# Dark*Matter: Discovery, The Delphi Paradox



## Falkus (Jun 3, 2007)

A week into January

Life as an agent of the Hoffmann Institute goes on. Chicago never becomes aware of how close it came to destruction. Quinn becomes an agent, assigned to Team Gamma. Reports indicate she'll go far, and Mr. Smith sends an e-mail around congratulation you on finding a new recruit for Department 7.

The hunt for Cliff Kenzinton continues, but without any leads, it gets nowhere fast. He seemingly left no trail as he moved through society. The heavy crackdown on the Secret Masters of Thoth by the Institute and the UN failed to turn up any evidence. The cultists who were taken prisoner had met him so long ago so as not to have any praticularly useful information about him.

Throughout the month, you continue to receive more assignments. Higher profile ones, now that you've shown yourself to be able to repeatedly take care of business under pressure, but nothing praticularly dangerous. Often informative as to the nature of the universe and the layers of deceit that smother common human knowledge, but not dangerous.

Yesterday, you all received Priority Five B mission request on your cell phones. That meant important mission, possibly long term, but not urgent. Clear up your current affairs, and be at the briefing room tomorrow morning.

As the day dawns, you find yourselves in the briefing room, ready for yet another exciting and potentially hazardous assignment. One thing you can say about life working for the Institute, it's not dull.


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## Friadoc (Jun 4, 2007)

Oddly enough, over the months of working for the Hoffmann Institute Cade has lessened his normal affairs. Although he will work a security contract from time to time, the young technician has been spending more and more of his time within the field office's labs.

In fact, Cade slept on a cot in his lab last night, so as to make sure he had his current projects finished and dispersed to Team Libra, specifically the PDAs and RFID locators, when the arrived today. Upon the back of each PDA you will find the symbol for Team Libra, laser etched into the case, which is the zodiac symbol that consists of an omega over a bar.

However, Cade did make it home earlier in the previous evening, so as to make sure his cat was provided for, he also contacted 'Z' to see if she was okay checking in on the feline while the team was gone.

Going out of his way to arrive early, Cade will wait for the rest of the team to arrive, so that he can give them each their PDA. But, he'll hold off on the RFID until he can explain it later, although the higher ups in Hoffmann would know about them by now.

Once the PDAs are handed out, Cade will take a seat in the briefing room.


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## iwatt (Jun 4, 2007)

Life as a Hoffman agent agreed with Larry. The job was entertaining, and he could always fall back on the grift on the slower days. It was useful to keep the edge going. This last call for a long assignment was different, though. No telling how long before he would be able to enjoy the Chi-town nightlife. So it was one more all-night bender before reporting.

So it was that a bleary-eyed, and still somewhat hung over agent Higgins showed up right after Cade. "Hey, Joker. How's it hanging? You look like you could use some sunshine. What, are you living in your lab now?"


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## Friadoc (Jun 4, 2007)

"Call it a sleep over," says Cade with a grin as he hands Larry a PDA. "I'm sure I'll get enough sunshine, soon enough."


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## iwatt (Jun 4, 2007)

"Cool, a new toy. Hopefully this will keep me from walking up to more doors with armed cultists behind them. Thanks, Cade."  Taking his seat he adds, "maybe you've heard something of were they're sending us. The grapevine has been deathly quiet on this one."


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## industrygothica (Jun 4, 2007)

Nick enters the room quietly and extends his hand to the others.  His leather jacket is beginning to show signs of wear with nicks and small cuts here and there--almost as if he'd been in a few gunfights.  He takes his seat at the table and eyes Cade's new toys.  "What're those?"


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## Friadoc (Jun 5, 2007)

industrygothica said:
			
		

> Nick enters the room quietly and extends his hand to the others.  His leather jacket is beginning to show signs of wear with nicks and small cuts here and there--almost as if he'd been in a few gunfights.  He takes his seat at the table and eyes Cade's new toys.  "What're those?"




Asnick arrives, Cade says to Larry, "Nope, I'm waiting for the intel on the mission, too."
 

After shaking hands with Nick, Cade fills them both in on the PDAs and RFIDs, it's obvious that not only has he put some work into these, but that he won't mind telling people more than once.

"PDAs like my prototype from last month," says Cade hands Nick his own. "Normal PDA functionality, as well as location and motion sensor suites."

"Plus," says Cade as he holds up a small, smooth disk about the size of a dime. "With these, we can tell the friendlies." When he pinches the one he is holding between the thung and index finger of his right hand you hear a click and see a small green LED light up on it's rim, "On" He clicks it again and the LED goes out, "Off".

"They're RFIDs," says Cade with a smile. "They're on a short range, tight bandwidth frequency so there is little chance of them being used illicitly."


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## kinem (Jun 5, 2007)

Diego wanders in, sporting a new black leather jacket.

"Hey guys.  What's up?  What are these gadgets?"


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## Friadoc (Jun 5, 2007)

kinem said:
			
		

> Diego wanders in, sporting a new black leather jacket.
> 
> "Hey guys.  What's up?  What are these gadgets?"




Yeap, Cade must really be proud of his latest creation, as he explains it to Diego as he hands them to the young man.


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## Shayuri (Jun 5, 2007)

A woman shows up at the briefing room, but it takes a moment; a blink and doubletake, to recognize her as Meredith.

Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, showing off her face to good effect. It seems...stronger somehow. Cheeks a bit more pronounced and sharper. Less round. The same can be said of the rest of her body; an unprecedented amount of which is on display. She wears a black tank top that's been cut to expose her midriff down just past her navel. A rugged pair of blue jeans and a windbreaker round out things out, but it's the narrow pair of sunglasses that really makes her hard to identify. She's never worn those before; not with her glasses.

Meri takes the shades off, along with her windbreaker, as she takes her seat. The cut in her arm and shoulder is healed with barely a scar, but the mark the sword left on her is still there, a livid mark that looks like some kind of weird tattoo gone wrong. It's not the only revealed change though. Although Meredith was never fat, nor even overweight, it had always been clear that her muscles were soft and...padded, as it were. That is no longer the case. While she's no bigger than before, it looks as if all the fat has melted away from her arms and belly, leaving only muscles behind. Last but not least, even her eyes seem somehow intensified...greener than the muddled hazel they were before.

Across her back is Galahad's sword. She seems perfectly comfortable with it's weight and heft.

She nods at the others in the room as she takes her seat.


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## industrygothica (Jun 5, 2007)

Nick's jaw drops a little as Meridith enters the room.  He'd always identified with her a little more than the others, but he never expected... this.

"Get a new gym membership Mari?"


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## iwatt (Jun 5, 2007)

Larry jabs his elbow lightly against Cade and says in a loud stage whisper, "See, I told you Blade was a good name for her."


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## kinem (Jun 5, 2007)

"Damn, girl! Looking good.  You must be eating your spinach."


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## Shayuri (Jun 5, 2007)

Her cheeks redden a bit, and she shrugs, trying for nonchalant and only missing by inches.

"Thanks. I wish I could take credit for it. Most of it happened practically overnight." She absently rubs the mark on her shoulder. "As for the wardrobe, my trainer said I should wear clothes I can fight in. The stuff I used to wear could bunch up sometimes, slow me down."

She taps her eyes. "And no more glasses either. They're still trying to figure out why."

"Anyway...what's on our plate this time?"


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## Falkus (Jun 6, 2007)

The piece of metal that Meredith had brought in had defied analysis so far. All that Leo and his team could confirm was that it was holy, but not its origins, purpose or even what it was made of.

Field Director Stanfield entered the room, and sat down at the head of the table. Z, Leo and Harland accompanied him. Z smiled at Cade, and Leo whistled appreciatively at Meredith

"Agents," Stanfield said, getting right to the point. "I'm sure you remember Carol Branning. There's bad news, I'm afraid. The young girl's is ill. Extremely sick."

"And we're ninety percent certain that it's do with the prophecies she's been making," Leo added, looking at a folder. "The symptoms are that of a severe case of the flu, but her medical readings are completely off the chart. Don't match any form of illness, bacterial, viral, genetic or supernatural, that we know of."

"And we're eighty percent sure that the prophecies themselves are coming from some sort of possession, though we're not sure as to the exact nature of it. Standard tests haven't revealed anything, and the more extensive ones are, well, impossible to perform while she's alive," said Harland.

"I won't lie, the Institute is very interested in her prophecies. But we will not sacrifice her in order to get them," Stanfield continued. "We have a team of medical scientists versed in the supernatural studying her condition and trying to forumlate a cure as we speak, but I have another lead I want you to follow up on."

"If it is possession, there are rituals we can use to remove the entity from her, safely. However, we need more information on said entity before we can perform one, otherwise we risk doing more harm than good. Especially since that we'd probably only get one shot at it," explained Harland.

"There's an archeological dig going on about forty miles north of Delphi. According to Dr Norman Ryland, the leader fo the expedition, he believes that he's found a network of caves that was used as a special site by the priests at the Oracle of Delphi, though he's unsure as to the exact nature of the site. Needless to say, if there's any information to be found on the exact nature of the Carol's affliction, it's going to be here. We've arranged for scientific and press credentials for you, as well as made the necessary arrangements for you to join the team. They'll be entering the caves shortly, according to our information. You're to blend in, assist them, and locate any information that could be of use to help Carol. In particular, information concerning the origin of prophecies, and if it is possession, what sort of entity is the possessor."

"Your prior experience with Carol, limited as it was, suits you better for this task than any other team we have available, in addition to Dr. Wells archaeological experience. And, of course, your field experience with the Institute means that you'll be far more likely to pick up on supernatural activity that regular archeologist's will just pass off as mythology."

"The ideal outcome to this operartion will be for Carol to remain alive, healthy and still capable of reciting prophecy. If keeping her a prophet isn't an option, then we need to know more about the nature of the mechanism behind the prophecy. Predicting the future is one of the top directives that the Administration has given since the Institute was founded. A private plane from the Insitute is waiting at the airport for you. Any questions?"

OOC: If you haven't done it already, please get your updated character sheets into the Rogue's Gallery.


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## Friadoc (Jun 6, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> Field Director Stanfield entered the room, and sat down at the head of the table. Z, Leo and Harland accompanied him. Z smiled at Cade, and Leo whistled appreciatively at Meredith.




When Cade sees Z's smile, he flashes one of his own in return, followed by a quick wink form his left eye.



> "Agents," Stanfield said, getting right to the point. "I'm sure you remember Carol Branning. There's bad news, I'm afraid. The young girl's is ill. Extremely sick."
> 
> "And we're ninety percent certain that it's do with the prophecies she's been making," Leo added, looking at a folder. "The symptoms are that of a severe case of the flu, but her medical readings are completely off the chart. Don't match any form of illness, bacterial, viral, genetic or supernatural, that we know of."
> 
> ...




oO That's a good thing Oo thinks Cade. oO 'cause we're the good guys! Oo



> "If it is possession, there are rituals we can use to remove the entity from her, safely. However, we need more information on said entity before we can perform one, otherwise we risk doing more harm than good. Especially since that we'd probably only get one shot at it," explained Harland.
> 
> "There's an archeological dig going on about forty miles north of Delphi. According to Dr Norman Ryland, the leader fo the expedition, he believes that he's found a network of caves that was used as a special site by the priests at the Oracle of Delphi, though he's unsure as to the exact nature of the site. Needless to say, if there's any information to be found on the exact nature of the Carol's affliction, it's going to be here. We've arranged for scientific and press credentials for you, as well as made the necessary arrangements for you to join the team. They'll be entering the caves shortly, according to our information. You're to blend in, assist them, and locate any information that could be of use to help Carol. In particular, information concerning the origin of prophecies, and if it is possession, what sort of entity is the possessor."
> 
> ...




"Will Dr. Ryland be aware of the real reason for our presence?" Cade asks before adding. "Or anyone else?"

"In fact, do we have any assets on-site that know we're Hoffmann or can assist if needed?" Cade finishes by adding one more question. "Or are we fully undercover?"


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## iwatt (Jun 6, 2007)

His head still pounding, and his mouth cotton dry, larry leaves the fact finding to the others. More interested in looking at the rest of the team, he realizes that for the first time he'll be leaving the US.


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## kinem (Jun 6, 2007)

_Sweet! This'll be like a vacation, and maybe we can go to the beach.  I don't know if I can contribute much, though I guess I can be a Spanish language reporter.  But it could be a good chance for me to learn about equipment and stuff_ Diego thinks.


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## Falkus (Jun 7, 2007)

> "Will Dr. Ryland be aware of the real reason for our presence?" Cade asks before adding. "Or anyone else?"
> 
> "In fact, do we have any assets on-site that know we're Hoffmann or can assist if needed?" Cade finishes by adding one more question. "Or are we fully undercover?"




"Dr Ryland isn't a member of the Institute, or any other conspiracy, as far as we know. He'll be in the dark as to your real reasons for joining the dig. There won't be any local support, but our office in Athens may be able to lend support and equipment if needed. The dig team consists of several archaeologists and students from local universities, as well as the New York University, which is where Dr Ryland teaches."


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## Friadoc (Jun 8, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> "Dr Ryland isn't a member of the Institute, or any other conspiracy, as far as we know. He'll be in the dark as to your real reasons for joining the dig. There won't be any local support, but our office in Athens may be able to lend support and equipment if needed. The dig team consists of several archaeologists and students from local universities, as well as the New York University, which is where Dr Ryland teaches."




"Very good," says Cade with a nod. "So we stick to cover save for any contact with the local office or homebase."

With a grin Cade adds, "I always wanted to go on a dig in Greece, The Hellenistic period is almost as good of a read as the mythologies."


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## Shayuri (Jun 8, 2007)

"Are we all under the same cover, or are we different?" Meredith wants to know. "Like, he's FBI, I'm press, Larry's...a cable guy...or whatever?"

She considers. "I may need a knife or two too. I can't always be carrying around that big ol' sword."


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## Falkus (Jun 8, 2007)

"I've got the basics in place for your covers," Z said, with a grin. She'd recovered well from her ordeal last month. The psychologists and telepaths had cleared her fully last week. "But the details are up to you. Tell me who you want to be, and I'll make it so. It'll be a quick, brute force job, but we're not dealing with the CIA here, so it'll stand up to casual inspection. I'll have my counterpart in Greece get you the papers when you land."

"Before you leave, see Ryker for some specialty gear he's got. He should also have a carrying case for you too, Meredith," stated Stanfield.


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## industrygothica (Jun 8, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> "But the details are up to you. Tell me who you want to be, and I'll make it so. It'll be a quick, brute force job, but we're not dealing with the CIA here, so it'll stand up to casual inspection. I'll have my counterpart in Greece get you the papers when you land."




"Well, that's a tough one," says Nick with a grin.  "I think I'd like to be an archeologist. Shouldn't be too hard to pull off, eh?"


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## iwatt (Jun 8, 2007)

"Hey, the cable guy act has gotten me into more places than you'd imagine. Nobody leves the cable guy outside." With a grin, he adds. "But I'll go for something normal this time. Tourist. I'll need a snazy camera though."


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## kinem (Jun 8, 2007)

"I'll be a reporter" Diego says.  "Bilingual.  I should be able to pull that off ... I think.  And I'll have reason to snoop around."


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## Shayuri (Jun 8, 2007)

Meredith gives Diego an appraising look. 

"Maybe we should both be press," she suggests. "I actually have worked for a newspaper, so I can help with the terminology and so on."


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## Friadoc (Jun 9, 2007)

"I should be able to pull off being the techie," says Cade with a wry chuckle. "Heck, I didn't realize sleeping in the lab off and was just pre work for my cover."

However, in a bit more somber tone, he adds, "I just hope we can get things sorted out and help out Carol, she's a good kid."


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## iwatt (Jun 9, 2007)

"Cheer up man. We're batting a thousand here. Team Libra for the win, I say. This is going to be a cakewalk."


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## Falkus (Jun 9, 2007)

iwatt said:
			
		

> "Cheer up man. We're batting a thousand here. Team Libra for the win, I say. This is going to be a cakewalk."




OOC: Thus Larry not only doomed himself and all of Team Libra, but also doomed all of mankind as well.

"No problem," Z said with a smile, and started in on her laptop. "Meredith, Diego, how'd you like to work for the National Geographic?"

"If you don't have anymore questions, you should go see Ryker at the armory, then get out to the airport," said Stanfield.


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## industrygothica (Jun 9, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> "If you don't have anymore questions, you should go see Ryker at the armory, then get out to the airport," said Stanfield.




"I'm ready to go."

[sblock=ooc]







			
				iwatt said:
			
		

> "Cheer up man. We're batting a thousand here. Team Libra for the win, I say. This is going to be a cakewalk."




Yeah, I can see the post now.  "Hey, remember when you said this was gonna be a cakewalk!  What were you smoking?!"  [/sblock]


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## kinem (Jun 10, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> "No problem," Z said with a smile, and started in on her laptop. "Meredith, Diego, how'd you like to work for the National Geographic?"




"Sure" Diego replied.  "I've browsed a few issues back in the day ... for the articles, of course."


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## Shayuri (Jun 10, 2007)

"Works for me. You any good with a camera, Diego?"


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## kinem (Jun 11, 2007)

"I wouldn't mind using a camera, though I'm not familiar with any technical details about them" Diego replies.


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## Shayuri (Jun 11, 2007)

Meri shrugs. "We'll make do. Probably won't come up. Anything else to go over before we head out?"


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## Friadoc (Jun 11, 2007)

"I'm good to go," says Cade, however he does add. "Although I doubt we'll need it, I'd like to request a case to store my rifle. Would Ryker be able to handle it?"

oO Hopefully I won't need it Oo thinks Cade. oO But I'm tired of relying on only my sidearm, or lent weapons Oo

If nothing else is needed, Cade will stop by 'Z' on his way out and offer her his house key.

"Think you could check on Selina for me?" Cade asks 'Z'.


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## iwatt (Jun 11, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> OOC: Thus Larry not only doomed himself and all of Team Libra, but also doomed all of mankind as well.





ooc: Pride cometh before the fall    It's not his brains or good sense that's gotten him so far. It's his chutzpah


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## Falkus (Jun 12, 2007)

Friadoc said:
			
		

> If nothing else is needed, Cade will stop by 'Z' on his way out and offer her his house key.
> 
> "Think you could check on Selina for me?" Cade asks 'Z'.




"It'll be my pleasure," she replied, grinning as she took the key. "I like cats."

Ryker was waiting in the armory, with a few carrying cases, and an electronic device.

"It's a sonic mapper," he explained, tossing the small device to Cade. "It'll plug right into your PDA. It works like side-can sonar, it uses sound-waves to provide a geographic map of an area. We use them for work in underground caves and tombs and the like. It'll take five minutes to map about ten miles of cavern. Processing power isn't so great, so don't expect fine details." He then indicated the carrying cases. "These have been made media safe. They use a special materiall to provide false readings to x-ray machines. You can get your stuff right through most security that doesn't require it a physical search, though it shouldn't be an issue on this mission, you'll be landing at a private airfield we control. They use thumb-print locks, so only you can open them."


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## iwatt (Jun 12, 2007)

"So, any idea if we'll be needing special ammo? Cause it would be a pity to bring the guns and then have to use burning chair legs again."


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## Friadoc (Jun 12, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> "It'll be my pleasure," she replied, grinning as she took the key. "I like cats."




"Thanks, Z" says Cade with a smile and a squeeze on the shoulder. "Help yourself while you're there, too." With a wink, he adds, as he leaves "I just picked up the latest console systems, figured they'd look nice on the plasma."



			
				Falkus said:
			
		

> Ryker was waiting in the armory, with a few carrying cases, and an electronic device.
> 
> "It's a sonic mapper," he explained, tossing the small device to Cade. "It'll plug right into your PDA. It works like side-can sonar, it uses sound-waves to provide a geographic map of an area. We use them for work in underground caves and tombs and the like. It'll take five minutes to map about ten miles of cavern. Processing power isn't so great, so don't expect fine details." He then indicated the carrying cases. "These have been made media safe. They use a special materiall to provide false readings to x-ray machines. You can get your stuff right through most security that doesn't require it a physical search, though it shouldn't be an issue on this mission, you'll be landing at a private airfield we control. They use thumb-print locks, so only you can open them."




Snatching the device thrown to him, Cade quickly plugs it into his own PDA and runs several diagnostics on it. If there is a way to get more performance out of it, he'll try to have it done by the time they're wheels down in Greece.

"Thanks, Ryker," says Cade. "I take it the R&D folk got the latest design schematics on the PDAs?"

While Ryker describes the workings of the cases, Cade kneels down to his own kit bag and takes out his personal rifle - a Winchester Model 94. Similar to it's old west forbearer, Cade's model 94 is also a lever action rifle, but he has a sleek, deadly looking modern scope with some technical enhancements mounted on it.

"Although I'm sure this will be more of a brain than brawn op," says Cade. "I'd like a modest spread of special ammo for Libra's weapons."

With a roguish smile, Cade adds, "Like the Motto says, Be Prepared."


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## Falkus (Jun 14, 2007)

"I already got some ready," Ryker said, passing out some magazines if ammo to each of you.

(You each get one magazine of blessed ammo and one magazine of WP ammo for one of your guns. If we're all done at the Institute, shall we cut to the next scene?)


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## Shayuri (Jun 14, 2007)

"Oh, uh...hey," Meri says, eying the cases to see if the sword will fit in one.

"Is there anything knifey I can bring? That will hurt demons, I mean. Galahad here is great, but sometimes you can't hide a sword in a formal gown, you know?"


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## Falkus (Jun 14, 2007)

The sword would easily fit into one of the larger cases.

"You're not trained with a butterfly knife, are you? No, no. Ah, here we go," said Ryker, as he dug through some of the shelves. He handed a silver plated combat knife and sheath over to Meredith. "This should do the trick. Lot of things out there are susceptible to silver. It's been blessed too. I wouldn't recommend going up against a demon with it, though."


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## Shayuri (Jun 14, 2007)

She nods.

"For real demons, I have old faithful here." She pats the scabbard as she packs it up, then slips the knife into the case as well.

"And on that note, I think I'm good to go."


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## Friadoc (Jun 15, 2007)

OOC

I'm good with zipping ahead to what's next.


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## iwatt (Jun 15, 2007)

Larry sleeps comfortably on the transatlantic flight.


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## Falkus (Jun 16, 2007)

The pilots of the Institute plame at the airport introduced themselves as Tom Williams, and John Baker. Casual conversation revealed eventually that they used to fly for Oceanic Airlines, before they spotted a UFO and, through a convoluted series of events, wound up working for the Institute.

The plane itself is a heavily modified LearJet 55, covered with an experimental polymer that can render the jet completely invisible to radar when a small electric charge is run through it.

"It's standard on all our planes now. Especially useful for countries where the Institute doesn't having a working relationship with the government," explains Captain Williams.

The flight, even with the advanced Hoffmann Institute engines powering the plane, is long and boring. After many, many hours, you arrive in Greece shortly after noon, local time. For those who have experienced flight before, the landing's fairly rough, due to the rudimentary nature of the airstrip. The current weather conditions are light snowfall. Judging by the maps you've been given, you're about forty miles from the dig site.

Waiting for you at the airstrip is a black Humvee parked by what appears to be a maintenance building. The area seems to be deserted, and the whole thing looks like a temporary affair set up just to get you into the country quickly and without having to bother with customs. The pilots confirm this, and say that they'll be flying back to the US after a few hours of rest. Given that there's no fuel tanks or trucks in sight to refuel the plane, that says a lot about the range of the engines on the plane.


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## Friadoc (Jun 16, 2007)

After thanking the pilots for the flight, Cade will help load-up the Humvee before plotting the best, quick route to the dig site.

Unless someone else wants to, Cade will be driving to the site.

"So, Doc," asks Cade of Nick. "How should we go about this dig stuff? I mean I've read the basics, but is there any specific we should focus on?"


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## Falkus (Jun 16, 2007)

"You should be more careful," said a man in a dark suit and coat, who stepped out from behind the hummer as Cade approached. "Your jet's radar immunity may be fancy, but I could have taken it down with a shoulder rocket easily from here, and I could have killed you six different ways since you got off that thing. These covert airstrips you guys put together, they're always too open, never enough cover getting off for my taste. And certainly not enough guards or security."

The man is Agent Duffmann. As he talked, he lit up a cigarette.


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## Shayuri (Jun 16, 2007)

Meredith points and grins. "Hey! I remember you! How're you doing?"

She steps forward and offers her hand to shake.

"As for security...what can I say? You save the world once or twice, you start getting all soft and optimistic." Her grin never falters, and her tone is light and joking.


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## industrygothica (Jun 16, 2007)

Friadoc said:
			
		

> "So, Doc," asks Cade of Nick. "How should we go about this dig stuff? I mean I've read the basics, but is there any specific we should focus on?"




"Dig carefully," Nick says.  "Preserve everything."  Nick shoulders his gear and and starts toward the Humvee.  "And watch out for curses.  They're always cursed," he adds with a smile.


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## Friadoc (Jun 17, 2007)

industrygothica said:
			
		

> "Dig carefully," Nick says.  "Preserve everything."  Nick shoulders his gear and and starts toward the Humvee.  "And watch out for curses.  They're always cursed," he adds with a smile.




"Gotcha, Doc," says Cade with a smile. "Only Indiana Jones it if we have to, right?"

Upon seeing Duffmann, Cade smiles slightly as the Men in Black themesong plays in his brain.



			
				Falkus said:
			
		

> "...These covert airstrips you guys put together, they're always too open, never enough cover getting off for my taste. And certainly not enough guards or security."
> 
> The man is Agent Duffmann. As he talked, he lit up a cigarette.




"Hence the term, covert," says Cade with a wry chuckle. "Plus, I've got a feeling that the EC Suite on the plan could handle shoulder fireds just fine until it's on the ground."

Walking past Duffmann without too much concern, Cade opens the Humvee's rear access and loads gear.

"Once it's on the ground, it's got us," says Cade in a casual tone, he's not being cocky, just matter of fact. "Which I'd say is fair odds with most anything someone would send our way."

"By the way,"  Cade adds with a wink and grin. "Even in our line of work, those still kill ya...I checked."


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## Falkus (Jun 17, 2007)

"Meredith, good to see you," Duffmann said warmly, stepping forward and shaking her hand. "I heard about Chicago and those cultists. Nasty business that."



			
				Friadoc said:
			
		

> "Hence the term, covert," says Cade with a wry chuckle. "Plus, I've got a feeling that the EC Suite on the plan could handle shoulder fireds just fine until it's on the ground."




"I found you," Duffmann slight, with a wry smile. "Didn't know about your countermeasures though, I'll have to keep that in mind."

"Anyway, I'm in the country for the same reason you are, though I'm taking a more hands off approach. I thought I'd drop by and give you a warning about some trouble you may run into down the road. I found your landing strip, and I know your mission. That means other groups can find out too, and these guys won't be nearly as friendly as I am. There's been a lot of interest in prophecy lately, a lot of not so nice people are looking into it. Bildebergers, for instance, view it as a direct threat to their ability to manipulate stock market. They don't want anybody getting a hold of it, and they've already started killing people who are getting to close."

"What I'm saying is that if you take something valuable out of that dig site, there's going to be a lot of people who are going to be waiting to try to take it away from you. Be careful, I'd hate to see you get hurt."


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## iwatt (Jun 18, 2007)

Bumming a smoke from the Free Mason, Larry puffs contentedly. "Good to see ya, Duffman. Long flight without a smoke."



> "What I'm saying is that if you take something valuable out of that dig site, there's going to be a lot of people who are going to be waiting to try to take it away from you. Be careful, I'd hate to see you get hurt."




"Thanks for the heads up, man. Maybe we can repay the favor at some point. You got a number we can contact you? Some backdoor communications might save all our asses when things go south. And they always do go south."


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## Shayuri (Jun 18, 2007)

Meri coughs and says, "I still have his card. We can get in touch."

She eyes Duffman and adds, "We're not really after prophecy ourselves. We're just investigating this thing. Everything I've seen so far suggests there's a pretty high price for becoming an oracle...at least by doing it here."


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## industrygothica (Jun 18, 2007)

"Well, I guess it's time ot go and see what we see," Nick says, anxious to get back to his roots, so to speak.


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## Friadoc (Jun 19, 2007)

"Thanks for the heads up, Duffmann," says Cade as he finishes loading up the Humvee. "I really hope no one tries to kill us." 

With a more serious tone than the young man usually uses, Cade adds, "I'm really hopin' to go a mission without killin' anyone..." A bare hint of a pause breaks the sentence, "...even if they deserve it."

"By the way," Cade says to Duffmann before getting into the Humvee and starting it up. "It's nice to see you on your feet."

"Okay, folks," says Cade from the rolled down window, as the Humvee warms up. "You heard the Professor...get your cheeks in the seats."


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## Falkus (Jun 20, 2007)

Duffmann handed a business card to Meredith. "This is my Europe number. Give me a call if you need help. I can't guarantee I can provide it, but I'll listen. You take care of yourselves, and be careful," he then turned and walked off towards a car (black, naturally) idling in the distance.

