How many other people are around? Non-combatant lookyloo types.
As soon as Erryll said, "Cortex", Kita's head got fuzzy. They'd talked about the strange mechanical minds that were cortexes a few times, and she still didn't understand. But she knew he felt strongly about it, and it looked like Nevitash did too.
Sensing an imminent fight, Kita pushed her way forward, then turned to face the growing crowd. "Come on, y'all, time to move on back. Ain't nothing here but trouble."
Nevitash draws his weapon and takes a defensive posture.
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Agnar had been late to the party. Following his brother Ogrun and distracted by the intervening crowd, he hadn't actually gotten a good look at the early conversation, and only broke through near the end.
He wasn't near the speakers, so recognition was not instantaneous. But eventually, as Erryl broke the ice and made clear the hostility that was transpiring, in one great instant of epiphany it all made sense.
he yells, his long hours of instruction in the very best military institutions of Khador bubbling to the surface in all their power. "Is the RAPE of the Thornwood not enough for you? Does BURNING away the inroads of civilization not slake your blood-thirst? Will you NEVER be satisfied until ALL are lain NAKED and CHAINED to before you!?"
This was all known, of course. OF course it was known, throughout Khador, that they had marched into the wild lands of the Thornwood and tried to bring peace and progress to the wild and barwards land. A land long abandoned and left fallow by the lazy and greedy Cygnar. It was only when they had seen what great lengths the Thornwood had grown that they launched an attack to re-take, and, of course, destroy the farmsteads set up there. Only to see the land again turn wild, and used for nefarious purposes by the Crtyx.
Of course it was known. And not doubted.
Of course.
"Well this is ONE free man that you will NOT have for your personal fleshpots!" He brought up his pistol.
He didn't pick the name White Death out of a hat. The wood harness of the gun had been hand-carved out of an exotic ivory-hued wood that looked almost invisible in snow. The gun spat death with such great gusto that it seemed to sing, SING, with joy and splendor when it was allowed to do that which it was best at. Long had he thought that some fey or spirit must inhabit the thing.
It spat a shot.
No ordinary bullet was this. No common firing of lead was for the ranks of GunMages. Though this shot lept from the barrel like a charging horse, it made no sound, and attacked the officer with the same volume as a falling leaf.
The blood in his veins running hot, the gunfire was automatically followed up by quick arcane gesture. With it his form began to shimmer and become indistinct as if displaced, coalescing to solidity only when observed up close. It would be hard work landing a shot on him now.
Agnar danced a short distance to the side, turning the Cygnarian flank. But he wouldn't take their rear. They'd -like- that. It was known.
Rosaleen joined Kita in her attempts to get the looky-loos to back away but she chose a more intimidating approach. Drawing one of her flash bang grenades, she displayed it saying, "Better back it up if you don't want your eyeballs fried like those two looters are about to."
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The priest draws sword then moves to stand in front of Rosalyn and Kita, with a readied action to attack the first fool who dares approach.
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All are shocked as the Ogrun Gunmage shouts out his hatred for the Cygnar and fires on the officer and his Trollkin companion. The bullet rips into the officer's shoulder and blood spurts from the wound. Seeing his commander attacked, the big Trollkin swings his tree trunk-like metal shod staff at the gun-toting Ogrun.
Attack:
Damage:
Being caught by surprise, the attack misses Agnar by a wide berth.
Meanwhile, the crowd, who were beginning to scatter, slowed down and an undercurrent of hostility began to overwhelm the usual fear and fleeing. It would seem that many of these people take exception to what the Ogrun has said about their excellent, and powerful country!!
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"Heh. Not so tough when your target isn't bound and gaged before you, huh?" Agnar taunts as the attack misses.
Agnar nods as he sees the officer silenced by his shot. As it should be.
Turning to his attacker, he spits, "Why don't you make like a leaf and get out of here?"
The joke might not normally be funny, if it wasn't followed by a Thunder Shot.
His trick shots exhausted, Agnar holsters White Death and draws Donner und Blitzen.
