"AaahOUCH!!" Androleteira exclaims as she feels the teeth sink into her leg only partly stopped by her greaves.
She pivots her sword in her grip and thrusts downward, trying to skewer the foul creature.
The close combat fight made it difficult to use either the rifle or the knife. Figuring out a better place to get a shot to help or maybe holding the exit would be better...
Cheshire yowls and jumps behind the people with swords, not wanting to be so close to the ghouls. Picking a target at semi-random, he hisses out another spell.
Another bolt of flame leaps from his hands to one of the ghouls.
Chershire incinerated the Ghoul that was on the ground, and Jessica impaled the one biting her with her flaming blade. Kavox blasted the other one. Both were very nearly dead - but very nearly wasn't good enough.
One of the creatures continued to gnaw on Jessica, while the one Kavox blew a hole in tore into Captain Rose before spinning,charging and clawing Kavox as well.
The Captain glared at the creature. Such things would not be worth the treatments required later. She risked firing her rifle in this enclosed area at the one that had attacked her that was on Kavax.
"Great Kavax, this place might become an inferno in about half a minute! Lets make quick work before the whole place collapses and consumes us!"
Drawing the knife he lashes out at the one that Captain Rose shot at, hoping to finish it before her unwieldy rifle gets her attacked.
Will try to post soonish, probably in the evening.
Captain Rose blew another unpleasantly large hole in one, and when Carlos' knife hit undead flesh there was a scream, a sizzling noise and a dead monster. With both of the monsters dead there was nothing but the smouldering from the door that Kavax had 'opened'.
"So, is the big one still out there, waiting to ambush? Or has it moved on again? One way to find out..."
Kavax simply walks out the door and sees if anything tries to attack him, trying to tread out a few of the smoldering fragments on the way.
Jessica's inhuman eyes swirl for a moment, then she blinks and her regular irises appear. "I-- Wait. I gotta do something about this."
She conjures up a wad of gauze and starts wrapping it around her leg where it'd been chewed on.
Kavax can't see anything outside the door, or at least nothing obviously harmful and dangerous. The large one is still missing, and it can be assumed there are more of the Ghouls out there.
Chershire crouches in a corner and yowls a spell, trying to bind his own wounds.
Chester feels an impressive jolt of additional energy flowing into, and implicity understands he has two choices. He coukld pour the extra energy into everyone else, healing the whole group (except Cheshire) by 1 harm. Or he could retain the energy, healing himeself back to full.
"Looks clear out here. The big guy must have moved on again. I think it's trying to wear us down."
Kavax looked back at the rest of the crew, seeing how they were doing.
Captain nodded to Kavax as she followed him out, "Unusual for this type, but it is possible." while checking her gun over and looking around.
"I'm pretty beat but we can't let it move, it might be going for Collin or worse." He picks up the shotgun, "How are you all feeling?" Just as he says that he sees Cheshire cast some sort of spell and Jessica's dinged armour.
Cheshire keeps the energy to himself, sighing just a bit as his wounds are wiped away.
"I could give healing one of the others of you a try," he says once he's done. "It's risky, though--I've picked up a lot of tricks over the years, but magic is always fickle."
Jessica surveys the area outside. It seems odd that you've heard it but not seen it. Which suggests it's hunting something other than yourselves. Unfortunately, you only know of two other people in this derelict waste of a town.
"...I'm not the best one to ask about healing. I do have a bit of skill with magic, but it tends to lean toward the burning and destroying side. Though you'd be surprised at how you can twist that into healing if you do it right. Think you'll hold together if we move on? We probably don't want to let that thing get too far ahead of us."
Carlos gives a tired look to the cat and then just laughs it off, "Lets move, I'm feeling lucky today still amigo."
Captain gave Carlos a look in response to the odd question. If she had an issue that impacted the mission, she would let others know - and not anything else before or beyond that, especially not feelings.
She cautiously moved forward and looked around the space. The clean-up crew was going to have their work cut out double checking and decontaminating this kind of space.
The town outside is an eerie shell of what it had been, a skeleton rather than a ghost - there is no life here beyond the tracks of animals and the insects that feed on the decaying wood of the buildings. Even in the dark you can all see that this place has been stripped of anything worth looting has long since been taken. Several of the buildings seem to have been even stripped off there wooden gladding, when it was in good enough shape to make it worthwhile.
At the far end of the town there looms a larger building, three stories tall in the centre with two wings extending out - the hotel, you presume, although you can see the signage is long gone.
As you approach you to hear a roar from inside the building. You've found your prey - hopefully, it hasn't found it yet.
Cheshire gives the rest of the group one look before darting ahead, shifting to cat form as he moves. When he nears the building he slows down, looking around warily for signs of their target... or anything else interesting.
There were tracks outside the building - a man leaving. And bare, deformed feet leading in. This was the right place, that much seemed likely. Inside he could hear at least two of the things moving as the ancient wood groaned and creaked - something to keep in mind when the Hunters approached if they wanted to sneak up on the things. Finding the woman and her daughter might be more difficult.
The bandages wrapped around her wounded leg, Jessica sends the remaining package of gauze away and recalls her sword. A strange sense of duality strikes her -- her mortal mind still feels fear and she strains against it. However, Androleteira feels nothing but hate and a need for retribution. She fights off a strong desire to sink into the unfeeling entity to counter her fear, trying to cling to her old self.
"I... I don't think I know Cheshire well enough to join him, if he scouts by himself. I mean, I could try," she says, talking about her ability to simply be someplace where she has a connection, whether to the place or a person.
Kavax considered the creaky old building, scratching at his chin slightly.
