Rae didn't fight against Maren's grip, though stepped back as Carlos stepped towards her, her fear and rage still there as she looked up at him, "What do you think they hunted me, my bondmates, my friends down with? Try being in a forest with those things, or back home where they bleach the ground with them..."
Maren considered Rae before briefly answering Amelia's question, "Sounds like the failures." before she pushed a confused Rae towards the door beyond Kavax, kicking the still closed door of as she went past. It cracked a bit and some of the sigils in the room changed colours which made the person inside chuckle briefly.
Kavax easily gets the box open and sees placing for several items, but all that's left in the box is a large sword in a purpose-build cutout. Kavax, feel free to describe the Dark Armament Fanged great sword as you'd like
Through the gaps in the metal walkway, Jessica can see Rae and Maren going one direction and heard what Maren had said about trucks and other equipment. If the Major was still in the building, it would be reasonable that they would likely be with important tech - and if not, such tech could be the best way to find them.
The metal metalway the hunters are on goes to doors on either end. There is also a walkway above at the same level at the lights. It takes a bit of finding, but Jessica finds her way up there. The hum of generators is louder, and there are toolboxes and random bits left on the floor. There are doors on either side of the walkway.
The dragonkin go in with Kavax into the last room. There is a large long old wooden box. There are loops for locks on the box, but the locks aren't on it. There are shipping stickers on it in various languages.
Rae turned at the mention of flamethrowers, fear and rage, "They're out there? Right now? With those--" She moves but is grabbed by Maren who pulls the Bedimm towards her door - and the well lit room beyond.
Maren sighed, "We've heard metal shuttered over beyond the last cell She gestured past where Kavax is. That's where they bring in supplies and caught groups. They mainly use white vans, but they have trucks for all the equipment, and sometimes for their 'hunts' -- they've attached those flame throwers, nets, all sorts for those. What's there now... She shrugged, her grip tightening on Rae.
Maren nodded in agreement with Jerry, with a pointed look to Rai.
Amelia's question was answered by the specimen in question, approaching the glass, "Her "Kimaris butt kisser" was the most accurate. Kimaris is one humans have argued whether to classify as an angel or demon or divine helpful spirit or what since well before I was around to... join their service. One only as dangerous as anything unknowable to mortals."
"Such services require payment the child cannot provide, and her fears run along the wisdom from the gentleman outside, for good reason, she's seen previous attempts. I'm not fool enough they'll appropriately compensate me anymore than they have an appropriate purpose for your winged friend, but the child is a child, somehow already more than thrice bound--"
"Can't you just do it for fun? Or revenge?" Rai sighed.
"You don' know what my ideas of fun or revenge are. Be grateful I'm not taking advantage of your human recklessness."
Rai pushed the last button, staring at her hands. "It's unlocked.". She looked over towards the box.
Rai and the "Kimaris butt-kisser" smiled at Androleteira's response, the shadows around Rai rolled and hummed for a few moments, "There's no need to apologize Jessica, it's understandable." Rai again used her shadows to open Maren's door.
The dragonkin looked at each other. With a bare nod between them, they moved to follow Kavax out of their cell.
Maren rose slowly. A pale curvy woman, she walked to the doorway and leaned against the frame, arms crossed, not stepping onto the metal walkway. She watched as Rai practically bounced past to the next cell.
Rai looked over the console for a moment, before she carefully picked her words for Carlos, "Bleachers have been taking people for years and have places all over. Here, now, there is just Jessica, Maren, Kimmsie... she made a noise much like a hiss, then a growl, "and Boxie. There used to be a lot more, Jessica's cell used to have several werewolves before the last few were pulled either as they weren't efficient or they were worried about pissing off one of their competitors and they repainted and enchanted the place. I arrived with more than a dozen other Bedimms, but we've been whittled down by them.
Maren was terse, "For someone who hates Bleachers, you keep taking them at their word.
Rai glared at Maren for a moment, then turned the other way to the dragonkin and Kavax, "Can you help Boxie - someone has to lift them out of the box, might need cracking to get open. They're not connected to the box so it shouldn't hurt them. I don't think..."
