You arrive some distance away from the area outlined as potentially having a natural portal, and being to scout things out.
Location:
Roll 1d8 until you gain 10 SP (scouting points) which lead you to the portal area.
1. You notice a group of strange birds. As they fly past, most seem to have two heads. (1 SP) 2. A tree lifts out of the ground, its roots forms two legs as it walks away. (2 SP) 3. There is a flickering in the corner of your eye, as if the channel had briefly been changed on reality. (3 SP) 4. You see your reflection in a mirror. Upon closer inspection you realize there is no mirror, only another you looking back. You blink and they're gone. (3 SP) 5. You find a section of dead grass with odd shaped footprints burned into it. (1 SP) 6. There is something that looks very much like a unicorn in the distance. (2 SP) 7. You feel a sudden, terrible heat, as if lava surround you. (2 SP) 8. Air is suddenly difficult to breath, as if you're very, very high up. (2SP)
You've been given a set of four runic knives to create a barrier around the portal and close it. They must be planted very precisely, one for each of the four cardinal directions. As you plant them, the words to awaken the runes are: borealis (north) australis (south) occidentalis (west) and orientalis (east). When all four are activated, speak the phrase, "A caelo usque ad centrum," in order to finish the process and seal the portal.
Closure:
For each dagger and the closure, the person doing it will need to roll, for a collective 5 rolls.
Roll 2d20
The first die is the prompt you receive. The second die is the damage done to you while your shield comes into contact with the unstable portal.
1-3: You step into the shoes of someone else in your life, either in your past, present, or even future. You are a passive but aware presence in their mind as a memory of your own plays out. You see yourself and your actions through their eyes. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
4-7: You find yourself reliving the worst moment of your life. You are not a passive presence, but an active one. You're able to make things go differently, though the results may not be what you hoped for. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
8-10: You are a future you, a very likely you, and you are dying. You are a passive presence, forced to watch the scene play out but not interfere. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
11-14. You wake up a different you. In the mirror you see changes, small and large, the ones you'd always wanted. The place you wake up in is the sort you'd always dreamed of. The people you wake up to are your ideals, and everything about them is exactly as you'd like them to be. If there was a checklist of everything you'd ever equated to an ideal life, this is it. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
15-18: You wake up a different you. In the mirror you see changes, small and large, and it's as if every single flaw has been increased, made more obvious. The place you wake up in is the sort you'd always feared you'd have to live in. The people there are those who make you miserable, and everything about them is now worse. Like you, every flaw has been exposed and inflated to make existence unbearable. If there was a checklist for your worst living nightmare of existence in general, this is it.
19-20: Wildcard - you can pick any of the above, or create your own vision prompt. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
The portal seals and there is a sudden air of rightness that exudes the area. Areas that had once housed strange phenomena are back to normal. The air is crisp and clean, and you stand a little taller, as if an oppressive force was no longer weighing you down.
nesshime
nio love
bittiface
nessy rolled 1 8-sided dice:
5Total: 5 (1-8)
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:18 am
Quote:
5. You find a section of dead grass with odd shaped footprints burned into it. (1 SP)
Landing had Camille both energized and mildly nauseous. This was her promotion assignment and, if she failed or if something went horribly wrong, the odds of her getting a fancy coat to match Maebe and Otto's would be diminished dramatically. Still, she did her best to focus on the task. Scorched footprints in the grass had her thinking that, perhaps, they ought to have weapons out? Kidana had been quiet for quite some time following what had happened at the Tower of the Ancients but her presence was always there and her support of Cami never wavered.
Touching her totem lightly her hand drew back. No, not yet, there was nothing here that she could sense, just them. Too keyed-up, too full of energy, she noted her find and circled back towards Maebe and Otto. They would give her perspective and should she need it, back-up and protection. Just looking at them made her grin widely so that some of the energy was expunged in the way she jogged over to, in turn, grab a hand of each of them for a quick kiss.
"Thank you for coming with me. I'm so excited I can barely think! Also scared like I'm going to pass out but I figure you're both big and strong and can carry me home if needed."