Photography gear and other items that national geographic reporters would be expected to carry have been stashed in the Hummvee along with your fake IDs, which misrepresent the team as being part of the National Geographic magazine. Knowing Z's talents, it would take nothing short of a dedicated FBI ID probe for someone to realize that they're fakes.

The ride is a bit bumpy, the road isn't very good, and neither is the weather. It takes about an hour to get to the site.

The dig site itself seems fairly standard. The entrance is further up the mountain, but there's a base camp where the road ends. Several tents, centered around an old cabin. You can make out some activity up near the actual dig site, but it's too far to make out any specifics.

As you arrive at the dig site, a short man with red hair and glasses in a long, tan coat approaches. You recognize him as Dr. Ryland from the files. "You must be from the National Geographics, we've been expecting you," he says, speaking quite quickly, shaking hands as they were oferred. "Come, come. We just opened up the entrance to the caverns and we've found something." He quickly took off up the mountain, not bothering to check whether your were following him or not.


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## kinem (Jun 20, 2007)

Diego offerred his hand, then pulled out the camera he was given.  _Good timing!  This could be fun._


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## industrygothica (Jun 22, 2007)

Nick readies his gear and follows the man up the mountain.  Along the way, he discreetly checks his weapon and makes it accessible.


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## Friadoc (Jun 22, 2007)

Considering himself lucky, Cade gathers up the most relivant gear, both as part of their cover and to provide cover for their other, covert gear. Including his sidearm, which is secreted away.

Dressed for the part, Cade is wearing garb fitting to that of a field technician. A longsleeved, hunts green explorer shirt that is tucked into a pair of khaki-colored canvas cargo pants whose ends hang loosely about a pair of sturdy, well worn all-weather brown leather, hiking boots. Over all of this is a leather coat that hangs to just above his knees and, although in good condition, it has obviously seen plenty of time in the outdoors.

While Cade usually appears comfortable in the big city, as well as a lab, it's obvious from the ease of his step and movement that the young man has missed the outdoors.


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## iwatt (Jun 22, 2007)

Since they were going with the National geographic cover, Larry was going to stick to his cover  as Meredith's personal assistant. Putting the appropriate fawning look, he picks up her luggage and starts making his way up.


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## Shayuri (Jun 22, 2007)

Meredith has donned a pair of khaki cargo shorts with big pockets, a white T shirt and a 'journalist's battle vest,' which is basically a sleeveless beige jacket -covered- with pockets for notepads, PDA's, batteries, lenses, flashlights and so on. She's put on a floppy brimmed safari hat. She's wearing glasses...ironically, they're fake, with lensless glass panels. 

She even has a dab of sunscreen on her nose.

Every so often she stops to talk to the 'cameraman' about angles or light, or absently asks her 'personal assistant' to go do or get something.

In short, she fits the part perfectly.

On her notepad she jots down ideas as they come to her. The first entry is:

"...oracle delphi breathed vapors...gas masks?"


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## Falkus (Jun 22, 2007)

Dr Ryland leads the way up the mountain to the dig site itself. The area seems to be what you'd expect, various pieces of digging equipment, small and large, as well as all the tools and devices needed to properly and carefully excavate and catalog any interesting historical items found. There doesn't seem to be much work going on right now, though.

"I really have no idea what to make of this. I've never seen anything like it before," Ryland said, still not clarifying what he was talking about. So far, he seems to have completely bought your portrayal of National Geographic reporters. There were several other people present too, a few professional archaeologists, and several more students who were probably working on their degrees.

A couple of the students look rather nauseous as the team makes their way to the entrance of the caverns.

The reason is quickly revealed. Just inside the recently cleared entrance to the caverns are four skeletons. Not an unusual sight at most dig sites, except for a few things. Most skeletons in ancient archaeological sites, in Nick's experience, aren't wearing the tattered remains of old Soviet military uniforms, nor do they usually have battered AK-47s clutched in their skeletal fingers.


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## industrygothica (Jun 23, 2007)

"Interesting," Nick says, more to himself than anyone else.  He tries not to make eye contact with anyone except his team, for fear of being recognized; his archaeological firm wasn't small, and it was entirely possible that any of these students, and professionals too, may have seen any number of articles Nick or his company.

Nick kneels on one knee to have a closer looks at the skeletons, trying to gauge approximately how long they've been here (Profession: archaeologist +8?), and perhaps more importantly, what killed them.

He nods to Diego, "Get some pictures of this, will you?  Every angle you can."


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## Falkus (Jun 23, 2007)

Numerous fractures on the skeletons suggest that they were buried in a tunnel collapse, though it's impossible to determine whether they were killed by the collapse, or were already dead when it happened. There's no signs of bullet holes in the skeletons, nor anything else to suggest foul play, but equally, there's nothing that rules out bludgeoning, stabbing, poisoning or disease as causes of death either. It would take a detailed forensic examination to be sure of the cause of death, and even then, it would be iffy.

The skeletons deterioration suggests that they've been here at least thirty years, and the style of uniform suggest late fifties, early sixties Soviet army.


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## Shayuri (Jun 23, 2007)

Meredith kneels down beside a skeleton, intrigued.

"These were already here when you opened the cave? Doesn't seem so mysterious. Seems to me like the Russians must have had some people here during the Cold War for some reason. They dug out the cave, but it collapsed on them...and they never dug it out again. Then they just...sat here buried until your crew arrived to excavate it again."

She looks up at the professor. "Or am I missing something obvious?"


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## Falkus (Jun 23, 2007)

"There are no records of there ever being a dig site here before. If it was a legal site, there'd have to be files on it. And if it wasn't legal, why would the USSR go to the trouble of smuggling military troops into the country just to do some archaeological work?," explained Dr. Ryland, throwing up his arms in exasperation. He was obviously concerned. With good reason too, once this information got out, there'd probably be government agents crawling all over the site to figure out the details of why the Soviet Union had brought troops here.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I believe that this a site of great historical value. Once we've completed our research, we will no doubt have uncovered many lost secrets about Delphi and Pythia, but there's nothing of military or espionage value here, nothing to justify a secret dig site by a foreign nation," he chuckled. "It's not like there's going to be some secret about how to predict the future hidden here."


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## Shayuri (Jun 23, 2007)

"Well, obviously," Meredith agreed. "But the Cold War was a pretty wacky period. Russia was researching all sorts of far out stuff...and so was the US. There's all kinds of accounts you can find now about Russia investigating psychic phenomena, remote viewing, UFO's, magic...anything to try to get ahead of the US. I wouldn't be surprised if some comandant thought maybe there was something to this and figured there was no harm in trying to find out."

She shrugs.


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## kinem (Jun 23, 2007)

Diego snaps pictures of the bodies from various angles, not coincidently getting the rest of the cavern in the background.

"It's too bad they're not Nazis" he comments "because if they were, this could only be the work of one Indiana Jones."


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## Friadoc (Jun 24, 2007)

While helping Diego get pictures of the remains, using a portable spotlight to aide getting the fullest images and detail, Cade will use the excuse to give the remains a cursor once over.

A half-grin forms on Cade's face as Diego makes his crack, but for now the man is remaining more of a background item and assistant.

OOC

Okay, between my four knowledge skills, Knowledge-Arcane Lore, Knowledge-PopCult. , Knowledge-Tactics, and Knowledge-Technology , does anything stand out about these guys?

As Meredith pointed out, numerous sides to the cold ware investigated this stuff, as well as took items into posession (Spear of Destiny anyone?), but does anything stand out about this group aside from guns and uniform? Equipment laying around? Unit insignia? Et al?

Depending on which skill is applicable, my bonus ranges from a +5 to a +10.


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## iwatt (Jun 24, 2007)

Helping Cade out, Larry brings up one point that was bothring him. "These guys look like grunts, not the kind of people you'd send on this type of mission, except for security. Were are the archaeologists or spies that must have known what was going on? Anyway, if you find something interesting, let me have a look. Sometimes I know stuff about things."


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## Falkus (Jun 24, 2007)

"Those stories are exaggerated, I'm sure," Dr Ryland said, firm in his conviction. "No rational person believes in magic or the supernatural," he said, to a group of people containing two psionics, a mage, a demon slayer and a man who routinely consulted with a fairy on computer information.

The dog tags and unit insignia on the soldiers were fairly unremarkable. They were regular soldiers, not special forces, and their gear was pretty much what you'd expect for a Russian grunt from that time period. Nick vaguely recalled, from some old books he'd read several years ago about the military history of the USSR, that men from their unit used to regularly be assigned to work with the KGB, however.


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## Friadoc (Jun 25, 2007)

OOC

A Hot fairy duchess...*grins*...that's just so odd to say.


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## industrygothica (Jun 25, 2007)

"Regardless," Nick begins, "I think that you should keep this quiet for the time being.  Word of this will put an end to your project, and government agencies from all over will be crawling all over this place, tearing up God knows what."  Old habits die hard, as Nick starts handing directions.  For just a moment he's forgotten about the Institute and their mission.  For a moment, he's just Nick Well, a damned good archaeologist.

"Let secure the find, keep it in tact, and finish what we've.. er, you've started."


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## Falkus (Jun 26, 2007)

Dr Ryland looked down at the bodies, and then back up at Nick. "Well, I, I suppose you're right. It would be a shame if a bunch of government agents ruined this site. We can leave off a decision on what to do until tomorrow morning. Right now, let's go take a look inside. The cavern looks clear, and stable, from what I saw right after we found the bodies."


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## industrygothica (Jun 27, 2007)

"Great, let's take a look," Nick says as he begins down the cavern.


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## Friadoc (Jun 28, 2007)

As Cade adjusts that he's carrying, he'll get out his PDA, with the echo mapper that Hoffmann provided, and test it out.

But, if it the mapper would be too obvious, I.E. too loud, than he'll keep from testing it, but he will keep the motion sweeper on.


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## Falkus (Jun 30, 2007)

As the team, Dr Ryland and his crew advanced into the caverns, the sonic mapper does its work. A few minutes, and it's produced a crude map of the rather extensive cave system you're in.

Nick notices that the tunnels seems to be natural, but reinforced with simple architectural techniques. Nothing beyond that of the Greeks of the period, though.

After a few minutes, the group arrives in a large cave, with several other exits leading off into the dark. The cave is dominated by a large statue of the Greek God Apollo in the center of the room, with an inscription in Greek under it.

There are two skeletons in this room, of a similar age of the ones at the entrance. These ones are wearing civilian clothing, however, and appear to have been brutally torn apart.

"Hmm, it says: If you be of the Society of Pythia, then walk free. If not, then turn back, or face your doom," Dr Ryland translated. "Warnings like this are more or less standard for temples and tombs like this."


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## Friadoc (Jun 30, 2007)

Cade downloads the map to everyone's PDAs, just to play it safe, so that we've a map out of here if needed.

If possible, Cade will make the make capable of showing their current position using the motion sensor package and our RFID locators.

oO Yeap, definately standard Oo thinks Cade as he surveys the scredded remains. oO Cryptic warnings and evidence of mysterious deaths, it's all standard. Oo

Once the torn bodies are found, Cade will once again assist Diego in taking photos of them, as well as the surrounding room, so as to give things a closer inspection.


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## Shayuri (Jun 30, 2007)

"Society of Pythia," Meredith muses. "I don't think I've heard of that particular group. Have you, Dr. Ryland?"


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## Friadoc (Jul 1, 2007)

While Meredith is asking Dr. Ryland, if possible, Cade will do a quick research check via OSIRS and see if he can pull up anything about the Society of Pythia.

Also, Cade will try and see if anything pops up in his brain, if he's heard it before via his studies into arcane and fringe lore.


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## industrygothica (Jul 1, 2007)

ooc: Knowledge History/Arcane Lore, +10/+12 respectively, and you can bet there'll be a research check (+15) at the first opportunity.  Surely there's an internet connection around here somewhere (which will make the check +17, I believe).


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## Falkus (Jul 1, 2007)

"It's entirely new to me," Dr Ryland admitted, sparring a worried glance at the skeletons. "The name indicates an association with Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi. Perhaps an inner circle of the priests of Apollo who managed the temple at Delphi. Conjecture, of course. Further examination of the site should confirm or deny it. Odd, the Oracle is one of the better documented Greek religious institute. You'd think that there'd be something written about this society."

"Perhaps an explosion? Maybe a generator exploded and killed these poor men, and also caused a collapse at the entrance burying the others?" he continues, still glancing at the skeletons. The other members of the dig team have spread out in the room, studying it, though aside from the statue, there isn't much too look it. The career archaeologists are guiding the students through the basics.

Cade can manage to jury rig a crude, but effective tracking device that will ping the location of each member of Team Libra onto the maps on each of your PDAs. However, given that the team is underground in a complex cave system, the range isn't likely to be very long. The signals can get blocked easily.

There's nothing in the OSIRS files about the Society of Pythia, and no real rumors about it that Cade can recall ever hearing or reading.

In addition, Nick hasn't ever heard anything about it which is odd, as Dr Ryland said, the Oracle of Delphi and its related trappings are one of the better documented Greek religious institutes.

One thing, perhaps related, perhaps not, that Nick does know, as he searches his memory, is that there is a historical note that there's a discrepancy between records of the various payments, gifts, boons and tributes given to the Oracle of Delphi, and the records of the payments received, with the Delphi records indicating sums and values lower than the records of those who gave them. Given the lack of a real bureaucracy, and, in many cases, a complete lack of any sort of records, this was considered be within bounds of reasonable error. Also, there were tablets indicating that there several priests and priestesses at the oracle site who did not actually live in Delphi, and that their place of residence was unknown.

OOC: The cave blocks radio signals, so you'll have to exit the caves if you want to do any research checks online.


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## Friadoc (Jul 3, 2007)

While the others are busy, Cade does a quick inventory of the comm gear to see if they have any small repeater units.

If so, then he'd set a couple of them up to give them a route of communication with the outside and it's resources.

However, if there isn't any, or at least not any powerful enough, he'll keep them in mind for if the group splits up.

Under his breath, Cade mutters to himself, "I knew I shoulda finished the d@mn URAVs."


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## Falkus (Jul 5, 2007)

Among the communications gear and other electronics packed by the Greek branch of the Institute, are a number of repeaters. There's just enough to establish a stable line of communications with the outside world from the cavern that the team's presently in.

A search on the internet, however, does not turn up any additional information on the subjects in question at this moment.


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## Shayuri (Jul 6, 2007)

"I don't know...I don't see any debris or evidence of an explosion. I suppose if they cleaned up after themselves it's possible."

Meredith looks around. "Just the same, do we have any kind of weapons, or tools that might work as weapons? I'd rather dig them out now and feel stupid when we don't need them than find out we DO need them and not have them ready."


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## industrygothica (Jul 6, 2007)

Nick relays the information that he's recalled to the other members of his team.  He relays _only_ the information, and keeps his ideas and opinions to himself for the moment, confident the the group will come to their own similar conclusions about the caverns before them.

"I think weapons are perfectly in order," he says to Meredith.


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## Friadoc (Jul 6, 2007)

In response to Nick's words, Cade just gives a nod and a simple thumbs up with his right hand.

When the group move's out, Cade will gather up the repeaters for use if, or when, the team splits up.

"We're good to go, Doc," says Cade after establishing an external comms route. "We've got enough repeaters, if we should be pretty safe going further."


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## iwatt (Jul 6, 2007)

When Meredith talks of weapons, Larry loosens the shoulder hoster to keep the weapon in easy reach. After Cade speaks up about safety, the conman just grins. "Hey, we're team Libra. It's all going to be alright" he adds in through the private comms.


OOC: Talk about famous last words


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## Falkus (Jul 6, 2007)

One of the students, a young woman, nineteen to early twenties, walked up to Diego. "What's she talking about weapons for?" the student asked, indicating Meredith. "It's not like this is a DnD dungeon crawl, there aren't any monsters waiting in here for us," she said with a chuckle.

"Well, it's the only explanation I can think of," Dr Ryland said nervously, rubbing his hands though his hair, glancing at the bodies again. "We should stick together until we've made a map of this place, and cordoned off any unstable area. It looks stable enough here, though. Let's keep moving, look for a central temple area."


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## Friadoc (Jul 6, 2007)

OOC

And that, young lady, is why you are a no name, red shirt wearing, future toe-tag wearing, dirty liar.

It's a d20 Dark*Matter Dungeon Crawl and you are now destined to die unless Diego takes sympathy on you and asks your name, so that you may live and one day warm his sheets.

*cackles like a maniac before getting cleaned up for his table top game*

Sory folks, it had to be said.


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## kinem (Jul 7, 2007)

Diego looks at the woman.  (ooc: What color is her shirt?)

"Hah, good one.  We ... heard rumors that looters can get pretty rough if they find an important dig site.  And you are ...?"


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## Shayuri (Jul 7, 2007)

Meri shrugs. "I'm just saying, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared if these guys weren't killed by a cave-in. Laugh if you want...I'm not laughing until I'm back outside again though."


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## Friadoc (Jul 7, 2007)

With a smile, as well as a feigned lack of familiarity with Meredith, Cade says, "No worries, Ma'am, worse comes to worse, you just have to remember what my pa always told me..."

"...ya don't have to worry about outrunning the bear," Cade adds with a wink. "Ya just hafta outrun the slowest person you're with."

"Now, pardon the forwardness," says Cade with a rakish smile, as well as a possible double entendre. "But I highly doubt that with legs like those that you're the slow kind."


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## Shayuri (Jul 7, 2007)

Meredith's cheeks turn pinkish, and her mouth opens in an entirely unfeigned 'o' of shock.

"I...well...you..." she shakes a finger at Cade, entirely at a loss for words, then settles for a toss of her head and goes to confer with her cameraman as whatever self-confidence being a weird sword prodigy had lent her evaporates back into her old, kind of shy self.

"A good reporter never runs from a story," she tells him, then grimaces. "Damn. I should have said that to him. Do you think it's too late? Did I miss the moment?"


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## industrygothica (Jul 7, 2007)

Nick is completely oblivious to the interaction around him, focusing only on path in front of him.  Seems that maybe he's missed this work a little more than he's let on.


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## Falkus (Jul 7, 2007)

The student's got an old, brown shirt on, just the sort of thing you'd wear if you had to go get dirty while doing some digging. "My name's Dorine Spring," she said, smiling at Diego. 

OOC: Doctor Ryland's is fairly open to suggestion, so if you want to make a choice as to where in the cave complex you want to head next, feel free.


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## iwatt (Jul 9, 2007)

Larry had been checking out his PDA, and become distracted about the discussion at hand. Diego had covered well after Meredith spoke up about weapons, but helping him out made sense.

"Yeah, remember that dig at the Somali-Ethiopian border we were supposed to cover? The one they sent old Quinn to cover instead. Well I heard that the reason they sent him was because he knew how to scare off those looters. Hopefully we won't have to deal with that here though."


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## Falkus (Jul 11, 2007)

If nobody else suggests anything better, Dr Ryland suggests that they should go take a look down the tunnel leaving the south-east of the chamber.


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## Friadoc (Jul 11, 2007)

OOC

Sorry for the lack of reply, I was waiting on the next/further poses...plus, RL just got a smidge complicated this week, due to employer issues.

So, yeah, been tied up with junk. But, I'm still here.


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## Shayuri (Jul 11, 2007)

(hee, I'm here too...things got crazy again a little, cuz I finally got my place so I'm doing the whole unpacking/calling utilities etc etc thing. Plus, Meri hasn't got the faintest idea which way to go, so she's waiting to see what the others think)


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## industrygothica (Jul 11, 2007)

"Southeast sounds fine to me Dr.," Nick says.  "Whatever you say.  You're the professional here."


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## Friadoc (Jul 11, 2007)

As the group proceeds through the tunnels, Cade will do his best to monitor the tunnels ahead, via the PDA and it's movement sensors. He will try and be as subtle as possible about it, in fact he'll have an earphone in, so it makes it look like he's listening to music, or what not.


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## iwatt (Jul 11, 2007)

Larry will cover the rear, as discussed in the tactical planning. It wasn't a situation in which his ad libbing skills would be sorely pressed, hence moving him back made sense.


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## Falkus (Jul 12, 2007)

On the way through the caverns, Nick noticed that several of the tunnels had pathways worn into them, as if numerous people had been walking down them for hundreds of years. Not surprisingly, the tunnels with these noticeable paths appeared to be the shortest paths between the various large caves and rooms on the map.

Cade didn't notice anything unusual on his motion detector as the group moved through the tunnels. No unusual blips or signs of anything else in the caverns but them. 

Eventually, Dr Ryland led the team and his staff into another, long cave.

There had been a rather sturdy door at the entrance, but it had collapsed years ago.

Nick could tell a few things about the room. Judging by the layout, the remains of the door and the heavy stone chests against the back walls, this chamber had once been a treasure chamber holding inestimable riches. However, whatever treasure had been long since removed. The chests and the room were empty of anything shiny.

What was more interesting to Nick, however, were the engraved walls all around the room. They had been carefully smoothed, and had words carved into them by some unknown stone mason in ages past. To his expert eye, they looked like a history, presumably of this complex. Something of far more value to an archaeologist than any mere treasure.


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## industrygothica (Jul 12, 2007)

Nick tries to make a little more sense of the writings on the wall.  He will not speak aloud as he attempts to translate, thinking it better to keep any pertinent to himself and the team (Decipher Script +11).


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## Shayuri (Jul 12, 2007)

Meredith stares at the underground chamber in awe.

"They dug this place out of a cave, carving it like this with nothing but torchlight...get some shots of this...all the walls. Make sure to include the writings. This is incredible. All this time, there's been these rooms under the Temple of Delphi, and no one ever knew before."

She shines her flashlight around, staying near her 'crew' as they start to move through the chamber, snapping shots as they go.


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## Friadoc (Jul 12, 2007)

Cade will help setup lights, to better illuminate any shots that are taken, plus it allows him to hang back somewhat and keep his eyes peeled.


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## kinem (Jul 12, 2007)

Diego carefully photographs the tunnels and the large cave, especially the writing.  With a slight smile, he includes Dorine in one of the shots.


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## iwatt (Jul 12, 2007)

Larry unobtrusively takes post at the entrance of the chamber, keeping watch over the action.


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## Falkus (Jul 12, 2007)

Dr Ryland goes to assist Nick, pulling out notebooks, pencils and papers. Over the next hour, the two archaeologists carefully and painstakingly translate the writings on the wall.

(Nicks gets a 28 on the decipher script check, and Dr Ryland's assistance gives him the 30 he needs to succeed)

The engravings:
[sblock]The engravings on the wall represent a treasure trove of Delphaeic history. It’s the history of the Society of Pythia, the organization that was directly responsible for the creation of the oracle.

The Society of Pythia was originally founded by Egyptian priests who had fled Egypt for unstated reasons. They came to this region to set up a temple, and discovered something fascinating.

They discovered the first of the beings they call the Ephemerals completely by accident. A farmer wandered into the mists that rose up from Delphi, and was possessed. He soon demonstrated the ability to predict the future, but died after a few months. The priests studied him and his body and the mists to try to understand what had happened

When they realized that the Ephemerals could predict the future, they realized that they had a chance to gain untold wealth and power, by creating an oracle and influencing those who came seeking its advice. They called their chosen oracle Pythia, and choose a female priestess to be the host of the Ephemeral. They called themselves the Society of Pythia, the priests who controlled the Oracle.

However, they soon learned that they came from the vapors very rarely, once every few years. Certainly not regularly enough for a reliable oracle to be created.

So, they discovered a way to capture the Ephemerals in magically sealed jars, through the use of magical texts they had taken from Egypt with them. The Ephemerals could be captured, and put into the chosen Pythia on demand. This gave the Society great power in Greece, as they both could reliably predict the future, and guide the actions of those who came to seek advice of the oracle.

The key to the process was two items. The first was an engraved keystone, that, when used by a capable mage could induce prophecy more reliably and on demand in the person possessed. Secondly, an enchanted ruby was used to draw the Ephemeral out of the person being possessed. The ruby was manufactured when it was discovered that possession by an Ephemeral would quickly kill the possessed person. Replacement Pythia’s could be found, but the death of the priestess also destroyed the Ephemeral, which was much harder to replace.

The Society accumulated power and wealth for over a thousand years, until it finally came to an end with the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire. The last members of the society took the remaining wealth from the complex and fled the country again, leaving for parts unknown. The last Pythia and someone called the Guardian were the only ones who stayed in the complex.

One final engraving notes that some Ephemerals were different. No details were given, but it was stated that when one of these was captured and found it, it was to be kept confined in a jar in the very compound you’re currently standing in. And it was to never, ever, ever be opened.[/sblock]

Dorine smiles and waves at Diego when he takes the picture of her.


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## Shayuri (Jul 13, 2007)

When she hears the translation of the symbols, Meredith edges over to Cade and whispers, "Can you reach the Institute? They need to know this. That little girl may be in danger."


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## Friadoc (Jul 13, 2007)

"I'm on it," says Cade to Meredith as he moves off to the side, so as to check the viability of the comm link. If it works, he'll update Hoffmann, but if it doesn't he'll move off to establish a connection.


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## Falkus (Jul 13, 2007)

This deep into the mountain, there's no connection with the outside world.

"Whatcha doing?" Dorine says, curiously, following Cade as he moves out of the room. He'll be in range of the repeaters about halfway back through the tunnel towards the first cave they entered.


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## Friadoc (Jul 13, 2007)

"Going back for a lamp filter," says Cade simply enough. "It should bring out the contrast, making the images more stark for the viewer."

With that said, possibly being a tad bit paranoid, Cade adjust the shoulder satchel that is slung over his shoulder and across his chest so that the main pouch is reachable by his firing hand. Secret within the satchel is his sidearm and although the girl is pretty, Cade's none to trusting of anyone found within a cave where beings once took posession of human hosts.

"Wanna give me a hand?" Cade says with a sly smile. "It'll make the camera man jealous."


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## industrygothica (Jul 14, 2007)

"This is great.  Why don't we call it a night, and head back to camp and see what we've got.  I know we could all use a rest after the flight anyway."   After learning of what could be down here, Nick is trying to get everyone out of the cavern.  For safety as well as time to contact the institute.


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## Falkus (Jul 14, 2007)

"Sure, I'd be glad to," Dorine said to Cade, following him out of the cave. "I could use some fresh air, I'm not sure I'm cut out for this spelunking stuff."

As they advanced down the hall, Dorine tripped over a loose rock about two hundred feet down the cave, and collapsed on the floor. She shouted in pain, and clutched her knee.


"You're right," Dr Ryland said to Nick, as he packed away his notes. "Also, I should study the notes I made and the pictures of these engravings before we go any further. The more we understand, the less likely we are to accidentally damage something unknowingly."


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## Friadoc (Jul 14, 2007)

oO Aww, crap Oo thinks Cade, as Dorine shouts in pain from her trip and fall.

As Cade is in motion to help the girl, but before he gets to her, he shouts out down the caverneous halls, "Hey, Professor, got an injuried girl here!"

With that, Cade kneels down to to check Dorine's knee, however he adjust his satchel so it's on the opposite side of his body from her and still within reach.

oO I'm not paranoid, Oo thinks Cade. oO Institute shrinks aside, it's just being prepared Oo


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## Falkus (Jul 14, 2007)

As Cade knelt down, Dorine pressed the muzzle of a Glock 20 under his chin. From his new perspective, Cade could see that she'd been keeping it in a waist holster on her stomach, covered by her loose shirt. "You stupid bastard," she hissed. "You had to go and be paranoid, and now I'm probably going to kill a bunch of people because of it. You couldn't have just been a white knight, now, couldn't you? Now, computer boy, give me your gun. Now. And don't bother telling me you don't have one. Hoffmann Institute agents always carry a sidearm."


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## industrygothica (Jul 15, 2007)

Nick starts making his way out of the cavern.  If he's within earshot of Cade's call, he'll move a little quicker.


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## Friadoc (Jul 15, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> As Cade knelt down, Dorine pressed the muzzle of a Glock 20 under his chin. From his new perspective, Cade could see that she'd been keeping it in a waist holster on her stomach, covered by her loose shirt. "You stupid bastard," she hissed. "You had to go and be paranoid, and now I'm probably going to kill a bunch of people because of it. You couldn't have just been a white knight, now, couldn't you? Now, computer boy, give me your gun. Now. And don't bother telling me you don't have one. Hoffmann Institute agents always carry a sidearm."




It is quite probably that Dorine didn't expect the rakish smile to flash across Cade's face right before he quickly twists his head to the side.

At the same time, Cade draws his own sidearm and shoves it upside Dorine's head.

"You go, I go, Ma'am," says Cade.

OOC

Okay, The first sentence is thematic, however Cade is going to be using a Total Defense action, instead of attacking Dorine and thusly gains a +4 to his AC. 

But, obviously it fits his character. *grins* It also looks cool for the total defense and drawing of his weapon.

Now, for his drawing his sidearm, Drawing A Weapon is a move equivilant action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, unlike firing a ranged weapon in melee distance.


Also, she's either prone or kneeling, either is a vulnerable position for her. If she chooses to fire her sidearm, Cade's attack of opportunity will be a simple pistol whipping, to which I'll use an Action Point to add 1d6 to his attack roll.

Not only were Cade's parents married before he was even thought of, let alone conceived, but he's rather intelligent, too. 

