Trouble With Technologists - Enter the Hamster - RPLOG
Participants
Date
05/8/480
Log
It is late in the day and dark, heavy clouds have rolled in, further obscuring the murky twilight. The streets, if you can call them streets, of Shanty Town are empty as an ongoing drizzle has turned the packed dirt to mud. An extremely nervous looking ferret is huddled under the patchy eaves of Danny's Dark Delights, looking around furtively as if waiting for someone and afraid of being caught out.A large brown bear clad in chainmail and leathers, on the chubbier side, wanders his way through the twisted, muddy streets. Contrary to the dreary surroundings, he has a small smile plastered on his face and a bit of a spring in his step. Well, as much of a spring as one can when constantly extricating their boots from mud, anyway, as he approaches the ferret.
Keeping mostly in the shadows, a bat seems to be following the bear from a moderate distance, dark hood raised over her head. Delicate fingers dance on the hilts of her swords as she takes in the surroundings. She seems to be unarmoured, despite being well armed, but as Corin stops to approach the ferret, she catches up, inclining her head to the two beings.
And then, there a dark-furred feline. Masked and dressed in a dark, leather outfit. She isn't wearing her usual red and gold, instead opting for something midnight-black, with the faintest hints of silver. And of course, a silver mask obscuring her face. Shanty-town isn't exactly her usual locale, but her people have a considerable presence here, and she'd like to keep it that way, even if that means doling out a bit of mob-justice every now and then.
The edgy ferret starts violently when Corin stops in front of him. "Ashes!" he squeaks, "Don't sneak up on a guy! Coulda gave me an attack!" Because the chubby bear was so stealthy.
The little weasel peers into the drizzly twilight at the other two beings. If he looked nervous before, it is nothing compared with the nerves he is showing now. "Oh. Oh gees. I wasn't expecting. . . " he coughs and moves on without saying what he did not expect. "Listen," he says, "I don't want any trouble. I was just sposed to meet some. . . uh. . . some guys about a thing. I'll just move along." The ferret hunches up his shoulders against the rain and starts to slink away.
Corin reaches out and grabs the ferret/weasel by the collar with the crook of one finger, "I'm pretty sure I'm at least one of the guys you needed to see about a thing, so if you'd be so kind as to expound on the details?" Corin says with a grin. Because that's not threatening in the least. Master of diplomacy. "It WAS you who pinned that note to the job board, no?"
Aiyasha tilts her head slightly in her large hood, raising her eyebrows slightly. "And I another, I believe." She looks the weasel up and down, before letting her gaze wander again and examining the surroundings some more.
"You didn't expect -what-, weasel?" the darkly-dressed feline offers, smiling faintly from under her mask as she makes sure to block the Ferret's way out, flashing him a predatory grin from under that mask. "I suggest you talk. Wouldn't want to have wasted our time in coming out here, would you?"
The ferret struggles for a second, but stops when Corin introduces himself. "What?" he starts, looking between the three beings and swallowing hard as he sees readied weapons and Katrina moving to block his escape. "I. . . I, uh, I was sorta just expecting a couple of toughs. You know? Somebody lookin' for a fight. I ain't got no money or nothin'," he stammers, "But I thought maybe somebody might show. I just didn't expect folks like. . . " he trails off, looking worriedly at Katrina's silver mask and Aiyasha's dark hood.
He shakes himself free of Corin's loose grasp and scurries back under the eaves for a little protection from the rain, regaining a little composure. "But if you're here ta help, I could use it. Listen," he starts, "You ever hear of them Techno-whatsits? The ones that use crazy Creator stuff and test em out on other folks? Well they're back! Keepin' things quiet for now. But they took a bunch of shanty towners." He frowns, "Street sleepers like me that nobody notices. I woulda told the guards, but nobody trusts em out here. 'Sides, they can't come out here unless they bring a bleeding army with em."
"Techno whatsists?" Corin asks, scratching his head, "Okay... Where did you last see them then?" the bear hefts the shotgun strapped across his shoulder and glances down, WAY down, at the ferret, "Can't say I blame you on the guard thing, though. Never seen a patrol come through here."
"Creator tech, huh?" The bat's ears twitch. "I can't say I have heard of them before, but they sound like trouble." She ponders for a moment, before dragging a little on her red scarf to pull it over her muzzle, giving it a couple twitches to see if it is well secured. Gesturing towards the bear, she adds: "Yes, just point us at them."
