor of the cave clearly out of breath. "Huff...Puff...Just...give me a...second" she wheezed as she started chugging water from her bladder.

Aura: 38%
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on June 20, 2018, 08:45:01 AM
Infrared was relieved that the volley finally stops and puts down her arm before Solar even started throwing. Her legs are getting better from 'being nailed' to 'washing wound with plain water' but her hand, it hurts. Moving it hurts. Just leaving it alone hurts. Touching it hurts. Exposing it to the air hurts. Scraping it hurts. Flexing it hurts. It is actually pretty close to getting a rather serious burn.

But as she sat up she felt some... moist. She only felt it on her seat, but she had better make sure what it is, she doesn't know the strain of overusing her semblance.
Infrared turned around and back to see Solar splashing water from her drinking. That made Infrared wished she had brought a bottle or something too. But anyway that should be the end of our part. Now it's just Rust and the big guy.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on June 21, 2018, 01:22:43 AM
Akel showed some concern as she got the reply from the captain, she obviously didn't want to leave the girl alone but she shouldn't doubt her teammate. "Don't disappoint me, that rat is going to jail... hmm I'll take these" said the bat faunus as she reached down and grabbed two t-daggers, wrapping her hand around it as a grip and letting the dagger stick out between her knuckles.

"Always gotta be prepared" Akel said as she waved her free hand to Cordell before placing the two daggers against her magnetic holster for her sword on her right side and running off to the ship to assist her allies.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on July 01, 2018, 09:34:13 AM
The BOOM of the explosive-filled backpack going off echoed through the entire cavern, accompanied by the sounds of pieces of metal raining down onto bare stone. When the bloom of smoke and flame cleared half the aircraft was just simply gone, the other half rolling like a tumbleweed for a few moments before it ground to a halt in a screeching shower of sparks. Most of the grunts and crew had leapt out (or been blasted out) at the last moment, laying still but most likely alive where they landed. In any case, they wouldn't be putting up a fight any time soon. Solar and Infrared had pushed themselves to their limits... but in the end, it paid off. The fight was all but over.

A scream of terror filled the cavern just seconds after the explosives, the other half of the fight reaching its conclusion in similarly destructive fashion. When Fallon and Rust reached striking distance their blades had clashed -- Rust was a half-second quicker and, although Fallon had clearly been intent on slash-and-stab, the Fang lieutenant had been forced onto the defensive to avoid being cleaved in two. For all the good it had done him; the whirling spikes of Onyx Ripper buffeted Fallon's saber, and just like the Fang Bullhead there was a banshee shriek of metal and torrent of sparks from the clash. Leverage, however, can often be a deciding factor in melee combat -- Fallon gripped his blade by one hand, whereas Alizarin's weapon was mounted to his forearm. It was inevitable that the lieutenant's grip would slip. Caught by the chainsaw fangs on Rust's weapon Fallon's sword was flung away, his arm pulled downwards by the exerted force... and what had been intended as a shoulder-level strike instead went a few inches higher. Lt. Fallon had just enough time to recognize his predicament and scream in horror before his Aura crumbled... and he was silenced, head dropping to the deck with a crimson spray, expression frozen in a wide-eyed gasp.


It was over... it was finally over.


(https://i.imgur.com/SpKRhb5.png)
Wolves of the Sea (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIBrlpyKGYY)
by Antti Martikainen



With all enemies bested, the adventurers could not only catch some much-needed breaths but take their time in securing prisoners from the surviving Fang troopers -- none seemed interested in putting up a fight with their Bullheads destroyed and their leadership gone, captured, or decapitated, perhaps out of an awareness that ending up in a Mistali jail was a much better fate than either dying here or getting left behind. Even Quisling managed to behave himself; admittedly, waking up locked in a musty old pirate chest may have had something to do with it.

"Can hardly believe we actually pulled it off." Cordell couldn't help but mention as they all regrouped on the deck of the Howling Storm. A terrible Grimm, a backstabbing traitor, the White Fang... they'd overcome some serious odds to reach this point. Running her hand across the old wooden railings of the legendary pirate ship, she knew this was a story they'd all be telling for a long time to come. "Right, so... only three things left t' do: load up every treasure in this forsaken old cave, fly this ol' beauty out," She grinned from ear to ear at the last item. "An' decide what t' do with all th' loot."