Words hurt, lady! *grins*


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## iwatt (Jul 15, 2007)

OOC: Not to nitpick too much, but she'll probably count as Ready an action to shoot your brains out, Cade. And if you want to use your gun as a ranged weapon, it doesn't count as a melee weapon at the time, so you don't threten which means you won't get an AoO. There's a reason why you have to be careful when somebody points a gun at you...


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## Friadoc (Jul 15, 2007)

OOC

Actually, since AoOs interrupt the normal flow of action and is a single melee attack (be it just my punching her in the face, or pistol whipping her) I'll still get the AoO, whether or not I get to use my pistol, instead of a fist, is up to Falkus.

Also, pistol whip is under simple weapons, so there is no penalty in using it to strike.

Lastly, I can make an AoO with any melee weapon I have at hand, regardless of if it can also be used as a ranged weapon (i.e. stab someone with a knife that can be thrown, hit them with the butt plate from a rifle, or pistol whip them). They're melee attacks, period.

Mistwell compiled a nice set of Q&As that answer the question, in various modes and methods, right here - http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36069

Now, for disarm there are some tweaks, provided what the weapon was used for last. 

No worries about nitpicking, I'm all for making sure something is allowed or disallowed in the rules. Heck, it's why I use to playtest a lot, back in the day.

In fact, not to brag, but if you go to the playtesters section of your 3e PHBs (maybe DMG and MM, too) you'll find my name. *grins* I actually miss playtesting, but it was turning into a conflict of interests, at times, since I would see stuff that would match an idea I was working on and then, suddenly, I have to drop it. Not fun.


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## Falkus (Jul 15, 2007)

Dorine's gun didn't move a single millimeter. "My bosses kill agents who get captured as a routine precaution," she said, staring him in the eyes as the Mexican standoff continued. "Now, drop the gun, or I'll take my chances."

Nick and the others heard Cade's shout, but it would a be a few seconds before they would arrive on the scene.


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## industrygothica (Jul 15, 2007)

[sblock=ooc]ooc thread--just in case anyone's forgotten where it is.  Now who's nitpicking, eh? [/sblock]


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## iwatt (Jul 15, 2007)

Standing by the entrance, Larry was the nearest to Cade. Leaving his post he rushes to his companions aid.

[sblock=ooc] How aware are we of what's going on? I don't want to metagame, but the idea is to rush in and use Daze at DC 13 to allow Cade some freedom.[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Jul 15, 2007)

OOC: So far, you only know that Cade has shouted that Dorine's been hurt.


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## kinem (Jul 15, 2007)

_Damn it!_ Diego thought as he hurries to keep up.  _I know how to blow people apart, not how to put them back together.  I'm afraid I won't be of much use to help Dorine._


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## Friadoc (Jul 16, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> Dorine's gun didn't move a single millimeter. "My bosses kill agents who get captured as a routine precaution," she said, staring him in the eyes as the Mexican standoff continued. "Now, drop the gun, or I'll take my chances."
> 
> Nick and the others heard Cade's shout, but it would a be a few seconds before they would arrive on the scene.




"That's what you get for workin' for the bad guy, ma'am," says Cade as he steps back five feet. however, as the crimson light upon her chest tells her, he still has his weapon aimed center mass on Dorine. "At least I'll give you a chance."

OOC

Cade is taking a 5-foot step, which draws now AoO, and is maintaining his total defense granting a +4 to his AC.

His plan, *chuckles*, is to stall her long enough for the others to show up and see what's happening.

By the way, blame the westerns and pirate movies when I was a kid and an adult, or John Woo and Chow Yum Fat, but I just gots ta get my Gun Fu on.


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## Falkus (Jul 17, 2007)

"Bad guy?" Dorine, if that was her real name, said unbelievingly, stepping back as well, keeping her gun on Cade. "Don't tell me you buy into that bunk. There's only power and money. There are those who have it, and those who don't. Morality was invented by poor people."

She reached into her pocket with her left hand and removed something, but Cade couldn't see what.

It was at this point that Team Libra, followed shortly by Dr Ryland and his team, arrived on the scene.


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## Friadoc (Jul 17, 2007)

"Now that's a randian canard," says Cade with a chuckle that's not touching his eyes. "While I'm not rich, I'm not poor either, yet I believe in morality." However, he adds with a wink, "Which won't stop me from putting a bullet in your head, ma'am, if I must."

As Team Libra joins them, Cade doesn't take his eyes from Dorine, but says, "Sorry about the false alarm, folks, it seems the lil' lady suckered me."


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## industrygothica (Jul 17, 2007)

Nick rushes to the scene and stops abruptly when he realizes what's happening.  "What's this all about?" he asks innocently.


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## iwatt (Jul 17, 2007)

Arriving at the scene, the young Con man tries to cool things down. Without drawing his weapon, he speaks up so the rest of the team listens. "Nobody do anything stupid." he mutters at his teammates. 

With a steely gaze he looks at Dorine and says. "There's two ways this goes down. The first way, you put your gun down and we settle this all friendly like. The second, you die. Messily." A wolfish grin crosses his face and he adds. "Either Joker put's a bullet in your brain, or I crush your skull with that chest behind you. Either way, it won't be pretty."

[sblock=ooc] a +9 to intimidate and I'll use an Action Point as well. I'm not suer if I get a circumstance bonus for Cade having a gun pointed at her, as well as we outnumbering her.

The bluff check that I'm capable of Telekinesis instead of only Far Hand would be a +14 (thanks Fast Talk  )[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Jul 18, 2007)

Dorine's eyes widened, and her face paled, and the gun barrel started to trembled. She was obviously intimidated by Cade's threat, and she then revealed what she was holding in her left hand. A remote detonator, and she was firmly holding down the button on the top, suggesting that it was a dead man's switch.


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## industrygothica (Jul 19, 2007)

Nick moves closer to Larry and speaks quietly.  "Larry, can you keep that button down if she drops that thing?  Does it work like that?  Either way, we've got to get rid of Ryland and his team--they can't see what we're about to do."


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## Friadoc (Jul 19, 2007)

While the others work up what to handle, Cade keeps Dorine's wide eyes on him and the young man nods at her.

"No matter what, ma'am, we're gonna keep that bomb from going off," says Cade as he keeps his eyes on the young woman. "Now, I'd prefer we do that and keep you alive."

"I'll drop you if I must and my team will keep that deadman switch neutral," says Cade. "Your death doesn't need to happen, okay?"

"If you stand down, I'll keep you safe, okay?" Cade obviously will kill the woman, there is not doubt, but just as obvious is that he doesn't need to do it. "I keep my word, we will bring you in, put you in witness protection, in exchange for any and all infomration you give us."

With that rakish grin upon his face, Cade adds, "How's that sound?"

OOC

Okay, I'm dropping an Action Point to add a +1d6 to an untrained diplomacy check. Hopefully the fear she has in her now will make her more compliant.

If he cannot talk her down, Cade will keep Dorine focused on him while the others work on neutralizing the detonator.


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## iwatt (Jul 19, 2007)

industrygothica said:
			
		

> Nick moves closer to Larry and speaks quietly.  "Larry, can you keep that button down if she drops that thing?  Does it work like that?  Either way, we've got to get rid of Ryland and his team--they can't see what we're about to do."




In a whisper, he responds. "I hope we don't have to find out, Doc. But you better keep the others away just in case. No reason we all have to blow up today. Keep an eye out as well, maybe she isn't alone."



> "If you stand down, I'll keep you safe, okay?" Cade obviously will kill the woman, there is not doubt, but just as obvious is that he doesn't need to do it. "I keep my word, we will bring you in, put you in witness protection, in exchange for any and all information you give us."




_Well, you chose to play bad cop. Let's hope Joker can handle playing good cop._ Hoping that Cade was able to convince the girl, Larry turned all his attention to the dead man's switch. _You should have trained more._ echoed in Larry's mind as he focused fully on the switch. _This probably isn't going to work._


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## Shayuri (Jul 19, 2007)

(Finally I'm back! Wee!)

Oh great, Meredith thought. I knew I should have followed her. Give me a demon to fight any day over a scared girl with a bomb in her hand...

As the others ply the woman with words, Meri edges around, trying to stay out of her field of view in the flickering shadows at the edge of the lamplights. Ideally, Dorine wouldn't consider her a threat. Of Team Libra, she looked the least threatening, except maybe for Nick. All she had to do was come up behind Dorine though, and grab her gun arm and her bomb hand.

Yeah right. That was all she had to do. Suddenly the duel against the cultist looked easy in comparison.


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## kinem (Jul 20, 2007)

Shocked at the turn of events, Diego lets his more eloquent companions try to talk the girl down, but he feels compelled to speak.

"Dorine, like he said, you don't have to die.  And I think it would be a shame if you do."

(ooc: aid another (diplomacy +1))


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## Falkus (Jul 20, 2007)

OOC: Far hand can't be used on an unattended object, but should Dorine let go of the dead man's switch, Larry MAY be able to use far hand to stop it from detonating, assuming he reacts quickly enough.

Dorine looked fast, but not praticularly strong. Diego or Meredith might be able to wrestle the detonator away from her without setting it off, but it's not guaranteed. She couldn't be carrying much explosives, though, a brick or two of C4 in her pack, at most. Still, it could be enough to collapse the complex. The construction was sturdy, but it was no bomb shelter.

"Dorine, what the devil are you doing? Put those down!" Dr Ryland demanded, as he viewed the scene.

"Shut up, Doctor. You're not in charge here anymore!" Dorine shouted back at him.

"Here's the deal!" she shouted at Larry. "You get me the keystone, and you all get the to live. Including Ryland and his crew. No negotiating! Do it."


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## iwatt (Jul 20, 2007)

"Doc, get Ryland and his people back. Now!" Using his best commanding voice, but never taking his eyes off Dorine.

"Look, sugar. Let me get the geeks out of here, and then you and me can talk this out, and come to an understanding. But we'll never get things done with Ryland clcuking around us. I see room here for the two of us to get what we want, and you won't have to die stupidly."


[sblock=OOC]
OK, first things first, I want to keep her talking so I can use my dazzle talent on her. It's a DC 15 and I check with a +6, and I'll throw in an AP as well. Not sure if somebody can score me an Aid Another bonus (Cade?).

The idea is to soften her up before we decide what to do. I'm leaning towards hitting her with a Daze (DC13 is pretty low though) while Diego and Meredith and Cade jump in and wrestle the switch.

The far hand seems like such a long shot gamble that I would file it under plan Z 

Opinions? 

If it's Kosher to discuss this OOC, we should do it here 
[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Jul 22, 2007)

Dorine laughed. It looked like the crumbling of her plan had started to shatter her previous calm demeanor. "You think I'm a fool, Hoffmann? You guys aren't going to try anything as long as I've got some innocents to hold hostage. If you don't take me to that keystone, I'm gonna start shooting people."

"I said put that down," Ryland ordered, stepping forward. Dorine swung her gun around to point at his face, and he stopped in his tracks.

"You know what doctor? I don't like you. This assignment has been extremely aggravating. Lord, putting up with your casual arrogance, coupled with your monumental idiocy has almost driven me crazy. I just might shoot you anyway, if you don't SHUT UP!"


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## Friadoc (Jul 22, 2007)

"Hey!" Cade says firmly. "Forget the dig-nerd."

"Also, don't assume with us," says Cade simply enough. "We're not your regular group of plucky adventurers."

"So, Keystone?" Cade asks while pulling his PDA from his pocket with his left hand, the right is keeping the red dot centered on Dorine's chest. "Why does your boss want it?"

While Cade appears to be compling with Dorine's request, as well as keep her focused on either him or Larry, although he is keeping her covered, he's using his PDA to see if he can determine the frequency ranges of the detonator and jam it.

"Obviously it's important," says Cade. "Unless your boss just likes to throw away lives?" However, once he says that last part, he adds, "It's not Kenzington, is it?"

"Probably not," says Cade with a smirk. "There's gotta be tons more maniacs from fringe cults and Bond Villain dropouts in the world"

OOC

Computer Use +10, Disable Device +8, and Knowledge Technology +11

Hopefully, in various was and places, one or all of those will be applicable to getting this to work. 

I'll also spend another AP (#2) to adjust the roll by +1d6, I really want it to work.


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## Falkus (Jul 24, 2007)

"Well gee, what could anybody want with something that could be used to predict the future," Dorine said, sarcastically, and then shouted. "Hey, you're negotiating! I thought I told you not do that! Less talk, more finding ancient magical artifacts!"

After a bit of work, and quietly rearranging the electronics on his PDA, Cade THINKS he has something that will jam the signal from the detonator.


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## Friadoc (Jul 25, 2007)

"No, silly girl, negotiating is for rabbits," says Cade with a cold smirk. "That was stalling and normally this is the point I put a bullet in the attempted mass murder's head." 

For emphasis Cade moves the red dot of his laser site to aim between right between her eyes, ironically enough it's where the sixth chakra or third eye would be for foresight and prognostication.

"Since the signal's jammed," Cade holds his PDA up before shoving it into his pocket, more as a signal for Team Libra than for Dorine. "So stand down or be put down."

It's quite obvious that Cade's not bluffing or blustering, he's just giving her a chance before he puts a bullet in her head. 

If his desire not to kill her was a switch, it just got flipped to the off position and it's easy enough to read on his face.


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## Shayuri (Jul 25, 2007)

Meredith launches herself at Dorine's hand, meaning to try to get her thumb on its switch before Dorine can release it, then wrest it out of her hand. Not that she doesn't trust Cade, but there's all kinds of thing that can go wrong with this...


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## iwatt (Jul 25, 2007)

_Ah hell..._

Larry keeps all his attention focused on the switch, hoping he hat the skill to keep the button presses if she releases.


OOC: I'll use an AP for Inititiative and ready a Far Hand...


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## Falkus (Jul 26, 2007)

As Dorine stared at Larry, unbeliievingly, Meredith leapt forward, grabbed Dorine and slammed her against the wall. Grappling for control of the detonator, after a few seconds, they both lost control of it as Dorine broke free, and it slipped out of their hands, falling towards the floor.

Fortunately, Larry was on the ball, and managed to keep the button pressed with his mental powers. Dorine brought her gun around, and combat was joined.

Meanwhile, Dr Ryker and his team were succumbing to panic, and were making a run for the entrance.

[sblock]
Initiative
Dorine: 22
Meredith: 19
Larry: 19
Cade: 15
Diego: 15
Nick: 4
[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Jul 27, 2007)

oO She had her chance Oo thinks Cade as he resigns himself to what must come now.

Having tracked Dorine during the scuffle, Cade opens fire on her as she breaks away from Meredith with no further warning or hesitation.


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## iwatt (Jul 28, 2007)

Seeing the chaotic melee unfolding, Larry did the only sane thing. He called the detonator to him at the same time he advanced towards it. Once it was securely in his grasp, he moves so as to place Meredith between himself and Dorine. He didn't leave because he had no idea if the thing would go off if he got to far from the explosives.


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## kinem (Jul 28, 2007)

Diego will try to tackle Dorine and bring her down.

(ooc: touch att +5, grapple +5)


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## industrygothica (Jul 28, 2007)

Nick is staying the hell out of the way of the gunfire, backing up and drawing his own.  He also readies _magic missile_, just in case.


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## Falkus (Aug 1, 2007)

Dorine stepped away from Meredith, and fired at Larry. She was still a bit dazed from her collision from the wall, and the bullet went wild, ricocheting off the walls of the cavern.

Meredith spent the round getting her sword out of its carrying case.

Like a Jedi Knight who had given up lightsabers in favor of high explosives, Larry used his telekinetic abilities to call the detonator to his hand, where it landed securely.

Cade fired his gun at Dorine, but missed as well in the chaotic melee that the tunnel had become.

Diego leapt at Dorine, but stumbled and missed grabbing a hold of her.

Nick got out of the line of fire safely.


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## industrygothica (Aug 1, 2007)

_Here goes nothing_, Nick thinks to himself.  He takes a deep breath as the gestures come to him, and releases the breath with a few words that would seem nonsensical to anyone listening.  As he finishes tracing the invisible pattern in the air in front of him, he realizes that he'll remember this moment forever as the first time he's tried this in front of anyone... or against them.

[sblock=ooc]Magic missile... at her weapon hand, in hopes she drops the gun.[/sblock]


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## Shayuri (Aug 1, 2007)

Feeling much more in control with her sword in hand, Meri swings the blessed steel in a vicious arc...that steps just before striking Dorine. The metal actually seems to keen a high pitched note as it vibrates slightly from the motion.

"Drop the gun, or lose the hand," Meredith says in a hard tone that's miles from her usual voice.

(essentially delaying attack to see what she does. If the gun doesn't clatter to the cave floor, or go to an ally, Meri will thwack her with the sword)


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## iwatt (Aug 1, 2007)

_That was pretty cool... I'm going to have to work on my telekinesis._ After the bullet wizzed past him, Larry yelps. "Goddamnit, take her down!". Looking around for whatever cover he could find, the telepath jumped behind a small rock and tried to make as small atarget as possible, holding the triggering device away from Dorine.

[sblock=ooc] Jump behind cover and go prone for the bonus to ranged defense. If there's no cover he moves so as to put Diego or Meredith in front of her again.[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Aug 1, 2007)

"Dorine," says Cade in a casual tone. "This is your last shot at coming out of this unscathed." 

With a nod to indicate Meredith, Cade says, "She's quite handy with that sword, battle tested and blooded." With a slight, resigned breath, he adds, "This is the last moment I can promise safety, please take it, our track record keeping wounded prisoners alive is pretty lousy."

Cade's trademark joking grin is not present when he adds the last, seemingly joking comment.

OOC

Cade will also delay his action, keeping his sidearm trained on Dorine.


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## Falkus (Aug 4, 2007)

Dorine started to aim her gun, when a bolt of blue force shot out of Nick's hand as he completed the spell. It hit her right in the hand, and set the gun flying. She cursed, and then stared down Meredith's sword as Cade and Meredith delivered their threats.

She raised her hands, reluctantly, and spat in Meredith's face.


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## Friadoc (Aug 4, 2007)

With an exacerbated sigh, Cade says with a sly wink to Meredith, "If you wanna cut her down, we'll all say she still had the gun...right guys?"


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## iwatt (Aug 4, 2007)

"Cut it out Cade. Search her in case she has more weapons or anything useful," he says as he rises to his feet, "and then can someone see to the bomb. Dorine, sweety, if you so much as blink the wrong way again, I'll have Meri cut your head off and just have the Doc here talk to your skull. There's only so much aggravation I'll put up with, and that spit just filled your quota." 

Turning to Nick, "Nice shot Doc. Now maybe we can start on some damage control." under his breath, he adds "I wish we had one of those flashy light thingy's for people's memories."

Using the Doc for cover, Larry focuses his senses on the trigger device, trying to sense who'd owned it before the girl, and comparing it to the mental picture of everybody he'd seen in the dig. He was looking for accomplices. 

[sblock=OOC]
-Bluff on the Dorine with +14, I assume she's still intimidated by me, but if not it's a +9 check to have her properly cowed again.
-Using Object Reading trying to find out who has handled what and take 10 with my +5 Autohypnosis check to remember faces.[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Aug 4, 2007)

oO Gee, ya think? Oo thinks Cade as he moves up to search Dorine quite handedly. Although he is very thorough, or attempts to be, Cade is very professional about the search and while his hands do not linger inappropriately, they do not shy away from making sure his team is safe.

"Spittin' is just foul, man," says Cade in a down home fashion. "Low class and bad for the genepool."

OOC

+5 on Search and +3 on Spot


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## Shayuri (Aug 4, 2007)

Meredith blinks a bit at the spit, but doesn't even wipe it off her face. She keeps the sword where it is, her eyes never straying from Dorine.

"Relax guys, it's not like it's acid or poison here. Spit, I can handle. You can't be a reporter and not handle spit. It's like janitors and vomit. Comes with the territory."

To Dorine she says nothing, figuring the sword and unwavering attention is probably all that needs to be communicated.


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## Falkus (Aug 5, 2007)

In Dorine's backpack, there was a kilogram of C4, enough to bring the tunnel down on all your heads. Fortunately, disarming it was as simple as removing the detonator.

Larry held the detonator, and beginning viewing its history of ownership. The first few images are of Dorine, but then there's a vision of a military type man in some sort of armory in what appears to be a military base, and he's handing it and the bomb over to Dorine.


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## Friadoc (Aug 5, 2007)

"Hey, Doc," says Cade as he looks over at Nick. "I think you should keep the plastique and the detonator, okay?"

"You're the demo expert," adds Cade with a grin.


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## industrygothica (Aug 6, 2007)

Nick is looking at his hands, studying them, and a little more than surprised that his spell worked.  _I really _can_ do it_ he mouths to himself.  He'd thought the others might be a little more impressed, too--but they hadn't really seemed to notice. [/i]Maybe they can't see it like I can?[/i]

_Hmm,_ he shrugs, and Cades words seem to draw him from his trance.

"Wha...  Oh, yeah.  Not a problem," he says as he reaches for the pack and secures the detonator and remote switch in another compartment.

[SBLOCK=ooc]_Nick_ is an expert at explosives--_I_, obviously, am not.  If storing the detonator and switch in a compartment on the same bag is bad, I'll assume someone'll let me know ooc so that I can make Nick look smarter IC.  kthx. [/sblock]


----------



## Shayuri (Aug 6, 2007)

"Nick," Meri says. "There was a flash or something when we went for her. Did you see it? Was it something she did? I only saw out of the corner of my eye."


----------



## Friadoc (Aug 6, 2007)

With a sincere smile, as Cade hands Nick the C-4 and detonator, he adds, "Nice shot, Doc."

"I swear, I'm starting to feel like the normal one around here," jokes Cade with a chuckle.

If possible, Cade will keep the conversation away from Dorine, once she's secured, since she doesn't need to know that any of Team Libra's skills are new and untested.

OOC

So long as the blasting cap is removed from the plastique, you could set it on fire, or shoot it with a gun, and it won't explode - God Bless modern science.

If you like, I'm sure you could wiki the snot out of demolitions topics and learn enough to sound convincing.

*grins*

Myself, I spent way too much time as a boom junkie as a kid and my time in the Marines helped.


----------



## iwatt (Aug 6, 2007)

Disconnecting himself from the vision, Larry signals the rest that he's ready to go. "I'll go see to Ryland and maybe try to make some damage control."

Once he finds the Archaelogist, he tries to calm the man down, and then tries to explain what happened. "Doctor Ryland, I was hoping we could have captured her without causing such a ruckus. If we could speak privately, I'd like to explain." Once they are alone, Larry continues with his explanation. "As I'm sure you're already well aware of, there is a lot of unscrupulous private collectors out there that would love to get their hands on anything new you would find. The people funding this dig felt that maybe some extra security wouldn't be out of place. I'm sorry they decided to keep you in the dark, but they felt that revealing our true purpose might have been a distraction. There's also the issue on a unaccredited security force working in a foreign country, but there definitely is a feeling that the local law enforcement isn't 100% trustworthy. I know this is a lot to take in, but I still feel it would be best if we kept these things quiet from the rest of your people. It would only serve to make them nervous, and make our job more difficult."


[sblock=ooc]
Bluff, bluff, bluff 

Industry: I was trying to make our team sound like badasses, so I didn't want to go around and ruin the mood in front of our captive by waxing all fanboyish  Just wait or some alone time.

[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Aug 6, 2007)

iwatt said:
			
		

> [sblock=ooc]Industry: I was trying to make our team sound like badasses, so I didn't want to go around and ruin the mood in front of our captive by waxing all fanboyish  Just wait or some alone time.[/sblock]




[sblock]Wasn't really fishing there, or at least not intentionally. I can't help but think that if it was a real situation though, that someone might turn a head at the sight, despite the things that we've already seen.  I know I would.  In any case, sorry if it seems like I was fishing for something.[/sblock]




			
				Shayuri said:
			
		

> "Nick," Meri says. "There was a flash or something when we went for her. Did you see it? Was it something she did? I only saw out of the corner of my eye."




Nick shrugs, still trying to let it soak in.  "Yeah," he says absently.  "There might have been something."


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## Shayuri (Aug 6, 2007)

(I didn't see it that way at all...I was grateful for the reminder ...I figured Meri was so focused on Dorine she just didn't see what had happened.)


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## Falkus (Aug 7, 2007)

Dr Ryland and his crew, with their head start, were already down at the main site, getting into their cars and jeeps as Larry arrived at the entrance of the tunnels. The archaeologists were leaving with speeds more commonly associated with drag racing rather than navigating mountain roads.

Two figures were making their way up the mountain, though, who weren't part of Ryland's team. Agent Duffmann, and a blond, WiB that you hadn't seen before.

Larry's cellphone buzzed at this moment. There was a text message on it. 'My counterpart in Athens just picked up a call to the police in your area about a gun battle. Anything we should know about? -Z'


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## iwatt (Aug 7, 2007)

Quickly dialing Z before the MiBs arrived, he updates her on the story. "And I tried reaching the civilians before they left, but I was too late. How do you want us to control the information? Also, a couple of our friendly neighborhood MiBs are showing up, so it's text messages once again."

Waiting for them at the entrance to the cave, Larry makes sure he can makes his way back down the caves if things go sour. Duffman had proven a straight shooter so far, but maybe access to the Delphi prophecies would change things. He didn't forget that he'd meant Duffman over the barrel of a gun, after all.


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## Falkus (Aug 10, 2007)

"Shouldn't be a problem, as long as they didn't see anything obviously supernatural. We'll tie up the police and contain Ryland and his crew, you finish your job," Z replied, after a moment's thought. "Let us know how it goes with Duffmann."

"Larry!" Duffmann shouted as he approached, holding a lit cigarette in his hands. "We see the good doctor and his team make a break for it, intercept a call to the police about a gun battle, and I just know that you guys in the middle of it. And am I right? Of course I am."

"So, this one of those Hoffmann institute clowns you were telling me about?" the WiB asked Duffmann, not introducing herself.

Duffmann chuckled nervously. "Now, now. I didn't use that exact word. Oh, Larry, you haven't met my new partner yet. This is Agent Pierce. She's new to the job. I'm breaking her in, so to speak."

On the inside, Dorine, as she was restrained, disarmed and defused (Nick safely stashing away the C4), looked at the four agents present and said, "A million apiece. Let me go, get me that artifact, and I can pay you more money than you'll ever see in a lifetime at the Hoffmann Institute."


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## Shayuri (Aug 10, 2007)

Meri chuckles.

"You oughtta know by now we're not in this for the money."

She pauses, and admits, "Well, not ONLY for the money. Hey, Duffman. Agent Pierce, hi. I'd wave, but I'm afraid I'd accidentally decapitate our prisoner."


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## Friadoc (Aug 10, 2007)

"Dorine," says Cade has he hoslters his sidearm, his tone quite frank. "I keep tellin' you, we're the good guys."

"If we were the type who could be bought," says Cade with a cold smirk. "You'd be dead and I'd have a deepsea base."

Once the MiBs arrive, Cade looks up and chuckles a bit.

"Okay, this must be between part one and two," says Cade as he waves to Duffmann and company. "Best watch it, she splits on you by the next movie."


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## iwatt (Aug 10, 2007)

> "We see the good doctor and his team make a break for it, intercept a call to the police about a gun battle, and I just know that you guys in the middle of it. And am I right? Of course I am."




"Duffman! So you letting us do the heavy lifting again?"



> "So, this one of those Hoffmann institute clowns you were telling me about?" the WiB asked Duffmann, not introducing herself.
> 
> Duffmann chuckled nervously. "Now, now. I didn't use that exact word. Oh, Larry, you haven't met my new partner yet. This is Agent Pierce. She's new to the job. I'm breaking her in, so to speak."




"Clowns? I guess you could call Cade that, but I'm all style, baby." Trying to keep the MiBs off balance, the con-man adds. "So a brand new replacement? She know what happened to your last partner, Duffman?"

After a moment he continues with, "So I guess you wouldn't believe me if I told you we were been mugged? Or attacked by a bear?" Pointing down the tunnel he says. "Come with me, maybe you can help us after all." With nothing else to add, he turns on the charm on the WiB. "So Pierce, how are you enjoying the wonderful world of the paranormal? It isn't all about space bugs and demons, you know."

OOC: I was going to try and bluff the MiBs, but it seems you all welcome the complication. Never let it be said that I'll put a damper on the excitement.


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## Friadoc (Aug 10, 2007)

OOC

I think I got confused, more so I confused myself, as to where they were when Cade spoke, but it's all good.


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## industrygothica (Aug 11, 2007)

Nick looks at Dorine, still pleased that his magic worked.  He hoists the bag of explosives over his shoulder and steps toward the stupid girl.  Pointing his finger at her he asks, "So who'd you say you worked for again?"

[sblock=ooc]I'm hoping for one hell of an intimidate check here, what with guns, swords pointed at her, not to mention whatever this old guy was shooting out of his fingers.[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Aug 13, 2007)

"Always," Duffmann said in reply to Larry.

"I know what's what," Agent Pierce said, as well, staring at Larry. She didn't seem to be easily shakeable. 

"Let's go take a look a what you've got. Let's hope I don't get shot this time," following Larry into the cave complex.



