Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

"No, not a bird," Mistellah responds, holding one hand an inch above the railing with her fingertips pressing down on it, splayed out. Her fingers make a prancing motion, each one picking up and moving forward on it's own as the demoness' hand moves over to Mina's arm and then up it. "Like that. Spiders. Crawling around on their many legs. We use them to capture dangerous prey." The succubus slides her hand up Mina's arm over to her cheek. "They'll wrap you up and deliver you straight into the demon lords' laps. Literally."

"There are things like birds in my world, but they've always proven hard to tame," Mistellah says turning to look back out into the sky. "Hard to tame, harder to eradicate. Some may have made their way through the portal, but they don't work with my kind."

"Going by yourself may be faster, but you'll have no one to help you if you need it," Mistellah says, turning to look back at the woman. "Please be careful, Mina."

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

After hearing the description Mina nods, "We fought one when we last ventured out..." She rubbed her shoulder a bit. "Too bad we don't have any of those on our side, they seem useful. Dominus had one in his personal guard when we ran into him, if he's committed most of his forces to prowling near here that might mean he relocated some of the spiders. After all a man is a man, he'll want to capture you again so he'll probably bring plenty of spiders." She adjusted the sheet she had around herself. "I should go get ready, I'll ask Cherry to describe the factory or it's location. With a few landmarks it should be simple enough, I've spent my life navigating vast empty sand dunes with nothing but the occasional rock. Oh also theres a small shield in my belongs, Jerr can use it, I haven't put it on since I found my second sword and anything I can do to aid in defense I will." Mina heads downstairs to prepare.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Mistellah nods at Mina's musings and speculations, then smiles gently at her mention of the deserts. As the woman readies herself to leave and speak with the corrupted girl downstairs, the demoness turns and reaches a hand out to Mina's shoulder, gently restraining her. Mistellah leans forward and presses her lips against the mercenaries, a quick display of affection rather than one of the deep passionate embraces from the night before. "Hurry back, dearie," she whispers softly, a hand on Mina's cheek, before turning back to look out over the balcony.

As she descends the stairs, Mina hears the sounds of not two, but several people snoring. Upon entering the room she had left her companions in, Mina sees that the two had been joined by more than just Mistellah's hellhound. Cherry lay peacefully on the floor, slumbering between a pair of stalkers, the two demons each lying on their sides facing her. Jerr meanwhile was happily snuggling up against a rather attractive woman, which Mina quickly realizes is a succubus, though not quite as fine a specimen as Mistellah. Another succubus lay nearby, her body bared wide in a lewd display, though the demoness doesn't seem to mind. Strewn about the room, sleeping in haphazard positions were several goblins, mumbling and scratching themselves in their sleep. Finally, Rax, Mistellah's guard hound, snores loudly from his obviously favored position on top of the couch.

While Mina looks over the spectacle, Cherry begins to stir, yawning but not opening her eyes, obviously content to fall back to sleep if there are no objections. Thankfully, the mercenaries equipment seems to be perfectly clean and untouched, despite whatever may have happened during the night. To get to either the corrupted woman or her belongings, though, Mina will have to navigate the room, stepping over or near at least a few of the sleepers.

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Mina shook her head and rolled her eyes as she viewed the display, deciding to step over the succubus spread out on the floor to get to her gear and prodding Cherry awake from there.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Mina gingerly tiptoes through the mass of flesh, managing to avoid brushing up against any of the slumbering revelers. The succubus she steps past mumbles and turns over in her sleep, though she doesn't touch the mercenary. One of the goblins does wake up, it's mouth opening wide in a yawn, and proceeds to ogle Mina lewdly, though he doesn't make any move towards her. It doesn't take long for Mina to recover her gear and then make her way to the corrupted woman.

Cherry mumbles as Mina prods her, but eventually wakes up. "Hu-whu?" she asks sleepily, looking back and forth at the stalkers before noticing Mina standing over her. "Oh, hi, Mina. Friends are sleepy now, but we will probably play some more later." The corrupted woman slowly pushes herself to feet then stretches, her arms, legs, tail, and tentacle shuddering slightly as she works them back awake. "Did you have fun last night with Mistress?"

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Mina smirked at Cherry's question, "You could say that....Anyways I'm going after the key again. I need you to tell me anything about the area near your father's old factory. Landmarks, things that stand out, anything unique. I'm going alone this time andsticking to the rooftops." She smiled a bit, "By the way don't have too much fun....I have a feeling something is going to happen today, everyone needs to be at their best."

