Survey Mission 4A Location: Prypiat Images:: x, x, x. General debriefing: Commonly known amongst most Hunters as one of the largest Halloween-Human portal hotspots, a strange influx of Fear and Insanity has grabbed a hold of the location, especially underground. The area is now covered in a thick fog, and what few tourists make it through are rarely seen back. The entire area has been covered off by local authorities, though the fog radius and Insanity seems to be spreading... * B class difficulty level (must have a team of three, at least one of them must be a Full Hunter. This is considered a DANGEROUS mission. )
MECHANICS
* MECHANICS: RP assembling a team, as necessary, before heading towards the Lighthouse portal to request a portal to Survey Mission AA. Once there, roll a 100-sided dice and match the roleplay to the results below, as well as any reactions. Players can continue rolling until any of the players roll an INSANITY ENCOUNTER, in which case the BATTLE PHASE begins. See below for battle phase mechanics. 1- 20: You can't see through the thick layer of fog. At some points you hear someone call you, whether or teammate or another voice entirely. At other points you see a shadow of someone, as you reach towards them they disappear entirely. You trip over something - a body rotting, thick dark blood still blossoming on the ground in crystal-like fragments. They are smiling with eyes wide open at you. 21 - 40: As you walk deeper, you hit an old, rusted ferris wheel. There are people hanging inside each pod, some half-draped out, others nestled in. Their bodies seem to be showing light signs of decay, unmoving. All of them are smiling, widely, perfect teeth showing. 41 - 60: You manage to navigate through the fog into a segment of thick concrete. The area is extremely dangerous and radiates high levels of Fear and Insanity. You hear a voice mocking you, and laughing at the same time, words nonsensical. For a second you feel as if someone is watching you from behind you, tugging at you. As you walk past the pavement you realize all the cracks on the sidewalk are shaped in a large, wrinkled grin. 61 - 80: You see something from the corner of your eyes, a greyed out version of yourself. They wave at you and smile, grin splitting their face.... 81- 100: BOSS ENCOUNTER: - As you continue walking down the sidewalk you hear a large crack, followed by another. A strange gas explodes from underneath, making you extremely dizzy, as you cough to figure out what is going on, fighting for air now. You have exposed your entire team to a hallucinogen, making everything more terrifying than ever as your vision swims and hops uncontrollably and your hearing becomes muted. Something creaks, groans, lurches underneath you, but is that your imagination?
- BOSS MECHANICS: This boss is a mob that has collective 100 HP. Every time you attack it (following the general battle rules), you TAKE 8 damage. AS you can't really see the boss, most of it will have to be dependent on what you can see, if anything at all, from strange faceless figures lurching, half-hopping towards you to the smiling dead coming back and swiping at you. Make sure to tally the boss's total HP (the damage you did to it) at the bottom of your post as well as your total HP and the damage you did that round. If the boss's HP hits 0, you have defeated it, and your team can now take the portal back.
* 3 mission reward points for completing this successfully
Summons would come early, but anyone used to island life was probably accustomed to the buzz of their phones in the wee hours of the morning. Gretchen wasn't not yet, but she had one thing going for her, in that she was a bit of a morning person. The buzz was enough to drag her out of a dream and back into reality, and after readying the text she crawled to the edge of the bed so she could slid on her prosthetic, pausing briefly for a long yawn.
All in all it didn't take that long to get ready. She'd taken to showering before bed, it freed up her morning quite a bit. Leaving time to sleep in a bit when she was able, or time to get herself situated and ready to go when that wasn't an option.
This meant she arrived at the portal with five minutes to spare, fingers working deftly to weave her long hair into a side braid over one shoulder so she could tie it off with an elastic she'd had around her wrist. She didn't see her team mates, yet, but they could have been inside already.
chiickadee
medigel
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 6:15 pm
Chel didn't do "early."
She didn't even do "on time"; she did fifteen minutes late holding a caprisun and tweeting Chris from across the island. "So yeah, that s**t put me to sleep 'cause it was boring as baaaaalls and what's her d**k can't stop bitin' her ********' lip." Deep in a very important conversation.
And then she looked up and noticed Gretch in a lackadaisical kind of way. "Oh hey Gretch. We ready to bounce?"
medigel
chiickadee
Princess Hoarder
Offline
medigel
Anxious Spirit
Offline
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 6:24 pm
Behind her came Jack, who looked as though he was only half-paying attention as he grunted in response, as was usually the case whenever anything involved Chris. In his hand was a disposable cup of hastily brewed coffee which was finished a few steps into the lighthouse. He didn't do "late" often when it came to a summons, but he'd been recently embedded in some research; sometimes time got away from him.