"Good lad. That wasn't so hard, now was it?" the she-cat purrs with a voice as smooth as honey, before she smiles lightly, and turns to the others. "Technologists. A rather... Radical sect of machine-priests. Not particularly popular in Shralesta, either. Amoral, unfeeling, and like any good sect, believe they are the only right beings in the world," Katrina offers, tail swaying behind her.
"Any hints you could provide would be appreciated. I doubt the people in charge would want them hanging around in their back-yard, even if it's just the shanties," she offers to the ferret.
The Ferret licks his lips nervously. "Took over an old ebon den," he says, "End of Poverty. There's a little shack there with a tunnel dug under the floorboards. I saw 'em taking folks there. Don't know what else is going on down under. Just make 'em stop." His piece said, the little weasel turns to slip away into a muddy alleyway.
"Onward then?" Corin asks, cracking his knuckles. Not that you can hear the knuckle-cracking through a quarter-inch of leather glove, but, you know, it looks vaguely menacing. Vaguely. Either way, the large bear starts off towards Poverty street, and for a change of pace (For him) seems to be actually going in the right direction for once. A little smile is still on his face, as always.
Aiyasha nods slowly and one of her hands vanishes into her tunic, while another is planted firmly on the hilt of one of her swords. She stays quiet, but follows behind the bear, giving both the feline and the ursine a couple of looks in an attempt to form an opinion about her incidental companions.
A nod and a gesture for the bear and the bat to head along, as she moves along herself, decidedly quick strides propelling her through the rain. All in all, she seems to be wearing little more than her armor and her mask, no weapons to speak of, although she does appear rather confident in her abilities none-the-less...
The unnamed ferret's directions lead to an ugly little shack at the end of the road. Light from a lantern peeks through the ill fitted slats of the hovel and there is a muted mutter of voices coming from inside.
Corin stands a bit back from the building. Apparently, how much noise his feet make is not COMPLETELY lost on the bear, and he gestures to the other two to take the lead, or at least eavesdrop on whatever conversation is occurring in the building. Caution and all that jazz.
Aiyasha presses a large ear on the door to check for sounds coming from the main part of the building, while her left hand grasps the doorknob. Mentally already preparing to pick the lock in case the door is locked, the bat waits for a while like this, free hand raised in a position that signals the others to be quiet and still.
Katrina, meanwhile, is more intent on getting visuals, although any additional sound would certainly be appreciated, her tail swaying silently behind her, she moves up behind the building, taking a moment to find a good spot, taking a peek between the poorly-aligned boards of the shack. After a little while, she signs... Something to Aiyasha...
The inside of the little shack is sparsely furnished, permitting an unobstructed view of the whole inside. Squeezing between the poorly constructed buildings to get around back is no small feat, but Katrina manages to get there without making much more noise than the rain.
Two beings in padded armor are visible inside the hovel, one a rather imposing wolf, and the other a significantly LESS imposing beaver. They are seated on a pair of mismatched chairs at a low table and seem to be playing cards. If there actually IS a tunnel, it is nowhere to be seen in the dim light of their lantern.
"I hate this game," the wolf growls, tossing his cards on the table, "I can never keep the rules straight. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were cheating me, Den." The Beaver only chuckles and collects his winnings from the table. Seems innocent enough.
Corin seems entirely out of the loop, given his lack of proximity to the building. So instead, he pulls his weapon off his shoulder and gestures vaguely at friend bat to let him know what the flying hell is going on. Whether or not she sees him is up in the air, but he certainly does make a fool of himself with wild gestures.
Aiyasha lowers her hand to sign an answer back to Katrina, before pulling out a lockpick and quietly starting to work on the lock, looking over her shoulder from time to time, both to observe the other two and to check for threats.
A smile, a rumble, as Katrina signs a counter-argument, before slinking off to Corin, and pulling out a small blowpipe and several darts. "You know how to work these things, big guy? She -insists- on not killing anyone, but still," the panthress offers in hushed tones, tapping each of the darts in turn. "Blue to sleep, green to kill. Any leftovers, I want back afterwards," she offers, as she loads a blue-feathered dart into a small blowpipe mounted under her wrist. "'course, if you just want to pummel some heads," she adds with a small smirk, a playful flick of the tail. "They are fast-acting. Do not prick yourself, I do not have the antidote on me."