SP: 1/10
Bittiface
Nio Love
nessy
Cuddly Hunter
Offline
Bittiface rolled 1 8-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-8)
Bittiface
Sarcastic Hunter
Offline
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:36 pm
Otto held Cami's hand back, but didn't linger. "C'mon. Let's do this." A promotion mission was still a mission. They needed to get done the work that was asked of them. Mushy lovey dovey crap came after, in the comforts of home. Not here.
Otto wandered, keeping his eye out for the portal they needed to subdue. However, he came across a mirror. A window? Something in front of him was mirroring his image, but something was... off.
He then realized that no, it wasn't reflecting what he did. It simply looked a lot like him.
He gasped, and blinked. It was gone.
Shaken, Otto kept moving. Much more quickly, as his heart quickened in discomfort and fear.
Quote:
4. You see your reflection in a mirror. Upon closer inspection you realize there is no mirror, only another you looking back. You blink and they're gone. (3 SP)
nesshime
Nio Love
Nio Love rolled 1 8-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-8)
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:49 pm
Maebe was less inclined to take this seriously, but she hadn't taken her own promotion very seriously either, and Otto was taking it seriously enough for the three of them. She squeezed Cami's hand, and then summoned Thaw - instinct told her that if one of them had to have their weapon out, it should be the one driven to protect and defend.
She poked around the area, looking for more clues as to what exactly they were looking for, when a tree rustled in disturbance from the poke. She stepped back, and stared in interest as it stood, shook its roots clean of dirt, and rumbled off into the distance.
"I think I saw that in a movie once." She mumbled out, still in shock over what she'd seen.
Quote:
2. A tree lifts out of the ground, its roots forms two legs as it walks away. (2 SP)
7. You feel a sudden, terrible heat, as if lava surrounds you. (2 SP)
Cami didn't blame Otto for being incredibly business-like. It took some of the edge off of her energy and provided the perspective she'd been looking for, mostly. She still was inclined to hold hands with someone simply because it made her feel better but you couldn't always have what you wanted, could you? Following the footsteps, because that was a logical train of thought, Cami paused atop a hill.
Suddenly everything around her burned like she was in the middle of the Sahara. The middle of the flames that had had bugs bursting from underneath her skin when the entire top layer had been stripped away to leave second- and third-degree burns behind. Falling to her knees Cami let out a short, sharp shriek of fear before it faded away leaving her with arms wrapped around herself.
"Wha...what the ********> 8/10
Bittiface
Nio Love
Bittiface rolled 1 8-sided dice:
3Total: 3 (1-8)
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 5:29 pm
8 sided dice
Bittiface
Sarcastic Hunter
Offline
Bittiface
Sarcastic Hunter
Offline
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 6:22 pm
Quote:
3. There is a flickering in the corner of your eye, as if the channel had briefly been changed on reality. (3 SP)
10 SP complete
"Are you'alright?" Otto turned wrought with concern. Cami looked unharmed, but.. something flicked in the corner of his eye. Something was off about this place, in too many differing ways.
He passed it off as just an illusion of his own mind.
He took up Cami's hand to help her up. "C'mon. You're okay."
Nio Love
nesshime
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 9:15 am
Letting Otto pull her up the redhead stood quietly for a moment. "Sorry, I'm not entirely in control of that yet. Nora'll be horribly disappointed." Fingers passed over her skin for a moment, reassuring Camille that it was all the way it should be, that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. If there was any lesson that Deus taught it was that enemies would attack their minds more than their bodies but controlling her thoughts and behavior wasn't something she'd ever done before. A lesson that Cami was still learning and perhaps that was the whole point of this mission.
That, or she had been watching one too many drama series on TV late at night. "I think it's this way." Moving up over the next hill from the one that had made her cry out from the shock of heat she could see the rift that was the portal.
