Dom’s eyes fluttered as he started to dream.
*** Cue Dream Sequence ***
“Remind me again, why we can’t just kill them?” Roy grumpily asked as he reloaded his shotgun in plain view of the Department 7 agents who had waltzed in just in time to be too late.
“We’re the good guys?” Dom answered snarkily.
Roy scoffed.
Dom smiled. Roy was good people. A bit too serious and rough around the edges, sure, but good people. He’d met enough a-holes in this business to know.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ll buy you a beer. It’s the least I can do for the man who saved me from – whatever the hell that thing was.”
“I think it was some sort of bear. A really messed up bear,” Roy said as he put his shotgun in the trunk of Dom’s car.
“Looked more like an owl to me,” Dom said with a shrug. “It had a beak and everything.” Dom smirked. “Maybe we should have asked Mr. Owl how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop.”
For some damned reason, that stupid, lame little joke had Roy laughing all the way to the bar.
***
Alisha’s hands were a blur as she reassembled the Beretta for the 20th time that night. When she finished. Dom glanced at his watch and noted the time.
“Not bad,” he said, downplaying her skill. She was a damn sight better than “not bad”. Hell, the woman was a natural. But he thought it best to not let her get complacent.
Alisha glared at the Beretta, as if angry that she wasn’t immediately mastering every facet of its complexity.
Dom reset the timer on his wristwatch. “Do it again. Ready – set – go.”
Alisha’s hand blurred as she quickly began to dissemble the weapon.
Dom shared a look with Roy and Xannder, who were also impressed but hiding it.
She’s a hunter all right.
***
"Great, our choice is between the town law who probably has something to prove since almost the whole town's already gone missing. And an on edge woman who recently lost her father. Sounds like a wonderful time!" Xannder said sarcastically.
But nevertheless he followed the others out the room.
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
Dom slapped Xannder on the back good-naturedly.
"Welcome to hunting. It sucks."
***
Dom's chest rose in time with his ragged breaths.
Alisha is saddened to leave Dom behind but their task is far too important to wait for him to recover. Time is of an essence and the next fane needs to be delt with. She helps make him comfortable and says, "It is a difficult choice to leave him here. You know the saying of leaving a man behind. But I understand the mission comes first. I just hope he can last out here on his own until we can find somewhere safe to recover."
Roy glances back and shakes his head. "Nuh-uh. Norms stay here." He turns back, pauses, and then turns to face Alisha and Xannder.
"Look. Dom needs to stay put right now. Looks like he's stable, and you guys patched up his wounds better than I could. But he's still hurt, he shouldn't be moved any more than he needs to be. And we are not leaving him alone here. There's bloodsuckers, werewolves, zombies, and who knows what else wandering around this area. It's too dangerous for Dom to just lie anywhere, and it's too dangerous for a lone norm. You two stay here, keep watch, protect Dom. I'll go see what there is nearby, deal with the damn sniper, and find some shelter."
The Hunter starts walking up the hill, then looks back one more time. "I'm trusting you, norms, and against my better judgment. Don't prove me right." His eyes harden and he heads up along the road, moving through the brush, and though he doesn't blend well with the brush, his steps are nearly silent.
Lets try and just make him more comfortable. With wounds like this he should be at least conscious in a couple hours. We can only hope he's not in a coma. When Roy gets back, maybe he will have found something useful.
Roy heads up the hill alone looking for the sniper. He doesn't need to travel very far to find him.
The sniper steps out from behind a three as you approach.
"Reckless as always Roy. I was the same way and look how I ended up." he says. It takes you a moment but you recognize him as Joseph Morgan one of the missing hunters who you worked with in the past. His skin is pale and decomposed. He is clearly undead.
The sun is currently up and it's around 11 in the morning you don't think he's a vampire. Still you can see the wound were you hit him and it's slowly healing. (fast healing 2)
Alisha's eyes widen as she sees the Undead man, "And I suppose since you're walking around dead, that the vampire has risen you from the grave as a Zombie under his command. Why else would you start shooting at us?"