"Way I see it is this: ye'v all more'n earned yer share -- an' Rust half o' mine, as agreed. Since Quis was a fake there's clearly no deal with th' historical society, never was. That means we can do as we please with whatever we recover!" Her grin shifted, dimming somewhat. "... But there's one thing we've gotta all decide on first. Th' crown. Who's got it, by th' by?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on July 02, 2018, 04:04:17 AM
As a spray of blood painted his armour Rust once again tilted his head back in a maniacal laugh as his target"s head dropped to the deck at his feet. Not long afterwards Alizarin's foot crashed into it crushing it into the deck of the ship.  "So long shithead. At least you were kind of useful as paint."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


At the approach of Cordell. Rust changed his deranged smile to a calmer one as it seemed the need for violence was over.  "welcome back aboard captain."  At the request for the crown Rust looked around and realised that no one else was responding and finally checked what was inside his bag to find the crown and he pulled it from the bag, throwing the bag to the side and holding the crown in both hands. He paused in silent contemplation for what felt like ages, trying to decide whether or not he should keep it for himself. Eventually he held it out towards Cordell.  "your call. But I vote we destroy it, or leave it in the deepest pit of the ocean we can find."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on July 06, 2018, 09:04:04 AM
'I object,' Said an obviously hurried- and visibly irritated by the suggestion- Infrared, having to get up when her legs haven't yet fully recovered because someone decided to make a suggestion that risks all of us, 'Quisling has a point back then. We don't know what it can do if this concentration level of dust blows up all at once. Dumping it in the ocean won't work either- someone was bound to stumble upon it if it is not secure. I suggest we grab that container you spoke of back on the ship and put it under the protection of Mistral's professionals, along with Howling Storm.' Infrared threw a frowning glance at Rust. 'Now, how do we split the loot into equal shares?'
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on July 06, 2018, 10:53:08 AM
Akel made her way back to the ship with three WF grunts behind her who had given up resisting with one whose shirt had been ripped aprt to help deal with the wound that had been inflicted bh Rust. While Akel wasn't happy about his disregard for the lives of others she looked visibly disturbed as she saw the headless body but didn't make a comment about it.

"We still have the mining charges. We could stuff that containment unit full of it and detonate it in this cavern after we have evacuated. Desteoying the crown is the safest bet and no one will miss this place if it gwts destroyed. How many years have passed and all this treasure has remained untouched?" Akel deliberately finishing on a open-question to get her point across that this was an island with little to no value to anyone besides historians but this was just an old pirate hideout with the only items of hiatorical value being a supremely powerful aura weapon and a flying ship that is outdated by technology of the current age.

"Infrared, it may be safe for now but what's to say it won't be stolen one day or someone with ulterior motives gets their hands on it. Destroying it would be the safest bet unless you have someone that you know you can trust in Atlas." Akel finished by crossing her arms and leaning on the ship's rails.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on July 06, 2018, 11:58:06 PM
Recovered from overusing her semblance, Solar lept up and followed Infrared back to the rest of the group. Catching the subject of the conversation Solar voiced her own opinion. "Why don't we just keep it!?" she said with child like enthusiasm. "Or at least why don't you keep it Capn? Can I still try it on pleeaase?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on July 18, 2018, 05:12:57 PM
Having heard everyone out, Cordell folded her arms and appeared to be deep in thought. "So... two votes t' destroy, one t' hand it over, one t' keep." She mused on that for a long, long moment, mulling it about in her mind and trying to find some sort of compromise. She certainly agreed that the Crown was dangerous, and the original plan for it was definitely not without both flaws and risks. She herself was split -- the Crown's raw energy terrified her, which is something she couldn't say about many things, but out-and-out destroying it could prove a worse decision than letting it fall into the wrong hands.

What to do, what to do...

