2017.10.13:FieldTrip
| Field Trip | |
|---|---|
| An assortment of Garou go on a hunt | |
| IC Date | October 13th |
| IC Time | Well after dark |
| Players | Ada, Brooke, Hina, Andy, Jake Miller, Journey, George |
| Location | Somewhere out in the woods |
| Spheres | Gaian Garou |
| Theme Song | Metallica "Of Wolf and Man" |
George sent messenger birds out in multiple directions, guided to Garou by his network of spirit allies. Each of the birds would warble a call that's a reasonable approximation of a howl calling to hunt. Not coming from a lupine throat a lot of detail gets lost but the directions to the staging area are fairly clear. A isolated cabin a ways off in the woods, there's a service road that a vehical can drive on but the shocks might not enjoy the journey. The birds can be followed back in lupus form also.
A large black wolf lopes up the service road then pauses when it reaches the cabin, nostrils flaring. In a matter of moments the wolf transforms into a man. Jake. Seems he heard the call and came a running.
Hina does own a car, but is not inclined to use it when not necessary. When she arrives it is in homid, emerging from the woods, but by no means did she make the entire journey that way. Oddly she has brought her instrument case, a strange choice for a mission, but Galliards are as Galliards are one supposes. She was serious when she told George she would work to prove herself. Denying a call to ones duties would have been a particularly bad way to do that, and so she is here.
Ada arrives promptly in a VW Bug that was painted leaf green thirty years ago. It's fading and rusting around the edges, silver and brown, but it sounds and drives just fine. She does a three-point turn and parks off to one side, pointed back the way she came, and pops the hood to fetch an energy bar and a Coke from the cargo space.
Brooke drives in her Blue SUV through the bumpy road. She spots some others starting to arrive and is glad that she seems to have followed the right way. She parks near the other vehicles, and turns the vehicle around as well so she can easily leave when it is time.
George is waiting on the porch of the cabin whittling some wooden stakes while he watches people start to arrive. Chuckling, the Elder says "Well this should be interesting. I know Jake's hunted them before but.....wait a sec, have you all met? I know you know me or my kit-bashed 'Call to Hunt' wouldn't have found you but eachother? Shortform it if nessecary."
It seems Jake's wearing a chain belt for some reason and is carrying a fire axe. He's also wearing a white t-shirt with a logo on it that says 'Rolling Thunder' on the breast in red letters. On the back is a drawing of bowling pins being mowed down by a bowling ball, scattering in all directions. Jake's expression is quite serious. Normally he's quite affable however this is business. No frivolity here. He regards the various vehicles arriving, simply observing and offers a slight nod of greeting as the drivers approach then turns to George. "Evening, Sir. Got here as soon as I could." He turns back to the others. "Jake Miller, full moon Elder of the Lords." Yup, short and sweet. Again, he's all business tonight.
Brooke looks around the gathering and makes her short intro, "Good Evening everyone. I am Brooke Spencer, Cliath, Galliard Glass Walker of homid birth."
Hina glances at the others... some she has met, though briefly in some cases. "Shiraishi Hina, Four-hands. Cliath. Uktena. Galliard. Member of Merciful Smile." Without skipping a beat she is opening her instrument case, and extracting her 'instrument'. A composite long bow... ultra-modern and high end, owing more to pullies, steel cables, and polymers then wood or sinew. It dosen't take her long to expertly lock it into working order however, drawing an arrow to test it, but not firing. She is very, very deft at this. She glances at what George is doing, and switches quivers, placing the steel shafted arrows back into the case, and slinging the quiver of wood shafted ones over her shoulder instead..
Ada slaps her hood shut with a bang, then sits on it, food in hand. She opens up both and munches down the sugar in a hurry, her eyes going from George, to Jake, to Brooke, then Mina. Brooke gets a second look, though, and a big smile. "I don't know anyone," she says with undue cheer, "but I'm glad there's at least one other Walker around. I'm Ada Curry, Cliath Theurge of the Glass Walkers. Uh, hi." She eyes the bow with interest, perhaps wondering if costs more than her car. Probably.
