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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 30, 2013 16:02:34 GMT -5
The Enforcer. That sounded bad, probably worse than what I just fought. At the very least, he's afraid of The Enforcer so he'll be an easier time if he's hostile too. I let him take me into the alley.
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Post by stainedmind on Mar 30, 2013 16:38:51 GMT -5
You enter the alley with him, and he pushes you into the shadows. You're both stock still as you see someone troop past the entrance to the alley. Someone wearing a bowler hat, and missing an arm.
"As Officer Tock's Enforcer, I demand you present yourself for immediate arrest!"
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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 30, 2013 16:42:05 GMT -5
Ok, self. Press into the corner, try not to yawn no matter how tired I am. Just be unseen.
Roll(3d6)+0: 2,4,4,+0 Total:10
Roll(1d6)+0: 4,+0 Total:4
Results: Major use of Exhaustion, 2 successes, 4x2 Strength, Discipline Dominates
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Post by stainedmind on Mar 31, 2013 19:56:54 GMT -5
Pain 3: 4,6,1
Apollo wins at 3, Pain dominates
As you try to shrink into the shadows, your companion suddenly freezes. The sound of hoofbeats can be heard from the distance.
"Shit, I know I held up that Bazaar stand, but this is shitty timing! Fucking Krampus!"
Suddenly, a withered man with cloven feet and an oaken staff rushes into your field of vision. He flings aside the Enforcer with inhuman strength and rushes to the man next to you, hitting you in the face with his staff and knocking you down.
Through your throbbing headache and position face-down on the ground, you can hear the sounds of wood against flesh, the screams of someone in severe agony, and the crack of broken bones.
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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 31, 2013 21:45:44 GMT -5
Krampus? Isn't that a fairy tale? Wait, I just melted the arm of a metal man. Clearly Krampus being real isn't that much of a stretch. Whatever, this is a good distraction for me to slip away unseen, which I do. Getting up and ignoring the pounding in my head, I run as fast as I can away from the hooved man, and The Enforcer, as fast as my legs will carry me.
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Post by stainedmind on Mar 31, 2013 21:49:51 GMT -5
As you stand up, you notice the sounds of violence have stopped. The Krampus shoves past you, and he's gone in an instant. The other man groans from his position slumped against the wall and stands up. His arm is dangling limply at his side.
"No, wait, don't go... Naughty... to leave someone alone here... Krampus would come back..."
He stumbles over to you and grabs your shoulder with his good arm.
"Other Awakened... They can explain... Come with me, please..."
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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 31, 2013 21:55:15 GMT -5
Normally I'd run, bu this man is convincing. I suppose fear of a giant hoofed beast that just attacked in front of you is a convincing fear after all. I go over to the man, kneeling by him. "I'll come with, okay. But if that thing shows up again, I'm running."
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Post by stainedmind on Mar 31, 2013 21:57:22 GMT -5
"He won't... come back... In fact..."
You suddenly hear sleigh bells and a loud, jovial "HO HO HO!"
You look up and see a sleigh in the skies, pulled by reindeer.
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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 31, 2013 22:00:03 GMT -5
"You're kidding me, right? Is that Santa Claus? Why is that Santa Claus? You have ten seconds to explain."
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Post by stainedmind on Mar 31, 2013 22:06:35 GMT -5
"I go mad sometimes... brings them... If I'm good, I get Klaus... Bad, Krampus..." The sleigh lands right outside the alley, and this man looks nothing like the Santa Claus you remember.
He's bloated to the point where it looks unnatural, almost like a corpse full of gases. His teeth are yellow and crooked, and his reindeer are skeletal, Rudolph's nose a bright red flame illuminating his skeletal features.
"Well then, Marcus, I see you've been very good recently! I've come to bring you a gift! What would you like for Christmas, Marcus?"
"Need... Medical attention..."
"Well, that'll be no problem!"
Klaus whistles, and a team of elves jumps out of the sleigh. They're tiny, hunched figures, with pointed ears and sharp fangs. They all have medical equipment, and they go about healing Marcus in a quick, professional manner, setting his arm and healing some minor internal bleeding.
