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 Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:49 am
Quote:  Survey Mission 4ALocation: 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
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:56 am
With her Sahara resupply shifts curtailed indefinitely, America instead decided to use that freed time to start taking more midweek survey missions. They were short but satisfying work, helped her meet new folks, sometimes came with bonus pay, and were less likely to leave her emotionally ******** over than other sorts of missions. Arriving early at the lighthouse portal, America checked over her mission bag as she waited for the two others on her team.
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:13 am
Whenever he got a mission summons, Lawr found himself hoping that he would get allocated the Sahara again. This time there was no such luck, but he would at the very least be off of the island for a time, it would be a change of scenery.
He arrived at the lighthouse dressed in his mission attire, a contrast to his normal Jan outfit, dressed all in white to match his white trimmed coat and with a white scarf around his neck, concealing the still fairly recent injury there.
When he saw America he smiled cordially. "Wonderful day for a mission missy."
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:57 am
He hadn't expected to go on a mission so soon, especially as a yet-untried hunter. Sure, he'd sparred a couple of times... and lost. Dreadfully, in Rep's case, and only marginally better in America's. (Because America, for all the crazy bitchiness, seemed to believe in teaching, if only to ensure the island didn't crack under the weight of another loser.) So, Horace had read the dossier carefully, noting down the locations of a few landmarks. Since they were going into the fog (presumably), it would be best to consider that they may get horribly lost. If it wouldn'thave interfered with their mobility, Horace would have sugested roping whomever he was with together. Checking his watch, he shrugged into his coat and headed to the meeting point. When he saw who was waiting, his hand flew up to pinch the bridge of his nose. ******** hell. What demonic overlord had Horace pissed off to get assigned on a mission that probably should be code-named "Tension"? Horace thought Jan would be nothing but cordial, he usually was, even if he seemed to hide small barbs packaged in between his calm words. It was America he worried about. She was violent, emotional, and Horace hoped that she'd just stay strictly business long enough to finish this. He'd play nice too; dislike had no bearing on a mission. Moving closer to Jan, his lips thinned at the sight of that white scarf around his neck. "Weelllll," he drawled out, shoving his hands in his pockets. His accent always got worse when he was tense. "-is this all of us then?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:20 am
Dressed in cold weather civilian gear, she looked him up and down and smiled back tightly. "Sure it is." Her eyes flickered to his neck and the smile widened briefly before disappearing altogether. When Horace showed up she sighed, but nodded to herself. They'd taken to assigning her with newer trainees on survey missions and she'd kept up a good record for it. Also the island was full of s**t stirrers and twitter was as close as a lot of people got to watching reality TV. Of ******** course he'd be here too. Nodding at his question, America asked her own, "Are you cleared for any runics yet? If so, best take them along; if not, see to working on getting a few when we get back." She double checked something on her phone and glanced back up, "Weather's gonna be on the cold side. Now, let me see what gear you've brought along with you." The girl was all business and spoke with the confident authority that made it clear she was the leader of their team.
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:33 am
Lawr made no response to America's smile, only smiling himself when Horace arrived. "Unfortunately" he said to the other man's question. " Just the three of us. You'll be fine though, she is all twitter bark."
And then he simply stood back.
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 11:46 am
"Mmm," he said noncommitally, swallowing the sassy remark that sprang to his lips. "Not like I've been exactly quiet on Twitter, either." America hated Jan; Horace didn't like America; but Jan appeared to keep any emotions quietly in reign. This was going to be a very, very long mission. Sighing softly, he reached up and pulled his hair into a quick topknot. As long as everyone played nice, he would too. Horace patted the bag slung over his shoulder. Nervously, he re-adjusted the band around the backs of his glasses. A little silly, a litte uncomfortable, but the elastic would keep his glasses from swinging off. "Not cleared for runics yet, no. Got flares, rope, exothermic crystal things for portable heat, a tournequette just in case, and some regular bandages." Runic bandages were much more useful - Horace had read about them, he read everything - but regular ones could stop blood from dripping in a hunter's eyes or leaving a trail. He shrugged. Horace's own caveats to the cold were thermals under his pants and actual sleeves. The fabric on them was thin, still, and non-restricting. Horace couldn't really wear gloves with Jannisari, so his hands were bare - he doubted many hunters would fight in gloves anyway. "I wasn't entirely sure what would be standard to bring along."
