>>3238629
Henry decided to laugh; all things considered this was the most unexpected thing he’d encountered all night, a kindred spirit.

“We all have ‘demons’ in our closets.” Henry said.

“Some worse than others.” Venser replied, a touch of annoyance creeping into his voice.

“Whoever you’re running from, let’s just say it can’t be as bad as mine.”

“Pray you never find out if it is.” Venser replied.

And thus, their little reunion ended.

Venser then simply informed the Baron that Henry wanted to exit via the gate, and then sat down on a bale of hay and rested. The man hadn’t told the Baron why exactly they were going, only that it was vital, which was great. Without Ophelia to fuck everything up everyone acted like he expected them to. Venser didn’t want to raise panic so he kept the actual reason to himself. Which meant when the angels swept through… if they did, the Baron wouldn’t be able to respond effectively, nor call for help. The man didn’t know he was about to get hung by the churchmen he’d allowed into his home. It was divine irony of a sort.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Henry enjoyed the cool touch of midnight air on his face. They stood outside, on the same walkway they’d used to enter the keep. The thing snaked around the side of the chateau and then the path disappeared around the bend. Covering the path was a set of iron bars lovingly slapped together to provide ample protection from anything trying to scale the wall or get onto the path from above.

“So what’s the plan then exactly, I assume we’re going to try and cut through the spiders but I don’t know exactly how to go about doing that, we don’t know much about their current behavior.”

“Well here’s the thing, we can learn. I have someone I can use.” Henry replied. “I still have that man we managed to … convince to help us. We send him out at the spiders, figure out a bit about their behavior, then we make our push.”

Johnny clutched the Signal Charm in his hand. The thing was a VERY specialized type of rune. Henry had no idea exactly how it worked, but the light it produced could only be seen by angels. At least if the rumor’s he heard were true.

“I do wish you didn’t have to brutalize and desecrate a soldier’s corpse.” Johnny said, resigning himself to the task at hand.

There were a few things he could do now. Continue to search for blackmail evidence against the Baron, or cut right to the chase and try to make it to the signal tower. In all honesty the blackmail angle was a hell of a lot less dangerous, but if Marlene was correct and he could use it to get back at Vermillion… well first thing was first…

>>3238640
Henry and Johnny eyed up the walkway that hung off the Chateau itself, the thing was a purely defensive structure, and thus it was only wide enough for one person at a time. So Henry bravely hid behind Johnny and the two proceeded back into the Chateau, winding their way through a couple of hallways and then landing back in the grand hall, Henry had a hunch that the Baron’s ‘living quarters’ would be upstairs, but the vampire’s actual chamber would be somewhere down in the basement. Henry wasn’t really looking forward to going back down there, but if he wanted any blackmail material that would be the place to look.

“So shall we make our way to the signal tower?” Johnny asked.

“No I want to try and find the Baron’s personal chambers, probably downstairs.” Henry replied.

“What would we need down there?”

“Documents, information, relics, anything we can use to nail this son of a bitch and maybe even tie him back to Vermillion.”

“So you are going to do this?” Johnny asked.

“Yeah, I’ve had it with that fucker and I don’t think Marlene will be any worse of a boss.”

“Are we going to call for assistance?” Johnny asked, preferring not to respond to Henry’s remark.

“Not sure right now.” Henry admitted.

Decisions:
1. Head down into the basement and try to find your way to the Baron’s quarters
2. Head upstairs and make sure Germans’ corpse is not wandering around
3. Head outside towards the signal tower, maybe you signal the angels and find the blackmail materials before they arrive.
4. (write in)

>>3238660
>2. Head upstairs and make sure Germans’ corpse is not wandering around
REEEEEEEEmove our own evidence FIRST

>>3238722
will begin writing now

>>3238722
This

Rolled 3 (1d5)

>>3238660

>>3238660
“Come on, we need to make sure there isn’t any evidence to connect us to anything.” Henry said.

The duo carefully climbed up the grand staircase while keeping an eye out for any intruders, Henry wasn’t really sure if Marlene was actually in control of the giant spiders, but he didn’t really want to take the chance, from what he had seen from the dying torchlight on the walls, there were a lot of spiders running about. Henry wondered if the Inquisitors were dealing with them. They’d probably be alright…

Henry turned a corner and went back into the sort of meeting room that the zombie had been left in. The walking corpse had tripped over a couple of chairs and was idly kicking against the ground, trying to right itself to little effect. Henry barked a few orders at it, had Johnny help it up, then proceeded to have it walk down the stairwell to the place where he’d found it.

“Bad idea sir.” Johnny said, “The militiamen think their friend managed to limp away.”