The cheap lock is easy to pick and the tumblers turn with a rather loud clunk. But it is not much louder than the rain that has decided to pick up from a drizzle to a steady downfall.
Inside, the wolf and beaver are still at their game, the Beaver trying to explain the rules. "Listen. Twos are worth twenty each. Unless you have the Fool, then they are worth fifty. But if your opponent has a double onion, he can Cripple Mister Onion and your Fool makes everything worth half its normal value, see?" Creators, that sounds like a complicated card game.
"Blue to sleep. Got it." Corin says, tucking the appropriately colored dart, "Will kill if I need to, though." he adds in a hushed murmur. While the boy may not be the MOST coordinated thing on the planet, he does manage to keep the darts from stabbing him as he slings his shotgun over his shoulder once more. Taking aim over the (Significantly shorter) bat's shoulder, Corin prepares to launch a dart at the Beaver in the middle of his lecture. Apparently, whatever this game is doesn't hold the bear's interest.
Aiyasha gives a firm nod to the others, before sliding back her left sleeve a little, revealing a wrist mounted crossbow with a weird looking bolt loaded into it. She flicks a safety switch and takes aim, before quietly opening the door just a bit, giving the others another nod and then opening it quickly all the way, letting the stun bolt from her crossbow lose at the wolf.
Katrina moves aside, ready to fire her own dart, at the other being... A quick gesture towards Aiyasha to move aside, and she, herself, is taking aim... And then, giving a gesture to the bear, she takes aim, and lets her dart fly, only to quickly follow up with a second at the other being...
There is little to no chance of the door opening quietly in a place like Shanty Town. The rusty hinges creak like the crack of doom, causing the two seated beings to look up from their game, hands reaching for their belts where heavy saps are strung. The wolf jerks to one side and cries out as he takes Aiyasha's short bolt to a shoulder and then Katrina's needle to his raised arm. The smaller beaver does not fare much better, though he is fortunate enough to have only a pair of blow darts to deal with. Corin's takes him low on his belly and he looks at it in confusion, his hand stalled halfway to his belt, though he seems to carry no weapon. Then he slumps to the ground, a feathered dart neatly lodged in his neck.
The larger wolf does not go down so fast. "Denver!" he slurs, then turns angrily to charge the door where Katrina is standing!
Corin steps between the panthress and the wolf and throws a hefty right cross towards the stunned wolf's muzzle. It's unlikely to kill, but it'll probably hurt like the dickens if it hits. If it doesn't, I suppose Corin is directly in the line of fire. Way to go, smarty-bear, way to go.
Aiyasha gracefully moves of the way, hand almost reaching for her sword as she moves past the charging wolf, but deciding against it at the last moment and instead jabbing her elbow with full force into the wolf's side, before jumping backwards, out of the way, in case the attack did not incapacitate him.
Kat, for her part, is quick to move out of the way, rolling to the side and moving into position opposite Aiyasha, and preparing another sleep-dart, just in case. Rather than firing it, though, she's got it in her hand, ready to stab the wolf with the sleeping-agent once she finds a weak spot.
"'s a wonder he managed to stay up through all that. They usually knock 'em out cold."
Despite the wolf's resilience against the drugs in the various projectiles imbedded in his flesh, the one-two combo from the Bear and Bat are more than he can take and he splashes into the mud outside the little hovel, unconcious. Without the slats in the way, it is apparent that these two are much better dressed and better equipped than your usual shanty-towner.
Corin grabs the wolf and drags him into the shanty. Fishing through one of his belt-pouches, he comes out with a coil of wire that he uses to bind the poor beast's muzzle shut and his hands behind his back. A pair of pliers comes out next , which he uses to cut off the wire. Then he moves onto the beaver. hopefully they don't struggle too much, because that seems like it would really, REALLY hurt if they do.
Aiyasha squirms a little as she sees the bear tie the pair up with wire instead of rope, squats down to give the two of them individual pat downs to check for any leftover weapons, valuables, and most importantly creator tech. "Has anyone seen the the tunnel?" She asks in a whisper.