After a long, silent pause, Cordell opened her eyes. "I've trusted ye all this far, an' not a one o' ye's let me down. That's a hellova lot more'n I can say for most'a th' people I've worked with! I don't think I could've asked fer a better crew on this hunt, honestly."

"Here's what I propose: we round up every last scrap o' value in this gods-forsaken hole an' load it all aboard th' Howling Storm, along with th' scoundrels. I'll signal th' Red Corsair t' come an' assist, now that we've got an entrance; a few bots what should make quick work of the heavy loading, I dare say. If'n ye'v got a Scroll, ye may wanna take some pictures o' this place... I've got a feelin' it won't be around long once we do what needs doin'."

"As fer th' Crown, I agree it's too dangerous t' let leave this cave. I'll have Delahaye rig up somethin' special on a nice long timer t' do th' deed once we're well away. Good news is, even if it turns out t' be th' single worst Dust bomb in th' history o' Remnant," She looked up at the cave walls around them. "Th' compression wave from th' blast'll bounce around in here until th' mountain collapses on it, an' don't forget we're on an isolated little island in th' middle o' th' worlds biggest lake. Worst case is a tidal wave which, while terrible and hopefully won't happen, I'll take over another Mad Prince any day. We can transmit a long-range burst from th' Red Corsair t' warn th' local fishing villages before we set anything off."

She looked to Solar and Infrared. "I know ye wanna preserve it -- hell, it's th' whole bloody reason we came here in th' first place -- so here's me compromise. Before we blast th' Crown, ye can all handle it. I'm trustin' ye here; look it over, take pictures, th' works. We'll be th' last people t' ever see it, so I ain't about t' deny ye th' chance if'n ye want it. But fer pity's sake, please please don't use it! Damn thing could bring th' cave down on our heads as easy as not, I'll wager."

"So, do we all agree?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on July 20, 2018, 01:33:26 PM
Infrared listened intently. She does find the Captain's analysis reasonable, yet gritted all the same when she knew she couldn't possibly save it. "That isn't much of a compromise. Trying to use it would be too dumb to live, and honestly, staring into it for too long and I might even fail to make the save against taking it. Its construct just looks so majestic..."

"If it makes a tidal wave then the island will probably be gone. Considering even the biggest baddest bomb Atlas has ever tested still doesn't come close to destroying a small town that might be worrying too much. Just let me take a good look."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: EdgeyReyes on July 20, 2018, 07:04:57 PM
"Infra, it's the safest hand we have, I'd personally not want to see that unless it came to a war where it was human and faunus against grimm in a final push." Akel took out her scroll and turned the device on, even it was destriyed, a picture would be nice plus recording the explosion would also be pretty cool to see. Evidence like this wouldn't matter if there was an entire mountain on top, plus having it shattered into a million pieces.

The white-haired bat faunus placed her bag of mining charges on the ground "Stuff as many as we can into the containment unit and blow it up when we're far away, alerted the villages and given them enough time to pack essentials and leave?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on July 24, 2018, 09:05:18 PM
Solar was hardly paying attention (especially the part about not using the crown),as her sparkling eyes were fixated on the ancient jewelry. Personal space was clearly not a concern for her as she hovered all over Cordell holding the crown.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on July 29, 2018, 09:53:13 AM
Having heard everyone out, Cordell folded her arms and appeared to be deep in thought. "So... two votes t' destroy, one t' hand it over, one t' keep." She mused on that for a long, long moment, mulling it about in her mind and trying to find some sort of compromise. She certainly agreed that the Crown was dangerous, and the original plan for it was definitely not without both flaws and risks. She herself was split -- the Crown's raw energy terrified her, which is something she couldn't say about many things, but out-and-out destroying it could prove a worse decision than letting it fall into the wrong hands.

What to do, what to do...
"I've trusted ye all this far, an' not a one o' ye's let me down. That's a hellova lot more'n I can say for most'a th' people I've worked with! I don't think I could've asked fer a better crew on this hunt, honestly."