George grins broadly at Hina and her bow "Oh that'll do just fine. You ever hunt Vampires with that thing?" Then to Brooke he asks with a gesture at the pile of a half dozen plain wooden stakes "Do you use any weapons other than tooth and claw? I've got some spares." Then to Ada "Same question, I've even got a gun with ammo that'll actually work on them if that's how you roll. And normally bullets don't do fuck all though."
Brooke shakes her head. "I've never used anything besides tooth and claw." She looks at the wooden stakes, and picks one up to get a feel for it.
Jake nods to the newcomers, staying quiet while George asks his questions. His fingers tighten around the axe handle.
Hina shrugs lightly to what George asks, saying simply. "Bakemono, Hungry Ghosts, Leeches on this continent can't be that different. Shoot in the heart, bite off the head, brag about it if you survive afterwards, yes?" It's a fairly simple two part plan. Tactics are as much a different thing of course, but those decisions are made over her head.
"I would just shoot myself. Or stake myself." Ada holds up a hand and looks down at her nails, frowning. "Anything other than my bare hands, and I'm useless. Although... I did throw a molotov this one time. That was fun, but I almost dropped it." She makes a fist. "I'll stick with this for now."
Journey just.. fucking steps out from behind a tree. IT'S CREEPY. He looks around, "Okay so." He just starts talking, lifting two fingers in the classic victory sign, "Take your two fingers and put them to the sides of your nose, right?" He does so, if he were to stick out his tongue, it'd be a vulgar symbol, but he's being serious, "Feel right there, above the teeth." He nods, "What you need to do is cut, claws work fine, but cut open the face, and dig right there, to get the fangs out." He nods, "Most people think you can just grab the fangs of a Vampire and pull them out. That's stupid and it will break the fangs. That's the most important practical thing I can tell you about getting trophies out of Leeches."
Jake finally breaks his silence by saying, in a low tone, "Just remember, never look at a vampire directly. Avoid eye contact." He continues to weigh the axe in his hands. But then Journey's there and he looks very pleased. No major greeting or fist bumps now. This isn't recreation. He does offer a respectful nod to the Strider though.
George nods at Ada and grins "That's fair, just presenting options." Hina's comment gets a chuckle "And all else is just set dressing. Fire is not their friend at all if you've got something for that to hand." Then he turns to begin the briefing, Journey's arrival not making him miss a beat "I was out on a run and found a group of vampires trying something dangerous. In an attempt to disrupt the local leeches they're trying to sneak up on them through the woods. I'd considered letting them pass through because letting leeches kill eachother is good fun but these have something with them that we can't abide. They took a wolf from somewhere, fed it their blood and used their powers to twist and shape it into a monster. Six legs, three heads, two tails....Armored with bone plating and spikes. And its about the size of Ada's car."
George adds "They call it a Vozhd."
The human form is not particularly suited for growling, but Hina makes a noise that is a pretty good approximation before she masters herself. She is no Ahroun, but Galliard's rage can run pretty hot too. She shakes her head then once firmly, snapping herself back to focus. Shark does not smile on displays of enthusiasm in the hunt. "Then let mercy rise up upon them all, dragging them down into the dark, and liberate them from both their torment and our own." Which is not to say she does not intend to draw upon her anger... but it must be a cold, sharp thing. Precise. Yes. Shark smiles on that.
Brooke looks serious and her eyes slant at the thought of this monster. She is not of many words, and pays attention to those around her to see what the next step is on what has become a mission.
Jake raises a brow at George's description of the Vozhd. "Charming." And that's about all he says on the subject. He's looking more interested by the minute then glances at Journey again.
Journey makes a sick little disgusted sound, and looks around, looking at the others, taking in their various reactions.