Roy blinks and frowns under his bandana. "Reckless is sicking your pets on my buddy, or standing in my way afterwards." Roy brings the gun up to his shoulder and points it at the other man's head. "You've got five seconds to explain yourself, Morgan."
If the undead man makes any move, Roy pulls the trigger on his rifle, aiming for the head.
"I'm a test Roy...I failed and I was turned into a pawn but the vampire is looking for strong people he can turn into full vampires to become his lieutenants. He sent me here to test you to see if you were good enough to be worth his time.
Roy shakes his head and fires the rifle. "Sorry, but you know how I hate tests."
The bullets strikes him and he recoils from the impact but it didn't hurt as much as you expected.
"Silver bullets! Use silver." he says as he charges you dropping his rifle.
He takes a swing at you with a closed fist but you realize he has razor sharp claws. you realize he is holding back.
Roy drops the rifle, which swings around to his side, as he steps back and draws his Beretta. He quickly ejects the current magazine, catching it and bringing it down to a pocket, and slides in another--this one loaded with silver rounds. What the hell's going on?
"I'm still partially in control Roy and I want you to destroy me."
he takes another swing with a claw this time
Roy again dodges the attack. "Good." He steps back and fires again with his trusted handgun, once more aiming for the late Joseph Morgan's head.
The shot hits and this time he goes down for good.
Roy steps up and fires another bullet into the creature's head. "Never liked you much, Morgan. Too full of yourself." The Hunter slides the Beretta back into its holster and drags the body off the road, then continues up the incline, again attempting stealth.
What the heck was that?
Xannder says reacting to the gunshot.
Sounded like Roy's gun, hope he is not in to much trouble.
He continues to look over the wound and applies fresh bandages and antiseptic.
Think I got the wound all cleaned up. Rest is up to time unless we can get him to a hospital or lay our hands on a medical bag.
Alisha says to Xannder, "I hope that Roy can handle himself alone. I am rather leery about us dividing up like this with the dangers that are prevalent in this area."
You don't see any more creatures but you spot a campsite nearby, from your vantage point you can for miles around.
You see a waterfall about half a mile upriver.
The castle is around two miles east of you.
You see some kind of ruins about a mile to the north-east that must be the mountain fane.
The village is five miles to the south.
Roy takes in the sight, his eyes hard. Nice view. Making a mental note of the region, especially the castle and the fane, he begins moving to the campsite.
At the campsite you find a tent a bedroll and you recover the sniper rifle used by Morgan along with some ammunition. There is also a crossbow with a dozen bolts and some of his items from before he was turned. A cellphoen, nightvision goggles, some spare casual clothes and a laptop.
Roy sets his rifle down and picks up the sniper, then loads it to capacity. He grabs the phone and a piece of clothing and heads back down to get the others.
Upon reaching Alisha, Xannder, and Dom, Roy nods his head back up the hill. "Found a camp, that's where the sniper was set up. It's got a bedroll, we can put Dom there for the time being. He stable enough to move?"
The sniper is a Enfield L42A1 British 7.62mm Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle.
Damage: 2d10 Magazine: 10 box
Critical: 20 Size: Large
Damage Type: Ballistic Weight: 13 lb.
Range Increment: 110 ft. Purchase DC: 21
Rate of Fire: Single
Alisha says, "So long as we're gentle and work together I think we can move him safely. Let us get him to the camp site."
You move Dom to the campsite and lay him down on the bedroll and consider your next move.
The radio crackles "We're clear for now. We fought the creature chasing us and we lost two men but we wounded him badly enough that he retreated for now."
Roy grabs the radio. "Good for you, Fed. Meanwhile my buddy's been shot. He's the one you've been talking to, they call him the nice one; now you've got me. They call me the really-pissed-off-because-the-sh*t's-hitting-the-fan one. Whatever you just fought is probably pissed off, now, too, and it's only gonna get worse. The vamp's already on to us, knows we're looking for it. Whatever your plan is, double time, Deppie."
The Hunter turns to the others. "Right. We don't have time for Dom to heal, much as I hate to say it. Somebody's gotta stay with him, and the other's coming to the fane with me. Your choice." His entire attitude has become sharp and straightforward. It's obvious that Dom's injuries have annoyed Roy, and that he wants to keep things moving as quickly as he can.