Alirzarin couldn't help but smile at the comment about his reliability as a member of the crew.  "Sounds like a solid plan to me. Also on the topic of crews. I'd like to have a quick chat with you before we depart if it's alright with you Cordell."
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on August 02, 2018, 06:28:11 PM
Cordell raised a curious eyebrow at Rust's request. "Oh? Lookin' t' take on a bit o' th' pirate's life, are ya?" She chuckled. "Aye, we'll discuss whatever ye'd like. Lemme just get a signal out t' Delahaye so we can round up th' treasures in earnest."



Three Hours Later...



Even with the help of the worker robots from aboard Cordell's ship, scouring the cavern hideout for valuables proved a time consuming task. Coins and shiny trinkets were stashed in chests and piles, yes, but also tucked away under floorboards and inside all manner of hidden compartments -- to be expected of pirates, never quite trusting each other it seemed. Building after building, room after room, it seemed almost everywhere they turned the group discovered more and more wealth. Crates and boxes had to be dropped from the Red Corsair to accommodate the sheer bulk of the finds; it was, unequivocally, the treasure trove of the century.

Breathing a weary-but-giddy sigh as she placed the last box in the Howling Storm's hold, Cordell turned to the others. "Well, this'll go down in th' history books fer sure. Hope yer all ready t' be rich and famous!" Turning, she reached for a sealed metal crate that had been dropped from her ship earlier, unsealing it with a click -- inside was a chilled bottle of rum, which she proceeded to pop open and pour out glasses for everyone. "Got this for ya, and," She reached into her coat, drawing out several devices that could be described as rugged-looking home-made Scrolls. "One o' these fer each o' ye. You lot're the sort I wish I could work with more often; should ya ever need me, these transponders'll ping th' Red Corsair yer location an' open up a secure line. You call an' I'll do me damnest for ya, swear on me blood an' honor."

She lifted her glass in a toast. "To th' treasure hunters o' th' Howling Storm!"




(http://i.imgur.com/Bk1g9Kx.png)
Spoiler: ShowHide
Congrats on getting the most profitable ending possible for this adventure! Through a combination of skill, tenacity, and just a hint of luck you guys not only took out the Necro Gigas and its skeletal army but bested the White Fang to claim the treasure. Here's the breakdown of your grand haul:




[RUST]
1 Full Share
+ 1/2 Share (from Cordell)
+ 11 Assorted Coins
+ 1 Ancient Vial of Fire Dust
+ Optional Bonus: Lt. Fallon's Lightning Dust Saber (https://www.deviantart.com/pixelworlds/art/Mithrodin-Sword-85505280)
+ 1 Red Corsair Transceiver (unlimited uses)

[SOLAR]
1 Full Share
+ 1 Gold Coin
+ 1 Red Corsair Transceiver (unlimited uses)

[AKEL]
1 Full Share
+ 3 Ruby embedded silver brooch
+ 1 pair of silver earrings with small sapphires in a small silver box
+ 2 small silver chain holding an encased diamond
+ 1 jewel-encrusted chalice filled with gold coins
+ 1 chain-linked collar and a matching key
+ 1 ivory birdcage
+ 1 ceremonial dagger with a large ruby+ sheath
+ 1 Red Corsair Transceiver (unlimited uses)

[INFRARED]
1 Full Share
+ 1 Red Corsair Transceiver (unlimited uses)

[CORDELL]
1/2 Share


RED CORSAIR TRANSCEIVER:
This long-range signaling device is Cordell's own creation, able to piggy-back off the reach of the CCT towers to broadcast a secure signal to almost anywhere in the inhabited world. You can use this to get assistance from the Red Corsair in the form of fire support, supplies, or transportation -- just shoot me a PM when you want to use it.


{Summary of Treasure Hoard}
The loot that had been gathered away by the pirates of old was quite the assortment: heaps of gold, silver, and copper coins with markings from a range of Mistrali dynasties, jewel-encrusted ornaments and trinkets, various weapons and armor forged of Dust-infused metal or with Dust crystals set into their making, ancient books and maps of great historical worth, and even a few chests full of well-preserved clothes ranging from meager peasant-wear likely used as disguises all the way up to the formal garb of soldiers, courtiers, and nobles. The sealed-up cave had protected its contents well for the past 200 years... the rewards of this quest are truly outstanding!