Ada thinks for a second or two, then finishes off her candy bar and pops the hood again at George's mention of fire. She roots around inside and comes up with... a road flare. It looks about as old as the car does. She sticks it in her back pocket and listetns attentively, making a face at the mention of claiming a trophy- and a bigger one at the description of the monster. Of the Vozhd, she says, "Then I call this karma."
Long distance to Journey: George SIGN "Not offering the Talens on purpose. Want to get the measure of the newbies under their own resources. Bonus point to Ada for the Road flare."
George nods at Ada with approval at the road flare "So here's my plan based on the recon I did earlier. Journey and I circle around to their back trail and we'll do something large and bright that the Vampires are one hundred percent certian to run from but the Vozhd won't give a fuck. There are four leeches including the Vozhd's handler. Jake I was thinking for you to get their attention while Hina lays down covering fire and Ada works with Brooke to skirmish in around the edges. Or you can go with Journey to fight the giant beasty and I'll give the leeches something to chase. Or I suppose Journey could be the diversion, its a flexible plan."
"I can do that." Is Hina's simple reply. It'll be dark, and the firing lines will be bad with trees everywhere, but whatever. She can do that. Or at least is confident that she can. With Cliaths it can be hard to tell, they can sometimes overrestimate their own abilities.
Brooke listens and nods. "I'll go with the majority opinion. You all have more experience than I with this."
"I choose to trust in the judgement of my elders." Ada tips her head at George. She empties her Coke and puts the can on her roof, then waits, hands on hips.
Journey looks to George, "Seperate the Vozhd from the leeches, Drive them into the waiting claws, of these guys, while the Elders face the creepshow monster." He sighs, "I just don't want to end up covered in rotting flesh THIS TIME."
Jake looks from face to face before turns towards George. "I can get their attention, no problem. Then I could join Journey later to team up against the Vozhd. Might be better for you and Journey to go and do your light show. The leeches will really appreciate that. But I'm good with anything really. Just say the word. And, yeah, let's try to keep being covered in rotting flesh to a minimum."
George grins at Journey "Well technically the Vozhd is alive still so it won't be /rotting/ flesh." The younger garou chiming in gets acknowledged but George is more focused on getting consensus with the other Elders. "Alright, leaving the guns here. Brooke, if you want to bring a couple of stakes you can. If you get one in a leech's heart you need to leave it there till someone kills it. Once the handler gets taken out the Vozhd's going to berserk. So that'll be fun. it doesn't have any Exotic powers its just fucking huge, strong and tough as an APC. Alright, Jake go with Journey so you can pack fight the giant awful thing and I'll dance with the leeches you panic in my direction. Lets head out." With that George rises to his feet and starts shifting.
Hina actually rolls her neck and shifts her shoulders, as if needing to loosen up a bit... and judging the various factors, opts to rise up into Crinos form herself. Her clothing is clearly dedicated, as it disappears instead of being left in a shredded mess. Likewise the bow... although this does not so much make the working parts of the bow larger as just the grip larger to suit her suddenly larger hands. Her fur is reddish black, typical for an Uktena, although thats about where the 'typical' ends. Her hands, and indeed her forarms up to the elbows, are... different. Red articulated plates of polymer and metal with black-edged joints. They are very clearly artificial, as are the sharp metallic claws they sport. Four-Hands is a cyberwolf.
Ada steps away from her car and takes the flar from her back pocket, then stops, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. Her body trembles all over, all at once, then erupts in a swell of muscle and bone into the form of a rather scrawny and unremarkable looking Crinos without a scar. She trots over to stand beside Hushed-Blaze, but gives her some space.
Shaderunner swiftly transforms up into Crinos, moving off to one side, as Jake transforms up and joins him.
Suddenly, both Crinos turn, face one another, and reach out, clasping right hands, hard, straining, and snarling as the clasped hands turn Silver, and the effect spreads out to cover their whole bodies until both Shaderunner and Defiant Storm are composed of pure Elemental Silver.
They HAD to have planned that kind of 80's badass montage. All that's missing are the guitar solos.