"They should be out for half an hour. If either of you wants to call the authorities, they should be able to collect them, if not..." the she-cat rumbles softly, before striding into the small shack, and shaking her head as she looks around. "Now, if our weasel-friend is to be believed, there should be a tunnel in here. Most likely under the floor-boards," she offers, softly enough to avoid waking anyone, as she scours the ground for the entrance...
There does not seem to be any particularly evident trap door or obvious tunnel, but the shabby, leaky hut is not all that big. A brief search reveals a section of flooring that can be lifted away hidden under the little table the two beings sat at.
A search of the wolf's pockets reveals a few coins and his sturdy truncheon. The blunt weapon does not seem to be made of any easily identifiable material. It is not wood, and it is not metal, but it is hard and heavy.
The Beaver carries no such weapons, but has a pair of round, flat discs in his pocket, made of some sort of hard, white material.
Corin hefts up the table and moves it a few feet to the left, then, gingerly, he hunts for a hand-hold in the seams that make up the little trapdoor. With a heave, he pulls up the small section of floor, and holds it open with his left hand, leaning down and peering into the tunnel as far as he can see. Given that he requires glasses, that's probably not that far, but A for effort.
Aiyasha pockets both the truncheon and the discs, putting them into her bag for save keeping and later study. The bat's ears twitch as the trapdoor is opened and she slips through it first, motioning for the others to follow her. Now convinced that the people in the building are actually who the weasel claimed they would be, she draws the pistol from its holster under her armpit and points it at the darkness before her as she slowly inches forwards.
Katrina is soon to follow, tails still swaying behind her, and loading another dart in her wrist-mounted blowpipe. She's steadily following after Aiyasha, gesturing for Corin to follow as silently as he's able to manage...
Corin tucks the borrowed blowpipe into his belt. Luckily, he never reloaded it, and, having seen Aiyasha pull her pistol, unslings his own, rather heavier, firearm and follows, hunched over like a wannabe Quasimodo. The end result is something that looks like it should be talking about hunting wabbits, really. Corin and awesome do not tend to overlap very often.
The tunnel is just wide enough for a being of Corin's bulk to feel only a little claustrophobic. Like most things in Shanty Town, it does not seem particularly stable or well built, but it is not entirely dark. It is dim, for sure, but the lantern from above masked a dim light coming from below.
After a short, careful walk, the trio finds themselves in a small room with a low ceiling, rather better built than the hovel above. There are few crates lined against one wall and a sturdy door against a far wall with no apparent opening mechanism.
Aiyasha presses her oversized ear on the door, while hands and eyes search the door itself and the nearby walls for opening mechanisms. She takes the time to signal for the others to be quiet, so that her eavesdropping is easier and so that they might not as easily be spotted, but is focused on the task at hand.
Katrina, at the same time, moves to examine the various crates, gesturing for Corin to assist her, silently, as she tries to find a way to pry them open -without- alerting whoever might be on the other side of the door. "Worst case, we can smash it open upstairs. Though if these are really Technologists, the church would be very interested..."
There are three crates. Two of them seem to still be nailed shut and there is no way to open them without creating a great deal of noise. The third, however, has a loosened top. Opening it reveals. . .
Nothing of any great interest. A couple of bedrolls, some food, some bottles of weak beer and a few other small comforts, probably meant for whoever was on guard duty so that they would not have to bother anyone in the night.
Aiyasha finds that no matter where she looks, or what she tries, there just is no mechanism for opening the door from this side.
"I mean, I can try to bash it down?" Corin says, sizing up the door, "Or we can make some noise and get them to open the door. Either one would work or horribly backfire." Corin scratches his chin with his non-gun hand, "It's pretty sturdy, but so am I... I dunno..." He rolls his gun-wielding shoulder as though in preparation.
Aiyasha ponders for a moment. Then the bad bat turns around and makes a motion with her hands that can only mean "Go away". Afterwards she kneels down besides the door, opens her bag and pulls out some trapping supplies, setting up an explosive trap and connecting it to the door so that it fires when it opens. Once she is done she gives the door three hard knocks with her fist and hurries back into the tunnel herself.
Katrina is quick to catch on, pulling Corin along, back up the stairs. "Come. I have no intention of wading through your guts," the she-cat offers, her tail still twitching behind her as she drags the bear up the stairs, and out of the shack. "I have no idea how powerful those charges are, but with the state of Shanty town's buildings, we're not taking any chances."