APPROXIMATE VALUE IN TOTAL: 11,340 million Lien (equal to $170 million USD)
VALUE PER SHARE: 2268 million Lien (equal to $34 million USD)


Treasue values sources: [1] (https://gizmodo.com/a-spanish-coin-worth-500-000-was-just-found-in-a-flori-1720714448) [2] (http://mentalfloss.com/article/90883/7-biggest-treasure-troves-ever-found)
(Lien to USD conversion based on this analysis (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ItsAlsoAGun/permalink/1639022502819588).)




BREAKDOWN BY MONETARY VALUE:

[RUST]
2268 M Lien (1 Full Share)
+ 1134 M Lien (1/2 Share from Cordell)
+ 2.5 M Lien (11 Assorted Coins)
+ 0.05 M Lien (1 Ancient Vial of Fire Dust)
TOTAL :: 3404.55 Million Lien (equal to $51 Million USD)

[AKEL]
2268 M Lien (1 Full Share)
+ 468 M Lien  (Numerous assorted treasures and coins)
TOTAL :: 2736 Million Lien (equal to $41 Million USD)

[SOLAR]
2268 M Lien (1 Full Share)
+ 0.6 M Lien (1 Gold Coin)
TOTAL :: 2268.6 Million Lien (equal to $34 Million USD)

[INFRARED]
2268 M Lien (1 Full Share)
TOTAL :: 2268 million Lien (equal to $34 million USD)

[CORDELL]
1134 M Lien (1/2 Share)
TOTAL :: 1134 M Lien (equal to $17 Million USD)


As a point of reference, each of your characters is now wealthy enough to afford most of the mega-mansions on this list (https://www.zillow.com/blog/the-price-of-mega-mansions-around-the-country-139811). Even if your character opted to donate half of their share to a museum they'd still have enough left over to live quite comfortably for the rest of their days, or buy up a few small companies, or purchase a private luxury airship... there are plenty of possibilities! What will your character do with the loot?

Also, it isn't just your characters getting treasure for completing this quest -- I have gifts for you awesome RPers as well! PM me with your preference for TWO of the following (you can get two of the same if you'd like):


 - $25 online gift card for custom miniatures from HeroForge (https://www.heroforge.com/)
 - $25 online gift card for games on Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/)
 - $25 online gift card for stuff from the Rooster Teeth store (https://store.roosterteeth.com/)
 - $25 online gift card for whatever catches your fancy on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/legal/gift-cards/)


As for the rest of 'Hunt for the Howling Storm', you can post as little or as much as you'd like and in any order; officially speaking all the action is done at this point, so it's a casual RP now. Once everyone is finished (put something like 'Last Post' in your last post) I'll post a brief epilogue to wrap things up. You guys have been great and I seriously appreciate all the effort, strategy, and patience you've put into this event. Drink up, me hearties, YO HO!
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on August 13, 2018, 10:35:01 AM
"Indeed it has and you seem like the perfect captain to serve under."  Rust almost purred out with his trademark predatory grin as he went about helping out with the gathering of funds. He happily accepted the glass of rum taking a solid swig as he looked about at the others before settling his gaze on Infrared. "Just for the record. I'm well aware you're from Atlas. If you rat me out to them then I promise you. You'll wish for the death I gave the fang.'
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on August 13, 2018, 11:41:56 AM
In response to Cordell's cheering Infrared joked,"One of us is already famous before and the other three of us still won't be famous afterwards because.we would rather keep our wealth secret."
On the other hand, Rust's threat does not intimidate her. "One, I won't know where you are like right after we depart. Ding! Two, I did not see how the Fang died so that's not a effective threat. Ding! Three, you just assumed I know who you are. For the record, I do, but you did not know that. Ding! Sin tally: 3. Sentence: trying to tell that to the face of my handler." Confident she just roasted Rust she took a long sip from the offered rum. If not for him though, Infrared can totally ensure her intoxication.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Ordelis on August 13, 2018, 05:40:00 PM
After given permission to handle the crown Solar looked over the ancient crown with intense fascination. She held the crown up to her face and inspected every jewel and angle there was to look at. Hey eyes sparkled as brightly as the crown itself with intense curiosity Who made this? Why did they make this? How did they make this? Can it be made again? and most importantly to her...What can it do?

