Party at Joes - RPLOG
Participants
Date
14/7/477
Log
Old Memna, the round, bespectacled little Black Bear priestess stands waiting in the cloisters behind the chapel. She is dressed in clean white robes and waits anxiously under a covered walkway, looking between the darkening sky and the quaint little house in the nearby garden. She seems to be waiting for someone.
Kalt makes her way to the area slowly, the Vixen's usual armor wrapped up in a drab cloak as she tries to mitigate attention drawn to herself. Smiling as she sees Menma, she offers a deep bow before clearing her throat. "Hello there, M'figurin' you went on askin' for help an' all ma'am?"
Angus follows the Vixen up to Memna, his yew staff in hand as he looks up at the sky before pulling the brim of his hat down. "Good evening, it's nice to see you again Memna. How have you been?" He asks as he gives her a grin as he slides up next to Kalt.
Thelergramor follows behind the foxes, hood drawn up and face concealed behind a scarf. The wolf remains silent behind them, paws in his pockets as he awaits the explanation of why freeswords were needed.
Gold eyes glimmering with curiousity, Noosha the tiny candy-colored Hyena follows the influx of fellow beings curiously. Wherever there are folk gathering, there's usually a mark--er, friendly face to be found, right? She manages to dodge between the forest of legs and find her way to the front of the crowd, ears and tail pricked eagerly for an explanation--and, of course, any stray bits of gossip or talk that may be floating around...
Cassidy falls from the sky, as she usually does, and touches down lightly on the ground. Taking a moment to adjust her hat and mask, she moves in after the others, trailing up behind the other foxes. "Hello, hello. Good to see you! I hope the occasion isn't too terrible."
Memna jumps a little in surprise as Kalt addresses her, then relaxes when she realizes that these are the Freeswords she requested. "Oh! Hello dearies!" she says, smiling to Angus, "Thank you all for coming so quickly!" The little black bear looks around nervously, then waves the gathered beings into a quiet little nook, just out of sight of any casual observers.
"I'm sorry if this seems a bit strange," she says, "But I have a request for you, and I would truly prefer that my superiors in the church didn't hear about it. Can I count on you to be discreet, my dears?" She lowers her voice even further. "You remember that Mister Joe, the Creator that touched down the other day and the two beings that he brought with him?" she asks, "I suspect that this Joe may not be entirely honest." She looks about as if she is worried about being overheard in the silent cloisters. "I would like you to look about in his things and see if you can learn anything," she finishes.
Kalt blinks slightly as she nods and crossess her arms. "Well shoot, coulda went an' said that when he right landed. But if'n you're wantin' us to go doin' that, I ain't seein' how I could go sayin' no... I ain't the best at it all, but m'sure I could figure somethin' right in it." The Vixen's tail flicking as she looks to the others and nods with a smile.
Angus gives Memna a nod as he chuckles. "Was wondering why that poor rabbit was acting so nervously." He murmurs as he realizes it might be better to switch out his souls. Reaching up to his collar he draws out his soul pendant and switches out his gems, stealth being a better thing at the moment as he leans his staff up against the wall. "Mind if I leave a few things here, or should I just carry them with me?" He asks as he looks to Memna.
Thelergramor stretches a little, smiling behind his scarf. "Going through someones stuff without their permission? Should be fun..." Thel lets out a small chuckle, looking over the others gathered for this task.
Noosha's eyes seem to glow with excitement at the news! She swaps out her other gem with a quick motion, letting out a whooping giggle of excitement--"heheheheheHEE!"--as she cracks her knuckles and limbers up. And maybe while the others are occupied, she can make sure she gets her fair share...and no awful meddling gadja can threaten to turn her in to the guard for this! It's like they knew she was coming...
Cassidy does no swapping, nor disarming, only folding her hands behind her back. "I will do this, yes. Are we looking for anything in particular, or just anything that looks suspicious?" She isn't even certain if the things they'll need will be written in their language. For all she knows, they'll walk off with a grocery list.