(I put all my xp into spirit btw)

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

(On your sheet you say you added 8 more points to spirit, but you only should have had 4 xp, which is only enough for 4 spirit [can only buy stats at a rate of 2xp for 2 stat]. Unless you had some extra xp that I missed, you've got a little too much spirit. Yes, I'm a rules nazi, sorry )

Cherry's expression of blissful ignorance quickly changes to worry when Mina mentions that she will be looking for the key on her own. "A-alone?" she asks nervously, looking over to the stairs that lead up to Mistellah's chamber. "If Mistress say okay, then I guess it okay."

Just as quickly as the corrupted woman's fear had arrived, it departs as she searches her lust muddled memory for the answers to Mina's question. "Stinky air," she says, waving a hand in front of her nose and scrunching her face to show disgust. "Lots of noise when daddy was around. No more noise now. Red walls. Windows but no light." Continuing to run over the general impressions she can remember, Cherry begins to look embarrassed as she realizes she is basically describing every building in the entire factory district.

Cherry's lips purse as she thinks harder, trying to remember specific things to help Mina. "Daddy's building has lots of chimneys! The most of all! It's big too, with two big doors and more smaller doors. Daddy very important!" Excited that she remembered something that might help, Cherry begins to bounce up and down, sending little thumps across the wooden floor, disturbing the nearby demons in their slumber. "Big street outside goes away from stinky air, and goes past the place where god lives! Long building, with tall tall tower. Taller than my daddy's chimney's!" Cherry pauses, standing still while she thinks again. "Water is close, and boats come to pick up boxes from daddy's building. Big boats too. My daddy has small boat, but he says it's better than big boats."

Seemingly unable to think of anything else that might help Mina, Cherry begins to bounce on her heels, sending more thumps across the floor. "You sure Mistress say this okay? She say Cherry go with you before. Why alone now?" She looks around at the sleeping demons and says, "Friends say something about scary man walking around. Maybe Mina stay here where it's safe?"

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

(Well thats what I get for statting before I sleep, corrected)

"I see so the factory is near the church and the waterfront, perfect, that tall steple should be a perfect landmark from the rooftops. Cherry I'm going alone because I'm really good at running on top of the buildings and I can use that to sneak by all the people on the ground, we also need to have everyone here in case that scary man shows up, plus if he's around here that means he won't be at the factory." She ruffles Cherry's hair, "Don't worry if I get in trouble I'll come right back."

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Cherry smiles as Mina ruffles her hair, giggling a bit. As soon as Mina pulls her hand away though, the corrupted woman jumps forward and gives her a hug, wrapping her arms, and tentacle, around the mercenary. "Be careful, Mina," she says, holding tight and swaying slightly.

While the two women embrace, one of the goblins wakes up, eying the two women up slyly. He walks up behind Cherry then hugs her leg, just like Cherry is hugging Mina, though the small demon also begins to softly press his lower body against her too. Cherry backs away from Mina, then gives a playful swat at the goblin. "No! Mina says no more play! We have to be ready for scary man!" The goblin gives a disappointed whine, then looks up at Mina . "She's a strong lady, she fights scary men!" Cherry continues. Mina notices that although Cherry's arms are no longer wrapped around her, the tentacle is, and is slowly sliding down her back towards her hips...

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Mina gently peels the tentacle off of her body and pats Cherry's head, "Good girl, keep everyone sharp and ready while I'm gone and when I get back we can play okay?" She whispers to Cherry, "I'll even let you be the boss." Mina snickers and heads out the back door after giving Cherry a kiss on the forehead.

(Mina finds the closest spot to climb to the rooftops and then runs along them, using small bursts of flight to leap any gaps she can't normally. Heading towards the chimneys off in the distance.)

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Spoiler

Mina's Status: HP = 49, P = 42, EP = 55

The tentacle is a bit tough to peel away, but finally gives after Cherry notices Mina's attempt, the corrupted woman giddily giggling during Mina's resumed patting. She only briefly asks, "Boss?" before giggling again at the kiss, then turns to face the assembled sleeping demons. "Wake up everyone! Mina says we have to be ready, and I'm gonna be the boss!" she yells, skipping around the room to begin prodding them awake. Consumed by her new task, Cherry hardly notices Mina as she heads out of the mansion and looks for a way to the roofs.