She smacked the intercom button and starts to unlock the next cell, "You want out with unstable little me, Kimmsie?
A warm chuckle, "Your nicknames are getting more cutsie, child."
A barking laugh "Very teenage human response. Not quite a Bedimm yet. Now try asking for what you actually want..."
"Rai..." Maren low voice.
"Story goes, your master is meant to help find lost treasures, make people better fighters, and a bunch of other things. Can...Will you help? Find the others and get us all out? Or are you going to zip out once the sigils around the doors break?
"Normally humans offer things for such services..."
Rai glanced back over her shoulder to Jessica with a smile, "They'll regret running their experiments on us and ours,"[b] with a sharp edge to her voice, energized by Jessica's words.
She returned her attention to the console as she answered Amelia's question, [b]"I can't remember the proper name for them, but yeah, Bleachers kidnap or force summon people to experiment on - sometimes whole...sometimes not. Some talk about the rewards they get for us or our body parts, others about learning how to harness and combine the magic of people like us. Why here, I don't know, not sure where here is..."
A bolt slid open, [b]"Oh, the round blank buttons are connected to the locks - at least on Maren's not sure if they're all the same.[b] Rai continued unlocking the door.
There is a crackle of energy as Jessica passes and breaks through the sigils in her box and out into the hallway.
Jessica now stands in a comparatively very dim passage way with a metal floor, fairly bare warehouse wall now with a large gash near where Kavax is standing. She can now see her cell was a very bare glass box, as are the boxes of most of the others that she'd been hearing.
"Great, now we can get Maren out. Rai gestures towards the person who had been on the other side of her box, who is siting as far back from the glass as possible, head down, face hidden by bright red hat and long green hair. Her awkward walk past Jessica and Amelia, she pushes the intercom button and in sing-song voice, "Maren, need to come this way towards the door." as she starts looking around the buttons on the console. The person in box waves Rai away with a sigh.
Kavax had found that blank circular buttons unlocked the bolts on the door, and there is one more to press on the dragonkin's door. Each door has multiple locks.
The odd long box, like the people, was behind a locked door in one of the lit rooms.
"The Bleachers are very dangerous." Rai agreed with Kavax as her hand hit the door frame. Eyes still closed, she felt her way up to standing before shakily stepping through next Amelia, and started to gasp like someone who had been drowning being brought onto dry land. She braced herself for a few moments as gulped and spluttered.
"Awkward, guess I can't take in that much yet." she shook her head, licked her lips and then opened her eyes, looking up at Amelia. The 'whites' of her brown eyes glowed a faint green which itched at Amelia's memory but nothing yet came through. "Thank you... I'll help get the others out, then I need to find my bondmates and the rest of what's left of my people here so we can go home, together, finally.
She wiped tears from her eyes and made her way to Jessica's door with awkward steps. Looking over the console, she became confused, "This door's unlocked - I thought I'd heard that so why isn't it... With a flick of her wrist, she raises shadows from the floor and with the next she flung them at the door with a hard bang that shook the door open. She waves the shadows away as she looks over the console. "Jessica, if you can follow my voice, your door is open. If I can figure out which ones turns down the lights, it'll be easier for you to see your way out. They've turned on so many things in your room - might be easier to try to overload it at this point, though I'd rather not while you're in there..."
Through gritted teeth as she continued to crawl, "Bedimm. I am a Bedimm, not 'shad--"
"Child is a Homo Sapien who thinks she's Homo Obtenebricatus, tragic really..."
"Should a Kimaris butt-kisser use Latin? Won't you burst into flames?"
The other voice chuckled. Kavax can see that the person appears to be a sharply dressed androgynous black person and the floor beneath them, unlike the other rooms, has sigils in different colours. They turn and somehow look directly at Kavax through the glass.
"Didn't say anything about trust, but surely you wonder why we're under these lights? It's all for Bedimms - and her - their abilities require darkness, our hosts want to experiment with that like the rest of us but they can be unstable - especially an emotional changed one like Rai. Last person to go into her space when the lights were low enough for her to eat broke her nose - after she'd broken his and the door frame and...