"Oh! Thank you, dearies!" Memna says, "I wouldn't normally ask, but I certainly couldn't do it myself!" She nods to Angus and gives a wan smile, "Of course my dear," she says in response to his question, "I will stay right here and keep an eye on them." Memna looks to Cassidy and shakes her head. "I am not sure, dearie," she says, "Anything that looks suspicious.
The little priestess produces an iron key from within her robes. "This is a key to the front door," she explains, "After that, you are on your own." She leans out of the quiet nook and points toward the little house in the gardens. "That is the place," she says, "And please hurry! All three of them left about an hour ago, and I have no idea how long they will be gone!"
Kalt nods gently as she drops off her shield, though was loathe at the idea of leaving her sword, so she kept it close. The Vixen moving to the side as she looks to the group. "Well, figurin' a nice an' stealthy folk'll lead the way first eh? Let's go an' hop to it." Patiently waiting to follow with the group.
Angus gives Memna a nod as he removes his pack and places it next to his staff, next goes his blunderbuss and shot pouch as he makes sure he will remain silent before he stands back up, palming a smoke grenade he had taken out just in case, and looks around. "We got a key, now lets get in this place." He comments, slipping the bomb into his pocket, before he cracks his knuckles.
Thelergramor steps forward, taking the key with another small laugh. "Having the key does make this sort of thing easier..." The wolf walks towards the house, glancing around for anyone who may be watching. Arriving at the door, Thel unlocks it and waits for the others.
Noosha nearly cuts off folk at the knees sprinting through the doors, pick in one hand and sturdy old dagger in the other. Although, she does pause as she enters, glancing around furtively for any booby traps they may have left behind.
Cassidy waits outside the door for the pink fuzzball to dash inside before scooting along in after her. "My, my. Where should we look first, do you all suppose? Many options, yes."
The door swings open as Thelergramor releases the lock, and Noosha sprints inside, giving an exuberant little hop as she enters the Creator dwelling. Those who helped Hedge to make dinner the other night will find that the scene has not changed at all. Three closed doors lead away from this main living area. The room you stand in has minimal decoration. Only a low dining table surrounded by pillows for sitting on and a small kitchen, hidden behind a low screen of moveable wooden panels. Where to look first?
The three doors are rather non-descript. One door stands slightly ajar and a bit of late afternoon light shines through the crack around the door. Of the other two, only one appears to have a lock.
Angus moves to take a step through the door and stops almost instantly, frowning a bit. "...looks like this place was trapped after all." He mutters as he looks down at the wire. He looks up at Cassidy and Thelergramor, before he kneels to follow the wire with his eye to see where it leads to, and what nasty trap had been layed out for them.
Thelergramor crosses his arms, laughs. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are?" Referring to Noosha, who's name he does not know. "Tripwire." Stepping past Angus and carefully over the tripwire, he makes his way to the door with the lock. Instead of trying to pick the lock, he just tries to open the door.
Noosha wastes no time, turning every cushion over with a practiced efficiency, checking under every nook, sliding the doors aside. "Not lucky--skilled!" she giggles. Having taken stock of this room, she peeks into the slightly opened door, casting a wary eye for the sign of any new traps.
Cassidy follows after Angus, stepping over the noticed trap. "Mmh. Need help with that, Angus? I have my picking tools on hand, if you'd like me to try. Just don't bo breaking the door down, you know? Hardly... Subtle." She says that last word with a little emphasis, looking back towards Noosha.
Noosha's thorough rummaging produces nothing of interest, save a bit of dust and a firm conviction that not much living goes on in this place. There seem to be no traps on the ajar door, but all the little hyena can see without opening the door is the stone-tiled floor and a window on the opposite wall.
Angus's perusal of the avoided trip wire shows that it is attached to a plain, white box. The other end of the wire seems to simply disappear into the wall. It must be some kind of Creator magic, though there is no telling what might have happened if it had been tripped.