Hearing Agnar's fighting words, Kita turned slowly around, eyes wide. "Don't that big idiot know where we are?" she asked, half in astonishment, half in admiration. "Fool ain't afraid of makin' enemies, that's for damn sure."
For once, the gunfighter didn't know what to do. Her instinct was to back the others up, but she honestly didn't know if they were doing the right thing.
Looking to the knight for guidance, she saw that he had not engaged, but was ready for trouble. She followed his lead, drawing the rifle from over her shoulder and checking to make sure it was loaded (it always was, but she'd always check), then held it in both hands, but didn't aim it at anybody, not yet. She didn't aim a gun at anybody she wasn't sure she wanted to shoot.
Nevitash moves in to strike the trollkin. He yells out, "Yah should have stopped while you could!"
Rosaleen leaned towards Kita and asked, "Can you use Ogrun to tell the others to shield their eyes?" Then she muttered, "Although maybe to de-escalate this the others should be blinded too..."
As soon as Kita called out the warning, the alchemist activated her flash bang grenade and threw it at the two aggressive strangers in order to blind them.
The knight priest continues to hold, readying to attack any that approaches Rosalyn, Kita and himself but his expression is stormy - perhaps unamused by so much application of lethal force, in so petty an issue.
Kita's eyes widened when she saw what Rosaleen was holding. Nodding, she called out, "Achte auf deine Augen. Blitzschlag en drei, zwei, eins, jetzt!" She held up three fingers to Rosaleen, counting down from three, then pointed when she said 'Now'.
Erryll had probably had enough when the lies started ... now he's just furious. He smiles as he lets the energy build to send an Arcane Bolt into the Captain.
He does actually aim for the dude's face
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The bright azure bolt whizzes past the startled officer's face, singing his nose with its nearness. The fellow is not so lucky as the bullet from Agnar's pistol blasts him in the chest but he somehow stays standing...but not for long as the man slowly falls to his knees..both hands clutching at his ruined chest.
The Trollkin seems to go berserk at seeing his commander shot down, and while Nevitash's strike did not hit him, he retaliates with a vicious two-handed assault with his staff.
HOWEVER...before the trolling can get off his swing, a strange canister lands at the warrior's feet and with a slight fizzle and a loud POP, a bright flash consumes the combat zone. Just before the bright light, Kita calls out a warning in Ogre.
Trollkin save: SAVE
Attack:
Damage:
Kita saw Nevitash drop after taking an absolutely devastating hit from the trollkin. Instinct took over. She stepped to the side, to get out from behind the knight. Then she raised her rifle, sighted, and squeezed the trigger, all in one smooth motion. If the heel hadn't been snugged up tight to her armpit, the kickback would have bruised her - it was a big weapon meant for long shots. This close, she could hardly miss.
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"Schweinhund!" Agnar spits at the powerful troll as it dares to attack his brother Ogrun. He levels both pistols at the foeman and lets off a great barrage.
The two pistols seem to have taken umbrage at playing second-act to the prima donna White Death. Donnar's shot hones in on the troll with a palpable shot. Then Blitzen, angry beyond measure at bringing up the rear, aims its shot with even greater effect.
Rosaleen cursed under her breath as her grenade seemed to not have an effect on the trollkin. That means that things would escalate quickly. The swift exchange of bullets proved the alchemist's hypothesis. She drew her dagger from its sheath and prepared to throw it at the trollkin should it somehow manage to dodge her companion's bullets.
Seeing the hammer about to drop Nevitash calls out an arcane word and the hammer strikes an invisible barrier between the two warriors. He then swings again at the trollkin.
"Get to it Nev ... we will keep the 'gentlemen soldiers' down, I promise."
Erryll goes to check that the captain is dead or dying ... to make sure really
Kita slowly lowered her rifle and stared at Nevitash. She'd been so sure he was going down, but he'd done some fancy bit of rune-work and had not only stayed up, but had just about crushed the soldier's head with that monster of a wrench.
As Erryll made sure the downed were dead, Kita reloaded her rifle and said to Rosaleen, "Ain't too often I feel outclassed, but these big fellas don't screw around. I still ain't sure why we're fighting."