Inside, Dorine shrank back from Nick's finger. "The Bilderbergers! I work for the Bilderberg group!" she cried out, her composure finally cracking.


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## iwatt (Aug 14, 2007)

Before they reach the others, Larry texts Cade warning him about returning with the 2 MiBs.

"I don't think it'll be bullets this time. Something freaky, maybe. But bullets are so last season."


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## Friadoc (Aug 14, 2007)

Once Cade receives Larry's message, he'll inform the others before making the previous cracks/jokes that he made to the MiBs upon their arrival.


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## industrygothica (Aug 15, 2007)

"Hrmph," Nick shrugs.  "I wonder why they're interested."


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## Friadoc (Aug 17, 2007)

"Power," says Cade simply enough. "It's like Mothra and a plasma torch."


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## Shayuri (Aug 17, 2007)

Meredith lowers her sword, seeing that Dorine seems to have broken, and not wanting her to accidentally cut herself open by moving too fast. She keeps it ready though.

At Cade's words, Meri gives him a perplexed look and repeats, "Mothra? What the hell are you talking about?"


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## Falkus (Aug 18, 2007)

"Well, well, you never cease to amaze me," Agent Duffmann said, once he saw Dorine. Despite the dust and dirt of ages, he and Pierce had managed to keep their suits relatively clean throughout the trek in the tunnels. Must be an MiB special ability

"You've gone and captured yourself a high-priced, international mercenary," he said. "Dorine. Last name unknown. A true psychopath, enjoys killing people."

"You, I should have known you were involved in this," Dorine said, spitting in Duffmann's direction. He neatly stepped back and avoided it.

"On the contrary, my dear. I'm merely a disinterested third party. She knows about magic and the other facts of life, but is not experienced with it. Sells her services at high prices. Extremely dangerous, but too unreliable to be considered for use by the Freemasons," Duffmann finished the recital. "And, as you've probably guessed, we've met before."

"So, are you going to kill her?"


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## iwatt (Aug 18, 2007)

As Duffman avoids the spittle, Larry grins at Meredith and says, "See, that's how you do it."

At the MiBs cold blooded question, Larry shakes his head. "No, not unless she get's difficult. It's such a pain to question corpses, don't you think." Turning a pitiless glare on the woman, he adds coldly. "And you're gonna play nice now, aren't you swetheart."


[sblock] No intention of murdering her, but Duffman doesn't have to know about it, bluff +14[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Aug 18, 2007)

For a moment Cade seems stunned by Meredith's words, in fact one could almost swear that his eyelids make a noise when they blink before he answers here.

"Mothra," says Cade, as if that should be enough of an answer, then he adds, "Created by Takehiko Fukunaga, for Toho tokusatsu films. Giant moth, sometimes she fights Godzilla, sometimes she don't."

"Damn, I need to drag you to a movie, or nine,"  says Cade as the Duffman and sidekick arrive.

"We could always turn her in for some money," adds Cade, with respects towards the comments about Dorine. "I'm sure someone has a few bills on her mentally deficient head."


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## kinem (Aug 18, 2007)

Diego is sullen, ashamed that he'd been so completely taken in by the deceptive little bitch.

He brightens up a little at Cade's last comment, though.  "Good idea."

Of course, he doesn't really expect they'd turn her over to anyone but the Hoffman Institute.  Nice to play with her head to return the favor a bit, though.


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## Falkus (Aug 25, 2007)

"There's nothing more I have to tell you. You think my bosses tell me who they are? I work on my own, I get my orders over the internet," Dorine said. Meredith could tell that she was lying through her teeth and was desperately trying to get the team to drop the interrogation. Judging by her tone and stance, Dorine knew a significant amount of valuable information.


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## Shayuri (Aug 25, 2007)

Meri utters a bark of laughter.

"Oh honey," she says, almost pityingly. "You're going to have to do a LOT better than that. And I know what you're thinking. These Hoffman dweebs, they might be good in a fight, but they're wusses when it comes to interrogation."

She nods at Duffman. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. He's not with Hoffman. He knows interrogation techniques that would send a hardened CIA agent running to yark out his lunch into the Mediterranean. And you've met our talented mage...you really think that little bolt of light is all he can do? You can't do magic if you're faint of heart."

"So you can talk to us all, right now...or to them...later."


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## Friadoc (Aug 25, 2007)

While Meri is talking to Dorine, Cade says, "I'd suggest starting simple, just got to town on her toes with a ball peen hammer."

As the young man turns to leave, he adds, "Start with the pinky toes, they hurt more, but they're less crucial to mobility."

"Anyhow," says Cade. "Before I was so rudely interupted, I was off to make a call."

"Dorine, I suggest you talk to them before I get back," says Cade as he makes his way towards the mouth of the cave, so as to contact Hoffmann with the information that they have so far on the "oracles" and their effect on their hosts. Hopefully it may help save the little girl.

OOC

Using my class ability, to give their interrogation/intimidates a +2, hopefully.


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## Falkus (Aug 26, 2007)

Director Stanfield is on the line. After listening to Cade's update on the situation, he sounds pleased. "Good job. Looks like you know what do now. Go get the ruby, and get it back here to the States. Also get any other artifacts present, like this keystone and the oracles. We don't want to leave these things lying around. Try to keep the Freemasons in the dark as much as possible. Try not to let them know you're on to something solid."

*****​
"Go ahead!" Dorine snarled, regaining some of her earlier bravado. "I know enough about you bleeding hearts that you're not going to let him touch me."

"That's because the Hoffmann Insitute, my dear," Duffmann said, a grim look appearing on hs face. "Can do so much more worse things to you without having to lay a single finger on you. I'm sure you've heard the rumors about their psionic agents."

Duffmann then glanced at the team. "Do you still need us here? I'm not here to help you on your assignment, you know, I'm here to watch the people watching me watch you."


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## Shayuri (Aug 26, 2007)

"I think we're good," Meri says. "As soon as Cade gets back with updated orders, we'll get back to business. Thanks."


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## Friadoc (Aug 26, 2007)

Walking in Cade looks at Dorine and says, "Why are her shoes still on?"

With a sigh, Cade shakes his head, "Anyhow, we're to clean up here, get what we can out of Dorine and then extract ourselves."

"Thanks for the heads up, Duffmann," says Cade with a grin. "Although it'd be nice if you had a flashy thing to lone us, we should be able to work a solid clean-up with the locals, too. Our FBI covers are still usable, so things should be good."


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## iwatt (Aug 27, 2007)

Once the Freemason's move out, "Me and Diego will keep an eye on the girl, you guys do the clening up. Anybody elese tired of her yapping?" without further ado, he improvises a gag from a kerchief and keeps the girl quiet. 

Typing something on his PDA, he IMs the rest of the team. Menawhile he keeps up some cheerful banter. "So once again Team Libra for the win, this was an easy assignment."


DUFMAN MIGHT BUGGED US? PLAY IT COOL? NOT TRUST HIM MUCH. MAKE CONTINGENCY?​


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## Shayuri (Aug 27, 2007)

Meri shrugs and IM's, -HOW? NEVER TOUCHED US. MAYBE THIS CALLING EVEN WITH ME?-

"You know, that's just as bad as asking what could possibly go wrong, right?" she says with a smirk.

"Lets find this thing and get out of here."


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## Friadoc (Aug 27, 2007)

Out of a sense of caution, Cade will do a quick scan of the area for any surveilance equipment using his PDA, between the comms gear and other functions he might be able to rig up something effective.

"I'm serious, Folks, why are her shoes still on," says Cade, although the shake of his head tells you that he's not serious, for now. "We need results here."

OOC

Computer Use +11, Craft Electronics +11, Craft Mechanical +10, Knowledge Technology +10, I think somewhere in that should cover the bug counter measures/search or give a bonus to my Search +5.


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## Falkus (Aug 29, 2007)

"You have a good day, now," Duffmann said, touching hs forehead with his fingers in a slight salute. "Ok, Pierce, let's get back to the car. We've got our orders." The two Freemasons disappeared into the darkness of the cavern, presumably heading back outside.

Cade can't detect any electronic listening or tracking devices on any of the team member or the cavern in general after modifying his PDA into a simple scanner. It looks like Duffmann's assignmentdidn't involve directly spying on Team Libra. Or that he was really, really good at hiding bugs.


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## Friadoc (Aug 29, 2007)

"We're in the clear," says Cade once the scan is finished. "I don't think DeMolay stuck any crickets on us."

"The Director wants us to clean up the area," says Cade as he sends a list of objectives, per discussion with Stanfield, to each teams' PDAs, which talks about what to look for and recover and why. "Now, Dorine..."

Cade turns, kneeling down near the woman and he looks her dead in the eyes, so that she can see he means what he is about to say.

"I suggest that you tell us anything that we need to know," says Cade calmly. "I don't have much use for people who threaten mass murder of innocents and while I'm a nice guy, I also think that I'm on the right side here and protecting good people."

"Which means, I can and will trade your life for those of an innocent," says Cade with no hint of guile in his eyes or voice. Bringing his right hand up in front of Dorine's face, the young man snaps his fingers. "Like that..."

"So, are you going to help us, lil' miss," suggest Cade with a cool smile and a hint of country boy. "Or be 'dead' weight?"

OOC

Okay, as of yet Cade does not have any points in intimidate, but although he is trying to intimidate Dorine, he's also telling her the flat out truth.

In his mind, the life of that little girl outweighs that of someone who just threatened to kill his Team and the faculty and students of the dig sight.

While it is more frontier justice than civilized, Cade doesn't want to see the girl lost in this shuffle of power.


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## iwatt (Aug 29, 2007)

"She'll behave. She knows I'm not a nice guy." Turning to Dorine, he jerks his thumb at Cade, "So if the boss thinks you're getting in the way...." The coldness in his eyes clearly show what he means. "Don't worry boss, me and Diego will keep an eye on her. Let's get cracking before we receive any more uninvited guests."


OOC:

Larry does have ranks in Intimidate up the wazoo. By now she's either cowed or immune to fear, so I doubt there's much more to do with her, and torturing her isn't an option.


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## Falkus (Sep 3, 2007)

"I don't know anything more than you do about this place!" Dorine said, panicking again. "What do you want me to tell you?"


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## Friadoc (Sep 3, 2007)

Cade looks at Dorine for a long three count, after panicked comments, before turning slowly to Larry and nodding as he says, "Okay, keep an eye on her."

"Well, you heard Face,"  says Cade with his trademark smile back in place. "Let's strip the joint before anyone else pokes their noses in."

"How about we triple up, Doc,"  suggests Cade. "Me, you, and Blade sweep the place for anything on the Director's Christmas list?"

OOC

Cade's Search is +5 and Spot is +4, he'll also try and use his PDA sonic imaging suite and capabilities to assist in fidning things and, possibly, hidden rooms or passages.

Hopefully it'll add a +2 bonus to our activities, since we're working together.


----------



## Shayuri (Sep 3, 2007)

"She may not know about the caves, but she knows plenty else...don't let her get away. We'll have other questions for her soon," Meredith says, then sheathes her sword.

"All right. Deeper in?"


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## industrygothica (Sep 3, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> "All right. Deeper in?"




"Definitely.."


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## Falkus (Sep 10, 2007)

With Diego and Larry guarding the defeated, dejected, desolate and despicable Dorine with unusual alliteration, Meredith, Nick and Cade made their way deeper into the tunnels. They occasionally came across the skeletal remains of soviet soldiers and civilians, but nothing otherwise unsusual.

After about twenty minutes, they made their way into the central chamber in the north. To Nick's expert eye, it appeared to be a temple area and meeting hall, if the ruby and keystone's were being kept anywhere, it was here. He also saw something that would put horror into the heart of any archaeologist.

Somebody had been here first, judging by the dust patterns and the various objects in the room, and had removed several items. It was no coincidence that there was no sign of the artifacts that the team was looking for.

There were about six Soviet skeletons scattered about the room. One of them, at the base of the alter, had a book clutched in his skeletal hands.


----------



## industrygothica (Sep 12, 2007)

ooc: Sorry for the delay

"Small problem," Nick says.  "Someone's beat us to it.  Whatever we're looking for is gone."

Nick spot the book in the skeleton's hand.  "But this..." he says as he reaches out for it.  "This could be interesting."


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## Friadoc (Sep 13, 2007)

"Sonofa..." Cade lets that trail off as he turns to look  at what Nick has found. "A journal, maybe?"


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## Shayuri (Sep 13, 2007)

Meredith leaves the book to Cade and Nick. She on the other hand decides to check out the altar. Maybe it was just bad movies, but it seemed to her that these kinds of things always had some kind of hidden compartment...

She hunkers down near the stone table and starts tapping, pushing, pulling...looking for releases or catches while the others check the book out.

(Taking 20, basically, on Search for a result of 22)


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## Falkus (Sep 13, 2007)

Despite Meredith's pokings and prodings, she couldn't find anything unusual about the altar. No secret passages, no death traps, nothing. There was one thing she found, however. Markings on the altar suggested that, at some point, a burst of automatic weapons fire had ricocheted off of it. As she moved about the room, she found several spent shells lying on the floor.

The book Nick picked up was indeed a journal, as Cade suspected. It was the journal of one Dr Alik Vasilev, a member of a group called the KGB Paranormal division. Many of the earlier entries had been destroyed by time, but the later ones were still legible.

[sblock="The Journal"]June 19, 1959
We have finally arrived at Greece, near the coordinate of the German dig site. I only wish I could have gotten permission for this expedition earlier. There are twenty of us, ten archeologists and ten soldiers. Captain Ivanov is heading up the military contingent, I command the archeologists.

June 21, 1959
I lead Project Foresight, a vital part of the USSR’s paranormal research. The goal of our expedition is to retrieve the Prophecy Stone that was used by the oracles of ancient times to control their ability to predict the future. We also seek the means by which the oracles achieved their precognitive abilities which, according to the documents we retrieved from Germany after we conquered Moscow, should be stored in the same site.

With the ability to predict the future, and to control the oracle’s precognitive abilities, the Soviet Union shall reign supreme over the world.

June 22, 1959
Odd, the reports we recovered from Berlin after the war indicated that the dig site was simply ended because of the worsening situation for the Germans in the war, but we’ve found the remains of several dead German soldiers. It seems they died violently. We had them analyzed and disposed of. Probably nothing to be concerned about. No doubt they died from a military strike or some such event.

June 29, 1959
My God! I was in a more isolated area of the ruins today, when Captain Ivanov tried to inject me with something. I just barely managed to avoid it. I demanded to know what he was doing, but he just kept coming at me. I managed to draw my pistol, and shot him in the heart. My God, when he died, he just fell apart into a pile of sand. What was he? What happened? I dare not report it, for I know no one will believe me. Instead, I won’t mention it, and hopefully, the others will assume he’s gone missing or perhaps deserted and defected. I have a friend in the Moscow university chemistry department, I’ll send him a sample of the sand, and see what he can make of it.

My God, I still can’t believe it.

July 9, 1959
The KGB Paranormal special operations group arrived in force today; they almost exposed the dig site when they arrived. Somehow, they found out what had happened, my friend at the university must have reported it. They interrogated me heavily about Captain Ivanov, and arrested two more people from the expedition, after performing blood tests. No doubt this is related to whatever it was that Ivanov was. The KGB told me never to speak of it again, under the pain of death, and that the only reason I wasn’t being liquidated was because of the importance of my project.

July 12, 1959
We finally reached the main chamber today, and finally found the artifacts we came here for. A medium sized, ornamentally carved stone was key among them. Odd, now that I look at it, the carvings are in Egpytian Hieroglyphics, not Greek. Perhaps it is older than we thought, and did not originate in Greece. I shall have to take time to translate them later.

The other artifacts included a strange ruby that glowed with a powerful inner light, and about a dozen sealed, stone jars. They have resisted all of my analysis attempts so far. The readings I’m getting from the ruby simply cannot be true. I need more reliable equipment.

July 13, 1959
The artifacts have been shipped off back to the Motherland. I will join them once we have completed our studies of the writings here, and sealed the site. It seems a shame not to more thoroughly investigate this archeological wonder, but we cannot afford to let the Americans discover what was held here.

July 14, 1959
Rykov, one of my assistants, has gone missing. I’ve ordered some of the soldiers to look for him, he probably injured himself 

July 15, 1959
My God, we found Rykov. He’s been torn limb from limb by some inhuman force. What could have done this to him? It’s set most of the expedition on edge.

The replacement military commander has ordered us to make a final sweep of the premises for any valuable artifacts or information, and then he’s going to collapse it with demolitions charges. A shame, but, given the circumstances, understandable.

July 16, 1959
The legends were true, so it seems. I, and the survivors of the expedition, have barricaded ourselves inside the main chamber. Earlier today, two of the archeologists were killed, torn to pieces, before our eyes as we were preparing the demolition charges to collapse the site. It was a giant Minotaur; it matched the description of the Greek legends too closely to be anything else. We must have awoken it when we removed the artifacts. I suppose that if the legends of the Oracle of Delphi are true, then so must the other Greek legends. Fascinating, it must be the guardian spoken of in the histories of this place.

July 17, 1959
This will be my final entry, for I am trapped and bleeding to death. So much for my dreams of being the hero of the Soviet Union in my lifetime. Hopefully, my name and my research will live on. The Minotaur attacked us in the main chamber, tearing several of us to pieces, and severely injuring me. The last four soldiers fled in the confusion. I heard the explosives detonate at the entrance a minute ago, so I would be unable to leave even if I could walk.

Thank God that the artifacts have been shipped to the Hammerfall Base. My assistant is there, he will be able to determine how they function. Long live the USSR.
[/sblock]

Suddenly, all the members of the team heard the echo of a bestial roar of rage coming from somewhere within the complex.


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## industrygothica (Sep 13, 2007)

"Hammerfall," Nick whispers.  "Looks like we're going to Russ..."  His words are cut off by the bestial roar.

"But... that thing can't _still_ be here?  We've got to get out, the mouth of this place is still open. If it's true, we can't let it out of here."


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## Shayuri (Sep 13, 2007)

With a metallic ringing noise, Meredith draws her sword and backs away from the altar, looking around.

"Lets worry about it getting out once we're out ourselves. Judging from the number of bullets they shot, this thing doesn't go down easily."


----------



## Friadoc (Sep 13, 2007)

Cade quickly unpacks his weapons, he holsters the sidearm in a tactical rig on his right leg and tactically slings the rifle so that it rests in front of him and is easy to wring to bear on any foe.

"Larry, Diego, we're on the way to you," says Cade into his comms. "Keep your eyes peeled for something big and nasty!"

With a sly chuckle, Cade says, "Man, I wish all those people who said D&D wasn't practical right now."

"I'll take point, Mere the rear," says Cade as he moves to into position. "Doc, you call out directions and movement sensor hits from the center. Cover Mere and I as needed, okay?"

Once everyone looks ready, Cade will move out holding his rifle, ready for action.

OOC

Quick point of order, just so we're clear on it, Cade's weapons are setup per below.

The rifle is loaded up with WP rounds and the sidearm is loaded up with the blessed rounds.


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## industrygothica (Sep 14, 2007)

Nick takes up his heaviest weapon and nods.  "Just get us out of here _quick_."

[sblock=ooc]I don't remember what sort of weapons he has since we've restocked at the institute, so you'll have to help me out here.[/sblock]


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## kinem (Sep 14, 2007)

The roar startles Diego, and seems to snap him out of his reverie.

"What the fukk is that?" he demands of the walls.

He draws his Glock, and replaces the magazine, preferring to try the blessed rounds against what he can only guess could be a supernatural threat.


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## iwatt (Sep 14, 2007)

"Sweetheart, it seems we're gonna party. Don't try anything stupid, and I promise I won't feed you to the big nasty coming our way. Mace, cover us while we wait for Joker and the others." Drawing his gun, he keeps a cold glare on Dorine. No point loosing sight that they already had a monster to control.


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## Falkus (Sep 16, 2007)

> I don't remember what sort of weapons he has since we've restocked at the institute, so you'll have to help me out here.




OOC: I believe Nick still has his Glock 17 loaded with blessed Ammo.

As Cade, Nick and Meredith exited the main chamber, they heard a scream coming from one of the other entrance tunnels. A blip appeared on the motion detector, but quickly disappeared. The creature was behind them somewhere.

"What are you doing? We have to leave now!" Dorine shouted at Diego and Larry. "That things going to kill us like to killed those Soviet soldiers unelss we get out of here!"


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## Friadoc (Sep 16, 2007)

"Switch up, Mere," says Cade to Meredith and Nick. "I've got rearguard, seems our friend is behind us. I'll drop the route back to the guys on your PDA and Nick's."

With that, Cade slings his rifle so so that the barrel rests tactically in the crook of his left arm, so that he can bring the weapon to bear on a target, but still see his own PDA, which is in his left hand.


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## Shayuri (Sep 16, 2007)

"If it's behind us, then we should both be here," Meri says tensely.

"You can shoot it, but when it closes the distance I'll try to hold it off and give you a few more shots."

She pauses, then adds, "Shoot for the legs. Maybe it'll slow it down even if it doesn't kill it."


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## Friadoc (Sep 16, 2007)

"Don't worry," says Cade as he moves to the rear. "I'm not tyring to protect the girl."

Cade continues, as the group moves forward, "With your at the front, it'll give the Doc and I open ground to shoot without worrying about hitting you."

"If it makes it through our field of fire," says Cade with a chuckle. "Then you can get all Buffy on his a$$. Promise."


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## industrygothica (Sep 17, 2007)

"That's ok though," Nick says.  "I don't plan on being here long enough to fire."


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## iwatt (Sep 17, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> "What are you doing? We have to leave now!" Dorine shouted at Diego and Larry. "That things going to kill us like to killed those Soviet soldiers unelss we get out of here!"





"Doll, keep quiet and let the big boy's play. We're waiting right here for the rest, and then we're going to walk out this place nice and easy." In any case, Larry moves to a side of the room, trying to keep out of sight of whatever was roaring out there. The Desert eagle on his hand a reassurring weight. On the radio, he sends a message to the team. "Joker, my date is getting antsy to leave the prom. Can't say I blame her. Hurry up an I'll spring for the limo."


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## Shayuri (Sep 17, 2007)

Meredith rolls her eyes, but takes the recommended position.

"Again with the Buffy thing. Don't make me get all quippy now. I've got a snappy quip, and I'm not afraid to use it."


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## Friadoc (Sep 17, 2007)

"You're not cynical enough to be Faith," says Cade with a chuckle. "Hot enough, sure, but nowhere near as damaged."

"Only two names of pretty weapon wielding girls with a nice tu..."  Whatever Cade was about to finish is interupted by Larry's voice on the comm.

"Nice," says Cade with a smirk, while keeping his eyes peeled he replies to Larry.

"Well, Face, tell your date she's got two things she can be," says Cade quite seriously. "Bait or Quiet. It's her choice."

"Anyhow, we're on the way,"  says Cade. "Be ready and be wary."


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## Shayuri (Sep 18, 2007)

"You watch way too much TV, you know that?" Meri asks good-naturedly, but with a tense undertone as she scans the gloom for movement and continues moving towards the rendezvous.


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## Falkus (Sep 18, 2007)

The next eight minutes were unusually tense as the three intrepid agents made their way through the tunnel. The motion sensor kept indicating the presence of the beast, but only for a few seconds at a time. It seemed to have a preternatural ability to move throughout the caves. The complex was a sort of a maze, after all, the 'natural habitat' of a minotaur. After four minutes, the motion detector stopped picking up anything moving in the vicinity.

Soon, the team was reunited in the tunnels, and preparing to make their exit.

At this point, the blip on the motion detector returned, on the path between the team and the exit of the compound, and the menace revealed itself.

In front of the team, in between them and the tunnel towards the entrance, appeared a giant, bipedial monster that looked exactly like a minotaur. It roared angrily, and attention was quickly drawn to the large, iron axe it was carrying that was larger than Meredith. Its eyes were red and had a vicious gleam to them. It didn't seem to be open to negotiation. Even looking at it, one could realize that it was a creature with one purpose.

To kill.

The team was in trouble.

[sblock]The minotaur is one hundred feet away from the team

Initiative order
Cade: 25
Larry: 24
Meredith: 20
Nick: 11
Diego: 7
Minotaur: 4
[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Sep 18, 2007)

"You think so?" Cade asks mischievously. "It's probably to late to warn you all that I like role-playing games, too, huh?"

Although Cade is his normal jocular self, it's obvious that he's doing his best to keep track of the beast, too.

So, when the monstrosity shows its self, Cade doesn't even throw one quip or take a moments hesitation in taking action.

Moving slightly off to the side of the group, so as to gain a clear line of fire, Cade quickly brings the rifle to bear on the Minotaur and proceeds to fire at the center mass of the beast.


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## industrygothica (Sep 18, 2007)

"Holy sh..." Nick gasps and takes a step back, and probably looks like he's swatting bees as he waves his hands in the air aimlessly.

[sblock=ooc]mage armor[/sblock]


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## iwatt (Sep 18, 2007)

It took Larry a moment to understand what he's seeing. "Lost a ton of money betting on the Longhorns. Payback time! You ready to play matador, Meri?" Without waiting for a response, the con man let's loose with his desert eagle, hoping his bullets were enough to slow it down before it attacked.

[sblock=ooc] Use an AP on the shot[/sblock]


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## Shayuri (Sep 18, 2007)

"Jesus Christ that's a big axe," Meredith says shakily as she raises her sword.

Despite the rising bile in her gut, she moves out ahead of the others, blade of Galahad held in a defensive position as she repeats her in head like a mantra, _don't block the swing, direct it...don't block it, redirect it..._

"Nick...you got any mojo that can protect me? Yoda's taught me much..." she swallows. "But I'm not a Jedi yet."

(5' step towards  beastie and total defense as I hope for a buffing. )


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## kinem (Sep 19, 2007)

Diego was expecting something ... even something big and scary ... but he is still shocked to see an actual minotaur.

"Bull-!" he notes as he opens fire with the blessed rounds in his Glock.

(ooc: use an AP.

I will not have internet acess for the next week.)


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## Falkus (Sep 19, 2007)

Thunder and lightning boomed into the narrow confines of the cave as the team opened up with a variety of guns, sending lethal bits of lead hurtling down the corridor. 

Cade reacted first, shouldering his rifle and firing quickly. His shot was good, the heavy bullet impacted the cowlike monster right in the chest, opening up a heavy wound, singing its fur and causing it to roar in anger.

Larry, on the other hand, was a little more shocked, and pulled the trigger of his Desert Eagle prematurely. The .50 caliber bullet bounced off the floor and two walls, before it passed by Meredith's ear, and flew off down the hall.

Meredith moved to the front of the group, and adopted a defensive stance that came to her both from training and some form of genetic memory.

Nick preformed the incantations he had learned, and a feeling of protection came over him. He didn't feel invulnerable, but would be harder to hit.

Diego took aim and fired, hitting the beast in the left arm, and opening up a flesh wound that was bleeding, but not hindering the monster. The blessed rounds didn't seem to have any extra or beneficial affect.

The minotaur was staggered by this gunfire, but not stopped. It roared, narrowed its eyes, and charged. Right at Cade, who had injured him the most. The minotaur, with surprising quickness, raised its axe and brought it down heavily on Cade's gun, as the man himself backpedaled to try to avoid the blow. The axe easily cut through the wood and metal, smashing the gun into several pieces, and rendering it worthless for anything other than scrap metal and firewood.

Meredith took a swing at the monster with her sword as it passed by, opening itself up, but she just barely missed.

[sblock]Cade hits and deals 19 points of damage
Diego hits and deals 6 points of damage
The minotaur breaks Cades rifle[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Sep 19, 2007)

"Why you dirty sonuva..."

Quickly Cade throws himself backwards, tumbling away as he draws his sidearm and to open fire on the beast.

Meanwhile, Cade's mind scrambles for a weakness in this thing.

OOC

See below.


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## Falkus (Sep 19, 2007)

OOC: The minotaur is a large creature with a reach of ten feet. Cade will still be open to AOOs with just a five foot step.


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## Friadoc (Sep 19, 2007)

OOC


Okay, I'll edit my post and turn it into a tumble attempt, just base dex, to avoid the AoO and draw his sidearm.


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## industrygothica (Sep 19, 2007)

Putting full confidence in his protective ward, Nick draws his pistol and steps toward the thing, opening fire.  

ooc: If he can do it from behind while it is distracted, all the better, but not necessary.


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## Shayuri (Sep 19, 2007)

"Cade!"

Forgetting her fear, Meredith moves over behind the minotaur, flanking it with Cade and bringing her sword around in a vicious, whistling arc. The blade glows white as it swings and seems to speed up as it nears the minotaur as if hungering to taste the demon's flesh!

(going on offense to attaaaaaack! Rar! Will 5' to flank if possible.)


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## iwatt (Sep 20, 2007)

"I can't believe I missed a target that big."  Hoping he didn't hit one of his friends in the meanwhile, and also afraid to leave Dorine alone, Larry takes aim once more and sends another shot after the beast.