Placing the bag they'd been assigned at the Lighthouse on the ground Cami pulled out the four daggers required to seal the portal along with the instructions she'd carefully typed into her phone. "Latin. Always Latin!" Shaking her head she muttered in Spanish beneath her breath and sighed. "All four cardinal directions and an incantation to close the portal." Hefting one in each hand she smiled a bit. "I'm the baby here so I can probably only take the brunt of two of these before I'm out for the count. Maebe baby, Otto, one of you is going to have to take a direction and close the portal. Volunteers? Or am I really in charge?" The grin that spread spoke volumes for how much Cami loved that idea.
Bittiface
North, South, East, West? Close the portal? Lemme know!
Otto patted Cami's shoulder as she grinned so wide. She was physically... Fearically? The weakest of the three of them. It was better if he or Maebe took an extra. "Sit tight."
Otto took the South station first.
Quote:
You wake up a different you. In the mirror you see changes, small and large, the ones you'd always wanted. The place you wake up in is the sort you'd always dreamed of. The people you wake up to are your ideals, and everything about them is exactly as you'd like them to be. If there was a checklist of everything you'd ever equated to an ideal life, this is it. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
In the mirror, it was really him. The Otto he always pictured himself to be. His skin was healthy. Not a scar to be seen. His eyes shone, the dullness of his stressful life having been cleansed. He smiled easily as he walked away from the bathroom mirror.
In the other room was an infant in a crib. It cried and cried, tiny hands curled into fists. Otto smiled again, shushing the young thing as he carefully scooped them up in his arms. "Sssssh sssh, hey. Come on, what're ya fussin' about, huh? Is life so hard?" He laughed as he teased the child, who's fussing was non-stop. The ideal life he and his partners shared here; three people to raise one little baby. They took turns. They all got their sleep. A part time job each. Enough to pay for expenses. Enough to give them time to be a family.
Cami was at work. Maebe was taking her turn sleeping today. Otto got the little ball of sunshine and whining all to himself. The sun shone through the window into the living room, the house was quiet. The open windows let in the pleasant calm of a small residential street.
The little one's face stared up at Otto with eyes that only wanted his attention. He sat down on the living room carpet, a bottle at the ready for baby's breakfast. It was a simple little life here. Taking care of his kid, cooing at them and feeding them. Sharing his simple life with two wonderful women whom he loved deeply.
Yes. This was the life. He never knew he wanted it, yet seeing it now...
Shaken, Otto's vision came back to reality. He almost forgot to utter the words,
Making a face at Otto she shook her head. "Can't. This is technically my mission and I have to see it through. If I don't do at least one I might never get on your level." At random she picked up one of the daggers and looked at the direction. Turning to Maebe, she grinned. "Going west. We'll be done with this in no time!"
HP: 38/40
Quote:
You wake up a different you. In the mirror you see changes, small and large, the ones you'd always wanted. The place you wake up in is the sort you'd always dreamed of. The people you wake up to are your ideals, and everything about them is exactly as you'd like them to be. If there was a checklist of everything you'd ever equated to an ideal life, this is it. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
"Manmaaaan wake upppp!" Little hands pushed at Camille beneath blankets and, as she turned her face into the warmth of Maebe's hair, she groaned softly. On the other side of Maebe another body stirred, blond hair sticking every which way as Otto raised his head to chide the coffee-skinned four year old currently pushing at her mother. Delighted to have a parent awake, even if it hadn't been the one she'd been hoping for, their daughter fell upon her father instead of her manman. "Papa! Papa you gotta get up it's Christmas!" Otto gave the grin that had been so rare when they were younger, easier now that they were a true family.
"Is it? Are you sure? You seem to be the only one up."
"Nuh-uh! But the gate's up and the baby can't get out neither." Which meant that her younger brothers were unable to get near the Christmas tree. Bless Otto's pragmatism in putting the gate up across the hallway so that none of their hoodlum brood could slip out to see 'Santa' in action.