She kept an eye on the crowd, hoping that things didn't suddenly become way uglier.
Rosaleen sighed before answering Kita, "You and me both. I'm not used to traveling with others who prefer to 'fight first and kill everyone so there's no one left to question' rather than 'use every deceptive manner possible to find out everything possible then kill them quietly'." She shrugged, "Not sure which method is better. I think I'll often be feeling outclassed if we're just measuring things by fighting."
She strained to catch a glimpse of whatever was in the shed, "I hope all the bullets and blood are worth whatever is inside."
Nevitash will enter the shed to see who was 'talking' to him.
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Agnar nodded in satisfaction as the two soldiers stopped putting up resistance.
"Wir sollten in die Scheune gehen. Ich denke, da könnten noch zwei drin sein. Zumindest sollten wir sehen, was sie plünderten," he says in low tones to the group.
"We should go in the barn. I think there may be two more in there. At the very least we should see what it was they were looting," he says in low tones to the group.
He then turns to the quelling crowd and addresses them. "Be calm, good people of Cygnar. It is well known that a long and abuse of power has been visited upon you by those that call themselves your leaders. But when was the last time one of those so-called Nobles asked you for your opinion, hm? Is it not widely known that the good salt-of-the-earth people, such as yourselves, could do a far better job of overseeing your governance than the overstuffed fops that are your lords simply by the right of having been born to noble parents?
Part of that noble greed has extended to the military that feel free to rob the good commoners at their leisure, but be at peace! These marauders that steal from you can call it fair have been stopped. Now go, and know that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
Agnar shrugs. He's given better speeches, but he's in a hurry to follow Nev into the barn.
The knight turned priest merely makes his way over to the foes and blesses them with a 'Spare the Dying' prayer. Hopefully they will live... truth be told religious man thought things escalated waaaay too quickly and while death didn't worry him in the least, he thought the two dying over the dispute was something he'd prefer not to deal with in the aftermath.
He glares out at the crowd, wordlessly communicating he'll have no truck with further nonsense as he flexes his large physique to ominous effect.
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As the smoke clears, the party is left with the dead body of Cygnar Captain and the slowly regenerating form of a trollkin sergeant. When looking in the shed, a rear door can be seen slowly swinging open and closed...as if someone recently ran out and left the door unlatched. Most of this shed, however, is filled with mechanical parts and a large tarped item in the middle of the room.
The crowd has gone from friendly interest to concern to outright hostility. The party can hear some of the farmers talking about 'cold-blooded murder' and contacting the constabulary...or even the military. What were once friendly, welcoming faces, have now turned frightened and hostile.
Nevitash will call out in the shed, "Hello..." and then pull down the tarp.
Kita felt a nervous tremor run down her spine. There was a group of angry folk here, and angry folk sometimes become an angry mob. Returning her rifle to its holster behind her, she raised her hands placatingly. Stepping backwards towards the shed, she said, "Might be time to high-tail it outta town. Folks are riled, and like to turn on us."
She risked a glance over her shoulder. I hope whatever the big lug has under that tarp is worth this.
Turning to Erryll, she saw that the rune-glow was starting to fade. He might be able to speak sensibly now. "Erryll? Can you make this make sense?"
Kita felt a nervous tremor run down her spine. There was a group of angry folk here, and angry folk sometimes become an angry mob. Returning her rifle to its holster behind her, she raised her hands placatingly. Stepping backwards towards the shed, she said, "Might be time to high-tail it outta town. Folks are riled, and like to turn on us."
She risked a glance over her shoulder. I hope whatever the big lug has under that tarp is worth this.
Turning to Erryll, she saw that the rune-glow was starting to fade. He might be able to speak sensibly now. "Erryll? Can you make this make sense?"
Erryll's look is a little puzzled, but he takes a deep breath ...