It doesn't take long for the experienced mercenary to find an easy way to climb to a higher vantage point. The opulent houses of the rich district feature many overhangs, eaves, windows, balconies, and other outcroppings she can use as handholds. From this height, she can see rows upon rows of roofs, though no differences between them except the shape of the building, which doesn't tell her much. She is unconcerned with these other buildings, however, and begins to run north, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the closeness of the densely packed district aiding in her movement.

Soon enough, she reaches the main road of the city once again. It is far too wide for her to leap across unaided, and she will have to use a bit of her spiritual energy to simply fly across with her power. Below her she can see the remains of yesterdays fight, though the corpses look to be torn apart, no doubt by the pack of mutated dogs she had seen picking at them on her way back to Mistellah's mansion. She can see nothing in the street now, but as she has learned the last few days, there are many creatures in the city adept at concealing themselves, and their natures.

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Mina takes a few steps back and runs towards the edge leaping, as she soared across the gap she started to fall....without a sound she propelled herself back up enough to land on the other side and resume her running.

(spend 2 spirit, and yay I just invented the double jump! Eat your heart out free runners.)

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

(Haha, nice)

Spoiler

Mina's Status: HP = 49, P = 42, EP = 50/55; Flight

Mina's running leap, followed by the boost from her spiritual power, sends her hurtling over the main road. For a moment she is worried she didn't put quite enough of her energy into her 'double jump,' but at the last second her toes land on the very edge of the roof of the building she had been aiming for. She takes a second to recover her balance then resumes her travel north along the rooftops.

The rooftops of the buildings along the main road are not quite as well constructed as the roofs of the rich district, though that is to be expected. Farther north, the houses appear to be in even worse condition, some even with holes and missing sections. In the distance Mina can see the smokestacks of the factory district, and to the north-northeast is a large tower, though she can't make out what type of buildings exactly are around it. If she heads for the tower, she might have an easier time finding the factory she is looking for, thought it might take her longer to do so.

(Flight still active until you decide to cancel it)

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

(Cancel flight)

Mina looks at the tower, the tallest thing she can see and remembers Cherry's directions. "Perfect, my destination is on the same road as that, I should head that way and look for the waterfront when I arrive." She thought to herself as she followed the rooftops to the church tower in the distance.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Spoiler

Mina's Status: HP = 49, P = 42, EP = 50/55

Mina's travel across the rooftops continues with good speed. The various buildings are spaced closed together in this area, which makes it easy to move across them. Once in a while she hears movement below her, but it is only for a moment as she leaps over an alley or small street.

Soon enough Mina moves away from the assorted shops and middle class buildings and into the low class housing area surrounding the factory district. The buildings in this area are lower and spaced further apart. Misjudging a jump is likely to send the woman crashing to the ground, though it will hurt much less than slipping off the mansions and apartments she has been traveling over so far. The roofs are also much more dilapidated, and getting closer Mina can see many of them have sloppy repairs consisting of thin wooden planks barely covering large holes. More alarming, however, are the thick strands of white webbing strung about the walls of the buildings, seemingly at random.

The broken down buildings stretch off to the north, being replaced by the dark smokestacks of the factory in the distance. Closer by are smaller factories to the north-west, but the tall tower she is using as a landmark is off to the north-east. Although her time spent near the city has revealed the area to be devoid of most activity, as Mina ventures closer to the factory district she notices the air becoming deathly still and almost unnaturally quiet. She isn't sure, but the air close to the tops of the factories far to the northeast looks to be a different color, a dark blue, almost purplish, color, in contrast to the light blue of the early day above her.

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Mina narrowed her eyes looking at the sky over the factories, even though she had only begun exploring her potential she could feel the demonic energies. "Barging straight into the demon's main territory would be foolish....besides I might have those damn spiders following me...." She glances around as she thinks to herself. She turns and continues heading towards the tower taking the precaution to tap into her powers a bit as she runs along the run down rooftops.

(Keep heading towards the tower, use 2 spirit to turn on flight, just enough to let her jump to safety if any of the rooftops start to give)

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Spoiler

Mina's Status: HP = 49, P = 42, EP = 45/55; Flight 2

Body Check: Pass
Stealth: Fail
Perception: Pass

Instantly feeling lighter thanks to her spiritual power, Mina has no trouble making the longer jumps in this area. A few areas of the rooftops start to creak as she steps on them, but they hold, preventing her from falling through the rickety planks. As she runs, she notices that some of the damage to the rooftops looks more like something living had torn a whole in the wood, rather than simple decay or accidents. These more deliberate faults have some of the thick webbing from the outer walls of the building connected to them, and even as light as she is, the force of her footfalls causes the white strands to shake noticeably as they travel down the walls.