[sblock=ooc]Use another AP[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Sep 21, 2007)

Cade attempted to dive backwards, away from the minotaur, and was only partially successful. Stumbling as he moved, the minotaur saw an opening and took it. Cade could feel the edge of the axe scraping across his ribs. An inch further, and he'd have been bisected. Firing as waves of pain clouded his vision, Cade got lucky and shot the beast right in one of its lungs.

Larry's Desert Eagle boomed again, and he shot the beast in the right arm. It was starting to look fairly poor, it's fur matted with blood.

Meredith charged up behind the creature, stabbing at it with her sword, but missed as it took its swing at Cade.

Nick, now protected by his spell, drew his gun and fired a single shot, hitting the minotaur in the back, causing it to scream with pain again.

Diego fired his gun again, but missed.

The minotaur, almost blind with rage, continued its assault on Cade. Cade looked up just in time to see the axe fly into his chest. He was thrown back against the wall, and slumped down in an unconscious heap, as he started to bleed to the death.

[sblock]Cade takes an AOO, is hit and takes 11 points of damage
Cade critically hits and deals 14 points of damage
Larry hits and deals 11 points of damage
Nick hits and deals 8 points of damage
The minoatur hits Cade and deals 11 points of damage, knocking him down to -3. Fortunately, the minotaur rolled low on its critical confirmation check.
[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Sep 21, 2007)

OOC

Cade definately has more b@lls than brains, which is real scary because he's d@mn smart.


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## Shayuri (Sep 21, 2007)

"NO!" Meredith yelled on seeing Cade's fate. She grabs the sword with both hands and hauls it back as her face twists in fury. She then brings the weapon around with all her strength in an overhead slash, meaning to cleave through the beast's chest and gut!

(Basically...I swing again. Only with an AP. )


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## industrygothica (Sep 21, 2007)

"Son of a..." Nick recovers from his shock, and surprises even himself when he approaches even closer to the thing and buries the muzzle of his gun into its spine.

[sblock=ooc] ... or at least tries to.  I believe I'll spend an insurance.. er, _action_ point on that one as well.  [/sblock]


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## iwatt (Sep 21, 2007)

"Keep an eye on the girl, Diego! I'm going to do something really stupid." The half crazy bull man made Larry fear for his friend's life. Shooting his gun on the run, he rushes forward to stand over Cade, protecting his companion from any additional attacks.


[sblock=OOC] Fire the Gun, Move forward sucking up the AoO, stand over Cade to shield him and so that Meredith can benefit from flanking. [/sblock]


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## Falkus (Sep 22, 2007)

Larry jumped over to Cade's body, firing his gun as he ran, but missing. The minotaur take advantage of the opening to to take a swipe at Larry, opening up a nasty wound on his side.

Meredith, however, took advantage of Larry's distraction, and swung with her sword. The blade smashed into the creatures chest, pulverizing its heart and several other internal organs. The minotaur collapsed onto ground with a loud crash, dead. A pool of blood started to spread out beneath the corpse.

Dorine, meanwhile, had apparently fainted. She may have been a hard nosed Illuminati type mercenary, but she didn't look to be so hot when dealing with the supernatural directly.

[sblock]Larry is hit and takes ten points of damage
Meredith hits and deals 10 points of damage[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Sep 22, 2007)

OOC

Not to nit pick, *grins*, but I think you mean Larry takes 10 points, unless you really took the Cade is expendable to heart.

*laughs*


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## Falkus (Sep 22, 2007)

OOC: Whoops


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## industrygothica (Sep 22, 2007)

Ready to fire his gun, Nick is frozen for a moment as the minotaur falls to the ground.  He recovers soon enough, though, and quickly holsters his weapon and prepares to get Cade out of the tunnel.

ooc: ...and hopefully succeeds at an untrained heal check or something.


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## Shayuri (Sep 23, 2007)

Meredith rushes to Cade's side and drops the still glowing blade as she kneels and gently pushes his shirt out of the way to check the horrific wound underneath. Grimly, she fights back her gag reflex and opens the small first aid kit on her belt. He'd need a lot more help than that, but it would have to do for a start.

(taking 10 on Treat Injury to stabilize Cade for a result of 15)

(aren't we glad I bumped this skill up a bit? )


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## iwatt (Sep 23, 2007)

Tying up a bandage over his own wound, Larry shakes his head ruefully. To Meredith he says in a chuckling voice. "So it's true what they say. Chicks dig scars?" He is careful of saying it a safe distance away from the clearly lethal woman though. "I'll wake up sleeping beauty here, you and Diego ought to be able to carry Cade out. Who knows if another of these critters is out there."


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## Falkus (Sep 23, 2007)

Meredith, thanks to her medical training, was able to wrap up Cade's wounds, and stop the bleeding. He will still unconscious, but out of any immediate danger. Continued first aid could probably get him up and moving again.


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## Shayuri (Sep 25, 2007)

Meri sits back for a second once Cade's stabilized and works the knots out of her hands and fingers. Sweat is trickling down her forehead, and she wipes the back of a hand across it to keep her eyes clear, and leaves a red swatch of blood over it without seeming to notice.

"He should be safe to move now. Once we're out, I...I think I can at least get him conscious again. He's pretty lucky. That thing could have cut him in half..."

She waves Diego over, and positions herself to lift Cade under his shoulders. "Take his shins, Diego."


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## iwatt (Sep 25, 2007)

Getting Dorine up and walking takes some time, but Larry is ready to go. "Doc, looks like you're running point this time."


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## industrygothica (Sep 25, 2007)

Nick nods, and takes his glock in his right hand, and Cade's gadget in the other.  Once they have Cade and Dorine mobile, he starts out of the caverns, watching the blips on the device.


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## Friadoc (Sep 26, 2007)

"No, momma, I'm able to buck hay," mutters Cade as he's carried. With his eyes closed, as well as the blood loss, Cade is either remembering something from before, on confusing it with today. "Stupid bull only nicked me, a little. Just a bruise from the horn, promise."


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## Falkus (Sep 26, 2007)

Working together, the team managed to safely move Cade outside. There were no further surprises from Dorine or from the caves themselves.

Outside, the area was deserted. There was nobody in sight, not even the Freemasons.


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## Shayuri (Sep 26, 2007)

"Okay, set him down. And someone call for backup," Meredith says, lowering Cade's shoulders to the ground. She immediately tears cutting his shirt off and making cloth bandages out of it, soaking each in antiseptic from her first aid kit before applying it to the gash.

(Going to Take 10 on two Treat Injury checks. First to Restore Hit Points, second to Revive Unconscious. If the Restore Hit Points brings him back over 0 HP, the second check won't be necessary, I guess. )


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## Falkus (Sep 27, 2007)

Stitching up the wounded area, and injecting some pain killers, Meredith soon had Cade feeling much better and back on his feet.

Cade regains 4 hit points


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## Friadoc (Sep 27, 2007)

Cade looks around slowly, at each member of Team Libra, for a few moments, before he says, "Thanks, guys."

That half-smile of his is there, but obviously strained and tired.

"We're gonna need a clean-up," says Cade as he tries to sit-up, the pain causes his face to tighten into a grimace. "Tell 'em t' bring a cryptozoologist or an exobiologist for the Minotaur's corpse."

Cade's features take on a confused look for a moment, as he looks to Meredith and asks, "You guys did kill the bastich, right? I mean, he broke my favorite rifle." Looking down at his chest, Cade sees the large, nasty gash in his body, now bandaged with pieces of his shirt and stitches, and adds, "My shirt, too."


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## iwatt (Sep 28, 2007)

"Your rifle  was a fair trade, I say. Better a gun than your skull."


EDIT: fixed it. Seems I was following echoes of Hot Shots part Deux.


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## Friadoc (Sep 28, 2007)

OOC

Not to be a killjoy, especially since Cade would have a heckuva improper view, I think Meredith's pose said "HIS" shirt. I.E. Mine, but I am sexy  so it's all good.


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## Shayuri (Sep 28, 2007)

(Cade's right. Sorry, guys. )

"It's dead," Meri confirms, sitting back. "Unfortunately, someone beat us to the goodies, and we don't even know who yet."


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## kinem (Oct 2, 2007)

_I made the wrong call on the ammo_ Diego thinks as he helps carry Cade.  _I have to learn more about this stuff._

He's glad to see the man up again.  "Don't scare us like that again, Cade.

I don't get it.  The monster killed the Russians, and he was still there, so who could have taken the loot?  Unless he respawns or something ..."


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## Shayuri (Oct 2, 2007)

"Maybe he just held the thing off while someone else made it out," Meri speculates.

"Or maybe someone else got it later on...sneaked in and out without alerting it."


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## Friadoc (Oct 2, 2007)

Cade chuckles at Diego, before he winces from the lancing pain it caused.

"Nice," says Cade with a shake of his head. "Now respawning would be nice, not only would I have my shirt and rifle back, but my health would be full."

"Anyhow," continues Cade, after a coughing fit. "My money is on the russians, I don't think anyone could have gotten the artifacts without attracting that beast."

Slowlt sitting up more, he adds, "So, with no one else to point at, I say we check in and then figure out our next step."

"Well, aside from stiches and a bitchin' scar," says Cade with a smirk. "Chicks dig scars, right?"


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## Falkus (Oct 3, 2007)

After signaling for assistance, a helicopter was dispatched from the Delphi office of the Hoffmann institute, carrying a team of field agents, commandos, combat archeologists and acolytes.

After a several minutes, the helicopter came into view, and landed down at the base camp. The Hoffmann Institute personnel swarmed out, and began securing the site, healing the injured and giving the team the breathing room necessary to plan their next move.


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## Friadoc (Oct 3, 2007)

As odd as it seems, while waiting, Cade will make sure to recover all of the pieces of his rifle that he can find. In fact, he's obsessive about it and although he doesn't exert himself too much, he doesn't stop until he's sure he's finished.


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## Falkus (Oct 6, 2007)

OOC: Industry? We need Nick to reveal what's in the diary before we can move on.


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## industrygothica (Oct 6, 2007)

Nick gives the others a rundown of what was in the journal, and his thoughts on the Hammerfall base in Russia.  "Anyone speak Russian?  Might wanna learn..."

ooc:  Sorry, I just assumed everyone else knew as well.


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## Shayuri (Oct 6, 2007)

"Well wait a second," Meri interjects. "These things aren't just going to be lying around the markets of Moscow waiting to be picked up. They're probably in some top secret Indiana Jones crate in a giant warehouse full of state secrets. The Russians aren't just going to let us in to grab them."


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## Falkus (Oct 6, 2007)

Industry and Friadoc
[sblock]Cade and Nick, happen to know two important things about Russia that may be relevant to the search. First, there's exactly one Hoffmann Institute office in Russia, located in Moscow and opened up shortly after the end of the Cold War.

Secondly, the Department Seven director in that office is Colonel Vasilli Fedorov, is the former director of the KGB Paranormal Division, who was recruited into the Hoffmann Institute after the KGB Paranormal Division was dissolved along with the KGB in 1995.[/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Oct 6, 2007)

"Actually," says Cade after a few moments of thought. "The Hoffmann Department Seven Director in Moscow is a former KGB Colonel who was a member of their Paranormal Division, so we might have a bit of an edge on this leg of the trip."

"I think we'll just need to make arrangements to meet at the Moscow office," suggests Cade, who looks and feels a lot better now that some acolytes have taken care of his sever injuries. "We just need to askhim the right questions, right Nick?"

OOC

So, does the healing leave a nasty scar, or does it remove all sign of the injury?


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## Falkus (Oct 7, 2007)

OOC: It leaves scars. It's more dramatic that way.


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## Falkus (Oct 8, 2007)

OOC: So, shall we cut ahead to Moscow?


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## iwatt (Oct 8, 2007)

Yes.


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## Shayuri (Oct 9, 2007)

(seems best...I think this scene petered out.  Bring up the map half-dissolve with the big red line extending from Greece to Russia!)


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## Friadoc (Oct 9, 2007)

OOC

Yeah, I'm all for skipping forward to Russia, with the caveat that Cade would make sure that Team Libra's gear and ammo had been replenished, including a replacement firearm (obviously not the exact same rifle, but a heavy weapon, just in case).

Something that he could use, the reasoning for this is simply because this mission seems to be potentially more lethal (gee, why would he think that) and he wants to keep him and the team safe.

A clip of blessed ammo and one of WP for the rifle would be desired, too. Who knows what lies on the other end of this whole thing. 

Awesome fun, by the way.


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## Falkus (Oct 9, 2007)

OOC: The Greek agents present can replace your regular ammunition, the armory in Russia should be able to replace specialty ammo and weapons.

Handing the situation over to the Greek Hoffmann personnel, the team traveled back to their plane, reboarded it, and took off for Moscow.

On route, Stanfield filled you in on Fedorov over your phones.

"He's not the ideal Hoffmann Institute employee, but we never had much of a presence in Russia due to the Soviet Union blocking us. His personality is a little too much KGB, not enough Hoffmann, but Russia isn't a pretty situation, and we need a man there who both knows the territory and can deliver results. That's Fedorov."

"The man's a hardline communist, by the way, so don't bring up politics, especially Russian politics. He's also had a budget cut too, so he's not likely to be in a good mood."

The plane landed in Moscow early in the morning. Conditions were almost blizzard like, and the plane nearly had to abort. Thanks to Institute influence, getting your weapons through security was no problem.

A couple of taxis met you at the airport, and drove you through the cold, decrepit streets of the capitol of former superpower to the Moscow branch office of the Hoffmann Institute.

The building itself appeared to be a small, run down office building downtown. Graffiti and garbage covered it. The front reception area was no better, looking more like a trash dump. A derelict bum, was apparently sleeping in a cardboard box. Though, on second glance, his teeth were in remarkably good condition, and his eyes were carefully following you as walked towards the door into the main building area.

Once past that, however, things changed. The corridors of the building were slick, high tech metal, with security devices everywhere and plenty of incredibly busy employees moving around. A receptionist led you to the command post on the third floor, past labs and security centers and offices. The feel was distinctly military, as opposed to the more casual attitude in Chicago. Nearly everybody was wearing some sort of uniform and carrying a sidearm.

Fedorov himself stood in the center of a large, busy room, filled with your computer monitors and communications apparatus, and dozens of technicians talking to and guiding agents in the field. He was a large, burly man, with gray hair and a thick mustache. He turned to stare at you as your entered.

"You must be the Americans, here to ask about Hammerfall." he said, bitterly, in a thick Russian accent. "As if I didn't enough problems already."


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## Friadoc (Oct 9, 2007)

"That's correct, we're Team Libra," says Cade as he offers Federov a handshake. "I'm Cade Black."

Cade then introduces the rest of the team by pointing them out and speaking their names.

"This is Diego Borges, Larry Higgins, Dr. Nicholas Wells, and Meredith Rosenberg."

"We were just in Greece," says Cade. "Where we found the remains of the previous expedition."

"We're hoping that you could answer a few questions about Hammerfall,"  says Cade. "As well as some of the other events that happened previously in Greece."


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## iwatt (Oct 9, 2007)

While Cade did the briefing, Larry took the time to look at the personnel in the base. He'd met some former KGB officers in Chicago, now applying hard won skills to the cutthroat business of crime. Not people to tangle with lightly, this Colonel seemed cut from a similar cloth. No nonsense, no sense of humor, he hoped Cade would keep the comedy act in check. This city gave him the willies, with it's drab concrete building's and gray skies.


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## Falkus (Oct 13, 2007)

Fedorov ignored Cade's outstretched hand, and stared him in the eye, and growled. "How old do you think I am? This project I was told about occurred in 1959, I wasn't involved in anything then, let alone high level KGB paranormal projects.

"I'll tell you this. Hammerfall Base doesn't exist in any official records. When I was in charge of the KGB Paranormal division, we did operate a number of bases that didn't exist officially, but even they had a mention in the official records, if only to mislead the CIA. The fact that it has been expunged from any official record leads me to believe that the base and any projects operating in it have been buried for some reason. I strongly advise that we leave them that way. In my experience, digging up the KGB's sordid past only leads to disaster."

"But since I've been ordered to assist you, and if you wish to persist with this fool's errand, I'll take you downstairs, to the unofficial records. If your Hammerfall Base can be found, it'll be somewhere in the old KGB Paranormal archives. Nothing was ever removed from those records, even the projects that we buried deep after they got out of control."


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## industrygothica (Oct 13, 2007)

"Fabulous!" Nick smiles, and waves the man on.  "After you, then."


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## Shayuri (Oct 14, 2007)

"If it was just us," Meredith says, "We'd be glad to leave it buried. But there's two things. One...it turns out a little girl's life may be in danger, and what Hammerfell contains could save her. Two, at least one other major player knows as much as we do...or close to it. Is there any other way they might be able to get information about Hammerfell? Surviving agents maybe, or documents that got out on the black market?"


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## Falkus (Oct 14, 2007)

Fedorov shook his head, muttered a few words in Russian. Then barked out some orders to the technicians. He then led the team through the complex to a secure elevator. After opening it through a DNA scan, he hit the down button, and the elevator started its descent. A few hundred feet later, and the door opened.

Row by row, lights snapped on, illuminating shelves as far back as you could see. The place was an enormous, underground warehouse. A mausoleum of paper, and a monument to the bureaucratic ideal of writing down everything and throwing out nothing. "Here we are, seventy years worth of paranormal files gathered by the Soviet government, plus everything we inherited from the Tsars before that. The files are indexed in a computer, about three hundred feet that way," he said, pointing to his left. "No budget to digitize them. You'll be monitored by security cameras with mounted auto-rifles, so don't try anything funny. Don't try to read any files rated above your security clearance. Segways are available if you have to travel far. Any questions?"


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## Friadoc (Oct 14, 2007)

"Yeah," says Cade simply enough as he heads over towards the computer. "Could you have someone get us some coffee, we've got work to do."

"Thanks, appreciate it." says Cade as he thinks. oO He's just made about Moose and Squirrel  Oo


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## iwatt (Oct 16, 2007)

_Goddamnit, he couldn't resist tweaking the russian's nose._ Before Fedorov can respond to Cade's ill advised request for coffee, Larry cut's in. "Forgive my nekulturniy friend. I'll see to the beverages, hopefully something civilized like tea." That was about the extent of his knowledge of russian language and customs, courtesy of an ex KGB mayor who'd been a gracious looser in a regular poker game back in Chi-town. "Cade and the Doc should hit the books, but Meredith has a good idea. Comrade Colonel, maybe you are aware of some retired member going back to that time? It might be worth our time talking to him. Diego, you come with us." The former gang member added some obvious muscle to the group, with the added benefit of people dismissing him as just a thug. His special abilities always came with the added bonus of surprise.


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## Falkus (Oct 18, 2007)

Fedorov glanced at Cade, and muttered, "Americans."

He then turned to Larry. "Fine. I'll see who's still alive and willing to talk and is in Moscow. I wouldn't advise discussing this matter over the phone in Russia, even on the Institute network."


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## Shayuri (Oct 18, 2007)

"Thanks, Federov," Meredith says sincerely. "I know it's a bother, but we'll try to make this as fast and painless as we can."


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## Friadoc (Oct 18, 2007)

Cade decides to just let the others deal Federov, as he has a feeling that they won't do too well together.

oO I could have tried harder Oo thinks Cade to himself, however he'll throw himself into the computer system, trusting his skills with machines more than those with people. oO I don't even want coffee. Oo


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## Falkus (Oct 20, 2007)

The computer system is about a decade old, and uses an obscure, Soviet OS, but otherwise is fully functional. It only takes a few moments to dig through the index folders and find that the infiormation on Hammerfall is located in file cabinet 654-G.

Which, by the laws of bureaucracy, isn't located where it's supposed to be. After roughly two hours of searching, it's finally found in a locked, disused utility closet with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the leopard.'

[sblock]File on  Hammerfall Base (GPS coordinates are provided, indicating a location somewhere in Siberia. A very mountainous and inhospitable region).
Most of the file has been removed, apparently quite sometime ago, but the timeline of the base remains
1947- Hammerfall Base is constructed, and used for Soviet nuclear research. The base consists of a military outpost on the surface, with the labs and storage facilities deep underground.
1951- Hammerfall is shut down after the conclusion of the nuclear research.
1956- Hammerfall reactivated under control of KGB Paranormal Division. New nuclear reactor is constructed, and used as part of research into captured Gray scout ship.
1957- Gray scout ship removed and returned after deal between Grays and the Politburo.
June, 1959- Research personnel arrive in preparation for Project Foresight headed by Alik Vasilev
July, 1959- Delphi artifacts arrive. Project now headed by Doctor Grigori Yakovlev after the presumed death of Vasilev in Greece.
September, 1959- Analysis of artifacts complete. Testing preparations begin.
October, 1959- Hammerfall base is shut down and sealed on orders of the KGB after all communications are lost with the facility. All personnel in Hammerfall are reported as KIA, as well as a unit of soldiers sent inside to secure the base after losing contact. The surface base is turned into a toxic and radioactive waste dump to prevent anybody from accessing it again, and to prevent anything from getting out.

File on Project Foresight
Purpose: To create viable method of predicting the future in order to better create Soviet five year plans.
Method: Research of artifacts recovered from a digsite initiated by the Nazis in 1943 from a site near Delphi.
Headed by: Doctor Alik Vasilev (until his presumed death, then headed by Doctor Grigori Yakovlev)
Initiated: June 1st, 1959
Terminated: October 25th, 1959
Result: Complete failure. Hammerfall base out of contact. All personnel involved presumed dead. Nearly all those sent into Hammerfall do not return. The few who did come out were deranged and violent and had to be eliminated as they attacked the garrison.
Suggested course of action: Seal Hammerfall immediately.
[/sblock]


Meanwhile, Fedorov, Larry and Diego, looking through old personnel files, find Agent Boris Kyznetsov. A former KGB Paranormal operative active when the expedition had been sent. He lives right in Moscow, and has been known to assist the Institute before. After the rest of the team is done with the file, it should be possible to go visit him before going whereever you have to go next.


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## Friadoc (Oct 20, 2007)

"I wonder who the leopard is," asks Cade as they not into the utility closet.

"Nice," says Cade as he reads through the timeline, while heavily taking notes on his PDA, and sharing it with the others. "We should feel lucky that it wasn't a few years later, or they probably would have nuked it."

"We're going to need some NBC gear when we go in," says Cade as he thinks out loud. "Preferably armored, just in case."

Thus far, Cade has not sad one thing, out loud, about the comment in the timeline about Grays, their ship, and treaties. He's not surprised, so much as he feels it's best not to let on what all can be gleamed from the timeline.

Also, Cade will use his PDA and see if he can find out of Hoffmann has any recent satellite images of the base at the coordinates in the file.


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## Falkus (Oct 21, 2007)

Satellite imagery of the area indicates that only two or three of the buildings from the original surface complex are still standing, though it's impossible tell which ones. Various large cannisters and tanks are scattered about the area, a legacy of the Soviet hazardous waste disposal system.

The area itself is extremely unaccessible. Any roads or train lines were torn up a long time ago, and there are no nearby towns. It would take a long hike or an airlift to get near the place.


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## iwatt (Oct 22, 2007)

"Let's go see what Comrade K can tell us. Ever wonder what color the Russian MIBs wore? Green? Would that make them MIGs?" The data search had been an unenjoyable experience for Larry, who had spent msot of the time playing with his Segway. "better get some HUMINT before we go air dropping into a radioactive wasteland.


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## Friadoc (Oct 22, 2007)

"It's about as safe as here," says Cade with a grin as he stands. "Or don't you realize how much lead from the paint we're breathin' in?"

"But, yeah, let's go talk to Boris about Moose and Squirrell," says Cade as he stands up from the PC.


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## Shayuri (Oct 22, 2007)

"Waaaay too much TV," Meri comments with a chuckle. She follows them out.


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## Falkus (Oct 24, 2007)

Fedorov was at his desk by this time, going through various reports and other paperwork that go with a man of his position. He listened to the information the group had gathered, and shook his head again.

"Suicide. Going there would be absolutely suicide. Those old waste dumps are as close to hell as you can get, except it's warm in hell. And than there's whatever it is that caused the base to be sealed in the first place. I'd bet anything that it's still there."

He sighed. "I'm not going to talk you out of this, am I? Very well. I can provide you with armored radiation suits, a plane and a helicopter. I'll bill the expense to your office, I certainly don't have room in my budget to accommodate this. I assume that you'll want to leave immediately after talking to Boris, no?"


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## Friadoc (Oct 24, 2007)

"If that's where the trail leads," says Cade simply enough. "Then that's where it leads."

"We really appreciate the help, Fedorov," adds Cade. "I'm sure your own case load didn't get easier by us being added to it, plus I'm sure having a bunch of imperialist running dogs dropped in your back yard ain't all that grand either, but my team and I, we're grateful."

"In fact, if there is any requisitions that you might need for your office,"  continues Cade. "That'd help things work better overall, then add it to the list and I'll sign off on it."

After the barest pause, Cade finishes by saying, "I wouldn't wanna lose this little girl, period, but especially because some bureaucrat didn't give you, or us, the resources needed. We're all on the same team here, regardless of borders."


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## Falkus (Oct 29, 2007)

Fedorov paused for a minute, then slipped half a dozen forms from one file to another.

"At least you've been less difficult to deal with than most American agents. And we may be on the same side, but we do things very different here in Russia than you do in the United States. Unlike the US, where you have the luxury of 'investigation', here, due to our lack of resources, we often have very little time between discovering something, and the stage where it starts ripping off agents' heads. Remember that, and you might just get out of this alive."

"A van is waiting outside. Unless there's anything else you wish to ask?"


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## Friadoc (Oct 29, 2007)

"That's about par for the course with us, too," says Cade with a half-smile before looking to the team to see if they have anything to say or ask. "One moment everything is going according to plan and then the bodies start to hit the floor."

After they do or don't say anything, Cade adds, "Looks like we're golden."


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## iwatt (Oct 29, 2007)

Nodding at Fedorov, Larry leaves as well. As they get ready to get on the vans, he looks at Meri and Cade. "If Boris knows something, I need to know how far we're going to push him. If he knows something, and it isn't included in the files already, we're going to need to soften him up first. Maybe we should bring him a gift? a pricey vodka bottle might just do the trick."


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## Friadoc (Nov 4, 2007)

"We'll push as hard as we need to," Cade says. "We owe it to her."

"I suggest cash or something else that's worth money," says Cade. "He can buy his own vice and self-destruction, though. But, it's your call, you're better with people than me."


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## Shayuri (Nov 4, 2007)

"Gift," Meri says decisively. "A gift means a lot more to people than money. Money is...cold and kind of dirty, like a bribe. A gift is warm, and it's a sign of regard. If we want to get on his good side, we buy him a gift. Offering money would probably just insult him."

She adds, "Unless he asks for it, or wants to negotiate."


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## iwatt (Nov 4, 2007)

With that decided, Larry has the van stop and buys a high priced bottle of vodka. On second thought, he get's a second which he hides in his coat.


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## industrygothica (Nov 4, 2007)

Whatever we do, we need to get a move on.  That girl isn't going to save herself.


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## Falkus (Nov 4, 2007)

After purchasing the bottle of vodka, the team and the van made their way through the cold streets of Moscow, until they reached the apartment where Boris Kyznetsov resided.

Boris was expecting the agents. He was an elderly man, in his late seventies and a wheelchair, but the awareness and intelligence visible in his eyes suggested that age hadn't dulled his mental capacity.

"So, you're here to ask about Hammerfall? Why should I help you?" he said, getting straight to the point. "You don't work for the government, and you aren't collegues of mine. The only reason I'm even talking to you is because Fedorov is an old friend."


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## iwatt (Nov 5, 2007)

"Comrade Kyznetsov, we appreciate you receiving us at this time, specially when it is this cold. But were are my manners, let me introduce myself and my friends." After the required introductions, larry adds. "I do not know how it is done here, but in my country it is customary to bestow a gift when disturbing a man at his home. This is but a small token of our appreciation for receiving us." Pulling out the vodka bottle, he presents it carefully to the man. "It is not much, but it might help on those cold Moscow nights." Larry does his ebst to present himself as graciously as possible to the man. It never hurt to put a mark at ease. Specially one as distrustful as a paranormal KGB officer probably was.

"Now, as to your question. Why help us? Maybe it's better to think about who you can hurt. We are not the only ones after Hamerfall's last project, you know. Think of every rival agency you ever locked horns with, and a couple of newer ones. They're all after the same. Surely you would prefer the organization that absorbed the Paranormal Division to keep it in their hands. Keep it in the family, as it were."

With a grin, Higgins pours another thimbleful of vodka for the aging Russian, and adds, "Besides, we're offering you something every retired agent wants. Getting back into the game. Surely an old fox like you has a couple of tricks left to teach, and you wont find a better student."

Leaning to whisper in the old man's ear, he continues in a low voice, as if to ensure privacy. Cade's intercoms should be enough to pick it up anyways. "We are getting soft, comrade Kyznetsov. I have heard tales of the good old days, but our orders lack the confidence of before. We hesitate when we should act, we talk when we should shoot. The Hoffman institute of before, your own Paranormal Division, the missions those agents took were breathtaking in their boldness. It is time to recover that clarity of vision, that hunger for knowledge. A return to the good old days, as it were."