Everything is quiet for a moment, then two firm, deliberate knocks come from the door.
Up above, the beaver and wolf are still firmly unconcious.
Corin is quickly pulled away from the door, "Don't have to tell me twice. I'm well acquainted with explosives... And this place isn't shored up." Corin waits outside a moment, listening for an explosion. His massive shaggy head moves this way and that as he watches for reinforcements. and, of course, the building collapsing, he's watching for that too.
Aiyasha frowns deeply, moving back towards the door and removing the trigger for the trap, before knocking on the door four times with the same force as before.
There is no response to Aiyasha's knock for a moment, then a muffled voice filters through the door. "Frank? Denver?" it asks, "That's not the knock." Once more, two, slow knocks reverberate on the door.
"Hrm..." Corin says, checking his musket's lock. "I can't hear anything? That's... That's never good with bombs.", he frowns slightly and shuffles his feet nervously. Also watching for the sinkhole of the tunnel collapsing.
Aiyasha frowns for a moment, before putting on her deepest, manliest, dumbest voice. "Uh..guys, I forgot the knock. Are you sure it wasn't four times?" She speaks loud enough that the others should be able to hear her and deduct the change in plan.
Kat moves inside. Quickly. She's quick to move to the side of the door, a couple of blue darts in hand, ready to knock out whoever might be on the other side of the door as soon as possible. Still, she quickly signs something, signifying that she's slowly running out of knock-out darts...
There is silence for a moment, then there is a loud, whooping klaxon that eminates both from beyond the door and. . . from within Aiyasha's pocket?
There is not much time to think on it as the heavy door suddenly swings open, scattering the Bat's disarmed trap admitting a thick, black smoke that billows into the dimly lit room.
Corin follows Katrina with his loud footfalls, though with some hesitation. He is, as far as he knows, s till moving towards an active bomb. His shotgun is in his hand and readied, however. Cleverness is not Corin's strong suit most of the time, so it's up to somebody else to not charge in like a bull in a china shop.
Aiyasha quickly and nimbly jumps backwards, preferring to let Corin go in first. The bat's ears twitch, she had not really expected them to buy into the act, but the door is open either way. With speedy movements her blades are drawn and the chiropteran adventurer is in a defensive stance, waiting for the smoke to clear.
Kat, for her part, is quick to act with a blast of air-magic to repulse whoever might be approaching, as well as to drive the smoke back into the room. Soon after, she shifts her stance, intent on forcing the smoke to rise and thicken at head-level...
The billowing, black smoke quickly fills the room, though Katrina's quick and dirty application of air magic makes sure that it fills only the top half of the room, leaving a few feet of clear air near the floor. Which is not particularly helpful, but may confuse whoever was on the other side of the door. Strangely, the smoke seems to be the only, current opposition. Otherwise, the path ahead is quiet.
Corin drops to the ground to get out of the smoke, groaning slightly. Being unable to stand without inhaling lungfulls of smoke does not make combat easier. Especially when you're the tallest of everyone. The large bear grumbles something about getting enough smoke during his day job as he crawls forward painfully slowly.
Aiyasha squats down, scarf wrapped around her face and fairly short already, to get a better view of the situation, passing both swords into one hand, she observes the room, checking for any signs of hostiles, ready to fire her pistol at the slightest provocation.
Kat, meanwhile, is decidedly faster than Corin, moving around on hands and feet, not entirely unlike the feral predator she descends from. Tail behind her, she dashes forwards, ready to strike at whoever might be present...
As the trio scurries down the tunnel under the smoke, the difference between this space and the entry above is stunning. The walls are properly shored up and the floor is smooth and level. Whoever built this place took the trouble to do it right.
As the group rounds a corner, two pairs of running legs appear down another stretch of hallway that opens into rooms on either side and empties into some sort of large hub. The alarm klaxon is still sounding from up ahead, seeming to move with the two fleeing guards, if that is what they are. It also seems to follow along with the group. "Intruders!" comes a muffled cry from up ahead, "Clear out! Clear out!"
Corin raises himself to a knee, steadying his shotgun as he prepares for a shot at one of the two guards' legs. If he lands a hit, that particular guard can probably say goodbye to his kneecaps. With a deep breath and tracking aim, Corin gives the trigger a slow, even squeeze and the wheel spins, spraying sparks up in the air. MORE smoke (Helpful), and a very, very loud bang, especially in close quarters.