She knew this was the exact opposite of what Cordell had just instructed but she didn't care, not when her answers were staring at her in the face. Infrared and Rust looked to be arguing about something while Akel and Cordell were the farthest away from her, seizing her opportunity Solar quickly placed the crown atop her head.
Or so she attempted to anyway.

The crown stopped just touching the top of her head with a *clink as her horns got in the way of actually wearing it. Solar's expression changed from gleeful excitement to horrified as she realized what happend. Despite this she continued to force the crown over her horns despite it being a clear impossibility. After several irritated attempts she began to get experimental, first she simply let the crown dangle on her horn and concluded it did nothing, next she let the crown sit atop her horns and concluded failure, lastly she let her her whole head bend backwards and let the crown sit on her face. "Aw come on! Why do I have horns!?" Solar raged to herself as she angrily threw the crown on the ground in a childish attempt at breaking it.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Riven on August 14, 2018, 01:36:15 PM
(OOC: Oh my... ^_^;; )



The moment the Sorcerer's Crown hit the bare stone floor of the cave, three things happened all at once. The first was Cordell's Semblance lighting up her mind's eye like a searing floodlight, the "treasure sense" picking up a spike of energy so intense it simply could not be ignored or shut out. This was accompanied by a ripple of light travelling out from the crown in all directions, for a half-second rendering every shadow and color in the entire cave washed out and reduced to a monochrome of pale gray and flat, stark white.

The third... was that a distant part of the cave ceiling abruptly began to melt, and a handful of empty structures between the crown and that spot of elevated rock were reduced to dry, ashen powder.

There was no sound, no thunderous roar to accompany the release of Dust energies, not even properly an explosion of any sort... it just was. It happened and, in an instant, the radiance was gone. The only sounds to be heard was the sizzling of super-heated rock at the distant end of the cave . . . and the falling crash of a rum glass followed by the anguished profanities of a pirate.

"AAAAARGH! SPLIT ME SIDEWAYS WITH A BLOODY CRUISE MISSILE -- THE HELLS WAS THAT?!?!" The suffering rant wasn't directed at anyone in particular -- Cordell hadn't even seen Solar toss the crown, as she'd been busy pouring a fresh round of celebratory rum. Even though the flash of light hadn't been blinding to the eyes Cordell nonetheless staggered to one side, eyes winced shut and clutching her head like she'd just received the world's worst migraine. In truth, she basically had; her Semblance had completely overloaded from the brief, unintentional energy release. "****!!"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: Siuwa on August 20, 2018, 01:47:18 AM
(OOC: Sigh.)
Infrared had rushed in to catch the Crown as soon as she saw it flying at the ground but it was too late, so she had to brace the gigantic blast, daring not to wince even though the blinding flash emitted from the Crown so as to prepare her semblance. Only it didn't come. Any signs of damage of damage was out of the way at the side. What about Solar? Is she hurt? A quick inspection says no. So her worry about Solar's safety fades... and gives way to the anger born. And so she calmly walked up to her, picked up the crown and hand it back to the Captain by stuffing it in her hand before turning back to Solar and pirecing her with the stares of spears. "What. Did. The Captain. Say?" Infrared's face might have looked calm, but her twitching body language screams that she might seize her by the waist and give her a paddling any time, just like that one time when the mines she worked in collapsed and trapped her inside.
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on September 11, 2018, 07:43:26 AM
Rust hadn't seen the crown thrown and as a result when the flash of light temporarily blinded him he was caught of guard and joined Cordell in shouting. "What the fuck!"
Though unlike Cordell he recovered very quickly, nothing causing pain and his eyes regaining sight quickly, seeing Cordell's reaction he moved towards her to check if she was ok.
 "Cordell! Are you alright!?"
Title: Re: Hunt for the Howling Storm {CLOSED}
Post by: arcus_gray on October 31, 2018, 09:21:26 AM
Going to give this a bump since I don't think we are done yet.