A couple feet from Amelia now, "Jessica's friends didn't capture us, didn't take my bondmates. They're letting us out, not experimenting on us -- right?" there was a tone of a barely hanging on by a thin thread of forced hope in her pained voice.
Carlos's sharp wits notice that there is damage to the wall opposite the girl's door and the floor outside of it that would take a lot of force to create. While her injuries look significant - and possible would put someone of a similar size and age down if she was still fully human with no magic experience out of commission, it's likely this one is not as weak or frail as she appears or wants the Hunters to think.
Carlos also notices that there are 5 rooms with people in it - and one room that just has a large box.
Standing in the door way, Amelia can see a blurry shape where, looking through the glass, she had seen Jessica. There are other blurry shapes in the other direction where the voice came from, one of the other captives.
As the girl crawls closer, Amelia can hear her breathing is pained. From what little Amelia has seen, it seems the girl is - or possibly started as - human and something altered her. The grey mottled marks across her brown skin, maybe a sign of the shadow-addled. Whatever that was, the girl wasn't responding the remark and has clearly been harmed recently in this facility.
Opening the door fully, the brightness of the inside of the room is startling. There are lights everywhere. The floor seems to reflect it somehow.
The girl turns her head towards the door as it opens, eyes still closed tight, "Your friends, Jessica? a young, ragged voice. She turns to crawl towards Amelia, "I'd be more rapid... without the light...
Another sharp voice, "Don't. You there, don't let her out of the light. She's shadow-addled, unstable."
As Carlos taps, the panel buttons get brighter - some seem to cause a very annoying buzzing noise above Jessica's head, the others make different light panels in her cell get brighter as the buttons on the panel do.
As one near the neighbour cell gets brighter, the injured girl, winces and turns away, stopping her slow crawl.
Kavax's first few tries make a buzzing noise and light up a couple others with no noticable effect yet, but then he comes across a suitable circular button that causes the sound of a bolt unsliding which helps him find the other buttons.
It takes Amelia a bit longer to get this one undone - this door seems to have a lot more damage to it than Jessica's and things keep shaking
Outside with Jerry:
One of the large figures throws a dumpster towards the warehouse at some distance from Jerry, but their aim is off and it lands within a meter or so, causing the ground to shake. The hazmat guys struggle to get them to back off. One of the other large figures is leaking some black liquid.
While one of hazmat people seems to be keeping an eye on Jerry and the hole everyone else went into, the rest are preoccupied with the large figures who have started to get more aggressive. One slams into the warehouse. More drones have started to come in over head.
As Kavax hit the button, it turned red. In response to Kavax's calm words come a hissing noise - not hostile, just a hiss for a few moments. The more feminine of the two dragonkin responds, "We were caught by some of the Order - this is their work. she gestures towards the ground. Under her feet there are white runic markings against the light grey concrete foot. "With them, we're all experiment or magic power fodder. There should be a door unlock button there somewhere - though even those Order ones mix it up sometimes" The other dragonkin gave a growling chuckle.
Amelia hears a satisfying click of multiple bolts sliding back at once - seconds before she sees Jessica summon her flaming sword and a loud thud echoes around the warehouse. It catches the attention of some of the other captives as well.
Carlos - is the random button pushing in front of the dragonkin, Jessica, the injured person, or one of the mystery people that haven't listed yet?
Carlos can see the panels has a variety of buttons, with a variety of symbols and colours. Maybe there is a code here.
When Kavax tapped on the glass, the dragonkin turned towards him - confused and a bit expectant. That close to the glass, Kavax can see on the other side that seemed to be an intercom and spotted near it on his side a wide black button with a speaker symbol on it.
Amelia sees that her frustration with the door seems to have caught the attention of the injured captive who is now crawling slowly in Amelia's direction. As the captive gets closer, Amelia can see dried blood around her nose which looks to have been recently broken and her eyes are tightly shut.
Amelia doesn't see any key holes, but she does see small sliding metal doors over slots at the bottom of each door.
There is a waist high wall with all the buttons and intercoms and things, but looking through the window, they appear to be standing on roughly the same level.