Sitting up finally with a sigh as long as she was lovely Cami finally sat up, opening her arms so that their daughter could bounce into her arms. "Yes, it's morning, and I suppose we ought to let you see your presents before you explode and we wasted all that money." Which was considerable. Every year she went all-out on presents, so delighted at finally having a family, at having people to love and help care for her (and for her to care for them in return) that Cami always went a little crazy.
Maebe was always a helpful accomplice while Otto made faces while handing over the credit card. The money was theirs, belonged to all three of them, but that never made the sting any less painful.
Slipping quietly out of bed Maebe went to fetch her sons, as pale and blonde as their parents, calling out from the living room that they'd better hurry up or Santa might come and take everything back. That was all it took to have the eldest scrambling out of the big bed, all but screaming at her Mumma not to touch anything without her.
Sharing a laugh Otto leaned over to kiss Cami like it was their first time that thunderstorm night, sweet and soft. "Merry Christmas, Otto." Hand in hand they went out to the living room to watch their children tear at presents and exclaim with glee, Cami's chin on Maebe's shoulder to kiss her jaw lightly as the baby played. "Merry Christmas, Maebe baby."
Merry Christmas
Shuddering slightly, tears at the corners of her eyes, her voice was yearning as she called out: "Occidentalis!"
nessy
Cuddly Hunter
Offline
Nio Love rolled 2 20-sided dice:
17, 3Total: 20 (2-40)
Pleased as punch to have grabbed a dagger and waggled it threateningly at Cami, Maebe silently reiterated the statement that Otto was trying to make. She didn't want Cami taking two daggers either, and if she could be fast enough with hers, she'd sneak over and steal the last one as well. But she didn't say as much, because she knew Cami would try to rush as well, and just plain taking it without permission was simply more fun.
So she hopped off, wordlessly heading for the north, and set her dagger into the -
If she'd had a mirror, she would have sat and stared at the corpse before her. Thin, gaunt, sickly, and desperate; a woman in her teens who looked old enough to be a grandmother; face, body, and arms ravaged by drugs; a lost soul forgotten in the gutters, forced to sell the tattered remains of her body just for another hit.
Her arms were road maps. Her face hung off of her bones, limp and sallow. Her eyes, empty. Her choices, gone.
But her stomach, her swollen, distended stomach, still throbbed with a stubborn and willful spark of life. A little creature eating away at her, sucking at her life and taking half of the heroine she fought so very hard to score.
She thought of it as nothing but a parasite, and she was a month away from ridding herself of it, once and for all.
Then, and only then, could she consider returning to its father, and to both her lovers, to try and start again. They would never know the wiser, and take her back like a prodigal lover.
They always did.
- ground.
Maebe's skin was white as a sheet. She couldn't move, and her grip on the daggers hilt had become so tight it started to numb her fingers. She stared, and stared, and then pushed it just one inch deeper. She pushed it down slowly, but with the intent to kill.
"Borealis."
Always, with the intent to kill.
47/50
Quote:
15-18: You wake up a different you. In the mirror you see changes, small and large, and it's as if every single flaw has been increased, made more obvious. The place you wake up in is the sort you'd always feared you'd have to live in. The people there are those who make you miserable, and everything about them is now worse. Like you, every flaw has been exposed and inflated to make existence unbearable. If there was a checklist for your worst living nightmare of existence in general, this is it.
Every scar burned into his skin. His face was mauled beyond recognition. A if he'd been repeatedly thrown into blenders, the gnashing teeth of titans and through countless broken windows. He was ugly. A monster. Everything he feared this job would turn him into with each new wound that came down on him.
He had no friends. No lovers. No one to trust, and no one who wanted him around. Maebe was gone. Cami had also been killed. Like every lover before, they would die or leave. People whom he once loved and trusted were either dead or looked at him like a disease. His temper was flaring at every turn without a buffer to keep him level. His words came out before he could think them. The higher ups looked down at him. He could never do right, and could never simply have the reprieve of getting overlooked. Every decision was a wrong one. Every indecision a disappointment.