Aiyasha extends her arm, aiming at the first pair of legs, only higher, somewhere near the chest, cocks her pistol and fires, instantly cocking it again and aiming at the second pair, again going for a chest shot, and firing the second barrel of her pistol. The bat moves speedily backwards on her knees, while starting to reload both barrels of her pistol.
Kat is quick to dodge to the side once she realizes her companions' plans, weaving out of the firing-line, only to dash forward after both shots have been fired, intent on flooring both beings by sweeping their legs out from under them, should they still be standing after those shots...
One of the fleeing guards cries out and staggers as first Corin's ball takes him in the side, then falls when Aiyasha's shot bounces off his shoulderblade with a crack! And to add insult to greivous injury, Katrina, making the most of her momentum, catches hold of the fallen guard and drags him along the floor before using his body to sweep the legs out from under his companion! There is a terrible CRACK! as the second guard tumbles and their heads crash together.
Neither being seems to be moving anymore.
Up ahead, along with the siren that fills the tunnels, there is light and noise of running feet and hurried preparations. The smoke is also beginning to thin.
Corin sprints forward into the thinning smoke, turning his shotgun around in preparation for clubbing. Smartness? What's that. Bad guys get away. Chase bad guys with club! In all seriousness, the large bear charges through the smoke and prepares for a whole lot of fighting. Oddly, he's got a small, serene smile on his face the whole time.
Aiyasha finishes reloading the pistol and stuff it back into her tunic, before starting to dual wield her swords again and standing up into a slightly hunched over position, which allows her to charge right after Corin, a little bit behind him.
There are shouts of alarm over the sirens as the charging bear erupts from the smoky hallway. A trio of eerily similar dalmations look up in unison from a crate that they have just heaved aboard a small boat, docked in a rather unlikely water feature. Perhaps it leads into the sewer waste pipes or the undertunnels. "Cut it loose!" one of them cries, "Our work must continue!" A heavy clan Buffalo follows their orders and hacks into the ropes mooring the little watercraft before turning and joining four other beings.
Along with the brutish Buffalo, there is a vicious looking Eel with a long scar along his jaw, a furless Sphinx cat, an ape the size of a horse cart, and rather incongruously, a chubby little hamster in a vest and bowtie.
Along with the beings facing off against the attacking Freeswords, there is a line of ragged looking beings standing on the small dock, all heavily chained together. They look frightened and exhausted.
Corin charges through in an attempt to break the enemy line. At Katrina, he yells, "Miss Panthress, please shoot the boat-dogs!" He takes a heavy swing with the reinforced musket towards the ape's abdomen. Due to his huge size, though Corin isn't small, Corin might not do much damage, but he'll certainly try!
Aiyasha quickly moves past the guards and assorted beings, swords in hand. Once she made it past them the bat unfurls her wings to their full size and uses them to make a long leap onto the boat, smirking under the scarf that hides her face. "You weren't thinking about leaving were you?" With that Aiyasha turns into a metaphorical whirlwind, her blades dancing across each of the dogs in equal parts, performing feints and shallow cuts in an unpredictable pattern.
Kat rushes the boat just as quickly, dashing after Aiyasha and onto the boat. She only has a singular target, though, and is diving -straight- for the hamster. Her motions are quick, guided by air-magic and extensive training, as she intends to make a decisive blow and hold him hostage... Those knives were definitely not in her hands a moment ago...
"The powers that be have decided that you are a problem to be dealt with. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice."
The Bear's call out to Aiyasha seems a bit superflous as she zips across the intervening space to leap onto the departing boat, meeting dismayed cries from its occupants. Only one of the three identical dalmations even has a chance to draw a heavy knife before they are forced to flee before the flurry of blades. But the three dogs are fast and recover quickly, though one of them sports a shallow slice under one eye, another limps with a deep cut in his leg and the third seems to be bleeding at an alarming rate from a wound under his arm. All three finally manage to draw heavy kukri knives and try to surround the bat, staying between her and their cargo.
Corin's charge meets with instant resistance in the shape of one, very large ape. The massive simian brute does not even attempt to block the swining butt of the musket, and only grunts when it impacts against his ribs witha heavy thud. He curls his lips in a sneer and opens his huge arms wide to grapple the attacking bear.