As Kavax entered the large jagged hole, he steps onto a metal platform. Looking around, he found a row of observation booths. While each is large, most of them only have one occupant, a couple of booths have 2, some are empty. In front of each booth is a digital display with buttons and switches.
Which of these is the biggest threat is hard for Kavax to say as he's not familiar with all the types of people here, though the dragonkin in the booth in front of him are likely ferocious enough as is the familiar face far to the left. The biggest threat would be whoever caught all of them.
Some of the occupants are agitated, but most look well enough for being trapped in very brightly lit boxes -- except the one in the booth next to Jessica. She has what looks like bruises of various ages over brown skin with large mottled grey patches.
From outside, Amelia and anyone looking in can see the metal platform, what appears to be thick glass and electronics.
The flames veered off wildly at Amelia's magic, the heat and flickers making through. Amelia could tell the barrier would not hold long without reinforcement.
Carlos's stern words caused one hazmat suit figure to pause, though turns towards the others "The Major has a lot of subjects in these warehouses, but I'm not sure if any are Angels...
As Kavax rips himself an opening, he can hear muted commotion. Now able to see through, there is some sort of metal walkway, waist high walls with electronic components, thick tinted glass that reached up to the ceiling. The lights on the other side is far brighter, and Kavax can see a person on the other side who looks like they're shouting, but barely hears anything even with his impressive senses.
Reminder recap for all of us: Having come through the cordone check to this industrial estate has been cordoned and gotten texts, a map, and a call from Jessica, the Hunters have dealt with a number of people wearing the'Devyat logo Ѳ who've said things as weird as some of things that have been seen. Currently there are bits of a couple of drones in pieces on the ground, a few large figures that smell of rot, and flame thrower people trying to push them towards the road that does through the area, and Kavax has now made a hole into one of the areas.
Thank you all for your patience - I had dental surgery earlier in the week and...none of it went as expected so my brain and my face have been scrambled longer than I planned. I'm going to try to word soon.
The ground shook as the metal buckled and cinderblocks crumbled under the impact of Kavax's destructive charge. A large fist size hole was made through to the interior - dim light, hissing of machinery, and a few voices became apparent. Kavax, 1 point of harm no armour save for being a wrecking ball
The people in the hazmat turn as well at the noise. Now several feet away, one turned his flamethrower towards the hunters.
The outside of the warehouses look much like most industrial warehouses, though it has very odd large dents, particularly near the doors. This door has no handle, but it does have fancy locking mechanisms and an anti-thrust plate which is what Amelia was grabbing onto.
So far, the Hunters investigation has found the weird check point and vans, damaged buildings, large awkwardly moving figures that are able to move air far faster than their arms should be able to move anything, figures that smell of rot that people in hazmat suits are herding with flame throwers towards a public road. Members of the corporation have said weird things to each of you and one of them attacked a drone which then attacked another drone. The situation is odd as there is still a lot to investigate including getting to the possibility that they're holding Jessica and others somewhere.
Is Carlos working on what happened with this warehouse, the fight between the hazmat men and the large figures, the drones, or another part of 'here'?
Amelia grabs onto a metal plate that seems roughly where a door handle should be. She can get a grip on the edges but it barely budges. Next to the metal plate is something that has a lot of buttons, a screen, and a few other flashy bits.
A large figure sends a trash can flying back towards the flame throwers, one blast ends up mostly in the sky. One ends up stumbling down, a chunk of it dropping off...
Amelia's magicked away her left pinky finger, with enough skill that there was impressive magicked scarring.
A rough chuckle from Ivan, "Too much time in the upper echelons pinky-queen? Major wants ~the public~ exposed - the state police put in some rules, but this test is 100% green lighted. Those turkeys must be freaking out...moonbirds seem to be enjoying the show though." he kicks away some of the debris. The others send a large blast of fire which sends the figures stepping backwards - closer to the main road with cars passing by.
The fancy locks on the dented warehouse doors appear to have multiple components - keypad, cameras...
A loud cheery voice over the flames, "These aren't summon, just some failed bits...not nearly as scary as what they used to be... Ivan, moonbird.