Besides, it was just an external mission.
There seemed to be a film over his eyes as he grabbed his runics; Jack wasn't much of a morning person, but he did give a vague nod of recognition at Gretchen.
Beejoux
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 6:41 pm
Dark eyes widened as first Chel, then Jack came wandering up the path towards the lighthouse. At first she was inclined to assume it might be a coincidence, them just heading out at the same time she was scheduled to be leaving for something else. Apparently not.
Jack's nod was returned, smile twitching up on one side in amusement for the somewhat glazed look in his eyes. Chel seemed to be the more awake of the two of them, but not by much.
"Hey gorgeous, yeah." How had she gotten lucky enough to find herself on a mission with her best friend and her best friend's new husband? Maybe someone in charge of handing out missions liked her, or was taking pity on her. Either way, Gretch wasn't going to question it. Instead she followed them inside, checking that she had her own runics, the few she had.
"Do you guys know where we're headed?" Nothing in the mission specs she'd received had looked familiar to her.
chiickadee
Beejoux
Wrathful Demigod
Offline
chiickadee
Princess Hoarder
Offline
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 6:45 pm
Jack's arm got a smack (slightly spilled caprisun) and Chel said, "See she calls me gorgeous- how come you don't do that?"
Almost like that had been part of Gretchen's question, she turned and continued, "Not a damn. I just show up when they tell me to." And she didn't even do that considering she was late. Chel didn't read let alone reading the mission specs.
Outstanding hunter.
medigel
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:07 pm
After pocketing the bandages, Jack gave his wife a look. "You could barely handle me calling you babe," he deadpanned.
The cup was disposed of. "It's in Prypiat." He was more than used to reading things in Chel's stead. "Hotspot for mixtures of Fear and Insanity. Uncertain origin, no horsemen sighted, high probability of hallucinogenic experiences."
He looked to them, seeming more alert now that he had listed the mission summary off. "Ready?"
Beejoux
medigel
Anxious Spirit
Offline
Beejoux
Wrathful Demigod
Offline
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 7:06 am
Gretchen just smiled, amused at the two of them as they tossed a little banter back and forth. She liked Jack, if for no other reason than he made Chel happy. It was reason enough for, as far as she was concerned.
But it was time to get serious. She turned her attention to Jack as he answered, eyes widening a touch. "Insanity?" She'd heard about it, read about it on reports, but as far as she knew she hadn't encountered it yet. At least for today she'd be with two full hunters, that would surely account for something. All the same, it made the trainee nervous, even as she nodded to Jack, tossing a quick glance towards Chel before facing the portal.
chiickadee
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:37 am
With Jack's height it was more like one and a half full hunters, but that was neither here nor there.
The usual fear and insanity didn't bother her much, but the mention of hallucinogenic experiences had her turning her gaze towards Jack. He'd just been on a mission like this ... He didn't seem phased- he'd be okay. She was here this time if things went south.
"Insanity's like fog but evil," she said with the wiggle of her fingers, "You'll know it when you see it and it sucks. Just attack it best you can and yell f'you need help." With that, she pushed past Gretchen and walked in first, shoulders slumped and bow out.
Jack bit down the need to correct her since knowing exactly what it was wouldn't better prepare Gretchen. Little steps. After a short glance where he met Chel's gaze and something unspoken went between them, he followed after into the portal.
The first thing that struck him as he arrived was a rusted ferris wheel near their portal entry. Some tourists were visible, still stuck in their seats in various positions. All of them seemed to wear the same expression: like a skeletal grin, but most still had their flesh surrounding the mouth. In fact, there didn't seem to be many signs of decay at all. Recent victims, or a side effect of the fog? Jack frowned slightly before turning his gaze forward again.
"It's preferable that you stay close as well," he added casually. To Gretchen of course; Chel wasn't one to really be restricted. "I've found these missions tend to turn nasty with little warning." After a moment, he asked, "Have you ever been on an external mission before, Gretchen?"
Quote:
21 - 40: As you walk deeper, you hit an old, rusted ferris wheel. There are people hanging inside each pod, some half-draped out, others nestled in. Their bodies seem to be showing light signs of decay, unmoving. All of them are smiling, widely, perfect teeth showing.
"O-oh." Well that didn't sound good at all. Gretchen's lips pressed into a nervous line, fingers moving to wrap around the edge of her coat as she followed the pair of them through the portal.