[sblock] Diplo +9 when trying to get in his good graces, and Bluff +14 when talking about the good old days.[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Nov 6, 2007)

Boris warmed up to Larry's initial offer, smiling and acepting the drink. "The doctors say I shouldn't. But what do they know?"

He chuckled and smiled knowingly when Larry made his offer. He leaned in close, and whispered into Larry's ear. "I was playing people before your parents were born, kid. I give you an A for effort, but I was there when most of your tricks were invented."


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## Shayuri (Nov 6, 2007)

"Please," Meredith says. "There's a little girl...Cade, can you pull up a picture?"

She looks back at the old ex-agent. "She was exposed to...something. Whatever it was that Hammerfall uncovered at Delphi. If we can't work out how to get it out of her, she'll die. There's other things too...global conspiracies, evil cabals after the power to see the future...but for me at least, it really boils down to keeping the future uncertain, where it belongs, and saving a little girl's life."

"Isn't that worth some of your time?"


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## Friadoc (Nov 6, 2007)

"Don't forget facing down a minotaur, Meri,," says Cade as he pulls up an image of Carol and show it to the man. 

"Sir," says Cade in a more serious tone, locking eyes with the man. "If you can, I'd...we'd really appreciate your help on this, okay?"

"She's important enough that I'd risk my life to help her," Cade leaves out the fact that he almost died unsaid.


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## iwatt (Nov 6, 2007)

Falkus said:
			
		

> "I was playing people before your parents were born, kid. I give you an A for effort, but I was there when most of your tricks were invented."





"Can't blame me for trying. See, I really could use the help of a pro like you. Conning old ladies out of retirement funds isn't the same as going against KGB field officers." 

After the other bring up the subject of the girl, larry rolls his eyes. He didn't think the man would respond to such an obvious ploy, but he might be wrong after all. It was a land of poets, after all. "So old man, will you help us? You wouldn't want such a fine crew getting wasted because you forgot to mention something. If we make it back, I promise to bring back some more of this vodka, and we can go blue telling each other war stories."


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## kinem (Nov 6, 2007)

Diego was impressed by Larry's smooth intro.  He kept quiet, but resolved to learn how to do that.


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## Falkus (Nov 7, 2007)

Boris chuckled again. "I was a KGB agent. You really shouldn't bother trying to appeal to my better nature. I haven't got one."

He then looked back at Larry. "You've got promise, kid. Get me some paper and a pen, and I'll tell you a few thigns that might save your lives. That was first duty post in the KGB, I was part of the security staff. Lucky for me, I was topside when the base got shut down by whatever it was that went wrong.


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## iwatt (Nov 7, 2007)

Larry looks at Cade, who with all the hight tech gear he carried probably didn't have an old fashioned pen on him. "Meri, notebook, paper? You got any?" As a former reporter, she probably still carried one all the time. Handing them over to Boris, he says "Great, anything that improves my chances to come back and share another drink with you is OK in my book."

[sblock=Larry's PDA] Note to self: Have Nick do a background check for future interviews. Might be easier to BS with some background info on the subject. Likes/Dislikes, psych profiles, family history.[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Nov 9, 2007)

Once he received the paper, Boris quickly began scetching out the layout of He explained as he did so. "I'm sure as 'digital' agents, you're familiar with computers and electronics and circuitry and all that modern rubbish. It won't do you any good in Hammerfall. You'll need a blowtorch if you want to get through the security doors there."

"What you're looking for will probably be on the second level, in artifact storage. We had a few items we'd found in various sites across Europe and Asia. Bring rope, I doubt the elevators are still working."

"You'll probably die before you get there. The surface will still be toxic and radioactive, and whatever wiped out the base in the first place is almost certainly still there. Please don't let it out. Russia doesn't need any more problems right now. Frankly, I tink you should just put an end to this venture right now, while you're still alive. The KGB never dared send anybody back in there after we locked it down. Follow their example. Do the smart thing. That's part of what being an agent is all about, kid. Knowing when to cut your losses and walk away."

By coupling the plans Boris drew with the satellite view Cade had acquired earlier, a layout of Hammerfall base and its surface was quickly put together.


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## Friadoc (Nov 9, 2007)

"I appreciate the warning, sir, but we follow the trail and its leading there," Cade asks as he compares the maps that Boris drew with the satellite images. Cade takes a well-worn moleskin notebook out of his inner coat pocket and flips past a few pages of schematics and begins to make notes about the area and its pitfalls and danger zones. "How long ago was the base NBC salted and you have any intel on what wiped the base out? Plus, if you can find me any information about the security on the base, I can aim for something more subtle than a blow torch and it'll be secure when we leave."  

If there is one thing that Cade is fairly confident and competent about, it is security and he is familiar with the whole spectrum of it, not just digital.

OOC

NBC - Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical.

NBC Salting is a military term for what they did, referring what was supposedly done to Carthage when the Roman's leveled it.


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## Falkus (Nov 13, 2007)

"It's been more than fifty years by now. I wasn't responsible for that operation, nor was I involved in it, so I don't know what we dumped there. Nor do I want to know. As for security, nice heavy locks, key and combination both, were what we used. None of these fancy keycards or scanners that you kids use these days. I can't imagine that any of them still work properly, not after all this time."


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## Friadoc (Nov 14, 2007)

"We'll see, sir," says Cade after a long pause in thought. "We appreciate your help, as well as your time."

"Well, I think it's wheels up, folks," says Cade as he looks at the rest of Team Libra. "Don't say I never take you anywhere nice, okay?"

Cade's patented smile is right there on his face, but the team can tell he's very got a mix of worry and seriousness in his eyes.


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## Shayuri (Nov 14, 2007)

"What's our plan?" Meri asks. "We brought the Geiger counters, right?"


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## Friadoc (Nov 14, 2007)

"Well, hopefully the suits we're getting are in-line with M.O.P.P. gear," says Cade as he looks at Meri. "It's what the armed forces uses in nuclear, biological, and chemical events and are pretty sturdy with a focus on long-term usage."

"So in addition to the gear, like gieger counters, we should be fairly safe," says Cade, however he adds. "With exception to unknown threats, from potential paranormal, xeno-, and cryptid elements."

"Which is where our normal Idiots Luck comes in." With a wry look on his face, Cade shrugs and says, "Well, a full arsenal, too."


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## Falkus (Nov 14, 2007)

After leaving the retired agent, the vans took Team Libra to the airport, where a large, cargo jet was waiting for them. They got on board, and after a few minutes of clearing the standard details with the airport control, it took off.

Once they were in flight, a quartermaster started handing out the gear they would be using. Key, of course, were the combat NBC suits that the Hoffmann Institute was providing. Equipped with Geiger counters, atmospheric analyzers and a six hour supply of oxygen, the suits were actually fairly easy to wear.

[sblock]
Combat NBC Suit (light armor)
Type: Environmental
Defense bonus: +2
Non-prof bonus: +1
Max Dex bonus: +4
Armor penalty: -1
Speed: 30
Wt: 16 lb
[/sblock]

There was also ammunition, with blessed and WP ammo.

Finally, there was the means by which the team would be deployed near the site. The quartermaster held up a parachute, and said. "So, any of you ever jumped before?"


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## Friadoc (Nov 15, 2007)

"Does jump rope count?" asks Cade with an "frak" look on his face.

oO I knew I forgot something Oo


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## kinem (Nov 15, 2007)

Diego looks a bit nervous at that.  "I once did ... a tandem jump with an instructor.  _He_ remembered when to pull the cord."


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## Falkus (Nov 15, 2007)

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, though it'd be better if you were experienced. We don't have any helicopters in the region capable of flight right now, so we're going to paradrop you into a field four miles from the site. We'll drop your equipment nearby. We've got a few hundred feet of rope, and some snow shoes as well."

"Pull the cord four seconds after you leave the plane. If the parachute doesn't deploy, pull the backup cord. Don't worry too much, you'll be deploying from a high altitude, so you'll have a nice, large margin of error. The field's big too, so you'll have a nice target to aim for. Deep snow too, so your landing won't be so hard. Perfect conditions for a beginner."

OOC: Bear in mind that I, personally, know nothing about parachuting.


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## Shayuri (Nov 15, 2007)

(seems about right to me! )

Meredith nods at the quartermaster, looking nervous.

"Just look out for the trees, I guess. And the rocks."

She manages a laugh.

"Look at us. We fight off minotaurs and one little fall's got us all worked up."

With a thunk, she puts on the suit helmet and shrugs into the parachute's straps.

"Lets do this."


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## Friadoc (Nov 15, 2007)

"Darlin', that's 'cause if a minotaur tries to hurt us, we can shoot it," says Cade with a chuckle and a wink, but it's obvious that he's feeling a smidge better about it all. "I've shot the Earth before, she doesn't seem to notice much."

"This is what I get for not dropping out of physics," says Cade with a mumble under his breath as he gears up  for the jump.


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## industrygothica (Nov 15, 2007)

Nick quietly dons his parachute, contemplating his thoughts.


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## iwatt (Nov 15, 2007)

Apparently the only one who found the idea of jumping off  a perfectly sound airplane fun was Larry. Paying attention to the quartermaster, the con man get's ready to jump off first. "I've got to say, this is our best gig yet. Foreign countries, killer cows, and now we get to paradrop in. I love my job." Looking back at the others, he grins and starts humming Van Halen's _Jump_.


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## Falkus (Nov 16, 2007)

"We'll arrange for some transport to meet you in the field when you're done. A small plane, or a helicopter if we can get our hands on one," the quartermaster told the team, raising his voice as the rear doors opened, and the team moved into position in front of it.

"Go, go, go," shouted the quartermaster, as the plane passed over the drop site, hustling Team Libra out of the back of the plane, and sending the equipment drop after them.

Team Libra hit the silk, dropping out of the back of the plane. A bit amateurishly, but successfully. Five parachutes deployed on time, slowing their descent, and giving them time to get a good view of the land below. The old base was visible to the west, located in a valley, a scar on the earth. Specific details were impossible to make out as the sun started to vanish below the horizon.

After several minutes, they slowly landed in the field. Safely and unharmed, but scattered a significant distance from each other. A minute later, and the gear drop from the plane touched down at the edge of the field. A smoke grenade and flare detonated automatically, signaling its position, and giving the team a rallying point. They were four miles west of their final objective. The sun was beginning to set, casting the field into the gloom of twilight.

Team Libra was very far from home, the deep snow and ice, the colors and the solitude made it seem almost as if they were on alien planet or another dimension.


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## industrygothica (Nov 16, 2007)

Nick meets with the others at the site of the equipment drop.  He looks around at the vast nothingness, then back at his friends--that is surely what they are by now, at least to him.  The unsettling feeling weighs heavy in his gut, but he holds his resolve and exhales a thick cloud of steaming breath.  A girl's life is at stake.

"Walk or dig?" he asks matter-of-factly.


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## Friadoc (Nov 16, 2007)

Paused in thought for a moment, Cade looks to each member of the group, you can almost see the wheels turning. But Libra is much more than a number to the man, as has been obvious for awhile.

"It's gonna get cold," says Cade simply enough. "I grew up inthe high desert country and it was cold, but not Russia cold."

"It'd be best if we gear up and moved," continues the young man. "It'll keep the blood flowing, keep us warm, and I'd rather just put on foot in front of the other. We're only four miles out."

"So once we're ready, we'll light-up and move out," finishes Cade.


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## iwatt (Nov 16, 2007)

Gearing up easily, Larry get's erady to move. He takes his customary position second to last.


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## Falkus (Nov 18, 2007)

The gear drop contained three hundred feet of rope, six grapnels, two three-person tents and two space heaters (in case a pickup couldn't be arranged or the team needed to stay for more than the night for some reason), three smoke grenades and three flares for signal purposes, five spare O2 tanks for the suits, five battery floodlights that could be attached the suits' shoulders and eight sets of snow shoes.


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## Shayuri (Nov 18, 2007)

Meri starts loading up, and is still apparently a bit surprised to find out how much she can carry. Despite her smaller frame and considerably less muscle mass, she's carrying fully as much  or more as Cade.

As she shoulders equipment she asks, "So what's the plan here? We just stroll up to the entrance and file the lock off? Any theories about what we'll face?"


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## Friadoc (Nov 18, 2007)

"Once we're close enough to scout out the base, I'll have a better idea," says Cade as he gears up. "But, once we figure out how to gain entry we'll search the base, either as a whole or in groups no smaller than 2."

"As for what we'll face..." Cade shakes his head. "...I've no idea, hopefully their efforts laid waste to any foes and only fear has kept them out."

"Although my money is on whatever fielded those bodies that turned into sand," adds Cade.


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## industrygothica (Nov 24, 2007)

"I'm sure it'll be an adventure, whatever it is," Nick says.

[sblock=Falkus]So, did Nick's hawk familiar find a way to make it with them, or is he just stuck out?[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Nov 24, 2007)

OOC: Yes, your familiar made it with you.

The team started to move over the rough and snowy terrain, it was slow going, even with the snowshoes. An hour later, and the geiger counters started to indicate the presence of heavy radiation, prompting the team to seal the suits and switch to the O2 reserves. Fifteen minutes later, and they arrived on top of a hill over looking the remains of the base.

Fedorov had described it as hell on earth. If anything, he was understating the situation. Pools of radioactive of toxic waste littered the landscape, in the midst of the barrels that once contained the pollutants. They cast a surreal glow over the landscape, making the remains of the base seem even more alien than the surrounding landscape. A grim legacy to the poor environmental standard of the old Soviet Union.

Only two buildings remain standing, the others lost to time or buried. According to the maps provided by Boris, the larger one is the old surface headquarters, while the other contains the freight elevator used to transport large cargo into the base.


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## Friadoc (Nov 27, 2007)

"Nice," says Cade as he looks the site over from a distance. "And to think I worry about my gas mileage."

With a shake of his head, Cade gives the area a better look over and tries to come up with the best plan to search the place.

"If we hit the cargo area first," suggest Cade. "The security will be less and there could be a storage depot there."

OOC

Sorry for the delay in reply, life is life right now and I can't say much more than that.

Sorry.

Anyhow, if there is any intel in our notes and thoughts that would point us elsewhere, then I'm all for it, but I think the cargo area might be best..first...to search.


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## iwatt (Nov 27, 2007)

"You're the boss, or at least that's what I tell the Institute if things go balls up."


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## industrygothica (Nov 28, 2007)

"As good a plan as any right now, I guess," Nick says as he heads off toward the cargo area.


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## kinem (Nov 29, 2007)

"Makes sense.  Let's get this over with, this place gives me the creeps."  Diego follows.


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## Falkus (Nov 29, 2007)

Carefully, the team picked their way through the radioactive and toxic waste. The suits were effective, but it was best not to test them by taking a dip in the stuff.

The doors of the freight elevator had rusted shut a long time ago, but time had also provided an additional entrance in the form of a collapsed wall. The freight elevator itself was a large, heavy, metal affair that had apparently been welded in place over the shaft. Old power lines ran from the building to a no longer existing generator room.


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## Shayuri (Nov 29, 2007)

Meredith walks around the elevator housing and peers through the crumbling wall dubiously.

"I dunno guys...not only does it not have power, but I'm not really eager to be climbing through rubble and cut the suit open by mistake."

On sudden impulse she examines the collapsed wall, trying to get a feel for how it collapsed and why. She then starts scanning her eyes over the ground.

(Don't have the necessary Tracking feat, but basically she wants to see if she can tell if there's any signs of footprints, claw marks, shearing or tearing that couldn't be explained by just metal fatigue or structural collapse...etc. )


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## Falkus (Nov 29, 2007)

It looked like it was just time and nature that had worn the wall down. Of course, it was impossible to be sure, the collapse wasn't recent enough to make any firm conclusions without a more detailed architectural analysis.

OOC: Oh whoops, my bad. I forgot to mention, but there was an industrial blow torch and fuel included with the equipment drop.


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## Friadoc (Dec 1, 2007)

"Well, between the conditions and time, it should be easier to gain entry," says Cade as he looks around the freight area. Before giving up on the area, Cade will give it a cursory search and see if anything in the ruins of and near the elevator hold any hidden clues.


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## Falkus (Dec 5, 2007)

There isn't much left in the base. It looks like the Soviet's cleaned out the topside facility before dumping the waste. There's nothing indicating that anybody has stepped foot in the area ever since it was abandoned.


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## Shayuri (Dec 5, 2007)

"Well that was a bust," Meri notes, her voice given a tinny, raspy overtone by the suit's microphone. "Any ideas on how we should get down? Kind of hoping there's something easier and safer than just rappelling...like I know anything about rappelling."


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## Friadoc (Dec 5, 2007)

"Let me see," says Cade as he aims his PDA down the opening, using the sonar mapping to give him an idea of the layout below. "Although I got a bad feeling, darlin', that we're hoffing it."

OOC

Cade will use the PDA's capabilities to see if he can find the best route to access the lower levels.


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## Falkus (Dec 8, 2007)

The PDA beeped and scanned, and after a minute, displayed a rough map of the upper levels, thanks to the miracle of sonar mapping. It looked to be about the same as the map that Boris had sketched out for the team. It did, however, also indicate the presence of several airshafts that made their way up from the first level to the surface, possibly wide enough for a human being. They surfaced in a few different locations several hundred feet from the team's current location.


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## Friadoc (Dec 8, 2007)

"I think we might have a better way in,"  says Cade as he shares the map out to the others via their PDAs. "We've got a few airshafts that we might be able to get down through."


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## Shayuri (Dec 8, 2007)

"There is a God," Meri sighs in relief. "And apparently he lives in that little gadget of yours."

She calls up the map and marches over to the nearest shaft location to give it a look-see.


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## Falkus (Dec 9, 2007)

The closest shaft was collapsed, and inaccessible. The next closest was under a tank of something that was both corrosive, and toxic. The third one, however, was clear, and according to the map, led into the armory. There was, however, a heavy steel plate welded in place over it.


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## Friadoc (Dec 9, 2007)

"Looks like it's torch time," says Cade as he breaks out the cutting torch. However, instead of going for the quick and easy cut, Cade will use a bit more finesse so that he can weld things back in place once they are done.


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## industrygothica (Dec 9, 2007)

Nick looks at the welded plate and wonders aloud, "I wonder if that was to keep people out, or to keep something in?"


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## Falkus (Dec 9, 2007)

The torch quickly and smoothly cut through the plate, and Cade removed it and set it aside. The vent shaft was dark, and descended deep within the earth. It was, however, large enough for an average human to climb through.


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## Shayuri (Dec 9, 2007)

"Well," Meredith says to Nick, "I don't think it was part of the original construction, which means it was added after the base was abandoned...which means there wouldn't be much point in keeping anything out. Happy."

She takes a chemical glowstick and breaks it, making it emit a soft green light.

"Call me stupid, but I like seeing the floor before I shimmy through an air duct. Just in case there's a pool of acid or spikes or a big giant mouth or something."

Assuming no one stops her, she tosses the stick down the shaft.


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## Friadoc (Dec 10, 2007)

With a look at Nick, Cade shrugs as he cuts the hatch and says, "Given our track record, you probably already know the answer."

Cade follows Meredith's chem-light with a sonic resonator check, too.

"No harm, no foul, Mere," says Cade with a grin. Paraphrasing the Boy Scout motto, Cade adds,"Be prepared has always worked for me, too."


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## Falkus (Dec 10, 2007)

The glowlight fell down into the shaft, hit a surface, and started rolling down, illuminating hte vent in a sickly green glow. The shaft went downwards at a steep, but traversable, angle. After a while, the glowstick disappeared from sight. You estimated that the shaft went down about a hundred feet. There weren't any obvious dangers.


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## iwatt (Dec 10, 2007)

"So who's taking point?"


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## kinem (Dec 10, 2007)

"I can" Diego says.  "Any tips from that PDA about what to expect?"


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## Friadoc (Dec 10, 2007)

Before Cade offers to take point, Diego interupts him by stepping forward, and he just nods and moves over to updatre Diego's PDA.

"We'll secure you with a rope and harness," says Cade to Diego. "Once you get to either a good spot for us to join you, or the end of the rope, tie off and we'll use it as a guide rope to get to you."

"We've got a good sounding so far," adds Cade. Then says with a chuckle, "But, just like last time, it ain't fool proof and sadly, we're the fools."


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## Falkus (Dec 13, 2007)

The team carefully lowers Diego down through the shaft. A few moment pass without incident, and he eventually arrives in the armory, having to kick out a vent cover first. The computer readout indicates no toxins in the atmosphere and the radiation level, while still hot, is no longer at the point where exposure would be instantly lethal.

The light on Diego's suit reveals the armory. It's a cold, spartan affairm, with metal walls and floor. There are racks of AK-47s and machine guns, along with numerous old magazines of ammunition. Old style body armor and Soviet military uniforms are also present, along with old grenades and crates of explosives stacked haphazardly.

On the floor and lying against the walls are about eight dead bodies, Soviet soldiers. Perfectly preserved by the cold. AK-47s are clutched in their hands, and it looks like they shot each other, judging by the way their bodies fell. Numerous shell casings are scattered on the floor, and the bodies and walls are riddled with bullet holes.


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## kinem (Dec 13, 2007)

Diego ties the rope to a convenient handle.

Looking at the bodies, he tries to guess something about the battle that took place.  He's hoping for any sign that there were two distinct factions.  Because if it was a free-for-all, it could mean some kind of confusion effect is liable to occur once the others join him.

Nontheless, if he senses nothing unusual, he signals that the coast is clear.


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## Shayuri (Dec 13, 2007)

Meri gets ready to go down next.

"Diego," she radios down. "Talk to us. What's down there?"


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## Falkus (Dec 13, 2007)

The body placement suggests that two of the soldiers came in,and fired on the other six.


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## kinem (Dec 13, 2007)

"Long-dead frozen soldiers" Diego replies "and weapons.  Looks like they killed each other, two came in and fought the rest.  Spooky, but as far as I can tell it's safe for now.  Come on down."


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## Friadoc (Dec 13, 2007)

"Good job, Diego," says Cade as he nods to Meri. "I'll bring up the rear, folks, so head on down after Meri."

While the others are going down the line, Cade will keep an eye on the surrounding area and, once it is his turn to go down the line, he will lower down the equipment, including the cutting torch, and then pull the cover back in place behind him, so as to cover their entrance.


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## Shayuri (Dec 16, 2007)

Meri nods and heads down the shaft, holding the rope with both hands and bracing against the shaft wall with her feet and back. She's careful, but not overly slow, and quickly arrives at the bottom with Diego.

She wrinkles her nose at the carnage.

"Pretty nasty...which two are the ones that came in and started shooting, do you think? Maybe there's something different about them."


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## Falkus (Dec 16, 2007)

iwatt, kinem
[sblock]As Larry and Diego settle into the base, they feel something odd. Something that they can only detect because of the increased awareness their psychic training has given them. Almost as if there's another conscious present in the room with them. It seems to press at the mind constantly, but cannot be located.

OOC: Using any psionic power now requires a DC 15 concentration check.[/sblock]

Shayuri
[sblock]Meredith feels something tugging at her very being. There's something buried in the base, something that wants to be found. It doesn't feel malevolent, however.[/sblock]

industrygothica
[sblock]Nick feels something off about the magical ethers in this place. They seem stronger, and more easily accesible. Something is odd here, something powerful has permeated the very atmosphere and charged it with power.

OOC: All spells cast within the base will be maximized, and have their durations, if any, doubled.[/sblock]

Friadoc
[sblock]Cade notices that his electronic gear doesn't seem to be functioning as well in the base as it did outside. The flashlight beams are slightly dimmer, and the batteries are draining faster than normal. The monitor on the PDA isn't as bright, and it seems to take longer to perform basic functions.[/sblock]


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## kinem (Dec 16, 2007)

"Wait a minute" Diego says. "I feel something ... strange.  Almost like there's a ghost here or something.  Anyone else notice it or am I just going crazy?"


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## Shayuri (Dec 16, 2007)

"You're not crazy," Meredith says, one hand going automatically to the hilt of the sword across her back.

"It doesn't feel -evil- but there's definitely a presence here. Like it's been...waiting."


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## industrygothica (Dec 17, 2007)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> "You're not crazy," Meredith says, one hand going automatically to the hilt of the sword across her back.
> 
> "It doesn't feel -evil- but there's definitely a presence here. Like it's been...waiting."




"It's powerful," Nick says as he looks over the scene.  He moves his fingers as if he's trying to feel the air, absorb it.  "Maybe a bit unstable."


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## Friadoc (Dec 17, 2007)

"Whatever..." Cade starts to say, but then he pauses and adds, "...or whomever it is, it's effect electronics and the weaker magnetic force. Switch to chem lights and power down what electronics you can."


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## iwatt (Dec 17, 2007)

"I have a bad feeling about this place." CHecking his gun's magazine, he keeps the weapon unholstered. "Looks like I'll be doing this old school."


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## kinem (Dec 17, 2007)

"Oh, I'm all about old school" Diego says "but in this case, maybe we should try to talk to it.  You know, so we don't piss it off by accident.

Anyway, I figure these two" he points "must have attacked the rest."

He examines the door to exit the armory, and tries to open it.


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## iwatt (Dec 17, 2007)

"I can shoot the breeze with the best of them, but from what Blade and the Doc are saying, I don't think we're going to like whatever we find." Turning to Cade, he says. "So, which way towards the ancient Delphite artifacts, boss?"


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## Friadoc (Dec 18, 2007)

"Let's see," says Cade as he uses boots the PDA up, in order to see if he can get a better signal; he'll try adjusting it, but if not he'll scribble down a rough map on his paper notepad and go from there. "First off, I say we search this room for anything useful, especially security cards and old maps."


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## Falkus (Dec 18, 2007)

The door of the armory slowly grinded open with a load screeching sound, as Diego pushed it against decades of rust. The door opened into a security area, which consisted primarily of a variety of desks and small offices. There were more frozen corpses on the floor here, all Soviet Soldiers.


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## Shayuri (Dec 20, 2007)

Meri walks slowly out into the room, holding her chemglo stick in her left hand to cast the room in an eerie monochrome green light.

"Remind me to ask for a vacation when we get back," she mutters. "Somewhere not radioactive and toxic."

She looks carefully at some of the bodies, trying to see if they were shot, or something else...


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## Falkus (Dec 20, 2007)

Meredith noted that all the bodies in the armory had gunshot wounds, but the ones by the door had over two dozen bullet holes in their bodies, while the rest were just killed with two or three shots. There were another three bodies in the security room, one of whom had been killed by just as many shots as the other two.


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## industrygothica (Dec 20, 2007)

"Guess someone really wanted to make sure those three didn't come back; that's a lot of bullets."  Nick looks around to see if he can make sense of the battle-grid that took place here.

"Whatever it is - it looks like something made these guys snap... and hard to kill.  I just hope they got them all."


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## Shayuri (Dec 20, 2007)

"That explains the elaborate security...filling the base in, dumping toxic waste on it... They were afraid whatever made these soldiers zombies might spread out of the base."


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## Friadoc (Dec 20, 2007)

"I can see why the Institute doesn't harp on the 'See the World' motif in the orientation films," says Cade as he looks over the security area, as well as the bodies. In fact, he'll give the bullet-riddled bodies an extra couple of checks, just to be safe. "Hell, remind me to go on a date, or something...just in case next time I take an ax, I don't pull through."

"I've got a feeling that what we're seeking is what we've felt," thinks Cade out-loud. "Whatta ya'll think?"


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## iwatt (Dec 20, 2007)

"Well, I got a friend who I can set you up with. She said I should introduce her to the next gun-toting electronics geek I found. Hope you don't mind she's dating a Jamaican gang leader though."



> "I've got a feeling that what we're seeking is what we've felt," thinks Cade out-loud. "Whatta ya'll think?"




"Well, whatever it is, I guess we should find the Delphi crap quickly, before he comes calling."


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## Shayuri (Dec 22, 2007)

"No, I think Cade's right," Meri says after a thoughtful pause.

"I think this...this presence... I think it IS the Delphi crap. So to speak."


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## Friadoc (Dec 28, 2007)

OOC

If it is possible, Cade would like to try and cool some evidence of what caused this event, but he will only do it if he feels he can 1) do it without delaying the mission and 2) do it safely for both his team and the outside world.

So, Falkus, let me know what, if any, Cade's experience and training thus far would let him think about collecting the data.


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## Falkus (Dec 28, 2007)

OOC: I'm back!

Determining what had happened from the team's present location was impossible. What ever had happened to the base had not occurred here, though it had obviously been affected. Perhaps there would be more clues deeper within the facility.


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## Friadoc (Dec 29, 2007)

"Okay, people, everyone ready?" says Cade as he looks around the room. "Let's lock and load."

"Diego, do you wanna stay on point?" Cade asks the young man, figure he'd probably volunteer anyhow.


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## kinem (Dec 31, 2007)

"Sure, why not" Diego replies.  He's nervous about this place, but somehow he'd rather occupy himself, focus on the task at hand, rather than give himself time to think about it.

He began to explore the area beyond the door, skirting the dead soldiers.  Not sure what to look for, he moves cautiously.  He will note any other doors, unusual objects, or potential hazards.  The desks don't interest him much as he can't read Russian anyway.  If he finds locked doors, he cautiously inspects a corpse, looking for keys.