Life at Deus was never easy. But here, he wished and waited for the chance to just die. He was hideous, unlikable and a curse. They would snicker and call him a black widow. Anyone he touched was doomed to die. He wore every failure on his skin. Broken and missing teeth. A marred eye. Missing fingers, and he was pretty sure one of his feet was gone too.
A disgusting mess. Why couldn't he just die? Why was his life simply one suffered experience after another?
Otto gasped in a breath as he let go of the dagger. He'd expected something to happen again, but not like that. He uttered the phrase he was told to, while holding the young skin still smooth on his face.
He wasn't a monster yet. He was still in one piece. He could still pass as attractive.
"Orientalis."
Quote:
15-18: You wake up a different you. In the mirror you see changes, small and large, and it's as if every single flaw has been increased, made more obvious. The place you wake up in is the sort you'd always feared you'd have to live in. The people there are those who make you miserable, and everything about them is now worse. Like you, every flaw has been exposed and inflated to make existence unbearable. If there was a checklist for your worst living nightmare of existence in general, this is it.
If either of those two thought they were going to beat Cami to closing the portal she'd been assigned to find and deal with, they were out of their minds. Most of the energy barely hurt, just a sting against the edges of Kidana's FEAR shield, less than she'd gotten in a single afternoon on the training fields. Wasn't this supposed to be dangerous? Harmful somehow? Cami's only struggle thus far had been the flash of heat and a vision so sweet that it made her ache in a different way entirely.
Prepared for another such image she all but ran into the center beneath the portal, eager to see more of this what-if future. Also, to figure out her feelings about a certain person in that future. Having Maebe in her life as a permanent fixture was strange and wonderful enough. Having a relationship with Otto that had progressed to the point that she had his child? Even more strange but just as wonderful.
What she got instead was...different.
Quote:
19-20: Wildcard - you can pick any of the above, or create your own vision prompt. When the vision clears, you're able to speak the activation.
Crimson streaked across a battlefield in savage elegance, leaving fallen Hunters in her wake. Golden horns twisted from her brow, back along against her brilliant magenta curls as the Conquest horseman took a moment to rest. Camille recognized her immediately as what she had become in the grips of Medea's Distortion power on the battlefield at the tower and immediately was afraid of how appealing the figure seemed. Tall, proud, and strong she was everything that Cami was striving so hard to become. Nothing cowed her. Nothing tempered her but her own resolve.
Blood dripped down the claws made of gold and she raised them up, flicking in disdain at how it was clotting against the metal. Looking down at the bodies before her jerked the part of this creature that was Cami up hard. They wore the faces of Damon, her mother, the body that her mind told her was her father, everyone who had ever slighted or betrayed her. 'All this could have been yours. Perhaps it can still be yours.'
Jolting she realized that she was looking not through the eyes of the horsewoman but in a mirror. A bloody hand touched the glass, leaving a print behind. 'You're hardly human anymore anyway. You've sold your soul to that weapon for great power. Use it. Wield it.' Eyes narrowed in distrust but, almost against her will, Cami's own hand raised to press against the glass of the mirror.
It shattered. Glass flew out of the mirror at her and the redhead threw up her arms as she felt it bite deep into her palms and forearms. When the vision cleared she spoke the phrase to close the portal, voice grating with phantom pain. "A caelo usque ad centrum!"
It wasn't until the portal had closed and the air had cleared that she was able to stand tall and smile, looking down at the wet warmth of her hand. She'd been cut there, hardly anything more than could be done with a kitchen knife, but it was real nonetheless.
Shrugging off the vision, because visions were nothing if not ubiquitous and frequent, she beamed. "Mission accomplished?"
Bittiface
Nio Love
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 5:27 pm
The previous idea of saving Cami from taking another dagger had been forgotten in the wake of what she'd seen. Maebe heard the voices, faint as though they were far away, and got up to mechanically move towards them. She lifted familiarly empty eyes, and gave Cami a little smile.
"Congratulations." It was the only thing left to say, other than - "Let's go."
Maebe was there. In body, in voice, in action. But inside, she had clocked out - and she was ready to go home, lock her door, and never speak of this again.