What she stepped out into did not bode well. It was foggy, thickly so, and there were large shadows looming all around them. It sent a small chill down her back from nape to hips. A shudder that had Devika giving a derisive hiss at the back of her mind, whispering something cold and cruel that had Gretchen immediately releasing her coat, fingers flexing at her sides a moment before she summoned her staff.
Like Jack, her attention lifted to the giant steel skeleton of the ferris wheel near their point of arrival. There were shadows, bodies in the cars, and the color drained from the trainee's face as she got near enough to see those wide, manic grins on each and every dead face. "Jesus..." She'd already intended to stick close, even without his prompting. This just cemented it. She did not want to find herself alone in this place.
Fixated on the dead, it seemed to take a moment for the question to register, but when it did she turned to look up at him, almost grateful for the distraction. "A few, yes."
Eager to get away from the bodies on the ferris wheel, and equally as eager to prove her usefulness to her friends as well as the organization as a whole, Gretchen edged along one of the more obvious paths, making sure to keep both Jack and Chel in view and relatively close. After a few slow steps it seemed like the path was opening up, concrete spreading out to disappear into the fog. She paused there, curious but cautious, half turning to ask her two comrades if she'd found something worth exploring further.
What was sad was that it took a moment for Greatchen to realize the mocking voice that pipped up softly in her mind didn't belong to Devika. She frowned, mentally reaching for her weapon and getting a begrudging hiss in return. This new voice was also feminine, but it lacked the familiar stretching of syllables that marked Devika's former race. "Guys..." She took a step back, ready to make a b-line straight for the other two hunters. The disembodied jerk on the end of her scarf only made her move all the faster.
Resisting the urge to grab Chel's arm, shifted her grip on her staff, holding it more at the ready. "The evil fog, Insanity. What does it do?"
Quote:
41 - 60: You manage to navigate through the fog into a segment of thick concrete. The area is extremely dangerous and radiates high levels of Fear and Insanity. You hear a voice mocking you, and laughing at the same time, words nonsensical. For a second you feel as if someone is watching you from behind you, tugging at you. As you walk past the pavement you realize all the cracks on the sidewalk are shaped in a large, wrinkled grin.
Chel took point, bow up and prepared to take out anything that was immediately a threat. Fortunately this wasn't the kind of mission where you were hurled straight into action. Unfortunately it was the other, worst kind: the kind where you had to just walk in eerie silence until you found something.
"Messes with you," she answered Gretchen, not looking at the girl but instead following Jack's gaze to the creepy ferris wheel. "Yikes. 'Least they're havin 'a good time."
She gave Gretchen a hardy slap on the back. It was partially as a joke but it was also partially to shake the girl out of whatever spook she had gotten. Both hunters were far too tense and while Chel took the mission seriously, she also knew it wouldn't help if Gretchen was jumping at every noise and brush of the wind. "C'mon cyborg, keep up."
Then she darted a few feet ahead of the twosome, as was her tendency.
Quote:
21 - 40: As you walk deeper, you hit an old, rusted ferris wheel. There are people hanging inside each pod, some half-draped out, others nestled in. Their bodies seem to be showing light signs of decay, unmoving. All of them are smiling, widely, perfect teeth showing.
Good. She had at least some experience with what to expect.
"Like I said: hallucinations." They were beginning now--or perhaps it was just the ambient Fear so warped that it grew more active by proximity. Jack watched his step as the concrete beneath them split further and further into Cheshire grins, ignoring the cackling voice in his head. Nothing it said was new at this point.
At least it was funny to hear Owain actually say it was poppycock in response.
It was only when he swore something had touched his back that he whirled around, blade appearing in a burst of green smoke just in case something actually had been there. Naturally, there wasn't; but at least his long legs meant he didn't really lag behind the girls.
He shared Chel's abject dread, however: this was the worst sort of mission.
"These areas tend to expel gas without warning," Jack told them. "You may want to go ahead and pull your scarf up."
Quote:
41 - 60: You manage to navigate through the fog into a segment of thick concrete. The area is extremely dangerous and radiates high levels of Fear and Insanity. You hear a voice mocking you, and laughing at the same time, words nonsensical. For a second you feel as if someone is watching you from behind you, tugging at you. As you walk past the pavement you realize all the cracks on the sidewalk are shaped in a large, wrinkled grin.
This reminded her of the first mission she had been on. The one with Chance and Dawson, somewhere deep in the woods with trees and shadows that reached from all sides. That had started fairly similarly to this, hadn't it? Or was her memories of that night warped by own guilt of having done so poorly? It didn't matter now, she reminded herself, drawing her scarf up obediently and walking quickly in Chel's wake.