The lock bearing door, as discovered by Thelergramor, is indeed locked. And it feels like an awfully heavy door.
Angus eyes the box curiously, looking up as he shakes his head. "We are trying not to get caught." He comments as he takes a look at the wire again and reaches into his pack. "I'm marking the trap so everyone notices it, but we need to keep this a stealth mission so make sure to put everything back." He comments as he pulls a brightly colored pin from a pouch at his side to lean up against the white box, in plain view.
Thelergramor nods, looking at the mess caused by Noosha. "Yep, I'm not putting that back; I wasn't even here to day." Turning his attention to the door, Thel inspects the lock. Kneeling to get a better look at it, he attempts to pick the lock, humming something to himself. Helps him focus.
Noosha shoulders her way into the empty room, searching high and low for anything of interest, blade in her right hand and pick in the other. She lets out a whine of frustration--this was a bit disappointing so far...City-endorsed burglary, and not even some jewelry to hock crown yet!
Cassidy leans against the door frame, watching as Thel starts on the door. "Well, I guess that works, too. I was going to do it, but by all means. I will just watch, for now." She adjusts her white gloves, before reaching up to tighten her bowtie. "If you have any trouble with it, though, let me try."
There is nothing to indicate the purpose of the trap at the door, though its presence is certainly interesting. The breeze through the open door and the lengthening shadows are a reminder that time is short.
Thelergramor can feel several tumblers in the lock shift, but the door still doesn't open. This thing must have been made by a hell of a locksmith.
Noosha finds herself in a strange room. There does not seem to be any jewelry, but the room contains a number of strange devices and fixtures. In one corner there appears to be a room within the room made of frosted glass. There is a shining metal lever within and another strange fixture protruding from the wall. In another corner is a low-set basin of water, though its purpose seems unclear as the Creators stand as tall as most beings and there has been no indication of small clan sized creators. Finally, one wall is dominated by a low counter with a wash basin and a large mirror. Several small objects are scattered on the counter. A comb, a fine (unused) pearl handled razor, some tubes and bottles and a strange, metallic device.
Angus sighs a bit as he gets to work fixing up what Noosha trashed, putting the cushions back in there place and cleaning up, and hoping that Joe and the others didn't notice anything was out of place as he looks around and goes for the untouched door, inspecting it to make sure there weren't any traps before he tries opening it.
Thelergramor curses at the lock, withdraws from it. "Cass, you want to try this? I'll head out and around to see if there's a window or something. And maybe head off anyone who is concerned by the door being left open..." He shakes his head. Thel heads toward the door, stepping over the tripwire carefully. Closing the door behind him as he heads out, the wolf looks for anyone approaching before searching for a window into the locked room.
Noosha picks up the metallic device, stashing it in the breast of her leather bodice before reaching out tentatively to the lever...yes, it may be a trap, but curiousity burned at her, and she couldn't leave this undone...she pushes down on the lever before backing off to the far side of the room in case of disaster...
Cassidy reaches into her coat and withdraws a few picking tools before leans forwards towards the locked door, deciding to try her luck after Thel moves away. How hard could it be? She's oblivious to any lever pulling elsewhere...
The unlocked door swings open at Angus's touch, revealing a small, sparse room with a plain futon lying on either side of the room. Late evening light filters through the window. This must be where Hedge and Mai-Mai sleep. There is a small trunk at the foot of each futon. They do not appear to have any locks.
Cassidy steps up to take her turn at the lock, carefully feeling around with her picks. One, two, three tumblers fall to her skillful work, but that fourth tumbler is a tricky one! Perhaps a different tool? The big door stays firmly locked.
Outside, Thelergramor has no trouble finding the outside window, but it is of the kind that does not open, the panes of glass firmly set in the wood and stone framework. The curtains are drawn, concealing the interior.