“Fuck right, I’ll just move him a bit further down the hallway then.” Henry said.

He had the zombie roll around in the blood and then ordered it to shamble down to the end of the hall. After that, he released it from the spell and it crumpled onto the floor.

Decisions:
1. Time to go down into the basement
2. Head off to the signal tower
3. (Write in)
4. (cast a spell) (write in)
5. (say something) (write in)

>>3239217
>1. Time to go down into the basement

>>3239217
>1. Time to go down into the basement
Done with our evidence, now for Baron's evidence.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>3239222
>>3239252
writing

>>3239217
“Come on; let’s get moving, the less time we spend in here the better.” Henry said. The two proceeded down the hallway and into the storage room where Ophelia had nearly had her mind taken over. Henry swore he heard the sound of skittering feet behind them. Which meant they had guests. Henry didn’t feel like dealing with a horde of giant spiders however, so he decided that retreating was the ideal strategy.

“Come on, let’s head downstairs.” Henry whispered.

Descending into the basement, Henry found himself in yet another storage room, although this one had many casks of wine sitting to one side, while the rest of the space was taken up by shelving. Deeper inside the basement Henry could hear the sound of machinery whirring away.

There were three paths open to Henry, besides the way back upstairs of course. The path to his immediate left was completely dark, luckily he had a few light runes with him. There was a second left path which was well lit. On his right was a narrow path where the sounds of running machinery echoed from. Finally there was a path in front of him, which was barred off by a set of thin metal spikes extending from the floor into the ceiling.

Decisions:
1. Head down the dark path on the left
2. Head down the well-lit path on the left
3. Head towards the machinery
4. Try to blast your way through the metal spikes
5. (write in)

>>3239334
>3. Head towards the machinery

>>3239334
>3. Head towards the machinery

>>3239370
>>3239968
writing

>>3239334
They worked their way towards the sound of whirring machinery, Johnny taking point as usual while the very brave and courageous Henry took the rear, valiantly ensuring that the spiders behind them wouldn’t suddenly figure out how to open a door and follow them.

Johnny stopped about ten feet away from the source of the sound, he patted Henrys back and Henry stopped dead. There was something ahead of them. Henry spun around to see Johnny sheath his sword and seemingly calm down

“Oy you aren’t supposed to be down ere’!” A voice called out from the room ahead of them. Henry couldn’t get a good look at the man but from what Henry could tell he had a greying head of hair and was holding what looked to be a light rune lantern.

Decisions:
1. *Back off*
2. “There’s been an emergency!”
3. “Fuck off!”
4. *Cast a spell at the unknown person*
5. “Sorry we didn’t know.”
6. (write in)

>>3242094
>6. (write in)
"Tell that to the spiders on the other side of the door."

>>3242094
see >>3242099

>>3242099
>>3242110
writing

>>3242094
>2
“Tell that to the spiders on the other side of the door!” Henry said, pointing ineffectually down the hallway. The man wasn’t able to see him through Johnny of course, but Henry always felt that a bit of emphasis never hurt anyone. Besides, he was telling the truth for once.

“What the fuck are you on about? I cleared the damned spider nests out of the north tower last week!” The man said. “You don’t work here, and you don’t seem to be contractors, the fuck are you doing down here?!”

“There’s a situation.” Johnny said, quite literally stepping in-between the two of them.

“What?!” The man asked.

“Who the heck are they?” A younger voice called out.

“Quiet Stu, get back to work on the pipes, we can’t have an accident while the party’s going on or it’s our jobs at the very least.”

“R-right..” Stu replied. Henry saw a bit of movement to the side of the passage. The man had been peaking around the corner.

Decisions:
1. “Look there has been a murder and the Chateau isn’t safe right now, everyone is supposed to evacuate to the keep.”
2. “Why the fuck are you guys still down here?!”
3. *try to figure out who they are* (roll 1d100 or guess)
4. (write in)

>>3242315
>4. (write in)
Apparently there's a creature masquerading as a party goer, and it's summoning the spiders from the forest. We're trying to find both it, and any other possible imposters.

>>3242325
roll 1d100 for charisma

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>3242329

>>3242332
thats a pass, writing

>>3242315
“Apparently there’s a creature masquerading as a party goer, and it’s summoning the spiders from the forest. We’re both trying to find it, as well as any other potential imposters.” Johnny said, trying to calm the older gentleman down.

“What’s a masquerade?” Stu asked from around the corner.

“It means an illusion you dimwit. Get the fuck back to your post!” The older man yelled. “Kids these days I swear to god. Alright come on in, but if you’re the fakes you’re going to end up with a wrench in yer noggin, got it?”

“We understand perfectly sir.” Johnny replied.