Mocks-the-Dark wraps himself in a faintly shimmering forcefield after a moment of concentration, opting for one of his more subtle defensive choices. Once everyone's ready he heads out to where he and the Cliaths are going to wait in ambush. The half-moon gives a good amount of light on a clear night but its still dark, but when MtD points off its clear enough <<They're traveling dark but the smell will give them away if nothing else.>>
Once he's silver, Defiant-Storm touches is forehead and concentrates for a long moment before hefting his axe over his massive shoulder. Obviously he and Shaderunner have a special bond and have fought side by side many times. When his lips curl back the silver teeth resemble kitchen knives, the moonlight reflecting in them. He then heads off with his pack mate to check out this two headed creature.
Shaderunner slips down and surveys the area, preparing to move to get into a position where they'll be able to properly send the Vampires into the ambush. He keeps his senses peeled, dark, quiet.
Hushed Blaze picks up a couple of wooden stakes and follows along with others. She stays back, staying quiet, waiting to move to the best position for this ambush.
Four-Hands proceeds to, quite logically... climb a tree and attempt to conceal herself. She's going to be using a bow after all, and there is no point giving away her initial position. She scampers up a suitibly large tree that oversees the proposed combat zone in a smooth... eerily smooth... motion. Once up and snug against the trunk, she proceeds to knock and arrow and draw her bow... and wait. The 'signal' should be pretty hard to miss.
Cloud-Control moves, stepping light and low to the ground, the flare held in her teeth like a big red cigar. She takes care not to chomp on it and follows the lead of Hushed Blaze, eyes up, head on a swivel. If there's any cover for her to get into, be it a bush or a lee, she settles there and lurks.
They can be heard and smelled long before they're seen, if anything George underestimated the size of the Creature. Fully stood up and mobile its large enough that Ada's car would fit underneath the Vozhd. The vampires are walking along in front of it already as they make their way long a path where their beast will fit between the trees. Their eyes are glowing red in the darkness and they pass Defiant-Storm and Shaderunner without incident. The Vozhd is actually between the two garou when the point man happens to come around a tree with a clear line of sight to the bush Hushed Blaze is using for cover, except they're on the same side as she is.
Andy has been scouting around, off to the side. No one's even seen him! He's JUST that good. He circles back now, moving on quiet little lupus foots. There's a baby possum clinging to his back and he edges up behind the group
Shaderunner leaps. Actually, it's more like the Crinos kneels, and vanishes in a whuup sound and a silver form dropping in.
WHAM!
The Silver Crinos lands, impacting into the ground with an earthjarring force, and stands, holding his arms out, and flicking his fingers, the simple toy, a Helicpoter stick, a wooden dowel rod connected to angled blades, spins, and the blades push the air downwards as it leaves his hand, left and right, then they.. accelerate? Yes, they spin up, drawing the eye as they do so, and settle into a hover, then spit and start to burn.
Then the whole area goes white.
The toys burst into sunlight, and you know? You were USED to the dark. In the area, there are shadowed figures recoiling, bornung, in the light, as the Crinos STOMPS his foot, and BURSTS INTO A SHEATHE OF FLAME! Just burning from his fur, eyes glowing a bright GREEN as he lifts his head, and a GOUT of flame erupts from his muzzle! Stretching out ten feet, and filling the night with fire as he sweeps it through the air in a dazzling display of Sunlight, Fire, and Garou Fury. The whole display is just an incredible combination of Vampiric phobias.
While Shaderunner is setting off his very impressive pyrotechnics display Defiant-Storm touches his forehead and simply fades from view. WOOSH. Where'd he go? No telling he could be -anywhere-. Muhahahaha.
Each effect by itself would be a startlement but all three together? The vampires all beat feet and run at Hushed Blaze, who looks much less terrifying.