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## Shayuri (Dec 31, 2007)

Meredith moves ahead right next to, or just behind Diego...however seems best given the width of the hallways. She doesn't look for keys, instead staying alert and keeping an eye out when he has to look around.


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## iwatt (Jan 2, 2008)

Larry takes the rear guard position, careful to scan for any obvious signs of pursuit. The con artist keeps his mind open, and marks their path with chalk in the walls. If they had to get out in a hurry, better to follow that than a PDA's display.


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## Falkus (Jan 3, 2008)

OOC: Happy New Years!

There were more frozen bodies out in the hall, a couple of scientists among the soldiers. Some looked like they had been gunned down entering the base. Others looked like they had been shot in the back while fleeing.

The base was dark, eerie and quiet, and the lingering presence didn't make it feel any more homey. All the doors in the hall were open. Most of the rooms on this level were alike. A few more dead soldiers, discarded weaponry and signs of heavy combat.


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## kinem (Jan 9, 2008)

ooc: Any stairs, or other way to get beyond this level?

"Anyone maybe have a sense of where the presence is stronger?" Diego inquires.


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## Falkus (Jan 9, 2008)

According to the map, there are no stairs to level two, but just the elevators. Not particularly safe in the event of a fire. Maybe that was the point.


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## kinem (Jan 9, 2008)

"Unless someone has a better idea ... it's time for us to get shafted."

Diego will find the elevators and press the button.

"How can we do this?"

(ooc: Assuming we will have to somehow traverse the elevator shaft)


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## industrygothica (Jan 10, 2008)

"Carefully,"  Nick says.  "There's not going to be anything pretty down there."


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## Falkus (Jan 10, 2008)

There's two sets of elevators leading down to level two, the secure freight elevator and the standard elevators in the reception/security area. Which ones do you want to go to?


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## Friadoc (Jan 10, 2008)

"If we're lucky then the elevator carts are at the bottom," says Cade as he heads toward the secure freight elevator. "We can use the maintenance ladders, if they're there, to climb down."

"The freight elevator should give us more room," suggests Cade.

"If not..." Cade leaves that statement hanging, until he can make sure of the cart status.


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## Falkus (Jan 12, 2008)

The freight elevator was indeed at the bottom of the sixty foot shaft. It looked like the cables had snapped some years previously. The ladders looked to be still sturdy, though.

The storage area was full of various crates, containing nothing of interest, unless moldy, military rations could be considered interesting.

Shayuri
[sblock]Meredith can still feel the tugging of whatever it is that has latched onto her mind and spirit. It's somewhere downwards, and to the south.[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Jan 16, 2008)

Seeing that nobody else is moving first, Nick starts on his way down one of the ladders.


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## Shayuri (Jan 16, 2008)

Meredith snaps out of a momentary trance when Nick moves.

"South," she blurts. "Below us and to the south. I can..._feel_ it. It's...I don't know. Kind of disturbing...but not _bad_."


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## Friadoc (Jan 17, 2008)

"Okay, folks," says Cade as he looks to each of you. "Let's keep this one tight, okay?"

"No one goes alone, from here on out, unless we've got no choice," says Cade as he moves with the others. "Keep each other in our sight, okay?"

"It's really hard finding people who put up with my cr@p." adds the young man with a sly grin.


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## kinem (Jan 17, 2008)

"All for one and once and for all, or however it goes."  Diego will climb down next.


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## Falkus (Jan 19, 2008)

The ladder was sturdy, though there were a few rungs missing.

The corridor at the bottom of the freight elevator was empty, except for the corpses of three scientist types, frozen in the cold like all the others. The large doors were open into the UFO lab, which was also empty. Unlike the rest of the base, it was clean and sterile, suggesting that it was emptied long before the disaster that occurred here.

The radiation levels were above normal, but within human tolerances. There were no toxins present, not this deep into the base.

Suddenly, an indistinct shape appeared in front of the team, faint and translucent, and almost humanoid. Diego and Larry suddenly developed blinding headaches. It disappeared an instant later.


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## Shayuri (Jan 19, 2008)

Meredith reflexively puts her hand on her sword hilt...but before she can do anything more, if she was going to, the thing is gone.

"Anyone else see a green ghost pop in and out just now?" she asks, looking around nervously.


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## Friadoc (Jan 19, 2008)

"I saw it," says Cade as he lowers his assault rifle to point slightly more downward. "Anyone else?"

While waiting word, Cade will look more cautiously at the team's surroundings, against his rifle is slightly lowered, although it can be brought up at a moment's notice.

OOC

Search or Spot, Dms choice.


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## industrygothica (Jan 19, 2008)

"Yep," Nick says stoically.


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## iwatt (Jan 21, 2008)

"See it? Whatever it was, it gave me a worse headache than the hangover trying to match Kyznetsov's drinking gave me." Shaking his head, Larry begins nervously switching his safety on and off, a nervous trick he'd started developing lately. "At least we know we aren't alone."

Turning to Cade he says. "There's something we can try. The old man back at the institute was trying to get me to learn how to detect psychic auras. Seemed like a lot of new age BS to me at the time, but it might be useful now. Give me a minute."

With those words, Larry examines the area were the apparition had apeared, invoking his inner eye. Simialr to other times, powers he couldn't summon in the boring confines of the training room, lept unbidden to him when under stress. "What's the saying Doc? The prospect of dying concentrates the mind? something like that?"


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## Falkus (Jan 22, 2008)

Larry tried to focus on the residual psionic energy, but the presence weighing in on his mind caused him to lose his focus (failed concentration check).

A cursory pat down of the scientists bodies by Cade revealed a clipboard of his daily tasks on that fateful day. Most of it seemed semi-routine, but it did mention that a test was going to be run on some of the artifacts recovered from the Delphi site. It also noted that the shield recovered from the Delphi site was going to be moved back to storage after another failure to acquire a material sample from it.


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## kinem (Jan 25, 2008)

Diego motions as if to rub his eyes, but just lowers his hands back down.

"That ghost gave me a headache.  Well, where to now?"

He looks around for more doors, storage areas, or other features that could be explored.


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## industrygothica (Jan 25, 2008)

"I guess we need to find those artifact, wherever they are."


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## Friadoc (Jan 25, 2008)

"Definitely, Doc," says Cade with a nod toward Nick. Cade quickly flips through the clipboard, as well as checking the rudimentary map, to see if he can find the storage area on either of them. "Seems they moved it or were going to move the shield back to storage."

OOC

Sorry, folks, life had me in its grip for a bit, but all is well.


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## Falkus (Jan 28, 2008)

According to the map, the artifact storage area was at the southern part of the this level, and a scientific storage area was just outside the hallway the team was currently standing in.


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## Shayuri (Jan 28, 2008)

"South," Meri says. "The presence is to the south. Maybe it's tied to the ruby. Like a genie in the bottle."


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## Friadoc (Jan 28, 2008)

"South it is," says Cade as he indicates that the group move out, using their previous marching order.


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## iwatt (Jan 29, 2008)

"Can you keep it down. My head's killing me." The con artist seems slightly miffed that his skills don't work. So far he hadn't failed at something when he really tried. The failure was weighing heavily on his consciousness, taking away some of his confidence.


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## Falkus (Jan 30, 2008)

Moving through the second level of the facility, the team found more signs of battle. A dozen dead and frozen soldiers littered the halls, apparently having gunned each other down. A heavy machine gun had been set up outside the secure lab, facing down the hall.

The secure lab door was heavy metal, but looked like it had been blown off its hinges. From the inside. As the team entered, the ghostly figure appeared in front of them again.

"Come," it whispered. And then vanished.

There was numerous pieces of scientific equipment from the fifties located in the room, orthodox and unorthodox. It was all smashed and ruined. There were several dead scientists on the floor.

Shayuri, Friadoc
[sblock]The bodies of the scientists look like they were shot by several people coming out of the elevator. They were apparently taken by surprise, as it appears they died as they were working.[/sblock]

The door to the artifact storage chamber was ajar. The elevator door down to level three was open, though it looked like the cables had snapped some time ago.


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## Friadoc (Jan 30, 2008)

Upon coming across the heavy machine gun, Cade kneels down, so as to give it an examination. If it is still loaded, Cade will unload it and push the ammo away from it.

oO Better safe than ambushed Oo thinks Cade as he turns and looks toward the slain scientists.

"I bet it started here, or close to here," says Cade as he turns his thoughts into words. "They didn't know what was coming when they walked into the ambush."

Whatever else Cade was going to say is stopped short by the spectral beckoning, to which he nods and says to the group, "Better safe than sorry, folks."

Cade double checks his weapon, making sure the safety is off and it is ready to rock and roll.


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## Shayuri (Jan 30, 2008)

"They came out of the elevator," Meredith says, peering around at the scene.

"The ones who attacked. Everyone was just, sitting...minding their own business when people came out of the elevator and started killing them."

She looks nervous.

"And now we're going down there too."


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## iwatt (Jan 30, 2008)

> "Better safe than sorry, folks."




"It's not whether you're paranoid or not. It's whether you are paranoid enough!"

After the ghostly apparition shows up, Larry begins mumbling to himself. "Sure, let's follow the glowing green man. That's clearly a good idea." With a snort, he continues with his mumbling. "Why do I feel like I'm in a summer horror flick. at least I hope I'm in the lead, and not the plucky comic relief that get's killed in the first scene."


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## industrygothica (Jan 30, 2008)

Nick looks at Larry and can't help but smile given the situation.  He really did appreciate the humor, even if he didn't show it.

"You should be good through the first few scenes, anyway," he says with a smirk.  "Let's get this over with."


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## Falkus (Jan 31, 2008)

Cade unloads the machine gun, but cold and time have taken their toll. It's no AK, it was never meant for long term exposure to this kind of environment. The firing mechanism seems to have frozen up entirely.

Shayuri
[sblock]Meredith feels the presence tugging at her from the artifact storage room. The mark on her arm starts to tingle as she gets closer.[/sblock]


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## Shayuri (Feb 2, 2008)

Meri shivers and rubs her arm absently...then does a doubletake and squints at the spot she was rubbing.

"It's in there," she says, pointing at the door to the artifact storage room. "This is...my arm..."

"I don't know if it's good or bad, but that thing on my arm is feeling kind of funny. That mark."


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## Falkus (Feb 5, 2008)

A low moan suddenly echoes out of the open elevator shaft.

kinem, iwatt
[sblock]The presence suddenly vanishes from your minds.

You can now use psionic powers without a concentration check.[/sblock]


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## kinem (Feb 5, 2008)

"What now?" Diego inquires as he approaches the elevator shaft, peering in.


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## Falkus (Feb 8, 2008)

OOC: So, are you going to check out the door that leads to the artifact storage room, or the elevator that leads to certain doo- the testing chamber?


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## iwatt (Feb 8, 2008)

"So boss, what's it gonna be. Whatever it was that was screwing with me, just stopped. Might as well try again, I guess."



Spoiler



Once more give Detect Psionics a whirl.


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## Friadoc (Feb 8, 2008)

After a moments thought, a long moment, Cade nods towards Meri and says, "Meri's arm says the gun show is that way."

Even though Cade said that very deadpan, a smile tugs at the right corner of his mouth. 

"Diego and I enter first," states Cade as he lays out the plan. "Standard two man enter, him on the right and me on the left."

"Professor, you and Larry follow Diego in from the right," adds Cade. "Meri, you follow me."

"Once an area is secure, we move on together, got it?" Cade looks at each of you and then adds, "If we must split up, no group shall be smaller than two, okay?"

Once everyone appears ready, Cade gives the signal for everyone to move out.


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## Shayuri (Feb 8, 2008)

"What about that sound from the elevator though," Meri asks. "It sounded like a person. What if someone's alive down there?"


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## kinem (Feb 8, 2008)

(ooc: As I stated above, Diego will look in the lift o' doom shaft, regardless of what the others are doing.)


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## Falkus (Feb 9, 2008)

The doom shaft looked like there had been gunfire into and out of it, which presumably occurred after the initial attack, since the scientists present were apparently caught completely off guard. The elevator car is at the bottom of the shaft, where it looks like it fell after the cables were severed. There's nothing else unusual down the shaft that can be seen.

When the team moves into the room, it's surprisingly clear, which is a first for the base. No corpses, and it seems to be in somewhat good condition.

There are two prominent glass cases in the room, one on the far wall and one to the right, with clipboards underneath them that probably describe their contents.

Shayuri
[sblock]The attraction is far stronger now, and the mark, while not actually painful, is producing unusual sensations as Meredith moves into the room. Whatever is causing it, it's in the case on the far wall.[/sblock]

iwatt
[sblock]Larry concentrates and senses that there was some sort of psionic aura surrounding the team that just vanished a short while ago. There's also a source of psionic energy somewhere down the elevator shaft.

Some of the objects in the right case are also radiating psionic energy.[/sblock]


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## Shayuri (Feb 9, 2008)

Meredith covers her arm with a hand and licks her lips nervously...or is it anticipation?

"It's really strong now," she says quietly. "It's like a magnet."

She hesitates, then undoes the sword from her belt and offers it to Cade.

"I'm going to take a look. Just in case I go crazy, you probably won't want me to have this."

Once relieved of the blade, she goes to far wall; to the case there and with a deliberately slow motion, attempts to open it.


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## Falkus (Feb 9, 2008)

As Meredith approached the case, she could see its contents more clearly. It contained two sealed Greek urns and a large shield made of some dark colored metal with Egyptian hieroglyphics etched into it.

The pull was coming from the shield. Meredith opened the case and picked it up. The shield was surprisingly light.

As she raised the shield up, two pieces of metal fell out of the back and into the case, similar to the one she had found the previous month. As she held the shield, the sensation vanished from her arm. And she knew, despite the fact that she couldn't see it through the radiation suit, that the marking on her arm just got a little larger.


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## Shayuri (Feb 11, 2008)

She hefts the shield...then frowns and shines her light into the case to try to see those pieces of metal.

"Cade, could you bring the sword over? It's okay...I'm not going to go crazy. I think this shield is related to it. There's a couple of pots in here too...they have those Greek pictures on them."

She turns the shield around and looks it over.

"Egyptian...hey, there's hieroglyphs on this. I didn't know Egyptians used metal shields... Nick, can you read these?"


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## Friadoc (Feb 11, 2008)

Once Cade is sure that Meri is okay, he'll bring her sword over and hand it to her, hilt first. 

"Found a new toy?"


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## industrygothica (Feb 11, 2008)

Shayuri said:
			
		

> She hefts the shield...then frowns and shines her light into the case to try to see those pieces of metal.
> 
> "Cade, could you bring the sword over? It's okay...I'm not going to go crazy. I think this shield is related to it. There's a couple of pots in here too...they have those Greek pictures on them."
> 
> ...




"I'll give it a shot, let's see."


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## Falkus (Feb 11, 2008)

As Nick examined the shield, he could instantly tell that it wasn't made out of any metal the Egyptians were known to work with. In fact, it didn't seem to be any known metal that he could tell. It was incredibly light, but seemed to have a sort of timeless durability.

The hieroglyphics read: "Go forth, Confronter, and smite the enemies of the Companions of Horus."

The clipboard under the shield indicated that it had been found in the Delphi digsite, and brought back with the rest of the artifacts. It also noted that acquiring a sample of the metal of the shield was impossible, the shield having so far resisted all kinds of metal cutters, industrial torches and fifty thousand rounds of 12.7mm ammunition.

As Meredith examined the metal shards, she could see that they, now that she had seen three of them, looked vaguely liked the shattered remnants of a blade.


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## Shayuri (Feb 12, 2008)

As she waits for Nick to finish puzzling out the characters, Meredith picks up the pieces of metal...carefully, once she sees they're edged. Edged like...

"A sword," she says quietly.

"Broken pieces of a sword's blade."

For some reason the revelation makes her heart pound faster. She stands up and reads the charts, then adds, "These were at Delphi. What were Egyptian artifacts doing in a Greek oracle?"


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## industrygothica (Feb 12, 2008)

"It reads: _'Go forth, Confronter, and smite the enemies of the Companions of Horus.'_"


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## iwatt (Feb 13, 2008)

Larry had seem lost to the world the last days, as he kept staring at the objects in the right case. The others had all focused on the far hand side, but the wanna be psychic kept his eyes focused on the other case. Slowly advancing, he makes his way closer and examines the case.


OOC: Sorry for the no-posting. My ISP screwed me over the weekend, and I just remembered to check today.


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## Falkus (Feb 14, 2008)

The case contained a dark metal wand, about a foot long and the width of a pencil, a holster that had curious arcane symbols etched into the leather, a gold ring with an oddly carved ruby, emerald and diamond in it, a old fashioned mechanical watch made entirely out of white crystal (it also happened to be running backwards), and a set of diamond cufflinks.

According to the clipboard, these items were taken off a pair of female agents who had attempted to infiltrate the base a month prior to the 'incident'. Not much was known about the objects. In fact, the only thing that was known was that, when worn, the holster was completely imperceptible to anyone other than the person wearing it and that a gun placed in it could be drawn virtually instantly.

All the objects were being held for future study and possible replication.

The watch and the ring were the objects radiating psionic energy.


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## Shayuri (Feb 14, 2008)

industrygothica said:
			
		

> "It reads: _'Go forth, Confronter, and smite the enemies of the Companions of Horus.'_"




Meredith feels a shiver run down her spine at the words. A moment of chill, then an almost feverish warmth.

"This isn't officially what we came for, but it feels a little too...it can't just be a coincidence."

She looks up at Cade and Nick through the visor of her suit.

"These pots in here, are they what we're looking for? It seems like this is the case of stuff they got from Delphi."

She looks at the labels to see what the Russians identified them as.


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## Falkus (Feb 14, 2008)

The clipboard confirmed what Meredith suspected, the urns were recovered from the Delphi site and contained the creatures that the Society of Pythia called Ephemerals. Most of the information was complicated scientific analysis involving advanced maths, spectrometric readings and other such info that was of no immediate value.

The clipboard also said that there were three urns recovered from the site, along with a ruby and the keystone. Neither the third urn or the ruby and keystone were in the case, though there were empty spaces where they would be stored.


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## Falkus (Feb 14, 2008)

Shayuri
[sblock]The shield is incredibly light, yet incredibly durable. It requires no proficiency to be used, and functions as a +1 large shield with no armor penalty.[/sblock]


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## iwatt (Feb 14, 2008)

Larry call Cade and Nick over to check out the stuff. "So Joker, look what I found. The gun seems pretty cool, but the watch and ring are "broadcasting". The cufflinks are "cold", but maybe the Doc can make sense of them." Larry seems drawn to the psychic objects, though the gun had very interesting possibilities as well. "What you say boss, should I pun on the bling? It can't hurt. Or hopefully it won't hurt too much."

As Meredith calls attention to the missing Urn, he turns around and says. "I bet you'll find what you're looking for down in the elevator shaft. By the way, there's something down there. Something is "broadcasting" as well."

As he helps the others gather the objects, he speaks to Meredith. "I can scan this stuff for you later, sweetheart. But the less time we spend down here, the better, I say."

[Sblock=OOC]I'd love to use Object Reading right now on all the stuff, but we gotta get going I think. [/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Feb 14, 2008)

Nick pays particular attention to the wand and the holster, trying to make out the arcane markings for himself.


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## Falkus (Feb 14, 2008)

The holster seemed much as the clipboard described it, holding a gun, turning invisible when worn, and causing the gun to appear in the wearer's hand with a thought.

The wand, however, was of far more interest to Nick. As he studied it, he got the sense that it could be used to enhance his own spell casting abilities, in the form of serving as a sort of storage device for spells. Presumably, the previous owner was also a mage, and used the wand to supplement her own spellcasting ability.

industry
[sblock]The holster is a Rapid Draw Holster of Concealment. It can hold a weapon up to medium size, makes itself and the gun invisible and immaterial to anybody other than the wearer, and allows the gun to be drawn as a free action.

The wand is a Lesser Wand of the Magus. It lets you store spells, up to three spell levels total, and cast them at a later date (which can be no longer than a year and a day after they're stored). It also lets you use silent spell twice per day without any increased caster level. It currently has no spells stored in it[/sblock]


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## Shayuri (Feb 14, 2008)

"Yeah," Meri says to Larry, a little dazed. "Yeah, okay."

_Doesn't it seem odd that there's a gun holster found in an ancient Greek temple? A magic one? Huh..._

"Lets check the elevator."


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## Falkus (Feb 14, 2008)

OOC: According to the clipboard, the holster was taken from a pair of agents that had attempted to infiltrate the Soviet base after the artifacts were recovered. It wasn't found in Delphi.


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## industrygothica (Feb 15, 2008)

"Cade, I think this one is more your speed," Nick says as he tosses Cade the holster.  "I"m hanging on to this one though."  Nick gives the wand another once-over before tucking it into his suit and moving on.  _No time for that now..._


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## Friadoc (Feb 15, 2008)

It takes several attempts to get Cade's attention, it's not as if the place is getting to him, per say, but it is obvious that the man's attention keeps turning to what might be coming at Team Libra, instead of what they are looking at currently.

"Damn, sorry folks," says Cade before turning his attention to the manifest and the items found.

"Umm, it's your call, Face," says Cade, but after a brief pause he adds. "If you think its safe, then I trust ya, its your field and your ass in it."

Cade quickly stows away the holster, for latter reference and potential usage.

"Thanks, Doc." Cade then nods to Meri, "You doin' okay, darlin'?"


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## iwatt (Feb 15, 2008)

The ring seemed a simple enough proposition, and the conman easily slipped it on. The watch was a dicier proposition, bu the fact it was going back in time was just mysterious enough to warrant a gamble. With a slight flinch, he locked the clasp around his wrist.


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## Falkus (Feb 15, 2008)

The toxin and radiation levels were safe this deep in the base, so Larry was able to remove part of his radiation suit without suffering any ill effects.

Larry felt nothing as he put on the ring. It seemed to have no immediate effect.

The watch, however, felt somewhat unusual. A connection was being established between it and his mind. Not harmful, but something that could possibly be used. The watch was a source of power.

iwatt
[sblock]The watch is a Watch of Power. After being in your possession for twenty-four hours, it will raise your daily allotment of power points by 4.[/sblock]


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## iwatt (Feb 18, 2008)

"So, with that stupid risk over, I think it's time we checked the shaft. I'm ready to go down, boss. I think I'm the best one to try 'me speaky ghosty', I think. Though if it turns out to be something else, you guys better fish me out pronto."


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## Shayuri (Feb 23, 2008)

"Lets get a look down there first," Meri suggests.

She breaks another chemical lightstick and tosses it down the elevator shaft.


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## Falkus (Feb 24, 2008)

The lightstick landed in the ruins of the old elevator car, and cast a sickly green glow over the shaft. There wasn't anything immediately obvious aside from rubble and twisted metal, but for a brief moment, Meredith thought she saw the outline of a person by the entrance below, which almost immediately vanished.


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## Shayuri (Feb 24, 2008)

She squints, frowning.

"This damn helmet...it looked like there was someone down there, but I can't see it now. It might have just been a trick of the light."

She shakes her head.

"Guess we'd better check it out though. I wonder what happened here..."


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## iwatt (Feb 24, 2008)

With the others help, Larry soon had a harness and rope ready. "Don't know, Blade. Just make sure you're ready to pull me out quickly. My safe word is _pull me out now_", he adds with a wink as he begins the decent


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## Falkus (Feb 24, 2008)

Larry descended down into the bottom of the shaft, and stepped out into the high security lab. More technological apparatus was littered about here, but unlike the rest of the base, did not appear to have become a battlezone. The equipment was neat and ordered, and there were no corpses lying around.

Both doors of the airlock stood invitingly open, leading into the test chamber. A red glow could seen in the darkness inside the chamber.


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## iwatt (Feb 24, 2008)

After radioing a description, the conman moves toward the light, careful to aproach from a side. He hoped things would stay nice and calm, but he still drew his gun and released the safety.


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## Falkus (Feb 24, 2008)

Approaching the airlock doors, Larry could see the testing chamber a bit better, and make out some details.

The light was coming from a metal examination table on the far side of the chamber, it was emanating from a ruby.

In the center of the room was another table, on a podium. There was a Greek urn like the others upstairs, except that this one was unsealed. There was also a finely carved stone resting next to it.

And finally, there was what appeared to be an old scientist seated in a wheelchair on the podium, flanked by a half a dozen Soviet soldiers, standing stiff and holding AK-47s. They looked wrong. If they weren't standing up, you'd probably describe them as corpses.


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## iwatt (Feb 24, 2008)

Discretion been the better part of valor, Larry used his PDA's video to record the scene, then stepped back to the shaft to send it to Cade. "Joker, it don't look to good down here. Seems they opened the urn, the ruby is shining, and we've got a bunch of deaders on their feet. What you want to do?" It was nice to have someone to ask for options. "I guess I could try talking to them, but I'd feel a lot safer with some  backup before we try that."


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## Friadoc (Feb 25, 2008)

"Now that doesn't sound good,"  says Cade as he looks down the shaft at Larry. "Hold up, Face, we're coming down to join ya."

"Once I'm down, I'll hold the rope for the next person,"  says Cade as he ties into the rope and slides down it. "Be ready, though, as the idea of standing dead makes me nervous."


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## kinem (Feb 26, 2008)

"Yikes!  You mean they're moving?"

Diego follows Cade down the rope.

(ooc: Sorry for not posting much; I've been preoccupied.)


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## industrygothica (Feb 26, 2008)

Nick takes his turn to slide down the rope and join the others.


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## Shayuri (Feb 28, 2008)

Meredith threads her arm through the straps of the shield to free her hand, and follows the others down the rope.


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## Falkus (Feb 29, 2008)

The entire team was outside the airlock now. The people inside the etsting chamber hadn't made a single move in that time, not so much as a breath.


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## industrygothica (Feb 29, 2008)

Nick exhales a nervous sigh.  "Well, I suppose we should introduce ourselves, though they don't look much like conversationalists."


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## iwatt (Feb 29, 2008)

"Ok guys, cover me." Larry was still kicking himself for not taking advantage of the line that had so easily presented itself before, _I see dead people. Why didn't you think of that._

His weapon behind his back, the con-man stepped into view, hoping the preternatural alertness they'd tried hammering into him in psychic school 101 would kick in if necessary. "I come in peace."

[sblock] That was a not so subtle reminder of my Sixth Sense feat   [/sblock]


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## Shayuri (Feb 29, 2008)

Meri readies her shield in front of her and steps out with Larry, ready to try to give him cover if they start to shoot.

(Basically, I'll stay between him and gunzombies, giving him cover. If they shoot at me, at least I have a shield bonus to AC )


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## Friadoc (Feb 29, 2008)

With weapon at the ready, Cade steps across and behind Larry and Merideth, so as to get a clear shot of it is needed.


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## kinem (Feb 29, 2008)

Diego draws his gun as well, and steps up a bit.  He doesn't want to appear hostile, but he does want to be able to return fire right away if need be.


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## Falkus (Mar 1, 2008)

"Well," croaked the scientist as the team entered the testing chamber. "Living humans at last. I was beginning to give up hope ever finding a suitable human again." As he turned, you could see that his neck was bent at an unnatural angle.

He looked at Meredith's new shield. "That shield, are you? No, no. He's long dead. I forget how short lived you humans are."


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## Shayuri (Mar 1, 2008)

"Are you the oracle?" Meredith asks warily. "The spirit in the ruby?"


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## Falkus (Mar 1, 2008)

The scientist laughed. "The oracle? One of those flitting little things that the priests put in and out of gullible young women. Creatures with such vast powers, yet have no will to use them as power should be used? No, I'm nothing like them. I'm different. I'm not here to give you humans mystic advice. I'm here for my own reasons. And if I hadn't accidentally killed off every suitable host when I took over this base, I wouldn't even still be here."


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## industrygothica (Mar 1, 2008)

"So who... or what, are you," Nick asks, his hand on his own gun.


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## Falkus (Mar 1, 2008)

"What am I? As I said, I'm different. When my species defeated the Lords of Sand after they invaded our home, we scattered throughout the universe. The other fools thought they could warn and help other sentient beings. I realized our true potential. Magic, necromancy, enchantment, possession. True power. The ability to impose my will on lesser beings. The other ones came here to help you against the Sand Lords. I came here to rule you," he (if the creature was indeed a he) glanced at Meredith. "And now that you have brought me a suitable host, I shall begin."

"Kill them all, spare the girl," he ordered the zombies. As one, they raised their AKs and prepared to fire.

Initiative:
Meredith: 20
Soviet Zombies: 16
Larry: 14
Cade: 13
Scientist: 10
Diego: 4
Nick: 4


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## Shayuri (Mar 3, 2008)

There's a flash of silver-white light as Meri yanks her sword from its place at her side in a single movement. Its blade doesn't exactly GLOW, but it seems to reflect more light than could possibly be hitting it in this bleak, dark place...and despite the green glow of chemical light sticks, the sword shines white.

"Yeah, I've got another idea. How about we put your little reunion tour of the Grateful Dead, and you spend another umpteen thousand years stuck in a vase where you can't hurt anyone?"

She dashes at the armed corpses, not charging to attack, but getting close enough to them that she can thwack them if they don't keep on guard.