It doesn't take long for Mina to start hearing alien sounding shrieks and chitters below her, and it is obvious to her that the demonic spiders that had spun the webbing have noticed her presence. Just as she is about to make a jump, one of the huge black spiders appears in front of her, rearing back on it's hind legs and letting out an angry hiss. To her sides, two more of the creatures climb the webbing and stare her down with their many eyes. They creep slowly towards the woman, but keep their distance, for now.

The rooftop Mina and the nearly horse-sized spiders are on seems mostly intact, but there are a few holes scattered around. She can't see far into them, but webbing lines the sides going of them. If she can manage to avoid the spiders, Mina might be able to make the jump to another building, letting her find a rooftop with better footing or even possibly bypassing the threat entirely and letting her continue to make her way to the tower. The spiders aren't exactly slow on their feet however.

(fighting here has a small chance of falling into a hole every round unless grappled)

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

(Mina's totally focused on avoiding them so -10 to hit for a 20 dodge bunus to keep moving?)

Mina grumbled as she looked at the spiders before glaring at the one in front of her, her left eye turning red as she let her new demonic aura burn within, the spiritual equivalent of a cobra flaring it's hood as it coils up to strike. "Move. -Now-. I have been summoned to the gate." If she could seem demonic enough the spiders might let her pass. Otherwise she was ready to duck and run having faced the spiders before and knowing their reaction time.

(She's not spending any spirit just intensifying the feeling of her demonic connection trying to bluff her way through. If the spiders don't buy it she'll just bolt.)

 

[xivvix]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

Spoiler

Mina's Status: HP = 49, P = 42, EP = 43/55; Flight 2

Opposed Mind Check: 20 vs 17. Success!

The spiders stop suddenly when Mina's angrily orders them to move. They stare at her for a few seconds, chittering to each other. Finally, they slowly back away, staring at her the whole time as they retreat back to the webbing lining the walls. Just before the one in front of her disappears from sight, one it's long hairy legs stretches out, pointing to the northwest. Her path now clear, Mina is free to keep moving.

As she jumps from rooftop to rooftop, Mina sees no other signs of the giant spiders. Perhaps the three she had intimidated had passed the word along before her. Whatever the case, it isn't much longer before Mina reaches the edge of the low class area. Before her is an area filled with very old looking buildings, many made of stone rather than wood. The buildings are about the same height as the in the area she just left, but are more densely packed and with sturdier roofs, making the jumps much easier. After passing only a few buildings, Mina finds herself staring at the base of the tower she had been moving towards.

Rather than a church as she had first thought, the building that the tower stretches from is more like a cathedral. Very large, stretching almost two blocks in her view, with ornate stonework and stained glass windows along the sides. The building itself stands tall, it's roof four stories tall. It is easily the largest building in the area, and the tower stretches high above it, making Mina strain her neck to see the top of it from where she is now. A small grassy area lies at the base of of the building, with large hedges along the walls. The grass extends for a short distance before coming to a wrought iron fence, which encircles the cathedral. Regardless of what knowledge the mercenary may have of the religion that would have been practiced within the building, she is still surprised to see horrendous stone statues along the edges of the roof. Hideous monstrous visages snarl out in silent anger, and large bat-like wings stretch out from their arms. Even from this distance, Mina can see that whomever carved these statues was incredibly talented, as they look very lifelike. The stone creatures serve to make an already impressive building look that much more unapproachable.

From where she is, Mina can't see the large road Cherry mentioned. The side closest to her has only a narrow walkway that ends at a building to the west. Mina does notice that while the building itself doesn't extend far to the north, the fence does continue for some distance.

(gain 2 xp for the clever idea with the spiders)

 

[Archer]

Re: Gold and Blood (Archer) (GM = xivvix)

(Hey, bluff can work wonders sometimes. Turning off flight)

Mina hops down to the walkway and stretches her legs a bit after all that running and jumping. "Hrm I have a feeling this was never a holy place to begin with....." She looks over the cathedral before heading to the fence. "It figures...I came in on the wrong side....." She rubs her head a bit thinking. "I could cut through the cathedral and probably find the main road on the other side. Then again there's probably stuff living in there....but I could find a way up the tower from the inside and have a perfect view of the surrounding city...." Getting a perfect read on her bearings was too good to pass up, but first Mina approached the cathedral cautiously checking for any signs of recent movement inside or out.