Ivan turns away from Carlos, and after a moment looking at the drones, sends a jet of flames at one of them. Catching fire, it swiftly changes directions, after a bit of of an air fight between drones, crashes into another drone, sending the pieces scattering to the ground.
Carlos's hands spark in dark flames that shoot up high above the group, and catch one of the figure's attention... those in hazmats seem to find this funny. One takes a swing, it's long arm going well above any of the Hunter's heads, the strong wind pushing against them and sends the remaining drones spinning.
The person in the hazmat suit adjusts something on the flame thrower, "Failure? This testing is going great! then a pause as he looked at Carlos, and then continues is a more official tone "But I can't discuss that further until you show me your hands... as if he was asking for ID.
Beyond the struggle going on in the street between the large figures and those in hazmats suits, there are odd dents in the warehouse walls - large marks nears the doors, and bulges in metal that appear to have been created from inside the structure.
Approaching the nearest door, one of the people in hazmat suits stands between the Hunters and the door. They look conflicted in stopping you and dealing with the problem at hand. It's noticeable that, unless the rest of the dull warehouses, the large electronic locking system on the door is very fancy.
The large creatures don't seem to pay the Hunters much attention. One sends a whirlwind, sending the firey spray upward away from another.
Another 5, the dice are not making this easy All the warehouses have multiple doors. The windows of all the warehouses on this road seem to be shuttered or otherwise covered.
To Kavax's keen senses, those in the hazmats suits seem to be humans - but beyond them there are many otherworldly beings scents around here - some that rarely if ever linger in these parts including those that would be unwell to do so. The smell of multiple forms of magic comes strongest from the warehouses -- and the large figures, the only natural scent that remains of them are tinged with decay.
Those in hazmats seem to ignore you, though the one who was knocked back and is now getting to his feet seem to gesture one of the drones. Two drones are now following the Hunters, while there is another on the other side of the fight.
Jessica's voice comes back, "Okay, they others here say we're on a road with several warehouses. Look for one with the windows blocked up. But there's a lot of light in here. Unless they've done a really good job covering them, maybe you can see it from the outside?"
More XP for Amelia, and I get to do a random google search on bleach in the 19th century which may not be accurate but that's what you get with a 5..
In Amelia's time, bleach was an industrial product most often stored in vats and used for whitening cloth before selling with more recent turns of using it for cleaning up after animal and medical mess. She didn't not get how it would relate to the magic-seeking group, but an excess of bleach might explain the amount of white outfits around.
On the phone, there was a long pause.
After Jerry's question, with some not entirely restrained irritation, "I just appeared here in the circle, my Summoner."
This was followed by other voices, farther away than before and some were shouting. The exact words were too muffled to pick up though some of it had that familiar tone of not hostile but still angry swearing.
One of the people with a flamethrower has been sent flying alongside thundering wind that goes past, knocking some of the drones/flying spinny things back too. The larger figures seem strong, but not steady with very stiff movements, their steps slow.
Jessica exclaims in pain. After a moment, she says, " "I, uh, just tried to mess up the circle. Hurts. And I don't think it worked."
After Carlos talks, Jessica replies, "No, no! The bee-dimm is trapped here too! It's the bleachers you gotta watch out for...Lot of loud banging going on outside."
Between Carlos's experience and Jessica's explanation, it's clear to him that she's talking about another type of supernatural being - one that is in there with her and is somehow restrained or something by bright lights. Weird, though not the weirdest he's heard of.
Jessica's voice comes back after a few moments, "Look, guys... you don't have to come. I'd understand."
I read it as him moving to get a better look then to his bag & up to the window to talk to Jerry. And whether the sounds are meant to match up - that's for your characters to investigate and figure out.
"I sent Jerry a screenshot of my location. It's a warehouse or factory of some kind. I can't see much, the spotlights are too bright. I can't see hardly anything past them... is followed by the sound of metal hitting concrete.
Then, outside of the car, there is a loud sound of something wet hitting metal. Down one side road, there are two large figures bashing against a warehouse, bits flying off. There are people in white hazmat suits using flamethrowers to limited effect.