"...I don't think I'm going to be very sneaky in there. Any of you planning on stealth might be better off using me as a distraction than following too close. Not really time to lose, anyway."
Kavax stolidly treads forwards, not particularly trying to conceal himself, simply heading toward the noise. He did walk slowly enough that anyone more keen on being sneaky could go by, and so that he could keep an ear out in case something tried to sneak up on him.
Captain eyed the hotel carefully. If this was that hotel, crew should be here shortly. There couldn't really be that many out here for an Adalet team to take much longer. Most of Captain was convinced of that, but this was still an uneasy situation. Captain started to circle outside the hotel to see if there was any visible signs that could narrow down the search or any other threats that might be of concern. A good place to snipe from might be nice too, but can't expect everything...
The Captain guesses that the building itself is a danger. Ancient, ill-treated wood and brick are not the strongest of materials, and the floors are probably on the verge of giving way in places. The upper floors and stairs are probably a risk.
The front entrance is obvious - but with the state of the building, it's harder to find somewhere you can't enter. The windows are open, and the wood can probably be punched through without much challenge.
Knowing full well that the Captain, Jessica and Kavax were better suited for combat (his current limp didn't help), Carlos spends some time doing what he does best and tries to assess the situation from the back.
He continues in a near meditative state, his breathing slowing down somewhat before jumping back up with a quick hop. He thought he saw a glimpse of the future, though it seeped through his fingers before he could catch it.
"If you have any last rites, I am an officiator in 19 different states." He laughs at the gallows humour, but then clears his throat to stop the awkward silence that inevitably would follow when he gets glared at.
The hotel's state of disrepair was a concern to note, but could be used for an advantage. With no sign of either the threats or those at risk from the outside, Captain sought out a ground floor window far from the entrance that would give her somewhat easy and safe access to start covering this location - and it seemed a possible alternative logical starting point for families using this place to hide. Gun in hand, she looked around before cautiously and methodically making her way in...
Cheshire quietly slips in one of the windows, quietly padding down hallways, every sense straining for signs of which direction to go.
Jessica takes a two-handed grip on her sword, its fire muted but every now and then a flame would dance up along the blade. She keeps her back to the group, staying ready to move in an instant.
The inside of the hotel was as ancient and decrepit as the exterior, but here and there were hints of its past. The carpet, now a faded and dusty maroon where it was even still present, had occasional flashes of the scarlet it had once been. Brass fittings caught glints of what little light there was.
Dust occasionally fell from the ceiling in the entryway as something moved above you all, a steady thud of movement sounding from above.
Captain Rose and Cheshire entered in what might have been a dining room, once. The rear section was open to the elements.
Cheshire silently starts poking his head through doorways, trying to identify where the stairs were.
Remembering the prior skirmish, Carlos turns to Jessica, "Do you think we can break the floor above us and let this... thing get the drop on us?"
Kavax considered the building. "I could probably wreck the floor above us, but might also destroy the floor I'm standing on. And light everything on fire."
He'd have to be careful; if the building really was as rickety as it looked he might break things just by walking around.
Captain cautiously walked around the dining hall for a few moments, considering. A hotel with a dining hall usually had a kitchen nearby which sometimes had a cellar or similar for storage which could be how more of the threats could get in and out. Kitchens, even in places as old as this one, also often attracted desperate people. Captain slowly went to see if any of the neighbouring rooms had a kitchen or stairways.
At Mr. Garcia's question, Jessica stares at the ceiling and adjusts her grip on her sword. "I'm not really sure. Neat idea, but I don't know if I can do that."
Then another thought comes to her. "And we're supposed to find the man's wife and daughter. Bringing the building down might not be the best idea."
He considers the point then nods, "You're right. I'd cast another spell to help find them but I worry that this thing can sense magic, it did it once and it may do it again."
He turns to Captain Rose, "Can you see a tactical route in?"
Captain Rose uncovers a trapdoor that's noticeably less covered in dust and grime.
Cheshire finds the stairwells up - there is one off the main reception and two more in each wing.
Captain considered the trap door, "This is likely how those threats are getting in. Checking it and then barring this route seems the next step to prevent attacks from behind when heading upstairs. she answered Carlos quietly. She paused for a moment as she considered possible options for moving forward and allowing any others who might want to go in first to do so.
Carlos nods, "I think Kavax can easily handle that and if we really need to I can magically bar it shut afterwards."
The trap door is easy enough to open, revealing a set of stone stairs heading down into a cellar. No light was present, of course, and the stairs rapidly vanished into the darkness.
Jessica holds up her sword and wills the flame to burn brighter, casting a reddish, dancing light down into the depths.
"Are we blocking this off?" she asks.
"Once it is checked and cleared, blocking it off would probably be a good idea." Captain suggested while looking down the slightly glowy depths now...
Cautiously, Cheshire creeps up the stairs off of the main reception area, keeping low, all his senses straining for signs of nearby danger. He stops just as his eyes get high enough to see onto the next floor and looks around.
"Of course, It's also possible that it just leads to a basement, or that the people we're looking for are hiding down there. Are we going down to check it out, or going to intercept Big Ugly while we can hear where he's at?"
Kavax kept an ear open for sounds of movement while the group was momentarily standing still.
The flaming sword revealed the bottom of the staircase and a door to at the end. Well...it had once been a door. The door was barely there not, and seemed to have been kicked in at some point in the distant past.
Cheshire, creeping onto the upper floors, sees the much larger alpa Ghoul and three of the smaller ones, flanking it. They're sniffing the air as they move through the gutted building, moving surprisingly softly. Of course, the state of the building meant that there was some creaking, but not as much as might be expected.
One stops for a moment, turning and sniffing as if it had picked up the scent of something nearby.