Noosha's handiwork quickly becomes noticeable to the other beings in the house as the WHOOSH of falling water fills the bungalow's interior. How remarkable! The creators have their own, personal waterfall! And it is warm!
Angus takes a step into the room, eyes darting as he walks up to the trunks. He leans down to inspect them, not wishing to open them just yet. BUt then he hears an odd noise that makes him stand bolt up right, drawing his dagger as he turns around and scowls, opening the door to find out the source of that noise!
Thelergramor grumbles, having been faced with this dilemma before. Considering the others might be angry were he to smash the window, which could be a problem, he's racked with indecision momentarily. Pacing, the wolf grows somewhat frustrated. Thelergramor decides to break through the window. Grabbing a nearby rock, he smashes it in and climbs through. Smirking at how easy that was, then immediately frowning. "The others are going to be pissed..."
A water-magic chamber? That's it? Well, minus some rare Creator devices, this appears to be a simple room for grooming. Noosha turns the lever opposite to try to counter whatever creator magic he had activated, and storms out, an adorable pointy little snarl on her pink face. She presents the device to their liaison wordlessly, and hops back onto the couch, undoing the havoc she caused, though feeling each pillow carefully to see if they contain aught of value... "The domicile of a Creator, and not an item of great value? Disappointing," she murmurs as she 'cleans' up--before the sound of a shattering window frightens her and she falls off the couch with a thud, clinging to a pillow.
Cassidy clicks her tongue behind her mask but doesn't relent, continuing her work on that lock til she eventually succeeds! And when she does, she tucks her tools back into her coat and steps into the room behind it, glancing around. Was that the sound of breaking glass? Lovely...
Everyone in the house hears a loud SMASH! as Thelergramor uses his stone 'key' to gain entry to the locked room. The box by the door, along with several others at the undisturbed windows start to pulse with red light.
Cassidy pushes the door open to reveal Thelergramor clamoring through the shattered window. The room is much larger and more plush than the others, containing a large feather bed along with a heavy oak desk with several appealing looking drawers. The desk is strewn with paperwork and a pair of small, metal boxes. One of those little white boxes silently pulses red by the broken window and glass crunches underfoot. There are also a trio of melon sized steel balls set on the headboard of the large bed. Some sort of creator decoration.
Suddenly, the decorative balls whirr into action, sprouting spidery legs and flinging themselves at Thelergramor and Cassidy!
Shit shit shit! Kalt is soon dashing from her spot of watching for trouble at the myriad of sounds coming from the house, her sword and shield regained as she bursts through the door ready for a fight. "The fuck's goin' on in here?!" Her gaze attempting to assess what she can before fighting, so as to not end up stabbing someone.
Angus perks his ears up as Nasha walks by, before he places his hand over his face when he hears the window smash. "Oh....for Creators sake." He murmurs as he turns to watch Cassidy, walking over to the door as it opens. He pokes his head in, just in time to see the spiders start attacking! His ears folding as he reaches for the smokebomb at his belt. Then Kalt comes barging in and he sticks his arm out to stop her. "Cassidy, Thele. Smoke bomb." He says in a raised voice before he tosses it into the room!
Thelergramor blinks at the spiders and, caught flat footed, is struck. Hard. Which fortunately threw him just enough to cause the second attack to only graze him. Still, this draws blood and pisses him off. The wolf glances at Cassidy: "The window was already broken." Then, seeing no way for his knife to penetrate steel, attacks anyway. Stepping in, he tries to stab one of the steel spiders.
Cassidy manages to avoid the spider that comes for her. Unfortunately for the rest of the group, and the smoke bomb that Angus threw into the room, the one she managed to avoid enters the -other- room with everyone else. "Think fast," She mutters before shooting a looking towards Thel before it is lost in the smoke cloud. Drawing her sword, she turns and makes a quick thrust at the spider 'golem' that had slipped through.