The sounds of machinery and the phone moving around: "I'm in some kind of circle. I'm trapped, but I'm safe at the moment. But they know about you and Kavax. They're not nice, they're--
The other girl's voice comes back and is weak, muffled. After a moment, Jessica says, "The bleachers *make* monsters? And guns? They've got a ton of lights, big ones, and they're shining them on something called a 'bee-dim.' I'm trapped with her and someone else. I just... be careful. I'm going to see what I can do to get out of here myself."
Amelia notices that some of the people near the vans seem to be watching the cars going past - including yours - more than they're watching the forklifts carrying bits of metal piping and other equipment into the warehouses. She also notices that around many of the buildings, high up and nearly out of sight of the road, are a few small spinning flying things.
Jerry's phone rings. It's Jessica's number.
If Jerry puts this on speaker, everyone can hear it:
Jessica's voice comes in a rush, with electrical buzzing and industrial sounds in the background: ""Hello, Jerry? Hey, got your text but you gotta tell Kavax they know he's coming. Or, you know what? Put this on speaker. Kavax, they know you're coming. They're doing some kind of test and they're going to observe you to see if you can survive it. And there's some kind of exposure for the rest of you? I don't know all the details, but they're called bleachers -- not the stands...
A clatter of dropping metal cuts off some of her words, "...experiments on other... beings. But they haven't gotten around to me, because they're more interested in Kavax which I'm trying not to take personally, but the Fury is really pissed off about that. Anyway, I don't know what you're all going to do, but you're definitely heading into..." her voice is muffled by the electrical buzzing getting louder and a pained cry out from a different, younger female voice.
As Jerry continues to drive along and Amelia marks on the map, the weird melty blobs does seem to follow a wobbly line up and down buildings...which ends in a very burnt out looking window.
More offices, warehouses, and other industrial buildings. A few still seem to be active with forklifts moving equipment and a handful of white vans dotted near buildings.
This road does not intersect with any police routes until well after the industrial area. The first blue road to connect to this one is nearly in the city.
Continuing on out of sight of the checkpoint, the road is quiet for several minutes with just parking lots, warehouses, and office buildings. Then there is a street lamp that's been snapped in two. A parking lot that's flooded, but nothing else looks wet -- except the building over the road that seems to have random chunks melting. A truck going well over the speed limit crosses over down road on the right, and in the back is a large pile of spotlight lamps.
Taking a moment to get situated in Jerry's vehicle and get familiar with the map as a couple more cars roll past, it looked the map only showed and named roads. Police roads were marked in blue, this road wasn't and led through an grey unmarked squares that were likely an industrial area of Southern Urbana, near the highway.
Jerry gets a text. It's from Jessica's prepaid cell phone. pls help im in urbana south near hwy. others here too. There is a patchy map screenshot of an industrial area attached. Various different business names over big grey box buildings - one of which is Devyat.
His bravado dropped a bit as he took a step back from Kavax's grin. It was obviously even a bit much even for him. At mentions of a fire, the man spluttered a bit of a chuckle. "Pretty sure they already lit it...sir, but I'll make sure you're listed." He looked over his shoulder in the direction a helicopter went before the nervous one yanked him back into van. It slammed shut.
A familiar truck seems to be stopped by two other people in white blazers.
------------
The pair share a look over the hood before the man looks at Jerry, "Most of it, well above my paygrade. Last I heard, it was an issue with some cargo...kind of issue that tends to lead people to thinking sabotage. Nothing for you to worry about, but it has to be checked by the regulations. Now please..." the man starts to walk back to the next car.
The woman still waited with her clipboard, "Going through? While obviously taken aback by Jerry's touch demeanour, she seems to be expecting, maybe even hoping, the pair are heading through...
There is familiar face...ish by the side of the road. He seems to have startled one of the people in white blazers too.
The man sighs, "No concern about police presence, it's simply limited. Rather than stretch those in blue, it was decided by those on top that they'd manage select routes for families and those that might prefer more security. I am not permitted by regulations to give further details, you may progress with full understanding that Devyat takes no responsibility for what occurs should you choose to do so, or move out of the line.