"Now Marcus, keep being a good boy, and I'll bring you more gifts! Now, I must be going! Ho ho ho!"
Him and the elves jump into the sleigh and fly off into the night.
"Okay, sorry about that. Look, please come with me. I promise, we'll explain everything. There are two other Awakened, and when we get you all together we'll give all three of you the orientation."
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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 31, 2013 22:17:41 GMT -5
I sigh. I never asked to be pulled into all of this, but here I am. "All right, fine." I resign myself to following him. "That's some power. I heated up really hot when I fought this ticking metal man, I guess that's my power."
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Post by stainedmind on Mar 31, 2013 22:23:15 GMT -5
"Well, that's interesting. That's what happens when you go mad? Well, it doesn't seem quite as horrifying as getting your shit beaten whenever you do something naughty."
You don't recognize where you are now. You seem to be going up a fire escape right now.
Eventually, you arrive on some rooftops, next to a rather large airplane. There are even more embedded in other roofs.
You can hear a voice droning on.
"We are attempting a crash landing... Please extinguish all cigarettes... We are all going down... Together..."
Marcus knocks on the door of the plane, and a voice calls out.
"Ashes to ashes, funk to funky?"
Marcus replies.
"We know Major Tom's a junkie."
The door opens, revealing a man wearing a medical mask.
"Marcus, you went mad again."
It's a statement, not a question.
"You're going to Convert soon enough. God only fucking knows what you're gonna become when that happens. Maybe one of those reindeer..."
Marcus coughs, and gestures to you.
"Oh, my apologies, I must have not noticed you. I see you're one of the new Awake. I'm called Major Tom around these parts. I was always a David Bowie fan."
He points to Marcus.
"Marcus isn't his real name, he's just fucking obsessed with Borderlands. Now come in, before someone sees us."
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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 31, 2013 22:42:19 GMT -5
I slip in the door, taking in everything that's going on. I decide the best course of action is to introduce myself to the Major here. "Um...I'm Apollo. I suppose I get a codename or something too? I suppose Maverick's probably the first one taken?" I let out a chuckle, just so I don't forget what it feels like to laugh, then continue, "anyway, what is this place and what am I doing here? And what did you mean "become"?" So many questions pour from my lips, with many more on their heels.
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Post by stainedmind on Mar 31, 2013 22:57:47 GMT -5
"Surprisingly, Maverick hasn't been taken. You can have that one, I suppose..."
He leads you inside the plane, and indicates for you to sit down in one of the seats.
"Now then, this place is known by many names. The Mad City, The Nightlands, Wonderland... However, this is a terrible, awful place, full of terrible monsters and insanity. You obviously haven't slept in a long time. That makes you one of the Awakened, and one of the few people who know about this place,"
"I'm sure you've already gone Mad at least once. You basically get to completely tear reality a new one, and damn the consequences. However, if you do it too much, you become one of the exact same monsters that plague this town. It's happened once or twice in this group,"
"Like Manos, that movie-loving fool... He could go Mad and he could treat reality itself like it was the filming of a movie. He Converted into some horrible director monster. If we took an action he didn't like, he'd make us redo the whole thing and we couldn't stop it... We lost Marya to that bastard..."
He stops for a moment. He pulls a container of pills out of his pocket, but you know for a fact that there wasn't one there before. And the brand listed certainly isn't one you've ever seen before.
He swallows a pill, waits for a moment, and then continues.
"Our group is devoted to gathering together Awakened. We'll never take this place down, not by a long shot. But keeping each other safe, that we can do..."
He holds a hand out to you. You could almost swear you can see pinpricks on his elbow...
"What do you say? Will you join us?"
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Post by aspiredClockworks on Mar 31, 2013 23:00:10 GMT -5
I hesitate. On the one hand, this is the closest thing to a friend I've seen in a long time. On the other, he could just be an enemy waiting to stab. But I have no other options. I reach my hand out and shake his. "All right. Is it considered rude to ask what happens when someone "goes mad"? I figure I should know what to watch out for. As far as I can tell, I heat up really hot. Like, my teeth were causing sparks hot."
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