Angus's smokebomb rolls into the bedroom, quickly filling the room with thick white smoke. Thelergramor's dagger skitters across the steel skin of the spider, hardly making a scratch! Cassidy, on the other hand makes a clean strike through one of the spider's leg hatches! There is a spark and a pop, then the spider shudders to a stop. One down, two to go.
Kalt nods to Angus just in time for the spider to enter the room with them! The Vixen's sword ignites with a mixture of Creator Flames, and Dark math as she moves to try and give it a clean strike at it's center. "AIN'T NO CONTRABAND MY ASS!"
Angus takes a step out of the way of the spider coming at them, drawing his pistol as he walks into the now smoke filled room. "Dammit, this wasn't the way this was supposed to go down." He snaps to no one in particular as he cocks the hammer back.
Thelergramor is unable to see Angus through the smoke as he is struck again, the spider tearing through his shirt, leaving a bleeding cut on his chest. Thel calls out in pain and anger: "You Fucker!" The second spider also lashes out at the wolf, causing similar damage to his pants and cutting his leg. Seeing no good options, Thel tries to grab one and tackle it out the window.
Cassidy stands aside, keeping her sword at the ready after dispatching the first drone. She cannot do much in the other room, on account of the smoke Angus threw about. "What's our next move? This was hardly subtle at all."
Thelergramor tumbles out the already smashed window with a roar, taking one of the spider drones with him. They fall with a thud onto the grass outside.
The bedroom is still full of smoke as Angus searches around for the remaining spider.
"Hell if'n I know. Just go an' grab papers an' such that's lookin' important, an -hide-
"Hell if'n I know. Just go an' grab papers an' such that's lookin' important, an -hide- 'em! Ain't comin' outa this empty handed an' all." The Vixen grumbling lowly as she peers into the smoke.
Angus stays where he is, keeping his gun pointed in the same direction. "What else? Flash our lightbringer badges and tell him there was a burglery. If he buys it we get off scot free, if he doesn't we bring up the spiders." He shots, trying to see if these things responded to sound.
Thelergramor rises up from the ground and positions himself above the spider alongside him. Bringing his knife arm above his head, he holds the knife in the reversed grip position. "We still got one out here!" He shouts, utterly convinced he can't, uh, 'kill' this thing on his own. Thel brings the knife down again with a growl, trying to somehow damage the drone.
Cassidy scowls softly and lifts a hand, deciding to use the broken window to invite in some air magic to try to clear the room of the smoke that... Really didn't seem too useful at this point.
Cassidy's air magic clears the smoky bedroom revealing the last spider flinging itself at Angus after his random shot!
Outside, Thelergramor finally manages to make a strike hit home! He wedges his dagger into an opening and cracks a seam in the shell. Smoke billows from the golem and the machine spirit escapes! The melon sized steel ball settles on Thelergor's chest. What a fiasco this was turning out to be!
Kalt growls as the spider makes a move for Angus, the Vixen's sword swiping through the air to intercept it mid path as she damn near barks out her words. "Fuckin' sakes! If'n havin' stuff like this round ain't grounds for shady, I ain't knowin' what is!"
Angus doesn't even bother trying to deflect or dodge the spider, instead he just drops like a sack of bricks to let Kalt's sword collide with the thing as he is down on the ground! "Nice catch!" He shouts at Kalt in encouragment as he rolls back up to his feet.
Thelergramor pulls his dagger back from the now-lifeless husk. Standing, he lets out a laugh that's somewhere between maniacle and genuinely amused. Then drops down to one knee in pain. "Stupid shit thought it could kill me? Really?" Taking the scarf from his muzzle, he ties it around his leg wound to slow the bleeding. Calling out to the others: "Nevermind the one out here!" He pats the husk, chuckling. Thel's enjoying this a little too much for it to be healthy. Rising, he slowly walks back around to the front door.