The woman frowned slightly at the request of a map, and pulled one from the back of her clipboard and handed it to Amelia.
Devyat wasn't ringing any bells for the time traveler, but the weird circle with the wavy line in it that was on the vans, the white...then Amelia notices the young woman is missing her right fourth finger. There were stories of seekers of magic unity, magic completion, who gave parts of themselves - and maybe others - for this boon of magical bright paradise on earth. They were little more than stories of weird barbaric people in weird far off eastern backwoods to most where Amelia is from.
The man waves for Jerry to either drive through or pull over, and a few impatient cars are honking.
------------
The women with the clipboard came out from behind the van a couple minutes before Carlos got in polite speaking distance, another waited at the van's backdoors.
"I'm not authorized to give details on that. You may continue through at your own risk - Devyat provides no security beyond this point - or, I can provide a map with the dedicated routes with police protection through to Urbana. Either way will be a hike, but for some that's part of the fun of it.
Neither she or the other woman are standing in Carlos's way. They're just...observing him.
Carlos, feel free to roll Investigate a Mystery and use the previously given multiple choice concealment options.
Adjusting his earpiece and rattled off what is clearly a required speech, "This checkpoint if to ensure children, unauthorized teenagers, and known troublemakers do not use a route that does not have any police presence. You may continue through at your own risk or, if you prefer, my colleague can provide a map with the dedicated routes under police surveillance through to Urbana. If you wish to discuss it before progressing, I must ask you to pull over to allow other cars to be checked.
The one on Amelia's side is writing on her notepad with a grin before she looks where the helicopter went and then reluctantly back to hear any answer.
------------------------------
You can decide if Kavax is using the same road as Jerry & Amelia or if you want him to be using a different route
Kavax can definitely feel he's being stared at as he walks up on the thin grassy strip that ran alongside the road, but none seem brave enough to say anything to him. There may have been a few blurry pictures taken.
Two people in white blazers come out from behind the van as Kavax gets within a few meters of it. They stand far enough apart that Kavax could easily walk past them.
One clearly finds Kavax's appearance very interesting, but the one that is far more nervous gives out the speech, Be aware that...that there aren't any police on this route. If you want a route to Urbana with a police presence, I can give you a map or..."
The other snorted a laugh, "Sorry, you clearly don't need the police, but we're required to let anyone who chooses to go past here know. Regulations." He makes no attempt to get any closer, but he gives Kavax this up and down investigative look, like he's assessing an asset. The other scurries off behind the van, the sound of the door rolling back open.
"You're clearly not one of her summons - way above her level and not her type. I look forward to watching you work...do you have a preferred classification - for our records? Can't really have you down as another human male, can we? That would be rude..."
"Shut up and get back in the camera van before we get in trouble..." the tiny nervous voice squeaks and continues to be ignored.
As Jerry and Amelia roll up to the checkpoint, a person in a white blazer stands on either side of the vehicle.
Now closer, it's easy to see that each is wearing an ear piece. On Amelia's side is a short woman with the clipboard. On Jerry's side, is a stocky man with an electronic device in one hand and the other in his pocket. There are people barely visible on the other sides of the vans which clearly have electronic set-up in them.
The man peers briefly into the back, before firmly saying, "Is it just you two... adults?"
Roll Investigate a Mystery for some What is being concealed here...
Investigate a Mystery 0-6:
A helicopter thunders past towards a cluster of warehouses in the distance.
Investigate a Mystery 7-9:
As a helicopter goes past towards a cluster of warehouses in the distance, static and a tinny voice comes from the earpiece that is set way too loud but doesn't make the wearer flinch, "...stil...uncontained...testing update....angel..."
Investigate a Mystery 10-12:
As a helicopter goes past towards a cluster of warehouses in the distance, static and a voice comes from the earpiece that is set way too loud but doesn't make the wearer flinch, "Two more down. Unknown number still uncontained. Please ensure testing data updated on an quarterhourly basis. Update tracking sheets: captured: young angel..." before the person shifted back back and put a hand over their ear, muffling further message. The woman seems to write something down.
To Amelia, there seemed nothing risky around this barricade at all. She could just walk around it, though the road on the other side seemed rather long into the distance.