The fog was thickening. Even as close as the three of them were it was getting hard to see the girl in front of her, or the man at their backs. Gretchen squinted through the dense haze, trying to keep Chel's pink back in view, but it was getting fainter and fainter, until..
"Chel, can you slow down?" She saw the fog, didn't she? Or was it just in her own head?
Palms sweating, she hurried forward, jogging to try to catch up, only to stop abruptly as an all too familiar voice cut through the thick silence that lay over the entire area.
"Gretchen, where are you?"
"Isaac?" He wasn't here. Why did she hear him? He was back on the island, where it was safe. Wasn't he? A dark shadow was moving closer, tall, broad shouldered. "What are you doing here?" Had he followed her?
(Do not be an idiot, girl. The oaf is not here.)
Then who is that...?
Swallowing, she reached out, using the runes on her staff to try to see into the gloom, but she still couldn't see anything. She tried to move forward, but her prosthetic caught on something heavy and sent her pitching forward with a startled yelp to crash into the concrete, staff clattering loudly as it hit. She hissed under her breath, rolling over to look down at what she'd stumbled over. She saw the blood first, spreading out and out, odd and awful, but not nearly as bad as the body itself. The color drained from Gretchen's face as she saw the side grin, and she scrambled back from it, a scream bubbling up from her lips before she could stop it.
Quote:
1- 20: You can't see through the thick layer of fog. At some points you hear someone call you, whether or teammate or another voice entirely. At other points you see a shadow of someone, as you reach towards them they disappear entirely. You trip over something - a body rotting, thick dark blood still blossoming on the ground in crystal-like fragments. They are smiling with eyes wide open at you.
Chel could, and did slow down as her name was called out. She was a scout, but that didn't mean leaving the group behind entirely.
She whispered something to her ring and a glowing eyeball appeared, about the size of an apple and looking around nervously. She shooed it on its way and left it to alert them if there was anything within range. "So long Tensy two."
< I do not like that name. >
As she turned to face Jack and Gretchen again, she noticed a greyish version of herself, grinning maliciously at it had once done in a Merlin dream. It stopped her for a moment, but the vision disappeared and left her confused for the time it left her to blink it away. Her brain stuttered for a moment, but then she remembered: not real.
She traced back to Jack and nudged him, signing maybe clone to him, not wanting to alert Gretchen.
Then she left to the trainee's side and put a small hand on her arm. "Isaac ain't here. It's not real but you ain't crazy." It's okay.
- 5 Artifact Points:
[ SUMMON ARTIFACT - CREATURE FORM ] You may summon your artifact into creature form. It takes on an ethereal appearance equal to the "core" of your weapon. It can vary anywhere from 1- 10 feet. In creature form, the artifact will obey most given commands with relative intelligence. As it is ethereal, it's physical power is actually rather weak. It is good for scouting/flying above/doing errands/etc. This lasts for 5 minutes. If you select this one, please explain what the creature is. It should be something that your character and/or artifact identifies with and is "creatureish" in shape. Please do not pick a "cosplay" theme for this. (5 points) (Y3 ONLY)
Quote:
61 - 80: You see something from the corner of your eyes, a greyed out version of yourself. They wave at you and smile, grin splitting their face....
He was used to Chel moving ahead as was her wont, but he still felt better keeping at least a part of her in sight. One never really knew with these missions, and while the dark no longer held the same sort of dread for him, this miasma was a different story. He coughed into his scarf as he caught up at his leisurely stride in time to see Chel help Gretchen up, eyeing the grinning corpse stoically.
Blonde, he signed back as a reminder. One of the few perks of dyeing their hair. Two legs. He doubted if there were any Gretchen clones that they were even capable of faking the prosthetic.
"You need to be more aware," he said to Gretchen as he passed by, following the glowing eyeball as if it were normal to. "Think. There are only three of us here, whatever voice you hear." It was Lina's voice in his now, mocking him for ever thinking there had been something between them--a good try on the Insanity's end, a bronze star for trying. But if it was trying to stir anything other than annoyance in Jack, it was failing.
Quote:
41 - 60: You manage to navigate through the fog into a segment of thick concrete. The area is extremely dangerous and radiates high levels of Fear and Insanity. You hear a voice mocking you, and laughing at the same time, words nonsensical. For a second you feel as if someone is watching you from behind you, tugging at you. As you walk past the pavement you realize all the cracks on the sidewalk are shaped in a large, wrinkled grin.
Survey Mission 4A