"I had thought I had: did you think I was just being belligerant? A few things: Nav is an excellent mage, I've known this for some time. I know you know that magic is NEVER an accident. SO ... unlike everyone else, I do not think my colleague was going crazy, I thought he was experiencing something, something like both he & I did during our training. I stood in the middle of the tavern to cast my senses out to see if I could detect a Steamjack Cortex, which was the single most likely phenomenon to cause the "voice" perception. I was right. Nav is NOT crazy.
AND
That is why I accused these men of a magical crime. Steamjacks don't just connect to minds at random. So if there was a connection here, whatever the cause may be, that means salvage is NOT appropriate or acceptable and cannot be warranted. It means they are overstepping into the jurisdiction of the Order. THAT is not okay."
He smiles, "Clearer?"
"I still really want to stab the troll in the face tho"
Rosaleen glanced back and forth between Kita and Erryll, "Regardless of who is in the right, I'm with Kita. It's time to book it and be off since the locals are restless. Grab or help whatever we came to get and let's be off before more blood is shed."
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Within the dim interior of the shed, Nav pulls the tarp off the hidden object and is not surprised to see a SteamJack sitting there. This particular Jack is ancient and not in a configuration that Nevitash has seen before. It does not help that the machine looks like it was used as a LaborJack before being placed here. Many dents, scrapes and dirt cover the machine...but a very slight amount of the original colour can be seen...a Cygnar Blue! There also seem to be other markings, but for the moment the dim light and dirt obscure them.
You found me! says the voice, slightly stronger now that you are close to the cortex.
Outside the crowd is slowly breaking up, but with many dark looks thrown at the party. Lily arrives with anything the players might have left in the Inn, and dump its on the ground.
"Here be yer things...now get and take your Cygnar-hating Ogrun with you!"
She turns on her heel and storms off back to her Inn, where you can hear the door slam shut.
Nevitash looks over the jack and says, "How did you get here? Is whoever brought you here still around?"
Kita nodded at Erryll's explanation. "Right, I suppose that makes sense. But maybe next time start with that? Might be we could have avoided turning the town against us."
At least the crowd seemed to be dispersing. They may hate them, but at least they weren't turning into a mob. She waited for the others to grab the things that Lily had dumped unceremoniously into the dirt, then followed Nevitash into the barn.
"Is this the fellow that caused all this?" She looked curiously at the steamjack. "Is it alive? Like, alive alive? Thinking and such? Can it hear me?" She patted it hesitantly, as if it were a donkey that might kick. "What's your name, big guy?"
Kita nodded at Erryll's explanation. "Right, I suppose that makes sense. But maybe next time start with that? Might be we could have avoided turning the town against us."
At least the crowd seemed to be dispersing. They may hate them, but at least they weren't turning into a mob. She waited for the others to grab the things that Lily had dumped unceremoniously into the dirt, then followed Nevitash into the barn.
"Is this the fellow that caused all this?" She looked curiously at the steamjack. "Is it alive? Like, alive alive? Thinking and such? Can it hear me?" She patted it hesitantly, as if it were a donkey that might kick. "What's your name, big guy?"
Erryll laughs at Kita's commentary ...
"With love, luv, all I did was accuse the gentlemen of being interlopers and "mistaken" about their mission. Seems screaming vile epitaphs about Cygnans may have been a little more impactful when it comes to turning the town, and the innkeeper, against us."
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"I think it was recent, but my chronometer has failed. Before that, I was working building rail lines and hauling supplies near the Kaldorian border. There are many missed periods I do not remember...I was in a great war, but I cannot remember when or where."
As you listen, you become aware that the last little bit of energy keeping the cortex active is beginning to fail.
Nevitash stuffs the tarp into the burner to give it more fuel. "We need to go. I am not sure if the military will be back soon, but if you want to follow us we can go now and get away from people that want to use you as scrap."
Erryll goes to the body of the captain to retrieve the so-called writ of salvage. They would need it if there was further "discussion" about the "incident"
"So we have a bunch of issues with magical people handling a magical problem, nationalism in our little group here, racism amongst the townspeople ... should someone maybe pull theirs out and piss on the troll so we can make this just a touch worse!?!? In all seriousness though, the troll is alive, any thoughts?"