Katrina is suddenly brought up short, her knife skidding and sparking off of some kind of unseen barrier, sending a jolt up her arm. The Hamster laughs, his voice sounding like the audible equivalent of an old leather armchair, warm and pleasant. "Very good, Miss," he says in that surprisingly deep and mellow voice, "But it is not so easy as that! Orpheus? If you would be so kind?"
At his invitation, the Eel nods and opens his mouth. Suddenly, the air is filled with an overpowering shriek that blocks out even the klaxon sirens from before. It is absolutely mind numbing! As if someone had taken a knife and delivered it directly to the brainstem via the ears!
Corin does his best to grapple with the much larger ape, taking the first lull and/or taken punch to grab the darts Katrina gave him and, gripping them in his fist, swings his arm like a hammer aiming at the ape's side. Anesthetics plus lethal darts. Waste them all! (If he hits, anyway, it'll probably do... Something.)
Aiyasha's ears twitch like mad and she frowns deeply for a second as she realizes that all the targets are still standing. Frown replaced with smirk she ducks down, holding both swords close to each other and twirling around, going for the legs of the dogs that gave her the chance to attack in all directions at once.
"Right. The hard way is -so- much more fun, anyways. You die first," the cat offers as she turns her attention to the eel, pulling out a set of -green- darts, and launching them at the eel as quickly as she can, letting them be guided by air-magic, with the full intent of hitting a major artery or two.
Many, many things happen all at once.
First, Corin, in taking advantage of an opening to shove a handful of deadly, poison darts into his simian opponent, opens himself up as well, and takes a brutal blow to the face from a fist the size of a Christmahannukwanzamatide ham! The snarling ape raises his fist to strike again, then pauses as his face goes slack and his eyes roll back in his head. His grip on the bear does not slacken, but he starts to convulse, and pink tinged froth bubbles from his lips.
Meanwhile, a pair of green-feathered darts suddenly appear in the throat of the shrieking Eel and his scream diminishes to a horrible gurgle as he too begins to convulse, clutching at his throat. The others have not been idle, though and the Buffalo brute charges forward to slam a heavy sledgehammer into the dirt where Katrina was standing only a moment before! The cat, however stays beside the hamster, who only watches the fight with detatched interest.
Aiyasha must keep her blades painfully sharp as she manages to slice through the legs of two of the dalmations, severing their legs at the knee. The third charges her with an enraged howl, knife at the ready, but finds himself deflected by a clever backswing from the bat.
Corin reels back, and spits out some blood from a split lip, slamming his fist into the backside of the simian's arm repeatedly in a desperate attempt to break his grip before he goes down with the Simian. He throws all his weight behind each punch as he squirms and attempts to break the massive muscles holding him.
Aiyasha smirks as she sees that two of her opponents have fallen and jumps up to her full height, using the momentum to punch the remaining dog into the gut, sending him reeling for just long enough for her to twirl around him, getting in position for her finishing strike. A strike that is quick to follow as both of her swords jab forwards, aiming to pierce through his back and heart.
"You wanna join your buddy? I've got more where those came from. As for you... Unless you want to see the rest of your goons suffer the same fate, I suggest you tell them to surrender," she offers, as she ducks around the hamster, almost as if trying to goad the buffalo into pummeling her... Still, she's staying decidedly close to the hamster.
The ape's convulsions slow and cease as it slumps down on Corin, limp.
Aiyasha's foe goes down with a look of stunned surprise on his face.
The bowtied hamster only smiles at Katrina and her silvery mask as the buffalo charges her once more!
With visible strain, the brown bear lifts the oversized ape with a large amount of visible strain and, with an grunt and a roar, throws the poisoned corpse straight towards the buffalo at high velocity before picking up his shotgun and searching for the sphinx-cat that's gone missing in all the tussling. Given how heavy this ape is, that'll probably hurt.
Having disposed of the trio, Aiyasha grabs the oars from the boat and steers it back to where it was, quickly tying it back up so that it won't get away while the group deals with the remaining technologists. With both feet back on land, the bat searches for her next target.
"Go ahead. Smack your boss. You ain't getting me, and he doesn't seem to care enough to let you live. Still, she pulls out two more darts, and dashes out of the way once again, tapping on the ball-shaped shield, a grin on her masked muzzle. "See, you can stay in that hamster-ball of yours all you like, but eventually, your machine-spirits will wind up being tired... That, or you'll starve to death in there," she offers, throwing her two darts at the buffalo, just to be sure.