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 2:48 pm
"I know how to be a professional on the job," she corrected flatly. "You know exactly how well my bark matches my bite." America went over the gear with a small nod of approval. Tapping at the bandages she said, "Definitely get real ones soon as you can. There's no real standard, some folks don't bring anything extra at all. I keep a small survival pack in case I get stuck out in an area for a few days, which is a thing that's happened a few times to friends." Her eyes slid grimly to Lawrence and then back to the boy, and she continued, "For basic supplies, though, next time bring yourself a good pocketknife, and some rune stones." Pulling one out of her own little bag, it's runic glow cast odd shadows around the room as she showed it to him. "These'll power your phone if the batteries dies, and if you're in the field for a few days and doing a lot of fighting, they can recharge a runic weapon overnight." Replacing it she finished, "But the most important tools out there, outside of your weapon and human partners, are your phone and your pendant." Fishing hers out of her shirt, she held it up. "Make sure it's touching your skin if you need to use it, and say the word Deus Ex Machina with all the focus you can manage. Some places you won't be able to you either or both, and you can't use a pendant while running so don't get reckless thinking you have a sure and easy out."
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 3:26 pm
Lawr raised a brow. "I would say they are disproportionately imbalanced missy. You bark such a lot." He turned away to leaf through the paperwork again as she offered further advice to Horace, his body language completely disinterested.
"When you are quite finished grossly overstating the degree of your knowledge and experience perhaps we could set out on our trails?" he asked. "I think if Horace wanted a lecture, he would attend one."
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 4:52 pm
Every word they exchanged set his teeth on edge. Jan's tone was his normally pleasant timbre, but the words were anything but. Even still, he'd listened attentively to everything America said. He wished he'd brought a notebook - Horace wasn't the greatest with spoken cues, although he could memorize anything written. "Thanks, 'Merica," he said, forcing out a smile. ********, this was so awkward. ]"Might as well get a move on it before y'all decide to punch each other." Or rip their shirts off and beat their chests in a show of dominance. The sheer absurdity of that thought made his face relax just a bit. Or rip their shirts off and have wild hate sex. Weirder things had happened in the books he liked to read. Abruptly, his face fell. That he would not stick around to watch, ever. Not that there was a lot of sexual tension between the two. Hate, yes. Or maybe... He really didn't know either of them well enough to read into the subtleties of the way they spoke to each other. The thought was beyond disheartening. {your heart rate is accelerated. your nervous irritation is detrimental only.}{Yes, thank you. I know.} He knew, he knew there was no place for confused personal feeling in a mission. Despite his willingness to trust people, he wasn't stupid. Thinking himself in circles would only mean less focus on important things. He moved to Jan's side, fingers reaching out to idly toy with the cuff of the other man's coast. "Lead the way." His other hand gestured towards America. She was their self-appointed leader, after all.
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lizbot rolled 1 100-sided dice:
29
Total: 29 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 5:10 pm
"We're capable of handling a mission together," she assured Horace with a flat look. "Let's see if you're capable at all." Turning her back to the two, America exited the portal first, scanning the area for immediate danger. It was indeed cold and the thick blanket of fog gave the place a world apart feeling, causing a brief moment of speculation on what Deus used to be like, what it could be like again, god forbid. Looming above the portal was the rusted skeleton of a ferris wheel. Greeting the hunters was display of bodies hanging from each compartment. Unmoving with visible signs of decay, they beamed down at the team with wide white rictus smiles. Turning, to the other two, America ordered shortly, "Stay here." And then she was climbing up the structure to inspect the bodies, her movements sure and graceful, the squeal of metal doors being forced open following soon after.
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Baneful rolled 1 100-sided dice:
37
Total: 37 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 6:13 pm
Lawrence simply smiled as America asserted they could indeed handle a mission together. "We have done one or two in the past and we did not resort to punching or anything like it."