Noosha pops out from the cushions, glancing about. With all the debris and destruction in this place, discretion really wasn't their primary concern anymore...and with that in mind, she sneaks off to the grooming room to swipe the pearl-handled razor. Shame to let it go to waste! With that tucked away inside her breastplate, she peers into the Creator's room, where most of the damage seemed to be done. There were the husks of those devices they would no doubt have to bring back to the Church...but it'd be a shame to miss this opportunity! She begins rifling through drawers and cabinets, even as the soldiers were making their way on out of the room, looking for anything small enough to smuggle, or high-tech enough to make it worth their while.
Cassidy slips into the room once the smoke has been cleared. "Right then. We need to find what we're looking for and get out. Maybe take one of these back with us as evidence. These cannot be legal, and how they got down here I will never know."
Memna comes running through the front door just as Kalt drops the last spider. "Creators above!" she cries, "What is happening in here!?" She looks around in horror at the smoky room and the ruined spider robots.
Behind Memna, just coming around the corner of the cloisters is a dumbfounded looking Joe, the Creator and his attendants Hedge and Mai-Mai in ill tailored servants' clothes. The shady creator's face darkens and he shoves his servants forward before turning and running from the garden!
Noosha's haphazard search turns up several bags of crowns and any number of indecipherable notes and even a few receipts from local businesses. Among all of the papers and receipts are a few letters in the common writing of Promise. There are also several cards bearing the image of the Creator who called himself Joe Preston, but several different names. Looks like all the evidence anyone could ask for.
Kalt blinks as Memna comes inside, the Vixen looking between her, and the whole 'situation' before them. "... We can right honest explain, he's havin' violent creator tech workin' round in here to go attackin folk--- OI! YOU SUNNOVABITCH GET BACK HERE!" The Vixen growling as his servants prevent her from chasing him.
Angus brushes himself off as he looks to Memna. "Our friend Joe has been holding out and lying to us." He comments, eyes narrowing as he sees them already fleeing. "Damn....Well, at least we don't have to worry about stealth anymore." He mutters as he walks out to pick back up his red pin near the trap.
Thelergramor sees Joe run, tries to give chase. "Get the fuck-" He trips because of his leg wound, slamming to the ground. "Fucking leg." Dropping his knife the, wolf sits up, pulling his shortbow from his back while simultaneously grabbing an arrow. By the time he's nocked and drawn back for a shot, Joe's out of sight. "Fuck." Reslinging his bow and replacing the arrow, Thel grabs and sheathes his knife; disappointed.
Noosha picks up the handful of receipts, notes, fake IDs, and other sorts of stuff, holding it in her hand to offer Memna...though curiously, those bags of crown also seem to disappear before she makes her way into the main room, thrusting the sheaf of papers to the bear.
"Our Creator here seems to go by many names, too..." she squeaks.
Cassidy folds her hands behind her back, frowning slightly as Joe makes his escape. "That is okay. He cannot hide forever. Especially seeing as he is a Creator on a planet of Beings." She turns to look at Thel, though, and tilts her head. "As for you. As you can see, I got the door open. Was the window needed?"
Chaos and mayhem took a little while in coming, but both arrive in equal measure in the cloister gardens quickly after Creator Joe flees the scene. Hedge and Mai-Mai, the lapine servants make no struggle as they are led away. Hedge just looks stunned as Mai-Mai sobs quietly on his shoulder. Joe himself, on the other hand is long gone.
Memna looks sadly at the confused rabbit folk, then turns to face the Freeswords. "Thank you for your help," she says, though her frown shows that this was not at all the help she had hoped for. She accepts the receipts and ID from Noosha, not noticing the other things the little hyena had pocketed in her distress. The round little bear offers each of the beings who answered her summons the reward she had promised, then hurries after the rabbits to see if she could comfort them.
Meanwhile, machine priests have gone to work, salvaging the broken spider golems. Looks like there will be more work to do, tracking down this rogue Creator.