One thing about a bow as opposed to a gun... there is no bang, no flash of light in the dark or scent of cordite to give away Four-Hands position. As the arrow whistles out of the darkness, guided with impossible augmented precision, it hits one of the disoriented vampires right in the chest, above his heart. It's probably very unnerving... if he notices. But either a slightly atypical rib placement, a hip-flask in a front pocket, or /something/... keeps the arrow from actually /penetrating/. This is... vexing... to the young Uktena. It does not make a good song.
Mocks-the-Dark grins fiercely in the shadows when Shaderunner's masterful diversion lights up the night and he immediately springs into motion, slitting the vampire's throat deep enough to scrape its spine with his blade. As it crumples to the ground he Howls. Death comes for the servants of the wyrm.
Cloud-Control isn't quite sure what the thrown object is, but she's played enough games to know it's probably going to blow. She shrinks away from the blast before it hits, and feeling without looking, she grabs the flare and twists as she pulls it free of her muzzle. The magnesium comes to life with a hiss-pop and a jet of white and red flame, which she holds in her closed paw like one might hold a roll of quarters. She holds the flare close in her blocking paw and lashes out, lunging forward from cover with a scything strike at chest height at the closest target.
As the monster turns it's attention to the flaming figure, the flames form around one arm as it rises, the flames turning into a form, a figure of some kind that suddenly spreads wings, and the silver arm snaps out as the flames ERUPT from his arm, flying at the monster, raptor talons of flame and wings of fire shotting straight at the thing, impacting with a savage cry as it attacks the thing with its very essence.
Defiant-Storm suddenly appears next to the beast in a flash of silver, hefting his fire axe and slams it into the creature's head. THUNK. Although...the beast's armor is so thick that the blow simply bounces off, not damaging it at all. The Ahroun growls with Rage.
Mocks-the-Dark makes a lunge for the vampire he's facing and its afraid, practically bending over backwards to get out of the way but it does manage to evade successfully
Queitly, up in her tree, the Crinos Four-Hands patiently knocks another arrow and draws her bow, whilst all manner of chaos is going on beneath her. Next shot. Next shot she takes one of these things down.
The giant two headed war ghoul turns to the source of all the fire and noise, Shaderunner and lunges at him to bite with one of its enormous mouths, this doesn't go so well.....
Shaderunner ducks the bite, jamming the blade of Knapped fire opal into one of it's TEETH, and pops it out! Then slicing down it's neck, The Strider lays a wide swath of sensitive material open!
Cloud-Control pushes forward out of the brush, undettered by the blow she'd missed. She flashes her teeth and rawrs and with the flare still hissing heat against her chest, she pulls out all the stops and whips her claws straight at the throat of the vampire beside the one her fellow Tribemate-in-ambush is attacking.
Cloud-Control's claws find their mark and tear a chunk from the neck of a vampire that recoils and hisses at the same pitch as the flare in her other paw as blood spatters the dirt behind it.
Hushed Blaze takes the wooden stakes and as the Vampire comes toward her she rises from the bush she is behind and attacks! She swings to pound that stake into the vampire, and misses! She growls in anger for not getting that blow into its heart.
After having NO luck with his usually trusty axe Defiant-Storm changes tactics, dropping the weapon and a fang dagger appears in his hand out of thin air! The Ahroun concentrates a moment, activating Cleaving Hoof then charges the beast again. This time his blade hits true, penetrating between the armored plates and the GORE DOES FLY! The creature's blood spurts and it lets loose an unearthly scream before it simply topples to the ground, cold stone dead!
Four Hands lands another impossibly precise shot, putting an arrow directly into the back of a vampire this time... right on target for the heart. Yet again though, the damn thing actually bounces off the target, penetrating not at all. It's positively uncanny. Clearly Hina has somehow offended the spirit of the Arrow, or /something/. It bears looking into.
With the Vozhd defeated the leeches fate is sealed. The owl of flame flies a circle around the battle site and the three elders take station along it, letting the younger garou practice on....well not live but at least animate targets. No one's covered in rot, no one's even hurt and all the wyrm spawn are dead. A collective howl of victory goes out once the deed is done.