As they entered the portal he gave Horace's hand a brief reassuring squeeze before letting go again in a business-like manner. He was of course oblivious to any perceived tension or awkwardness, instead simply focused on making this as pleasant as he could muster. It was strange being trapped in his more pleasant mask, forced to be more cordial than he normally was around America.
It was cold when they arrived and immediately reminded him of the mission where he'd almost died and his sight itself had been forfeit. Being blind had not been enjoyable at all. It felt like purgatory, the rolling fog haunting and beautiful. Even the bodies were beautiful.
"Morbid, isn't it?" he asked Horace. "And of course she doesn't want any help. She has something tedious to prove, no doubt." He shook his head. "I'm glad you are here though, I don't think I could stand it on my own."
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The Semblance of Unity rolled 1 100-sided dice:
48
Total: 48 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:10 pm
No, they probably didn't punch each other, Horace thought. They were too efficient for that. The two of them probably traded verbal barbs, each pretending that maybe the enemies they fought held the other's face. And America's own observation had hit Horace squarely, Frankly, he knew if he completed this mission with any measure of success, it'd be through sheer dumb luck. He'd have liked a few more months to train, to learn the ins and outs of Jannisari, to ...he didn't know - just be better. His mouth thinned as America surged onward. The small squeeze from Jan helped, just a bit, and he smiled. "Beyond morbid, maybe. What has she got to prove? She'd a full hunter, isn't she?" He shook his head and edged away from the ferris wheel. Something had caught his eye and it didn't make sense to wait when they too could be searching. Nearby there was a lot - something flat, probably for old bumper cars. He hopped the railing in one smooth movement, feet hitting the concrete with a loud crack. Suddenly, voices filtered to him, strange mutterings, laughter. Mocking. His eyes scanned the areas he could see. {Shh, Doctor.}{it is not I, horace.} Something tugged at his coat and he whirled, Jannisari springing into his hands. And again, The laughter rose again around him, high and eerily childish. Abruptly, Horace realized he was standing in the middle of a smiling face, an eerie tableau made of cracks in the pavement. "What the ********> Horace sidestepped, making sure his feet were nowhere near the mouth.
"Jan." He loped over to where he'd seen the man last - it wasn't far. "This place is a little more than morbid - I found a smile in the pavement."
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lizbot rolled 1 100-sided dice:
52
Total: 52 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:32 pm
She stuck her hand in one grinning mouth and pulled back the lips to reveal its gums then took another picture. America considered one more car, but then noticed something strange down below. Jaw tightening, she saw Horace getting away from what looked like a giant mouth in the concrete. She'd told him to stay put. Clambering down, she jogged past him without a word, into the fog and toward the mouth. Her own was flatly unhappy as the voice filtered in, sometimes strange but just as often familiar and always cruel, always hateful even in laughter. Body tense and wary, she found the mouth that had formed and took pictures of that as well before heading back. Holding up her phone, she commented, "When you see strange s**t and it isn't trying to kill anyone? Take pics or video with your phone, it's not mandatory but Life and Death folks appreciate as thorough and detailed intel as we can manage."
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Baneful rolled 1 100-sided dice:
32
Total: 32 (1-100)
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 2:36 pm
Jan smiled. "She has a lot of things to prove despite it all pardner. I expect it's daddy issues, trying to impress some absent figure and to establish her worth. Most women on this island have them I'd say, it takes a certain kind of longing for authority to lead them to submit to possible death the way they do."
He was pulled away from watching America or at least watching to see when she would exit by the startled comment from Horace. He whirled to face the other man as he approached, looking him over in evident concern. "Be careful." he said. "This place is saturated in fear, you are lucky said smile didn't swallow you up." he softened the comment though by qualifying his fright. "I just don't want to lose you over this mission."
As America returned, Lawr gave her a flat stare. He found himself inexplicably restless every time that America took it upon herself to lecture Horace on appropriate mission behavior. Rules had always been something designed to be pushed and tested by intellectual individuals, they existed as imaginary boundaries and walls much the same way as supposed morals did. They were for the blind fenced in sheep and he tolerated her imposing them upon Horace only because they did not as yet damage whatever programming he himself wanted to instill.
He eyed the grisly ferris wheel again, turning his back to America. "Anything interesting up there?" Evidently bodies were not interesting.
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