Alisha says, "I'm with you Roy. You'll need my arcane knowledge in case we're dealing with problems of a magical variety. Xannder is the best medic here so I am thinking he would be the best to keep Dom stable while we deal with the next fane."
"Right." Roy turns to Xannder. "Keep him safe. If he wakes up, let him know where I went." He looks back to Alisha. "Grab the Remington and let's go." With that he sets out in the direction of the fane, the Enfield in hand.
Dom's hand twitches slightly. His eyes flutter and then go still. It goes unnoticed by everyone.
Roy slides the bolt on the Enfield and nods, apparently satisfied. Morgan was an ass, but he knew his guns, I'll give him that. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out some rifle rounds, which he hands to Alisha. "In case."
Amanda grabs the Remington and the rounds and pockets them, "Right, let's lock and load. We have got a fane to find and finish."
You arrive whitin sight after walk for about 30 minutes of the rocky tower and see a giant brute standing guard...An ogre.
"We buried our dead and we moved on heading east towards the castle. We see a stone tower up ahead is that the Fane you were talking about? Need help taking that out?"
Amanda looks at the Ogre and uses her arcane lore to identify it.
"That is an Ogre out there. Mythological creature with superior strength and resilience to human beings but with the intelligence of a young child. My advice would be to position ourselves at the maximum of our gun range and snipe it from a distance, making sure to hit vital points such as the head or the heart. Be warned though due to its size it will be able to close the distance between us quickly so we had best take it down before it gets to us."
Roy nods. "Try to get to some high ground--climb a tree or something. I'll draw its focus." He then whispers into the radio, "You should've burned them. As for the tower, proceed with caution--there definitely be monsters here."
Once Alisha gives him a signal she's ready, Roy sights the ogre and takes the shot.
Xannder agrees with Roy's decision and begins setting up defense around the campsite. He starts a fire and makes sure that Dom is positioned to ensure the best circulation. Once he is comfortable, he fills his clips and begins to get backups ready should he be in for a long fight.
Just you and me bud, hope you are dreamin' good you lazy bum. Maybe we can find that King Arthur dude and get him to heal you up. Sure coulda used him in the field more than a few times.
Xannder continues talking to Dom to keep his sanity and pass the time, otherwise he just keeps an eye out for unwelcome guests.
Alisha attempts to climb a tree.
Unfortunately she's no good at climbing. She instead positions herself on top of some rocks and signals for Roy to shoot first. Having given a good look at the Ogre she attempts to find its weak points.
Unfortunately he seems tough all over so she just shoots at him with the rifle
And totally misses the hulking beast.
The hulking beats roars in anger and defiance as a bullet finds it's way into it's shoulder. It charges forward towards Roy and Alisha covering nearly half the distance between you.
"Come on, you oversized idiot," Roy whispers as he slides the bolt on the rifle and fires again.
Seeing that the ogre will be on him any moment, Roy drops the rifle to swing at his side and draws the baton from his jacket, extending it with a flick of his wrist. "COME ON!"
Alisha reloads and fires on the beast but misses again.
Another gunshot resounds as Ashlyn arrives on the scene to help and unfortunately misses.
The ogre runs up covering almost the rest of the distance and stopping a mere ten feet from Roy.
Seeing the ogre stop for the moment, Roy quickly draws his revolver and fires again, knowing this is probably his last shot before facing the beast in melee.
Alisha takes aim and makes another shot at the giant ogre seeking to help Roy take it down
Roy and Alisha but land hits on the creature and it's badly injured now.
Alisha comes a little closer and fires again but misses.
The ogre steps up to Roy and swings his enormous fist at Roy.
Roy drops low as the fist comes in, but it catches him on the shoulder. He grunts as he rolls with the blow, more to keep his balance than avoid injury. Damn, that hurts. Gritting his jaw, the Hunter steps up and swings his metal baton at the creature's chin.
Unfortunately, it's been some time since Roy practiced with the weapon, and his attack misses.
Alisha fires but misses.
Ashlyn fires again
She hits and the ogre goes down.