"Note the success of subjects 23, 14, 7, and 12a, b, and c," the hamster says to the sphinx cat by his side as he watches the buffalo fall under his simian compatriot's corpse and Katrina's poison, "This really was an informative interruption."
He turns a pleasant smile on Katrina, "Indeed, Miss," he says, "In fact, I think this particular machine is just about-" the two beings suddenly go fuzzy around the edges and there is an odd fizzing sound before they bothe vanish, leaving behind a wide, round plate where they stood.
Suddenly, there is a loud CLANK! and the chain holding the prisoners becomes taught, dragging the first wretched being into the water with a cry!
Corin drops his gun again and charges towards the chain-o'-prisoners and, with a hefty grunt, grabs hold of them before they can be dragged further off the water, and more of them can be pulled off the dock. Hopefully, hopefully, he can manage to get pulled off being back onto the dock without drowning. His muscles strain under the effort.
Aiyasha groans and swiftly moves over to where Corin is slowing down the chain, grabbing it in an attempt to help, despite her small and light built.
"Someone ought to smash that," Katrina offers with a gesture to the chain, while she picks up the plate, and raises her brow. "Curious and curiouser," she offers, observing it from several angles, her tail swaying as she picks up the various bits of creator tech, and tucks it away discreetly.
The chained beings are all screaming and weeping now as they are being dragged toward the water. Two beings are already flailing about in the water while a third struggles on the edge of the little wooden dock. Corin manages to latch on to the fourth being in the line while the chain continues to pull slowly away into the water. The scrawny stoat cries out in pain as the cuff on her ankle pulls and the third being falls into the dark water.
Corin grits his teeth, digs in his heels, and strains every muscle in his body as he desparately attempts to stop them from going any further down the line, "LEAVE IT!" Corin yells at Aiyasha, "I've got this! Get into the water and unchain them! You know how to pick locks too!" The bear wraps his arm around the chain to give himself more leverage to pull.
Aiyasha lets go of the chain. "Fine." The bat jumps into the water and makes her way towards the chained beings, searching for the locks on the chains and when, and if she finds them, starting to work on opening them.
"I will fetch beings who can help those poor, unfortunate souls," the she-cat offers. "I'm no good at medicine, but they'll need a journeyman the moment they come out of the water. And then, she dashes off, back upstairs, off to Creators-know-where...
The locks are not complicated. Honestly, the hardest part is getting the chained beings to stop thrashing long enough to get at the locks at all.
Corin's herculean effort seems to be doing the job. He is not pulling the chain back at all, but it is not moving forward either. It is the work of only a couple of minutes to get the chains off of the poor, ragged beings that are soon left panting and weeping on the underground dock. It is a good thing, too, since the moment the last prisoner is freed, the chain gives a violent jerk and is yanked from the bears paws.
Corin collapses straight onto his fuzzy backside, panting heavily, his arms shaking from the strain of prolonged exertion, his eye slowly swelling. Out of the trio of adventurers, Corin probably looks the worst. Fight smarter, not harder appears to be a lesson he never took to heart. Slowly, he scrabbles over to his thrice-discarded weapon and pulls it onto his shoulder with more effort than should be necessary. To the bat he asks, "You alright, miss? I'm Corin, by the by." he waves weakly.
Aiyasha shakes the water off herself and casually points the freed beings towards the exit, in case some of them are good to go. "I am, yes." She answers to Corin, skipping her name, before pointing her sacred doctor at him for a couple moments. With that done and twitching ears, she starts checking the place for any creator tech the cat left behind.
It is a surprisingly short time before a team of well dressed, cleverly masked feline beings arrive to tend to the wounded, treating wounds and speaking softly to the traumatized beings. It is surely just a measure of this painful experience that most of them seem even more shaken AFTER being helped by the kind cats.
Aiyasha's Creator tool goes a long way on easing the pain in Corin's face, but he is still bruised and beaten and that eye ought to be a lovely explosion of colors come tomorrow. The bat's search yields little of interest, though the crate on the boat DOES contain some useful scrap and usable salvage, even if it was just a decoy. Not too bad for a pro-bono freesword job.