While police had been mentioned on the radio, there didn't seem to be any Jerry could see at this checkpoint.
Of the cars turned away, there were a couple minivans, then a flashy sports car. Another sports car was let through next.
No one seemed to be showing ID. There were two people in white blazers he could see, one of which had a clipboard and seemed to be taking notes when a car passed through.
However you want arrive - vehicle or foot - is fine. If magicking in, you'll still arrive at the barrier, for reasons, though feel free to roll Weird to push that).
I figure some of you may want to discuss some of you arriving together and some of you may be busy this time of year, so I thought traffic would give a good reason for any delays (like my laptop screen unhelpfully busting...).
A news bulletin covers the heavy backup of traffic on multiple highways.
Kara Louise says that the cause is linked the closing of all roads and off ramps that link to an industrial area just south of Urbana. "So far, the official reasoning for the closure is limited to 'public safety'. With the number of helicopters, the many large white vans blocking the routes, and the police seeming to be working alongside personnel of a corporation that has a large site in the area, the reasons for the closure have so far been speculated as a major industrial accident, a manhunt for criminals, and whispers about the recent scandals 'Devyat'', international logistics business, has been connected to lately with industrial damage to areas of scientific interest, possible human trafficking in their supply chains, and physical altercations with rival corporations Nexus and Adalet in joint charity operations abroad. It's recommended to avoid the area if possible, and if you need to get to Urbana, expect it to be slow going and to need to pass through the checkpoints that has popped up over the last hour. Watch your fingers and toes out there, there's a chilly wind coming in..."
All roads into the area have checkpoints with large white vans, some marked with the symbol Ѳ. People in white blazers approach anyone who tries to get in. While some turn back, others go through with little difficulty.
I meant loot or general curiosity. There are more than a few broken boxes around the area and some people like souvenirs. Cool moving on post Jessica :)
There might be a few places the hunters haven't looked, but there was no trail of anyone else - no signs of any other vehicles having been there recently other than their own, no signs of anyone else camped up, no signs of anyone doing anything to get help, no signs of someone injured leaving a trail behind. Wherever the professor went, it's not something either Jerry or Amelia could figure out at this time. Amelia noticed that at time passed and the more she moved from the building, the more the disease seemed an odd memory as all the marks and breathing problems faded.
Some of the other survivors gave their thanks before the last of the stragglers agreed to join in the walk back to Aboite. Some seem to know where they're going along a riverside path and others seem more than happy to follow rather than poke around here further. There seems more relief palatable the further they get from the broken buildings and what had happened that kept them there that most would never really want to understand.
It's hard to see much at the distance even with the red full moon beyond a few moving shadows and shapes but the young woman they spoke to paused. She turned back to Amelia & Jerry, and wave goodbye one more time with her scarred right hand before she headed out of sight with the others.
You can roll to search for some bits in the remains or just head on out and we can discuss things with GMJon on the soon to be combined group.
She considers Jerry's questions for a few moments as she works out the words, before she signs as she speaks, "Bit older than you, maybe, thinning hair. First night here, we were setting up and he just vanished. Kinda like your other friend, though none of us...we've looked everywhere, even in that horrible well. At the mention of the well, she looked at a nasty scar on her right palm. She started to move back.
"He's not here. And no cameras or drones or whatever either, Micah. So...we should head out. I'm going to take a long shower..." The trio of students head with some of the stragglers leaving.
As Amelia approaches, she noticed the young person who she had met before, the one who had shown her pictures while laying on the bed mat coming over. Jerry noticed that the person approaching the pair - and a couple others that he hadn't been able to get a good look at before - are wearing college sweatshirts and the one who is furiously waving his hands is wearing hearing aids.
The girl speech is careful and slow but she signs smoothly as she speaks, voice still a bit hoarse, "Mostly well now, thank you and your friends. Our professor went missing on our first day here. Still missing. Micah thinks that's further proof we were ditched here as lab rats or something. I've no idea, just want to see if we can leave now without passing out and get a shower..."
Most look to be starting and eager to leave, some more in a daze or with more concern than others.