(Draw sword and move into melee range of as many as I can threaten, so I can AoO 'em. Well. One of them. Hee. )


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## Friadoc (Mar 4, 2008)

"Man, you're so a Goa'uld!"

Cade quickly snaps his AK-74 to his shoulder, making sure he has a clear firing picture (with none of his team in the way) before he flips the rate of fire selector to full auto and pulls the trigger.

OOC

Cade is firing a clip of ammo that is mixed with blessed, regular, and WP rounds.


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## industrygothica (Mar 4, 2008)

A bit shocked, Nick dives for cover and starts frantically tracing unseen lines in the air and muttering something under his breath.

[sblock=ooc]Magic Missile at the ass hole.[/sblock]


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## iwatt (Mar 4, 2008)

"You know what Blade? I don't see a future here. He only wants you for your body." The desert Eagle in his hand rises surely into position, as he blasts a shot dead on to the old man.  He then dives for cover as well.


[sblock]ooc: Action point thrown into the mix, just in case.[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Mar 8, 2008)

Meredith charged forwards, and wound up next to three zombies. They all started firing their weapons, and she take advantage of this to swing her sword. It briefly flashed white, and opened up a massive wound on the zombie's chest.

The zombies continued to fire, however, spraying 7.62mm ammo at the team. The crew managed to mostly get to cover and avoid the flying lead, but Diego and Nick were both hit, Diego especially badly, the bullet taking a nasty chunk out of his chest.

Larry fired a high caliber pistol bullet into the chest of the scientist, rocking him backwards in his wheelchair.

Cade sprayed a burst of ammunition downrange, hitting two zombies, including the one Meredith hit, knocking it down to the ground. The WP ammunition ignited the second zombie, but it didn't seem to notice the flames.

The scientist just sat and laughed in his wheelchair as the fighting raged on.

Diego fired at the flaming zombie, just barely hitting it.

Nick traced the lines for his spell, and sent a magic missile hurtling at the scientists, glowing brightly as it used the incredibly high ambient magical energy in the atmosphere to charge itself. It slammed into the scientists chest, knocking him and his wheelchair over backwards. A glowing cloud of floating particles, no more than four feet in diameter, exited out of the dead man's nose and mouth, rising into the air and orienting itself above the battle.

[sblock]Meredith hits a zombie and deals 14 points of damage
Diego is critically hit and takes 21 points of damage
Nick takes 13 points of damage
Larry deals 11 points of damage to the scientist
Cade deals 20 damage to the first zombie, killing it, and 14 damage to the second
Diego deals 6 points of damage to the burning zombie
Nick deals 5 points of damage to the scientst[/sblock]


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## kinem (Mar 11, 2008)

"Oh !" Diego reels from the sudden pain in his chest.

He verifies that he's still alive and able to shoot, for the moment.  He fires again at the zombie he'd just hit.  (ooc: Will use an AP)


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## kinem (Mar 11, 2008)

"Oh sh it!" Diego reels from the sudden pain in his chest.

He verifies that he's still alive and able to shoot, for the moment.  He fires again at the zombie he'd just hit.  (ooc: Will use an AP)


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## Friadoc (Mar 11, 2008)

Cade quickly switches focus, since the idea of a cloud coming from the man who was talking about posessing Meri now floating above everyone seems to bother him.

Firing a brief burst upward, into the cloud, Cade hopes that the WP rounds might ignite the cloud and remove it as a threat.


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## Shayuri (Mar 11, 2008)

Meredith looks up at the cloud, startled by the manifestation. It wasn't really a 'spirit,' she thinks. More like those 'sand men,' they'd fought earlier. Which made sense, given what it had said earlier. A cloud of particles that possessed people instead of forming duplicates, maybe.

But how do you fight a cloud of dust?

Experimentally, she tries to jump up and take a swipe at it with the sword of Galahad!


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## industrygothica (Mar 11, 2008)

Nick fires at the nearest zombie.


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## iwatt (Mar 12, 2008)

Larry, somewhat surprised by the ease of destroying the old man, shrugs while he takes cover behind a desk and shoots at the same zombie the Doc does.


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## Falkus (Mar 15, 2008)

Meredith leapt up at the Ephemeral in its natural state. The sword passed harmlessly through the cloud of particles.

Three of the surviving zombies continued to spray ammunition across the room, headless of any threat to themselves. One of them managed to place a shot into Cade's leg. Meredith took advantage of this opening, and smoothly beheaded it, dropping its burning carcass to the floor. The other two zombies tried to club her to the ground with the butts of their rifles. One of them hit her in the chest, but she barely felt it, what with the increased physical strength she'd been showing lately.

Larry dived for cover, firing wildly. His shot pinged off a wall behind the ruby on its stand, missing the zombie he was shooting at by a large margin.

Cade's burst of fire passed through the Ephemeral, spraying fiery (and holy) sparks off the ceiling, but apparently causing it no damage. It seemed impervious to phyiscal harm.

Ignoring the futile attempts to injure it, the Ephemeral dove down at Meredith. It gathered around her face, and tried to force itself into her body through her mouth. A distinctly unpleasant feeling, and Meredith could begin to feel its thought patterns taking control of her own. Through sheer force of will, Meredith forced it out of her mouth and back into the air, where it regrouped in the air above.

Diego and Nick both fired at the same zombie, and they both hit it, staggering it a bit, but not slowing it down.

[sblock]
Cade is hit for 8 points of damage
Meredith is hit for 5 points of damage
Meredith hits the burning zombie and deals 14 points of damage.
Diego hits and deals 7 points of damage
Nick hits and deals 8 points of damage
[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Mar 15, 2008)

[sblock=ooc]I don't suppose you've got a crude map or something?  I could really use a visual reference right now if you've got it.[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Mar 15, 2008)

No problem. Here you go.


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## industrygothica (Mar 15, 2008)

Nick fires again at the zombie, this time on the move towards the old table to his left.

[sblock=ooc]Thanks for the map; it helps.  Basically Nick is going to try to make his way toward the artifacts in the back of the room to see if we can't get this thing back in his jar instead of in Meri.[/sblock]


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## iwatt (Mar 17, 2008)

Forgetting to use their cover names, Larry shouts out. "Meri, get the hell away from that thing."  As he shouts, the con man decides that until he improved his markmanship, the team was better off with him doing something stupid. That always seemed to work after all. Running from behind cover, the con man rushes towards the table with the ruby. "Remember, this is supposed to be a smash and grab." He was careful to stay out of reach of the zombies.

[sblock=ooc] The ruby was important as well, right? Cause the idea is to grab what they need and run like the dickens![/sblock]


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## Friadoc (Mar 18, 2008)

Cade will try to move around the old tables, going for the controls, however he will pause along the way to shoot at one of the zombies.

OOC

Basically, I want to see if there is anything useful in the controls.


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## kinem (Mar 19, 2008)

Diego will duck behind the table to his left (ooc: on the right side of the map, where Nick is) and will shoot again from there at the flaming zombie he'd just hit.

_I've got a bad feeling about this!_


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## Shayuri (Mar 19, 2008)

More than a little unnerved by this force she can't hurt and that can most definitely hurt her, Meredith backs warily away from the zombies, then tries to circle around them towards the central dias with the vase, intending on getting to the ruby!

(Withdrawing to avoid AoO, heading for the ruby while avoiding grabby zombs!)


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## Falkus (Mar 21, 2008)

Meredith ducked away from the zombies, dodging gunfire and rifle butt blows, and the Ephemeral, and made her way towards the ruby on the table

The zombies continued to fire their weapons, slow in movement, but dedicated and unflinching in the pursuit of their goals. Cade got nicked in the leg as he moved.

Larry ran towards the table, and managed to reach it.

Cade fired a shot as he moved, and hit a zombie, but it's tough, leathery flesh resisted the bullet without taking any damage. The controls themselves appeared to operate the doors, a few cranes and a variety of high tech (for the fifites) scientific apparatus. Unfortunately, without electricity, none of them worked.

The Ephemeral flowed through the air after Meredith.

Diego dived for cover and continued firing, but his shot went wide, missing the zombie.

Nick shot as he moved, also missing his target.

[sblock]
Cade takes 8 points of damage.

[/sblock]


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## industrygothica (Mar 21, 2008)

[sblock=ooc]Nick has a _Power Device_ spell prepared.  Would these controls falls under something that could benefit from that spell, or are they too intricate.  Also, if they can be powered, does Nick see how doing so would help out in any way?  If so, he does it.  If not he'll head toward the the vase and see if he can't get that thing back inside (assuming that's where it came from).[/sblock]


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## Falkus (Mar 21, 2008)

OOC: It could work. The scientific equipment wouldn't benefit, but it would allow the team to seal the doors, or drop one of the heavy cranes on the ceiling onto something.


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## industrygothica (Mar 21, 2008)

Falkus said:
			
		

> OOC: It could work. The scientific equipment wouldn't benefit, but it would allow the team to seal the doors, or drop one of the heavy cranes on the ceiling onto something.





Then that's what Nick will do on his turn.


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## iwatt (Mar 21, 2008)

"Meri, take the ruby!" Moving to put the table between himself and the zombies, the con-man speaks to the Ephemeral. "Look at me, you interstellar fart! You are as stupid as you are useless. Focusing on the girl, when the true source of power here is me. No wonder you were stuck in this helhole for the last fifty years."

[sblock]Trying to buy Meri some time to take the ruby and for the others to get the vase. Bluffing for all I'm worth, throwing an AP (that's 2 so far this combat) for good measure. Moving to the table on the lower left side, to draw attention to myself.[/sblock]


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## kinem (Mar 21, 2008)

Diego keeps firing at the gun-toting zombie.  (ooc: He'll use an AP.)


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## Falkus (Mar 24, 2008)

> Then that's what Nick will do on his turn.




Er, which is he going to do?


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## Shayuri (Mar 24, 2008)

Meredith lunges over the table and reaches out to grab the gem!


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## industrygothica (Mar 25, 2008)

Falkus said:
			
		

> Er, which is he going to do?




Cast the spell, _power device_.


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## Falkus (Mar 25, 2008)

I mean, what's he going to do with the controls once they're turned on? Close some doors, or move the cranes around?


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## industrygothica (Mar 26, 2008)

Falkus said:
			
		

> I mean, what's he going to do with the controls once they're turned on? Close some doors, or move the cranes around?




He'll try to take out some of the zombies with a crane.


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## Friadoc (Mar 30, 2008)

Cade takes a quick knee, aiming for a clear shot away from Meri, and fires upon the gun-tottinh zombies. Basically, he is trying to split their field of fire and focus, so as to give the group an edge in the fight against such a relentless foe.


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## Falkus (Mar 30, 2008)

Meredith grabbed the ruby off the table. Holding it, she could feel it's power, thanks to her heritage, but had no idea how to access or use it.

The four remaining zombies opened up with their assault rifles, firing shots at Larry, Nick, Cade and Diego. They missed everybody but Diego, who got shot in the left side of his chest.

Larry tried to con the Ephemeral, but it didn't have any noticeable reaction to his words.

Cade's shot at the zombie went wild.

Once again, the Ephemeral focused on Meredith, trying to enter her body and take over her brain. And once again, she expelled it through sheer force of will.

Diego's shot hit dead on, but only barely scratched the zombie.

Nick mutterred a few arcane words and cast his spell. For a short period of time, the controls and the machinery they ran came to life. It was enough time for Nick to maneuver the heavy crane used to move around the larger gear over three zombies, and release the locks. This being fifties era Soviet gear, it lacked all the safety mechanism of more modern machinery that would have made it possible.

Three zombies exploded into blood and gore as they were squashed flatter than a pancake,


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## iwatt (Mar 31, 2008)

Rushing towards the urn, Larry grabs hold of it, and takes it out of the line of fire. "Really Meri, get the hell out of here!"


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## industrygothica (Mar 31, 2008)

After flattening the zombies, Nick rushes over to Meridith while muttering a few incoherent words.  "Don't swing, it's only me," he says as he approaches her. His hand is glowing, and as he touches her shoulder the glow seems to slide off him and melt into her--painlessly, he hoped.

ooc: _Resistance_ on Meridith, for yet an additional boost to her save.


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## Shayuri (Apr 3, 2008)

Meredith looks around wildly, not sure what to do now. Then her eyes light on the vase...and a guess filters into her head from the still dark waters deep at the base of her mind.

_Like a genie in a bottle..._

She breaks into a run for the table, reaching out with her free hand to grab the vase now.


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## kinem (Apr 5, 2008)

"Wow, well done Nick!"

For now, Diego continues firing at the remaining zombie.  He prepares to run, though.


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## Friadoc (Apr 6, 2008)

"Way to go, Professor!" Cade shouts, as he moves forward, around the flattened, gory mess of the zombies and he opens fire, point blank, on the remaining zombie as Meri rushed for the urn.


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## Falkus (Apr 9, 2008)

Meredith ran to the table and scooped up the urn with her other hand. The ruby started to glow more brightly as she held both objects.

The last zombie continued to fire at Diego, but missed.

Larry got to the table just after Meredith grabbed the urn.

[Put that down!] thundered a voice into everybody's heads, bypassing the ears and going directly into the brain as the Ephemeral flowed through the air towards Meredith.

Diego fired a true shot, hitting the zombie right in the chest.

Nick cast his spell on Meredith, strengthening her resolve, her quickness and her fortitude against danger.

[sblock]Cade hits, dealing 8points of damage
Diego hits, dealing 10 points of damage[/sblock]


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## iwatt (Apr 9, 2008)

"This is a bad idea, Meri. With our record, it should work." The mad grin crosses the con-man's face, as it usually did when the adrenaline was pumping crazily through his veins.

[sblock] I'm guessing Meri wants to trap the creature in the vase the next time it attacks her. Larry will use an Aid Another action to help her out.[/sblock]


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## Shayuri (Apr 10, 2008)

Meredith looks around as the momentary instinct starts to fade. The urn was important, she felt that...but it was maddeningly vague.

"Anyone have any bright ideas now?" she asks.

Then, as the misty thing approaches her, she figures...why not start with the classics?

Meri aims the opening of the flask towards the oncoming possessive monster and raises the ruby up in her other hand.

"By the power of this stone, I command you to go into this urn and stay there forever!" she demands.


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## kinem (Apr 11, 2008)

_Damn that zombie's tough!  I wonder if a sword could be the best way to deal with those after all!_

Diego continues firing at the stubborn zombie.


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## Friadoc (Apr 13, 2008)

"Hey, Professor," shouts Cade over the roar of AK-47 fire. "Got any ideas for Smokey Pants here?!?"

Cade continues to shoot into the remaining zombie, while making sure that his background picture when he shoots is clear of any friendlies.


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## industrygothica (Apr 13, 2008)

Nick shrugs, confused.  "Run?" he says simply."


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## Falkus (Apr 13, 2008)

The effect as Meredith thrust the ruby towards and into the Ephemeral was dramatic. A harsh shriek sounded throughout the room. The Ephemeral collapsed down around the ruby, until there was just a whirling ring of gas rapidly revolving around the ruby as the shriek continued to echo throughout the room. Fortunately, the suits stopped the worst of it, otherwise it would have probably shattered the teams' eardrums.

Even as Meredith watched, the ring of gas started to lose cohesion. The creature had been temporarily trapped, but was working its way free.

The last remaining zombie collapsed as the Ephemeral was forced around the ruby.

OOC: Combat is temporarily over


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## kinem (Apr 14, 2008)

_Whew!_

Diego goes around the table and kicks the gun away from the last zombie, then proceeds to blast the corpse apart.  "No disrespect intended to the original owner of this body, but I don't want this tough guy getting back up.  _Now_ let's get the hell out of here!"


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## Shayuri (Apr 14, 2008)

"Uh," Meredith says, eying the orbiting monster with trepidation. "Help?"

"Guys, it's trying to get free and I don't know how to stop it!"

She holds the urn towards Nick, but doesn't let it go.

"Are these marks on it words? Can you read them? Maybe there's instructions!"


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## iwatt (Apr 14, 2008)

"Nuke it? Seal it in the urn. Run reallly, really, fast? It didn't leave this room for a very long time, which means it isn't that mobile."


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## industrygothica (Apr 14, 2008)

Nick tries to read the words on the urn shaking in Meridith's hand.  He's careful not to touch it, not wanting to disturb whatever connection she may have to the thing.


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## Falkus (Apr 17, 2008)

Unfortunately, the writings on the vase are fairly generic prayers, and don't contain any information that would be useful here and now.

Nick does, however, sense something from the ruby itself as he gets close to it. A sort of an arcane hunger, as if it desired and/or needed power. The way it feels, it's as if almost as if the ruby is trying, but failing, to suck his spells right out of his mind.


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## industrygothica (Apr 17, 2008)

Nick takes a surprised step back and points to the ruby.  "That... get that thing away from me.  It... feeding?  Or trying to.  Something's not right with it."  He's obviously shaken, but trying to hold it together.

"There's nothing on the urn, just a bunch of prayers.  But there's something to the rock.  Maybe that's the power source?"


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## Friadoc (Apr 17, 2008)

"What do you mean by feeding," asks Cade as he gives the ruby a wary look.


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## Shayuri (Apr 17, 2008)

Meredith looks at Nick wildly.

"Maybe it NEEDS to feed! Maybe that's why it's not strong enough to hold this thing! Damnit..."

She kicks the sword away (having dropped it so she had a hand free to use the urn and ruby ). "If it gets me, knock me out fast."


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## iwatt (Apr 21, 2008)

Larry picks up Meri's blade. He had no idea how to use it, but he wanted to be ready to hand it to her again if required.


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## Friadoc (Apr 23, 2008)

oO Not what I had in mind when I said I'd hit that  Oo

Pushing aside his thoughts, Cade says, "We got your back, Meri."

He'll then move closer to Meri's position, just in case, holding the rifle so as to be able to deliver a quick, hard stroke with the buttend of the stock, if needed.


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## Shayuri (Apr 26, 2008)

(if I still have an action...not sure )

Meredith looks at the urn...to see if there's maybe a fitting on it where the ruby could be set, or even if it will fit inside, perhaps!


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## Falkus (Apr 26, 2008)

There was no slot or indentation or anything that gave any indication that the ruby was to be placed. As the team tried to figure out what to do, the Ephemeral broke free from the ruby, flowing away from the gem and back into a cloud above Meredith, where, once again, it attempted to flow into her body and possess her. And once again, Meredith's own strong sense of self and genetic resistance to such things saved her.

The inner light on the ruby was dimer now than it was before it trapped the Ephemeral, as it were running low on power.


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## industrygothica (Apr 27, 2008)

Impulsively, Nick reaches out and clutches Meridith's hand, trapping the ruby between their palms. "It's all I've got," he says through clinched teeth.  "I hope it's enough!"


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## Falkus (Apr 27, 2008)

As Nick clutched the ruby, he felt it start to pull at his mind, absorbing some of his power. It lasted an instant, but when it was over, all of the arcane power he'd stored that day was gone.

Industry:
[sblock]All of Nick's remaining spells have been expended.[/sblock]

The glow from the ruby was now blindingly bright. The Ephemeral flowed away from Meredith and the ruby, towards the door. It stopped before it reached the door, however, as if running into an invisible wall in the air.


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## Shayuri (Apr 27, 2008)

"Oh no you don't," Meredith says grimly, and holds up the ruby towards the fleeing cloud again!


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## Falkus (Apr 27, 2008)

Meredith pursued the fleeing cloud, and thrust the ruby into it. As before, there was a shrieking sound, and the Ephemeral was sucked down around the ruby. This time, however, it didn't just simply remain in orbit. The ruby sucked the creature in more and more, compressing it down further and further until, at the end, by the inexorable laws of physics, there was just a single, large piece of sand, that dropped into Meredith's hand. It was wide enough to fit down the neck of the bottle.


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## Shayuri (Apr 27, 2008)

Meredith stares at the little pebble in a moment of shock...she'd expected it to actually somehow enter the ruby for some reason...then quickly scoops it up with the lip of the urn's neck and shakes the urn until she's sure it's all the way inside.

Then she looks around at the others.

"Is...are you all okay?" she asks in a shaken voice.


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## Friadoc (Apr 28, 2008)

"As fine as any of us are, after this stuff," says Cade with a wry chuckle. "How about you, you okay?"


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## iwatt (Apr 28, 2008)

"We got to start to get better briefing's, Joker. This guessing how to kill stuff during a fight stopped been fun after the third wacky freak-of-the week we ran into." The con-man checked his gun clip, and changed it for a fully loaded one. "What you say the doc makes sure we ain't leaving anything behind and then we get the hell out of dodge."


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## kinem (Apr 28, 2008)

"I've been hit" Diego says "but I'll be OK.  Flesh wound.  Let's go."


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## Shayuri (May 1, 2008)

Meredith nods and takes a deep breath to steady herself.

"Yeah...I can't believe I managed to fight it off like that though. It was...intense."

She looks at the urn in her hand, then at the ruby.

"I guess they used this to suck the Delphi spirit out of the oracle when it was done...we can use it on the girl...yeah, lets go." Then, with a worried look, "But some of you have bullet holes in your suits. Can we get out safely?"


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## Falkus (May 2, 2008)

Duct tape's a wonderful thing.


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## Friadoc (May 2, 2008)

Looking around for a moment, Cade checks one of his packs and produces a roll of duct tape and, with a half grin, he says, "Patch time."


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## Shayuri (May 6, 2008)

Meredith nods at Cade, then as the guys patch their bullet holes she moves around the room to look at the other objects...the shield tucked under her right arm, with the ruby in that hand, and holding the urn firmly in her left hand.


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## Falkus (May 6, 2008)

Suits patched, and artifacts in hand, the team made its way back to the surface of the facility. Along the way, they observed that the various dead bodies were no longer in their original positions. Apparently, the Ephemeral had reanimated everyone on the base and was sending them downstairs.

As the team reached the surface, a helicopter passed over the base, shining a spotlight down on it. The team could make out Hoffmann Institute markings on the side, and then it flew on and landed in a clearing to the east.


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## Friadoc (May 6, 2008)

"Oh, now they fly in," says Cade with a sardonic chuckle. "Okay, team, it's a short hump away from our ride, first round is on me."


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## iwatt (May 6, 2008)

"Eh Joker, not to sound paranoid and all, but how come they showed up just in time? Anybody can slap a sticker on a chopper after all. You want to let me and the Doc do the talking, while you and Mace cover us? I'd take Blade, but I'd rather keep her and the loot away until we know what's what." The Con-man seems hell bent on not been suckered this time. "After all, by now a lot of people might have figured out what we were after, and I'd hate to have done all the heavy lifting just to get suckered into giving it all up."


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## kinem (May 6, 2008)

"Damn, I'd have never thought of that!" Diego exclaims.  "I was still marvelling over the wonders of duct tape."


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## Friadoc (May 6, 2008)

"Good idea, Face," says Cade with a nod as he slows his steps a bit, just to play it safe. However, before Diego is out of earshot he says, "I'll let you borrow my MacGyver DVDs, let the Master teach you of Duct Tape." With a chuckle, Cade adds, "Hell, he only had a Swiss Army Knife, he'd have been omniscient with a pocket tool."


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## Falkus (May 10, 2008)

Larry and Nick made their way to the landed chopper, under the cover of the other team members. As they got closer, they noted that the writing on the side was in Japanese.

"Are you Team Libra?" a man shouted over the sound of the rotors, opening the side door of the helicopter. He was heavily dressed in cold weather clothing.


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## Shayuri (May 10, 2008)

Meri watches from where she's crouching behind cover...irrationally afraid, and berating herself for it. They'd just faced down some weird ghostly thing that was animating dead bodies...and they'd had to work out on the fly how to contain it. Now she was worried about -the ride-? 

It wasn't a sixth sense, or a hunch or anything else. It was just a vague uneasiness. Maybe she was just getting paranoid.


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## iwatt (May 12, 2008)

The japanese markings on the chopper caused the con-man some trepidation, but his well trained face didn't show it. "How about you tell me who *you *are first? Not that I'm the suspicious type, but I don't remember calling for a pickup." While they spoke, Larry used his PDA to snap pictures of the chopper's markings as well as the face of the man talking, and sent them to Cade. It was a simple enough maneuver for a man who'd earned some extra money as an amateur magician, and hopefully Joker could make something out of them.


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## Falkus (May 15, 2008)

"Fedorov arranged for a pickup. The Tokyo Institute branch has a long range helicopter at its disposal," the man replied. "Just call the Institute and confirm it, will you? It's freezing out here."


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## Friadoc (May 15, 2008)

Cade will quickly check out the images sent, as well as contact the Institute to confirm that the pick-up flight is legit, before giving the team the go ahead to mount up and get the hell out of dodge.

OOC

We've got SATPhone capabilities, right? I was pretty sure we did, but just making sure.


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## Shayuri (May 20, 2008)

Meri tenses, ready to run over to the copter at the all-clear signal.


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## Falkus (May 23, 2008)

OOC: Aaagh, sorry I didn't reply earlier. For some reason, I didn't get an e-mail notification that a post had been made.

The Institute confirms that the helicopter pickup is legit. They also confirm that they've got a jet waiting at the nearest international airport to get the team back to Chicago.



> We've got SATPhone capabilities, right? I was pretty sure we did, but just making sure.




OOC: Institute cellphones can get a signal anywhere from New York to the Antarctic.


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## Friadoc (May 23, 2008)

"They're legit, folks," says Cade over the team comms. "The Institute confirmed it."

With that, Cade will help anyone onto the chopper who needs help, waiting until the last person is loaded before he hops on himself.

"Let's get us home," says Cade to the helicopter pilot. "Before my cat switches loyalties."


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## iwatt (May 23, 2008)

> "Just call the Institute and confirm it, will you? It's freezing out here."




Once they're safely strapped into the chopper, the con-man laughs at the operative. "You don't think I enjoyed standing out there like a target, did you. Just can't be to careful. Seems like everybody and there mother knows what we're up to."

Turning to Cade he adds. "About that. I think we've got to start figuring out how come information leaks so much. Or at least have us be the ones doing the spying for a change."


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## Shayuri (May 23, 2008)

Meri climbs up into the chopper, awkwardly clutching her cargo with her. She's especially careful with the urn, handing it up first before trying to climb in. After that she's quiet, just staring at the objects on her lap...aware now that she can somehow feel them, like grains of sand in the back of her head. She could point to them with her eyes closed. It seemed useful maybe...but why was it happening at all? And what was next?


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## Falkus (May 25, 2008)

Once the team is aboard the helicopter, it takes off and heads back to Tokyo, with a speed and range you've come to expect from institute vehicles. The base quickly vanished in the distance, and you were able to turn your mind to the future.

Experts in Tokyo were able to identify the items you recovered while you waited for your flight. As per direct 8942-C.23, you were allowed to keep them as they directly benefited your activities.

[sblock]
Wand of the lesser magus: stores three spell levels and lets silent spell be used twice a day for free

Shield of the Confronter: +2 shield bonus with a +1 magic bonus and no armor penalty.

Holster of Concealment: Turns any gun invisible in the holster and can be drawn instantly.

Blade Focusing Ring: Gives a +2 to hit and a +3 to damage with a psi-blade.

Cufflinks of Disguise: Casts change self on the wearer three times a day.

Watch of Power: Gives the owner four extra power points a day.[/sblock]

One week later
With time and proper tools, Nick was able to study the ruby and the stone more thoroughly, and determine how to use it to remove an ephemeral, thus allowing Carol to be saved. Since Team Libra had already had contact with her and her family, another team was assigned to perform ritual.

A day later, it was reported a complete success. The ephemeral had been removed from Carol and stored. The young girl was recovering fully, and was giving no signs of any more prophetic statements. With the ruby, stone and ephemerals in position, the Institute itself would now carefully conduct their own research into prophecy, using volunteers and controlled environments.

As for the vase containing the psychotic Ephemeral from the Russian base, that was taken into custody by the Institute, to be stored in a secure location they said.

As for the shards of the sword, the Institute still couldn't make heads or tell of them. They defied all conventional, unconventional and downright supernatural analysis. Given their obvious link to Meredith, it was decided to give them into her custody for the time being, to see if anything new developer.

Meanwhile
The Mega-Ton Mega-Secure Mega-Safes were very expensive storage devices used by the Hoffmann Institute, products of alien technology. Only a few were made each year due to the expense, time and rarity of the material needed. In previous eras, new safes were tested by hiding them at the ground zero of nuclear test sites and recovering them after the blast.

Once sealed, the safes could only be opened or breached by a complex array of electromagnets that only existed in one location. This only rarely happened, something put into one of these safes was put there with the understanding that it was something that should never be seen again.

It was into one of these safes that the vase containing the psychotic Ephemeral was sealed by the Hoffmann Institute Special Branch, and then it was dropped into the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean.

OOC: Mission complete! You each receive 6500 EXP!


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## Friadoc (May 25, 2008)

"Very true," says Cade to Larry. "Although sometimes I wonder if I really wanna know the answer."

OOC

Awesome adventure, Falkus! Well done everyone.

Plus, woot! Leveled! Earned fifth and almost got six, dang it.  Just 500 xp short. *laughs*

That's how the dice roll, though.

I can't wait to see what's next.


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