God damn it felt good to be with someone who wasn’t socially retarded.

“So how’d you figure out that a member of the party was a monster.”

“Ripped a man in half.” Henry replied. “Threw him out onto the grand hall, then he burst into an ash pile, so we figure he was a vampire.”

“Well if that’s true then you better not be fakes, I don’t think I’d fare so well.” The old man said.

“My name’s Johnny and this is Henry, we can assure you we are not fakes.”

“Isn’t that what a fake would say though?” Stu asked. The man was hunched over a horrifying piece of machinery, the thing looked like it was about to fall apart at any moment. It had a series of gears on one end, an input area for coal on the other, and a series of tubes that fed into the ceiling. Henry wasn’t exactly sure what it was but he guessed it was some kind of generator. It took up half the damned room and made an awful racket.

“Names Nelson Helms, and that over there is Stu.”

“Just Stu?” Henry asked.

>>3242391
“I figure I’ll let him be a bit more professional when the kid’s earned it, for now he’s just Stu.” Nelson said. “So what’s the deal with the spiders?”

“Came in from the forest, they’re deadly little buggers, bigger than a dog.” Henry said.

“Good lord above, didn’t even realize there was anything like that around here.” Nelson said, laughing uncomfortably.

“Don’t you work here?” Henry asked.

“Nah, I got called in on a special job to get this generator here back up and running. The backup was nearly a pile of slag when we got here too. The Baron really needs to keep his equipment in better shape, the rest of the mansion is spick and span but if the damned generator goes then a whole lotta good that’ll do.”

“Do you speak that way about all your clients?” Johnny asked.

“I just speak the truth Johnny.” Nelson said.

“Hey boss, what’s the rune that looks like a mushroom do again?”

“It’s a converter rune! Don’t touch it or it’ll shock you badly and cause the machine to stop running!” Nelson bellowed.

“Alright jeeze!”

Decisions:
1. “Would you happen to have the Chateau’s blueprints on you, seeing as you’re working on the machinery.”
2. “Have you noticed anything odd down here?”
3. “What company you work for, or are you self employeed?”
4. “You said you weren’t from around here, you from the capital?”
5. (Write in)

>>3242396
>1. “Would you happen to have the Chateau’s blueprints on you, seeing as you’re working on the machinery.”

We have to know where the spiders can hide, we got to kill them before they can set up shop and spin webs. Spiders are ambush predators, not attack dogs. Our best chance to kill them is now when they are chasing us around. When they've settled in is when people are guaranteed to die

>>3242396
see >>3242840

>>3242840
So this
And ask if he knows where the excess heat, from the generator,is exhausted off.

If he doesn't believe that there are monster spiders inside, just let Johnny drag him out to see them with his own eyes.

took the night off tonight, will be posting tomorrow, probably around 7pm-11pm

>>3245567
writing

>>3242396
“Would you happen to have the Chateau’s blueprints on you, seeing as you’re working on the machinery?” Henry asked.

“Well kind of.” Nelson replied. “We were only given the blueprints for the basement. The Baron didn’t really trust us with the rest of it, which I can’t really blame him for. The whole point of a castle is to be secure after all, it can’t really be secure if the layout and traps in the place become well known.”

“It’s actually a Chateau…” Johnny replied. This fact was completely ignored by everyone else present in the room.

(gained basement blueprints)

Henry took a quick glance at the blueprints. The barred off section led to the armory, which made sense. From what he could tell that entire passageway had a bunch of traps which were badly illustrated on the blueprints. There was also a set of stairs that led upwards into what appeared to be the keep. There also seemed to be a sort of stone doorway that could be closed in an emergency to seal it off from the rest of the castle. The lit passageway led to more storage while the darkened one led to what appeared to be a series of odd cages, Henry wondered exactly what they were for. Lastly there was the room they were in and two more beyond it all which housed machinery Henry wasn’t too familiar with.

“What do the machines in this room do exactly?” Henry asked.

“This unit back here is for heating while the plumbing and the main and axillary power units are further back.” Nelson said.

“Where does the excess heat from the machines go?” Henry asked.

“Up and out through the main smokestack on the roof.” Nelson said. “The whole thing is incredibly narrow to prevent people from getting down into there. If we wanted to repair it I’d have brought along a child to do the sweep work. Fortunately it’s been kept in shape. Wish I could say the same for this heating unit.”

Decisions:
1. *try to figure out where on the blueprints the vampire’s hold could be* (roll 1d100 for intelligence, 60 or higher required*
2. “Nelson, do you think there could be a secret room hidden anywhere in the basement?” (roll 1d100 for charisma, 40 or higher required)
3. *ask Nelson a question* (write in)
4. *Cast a spell* (write in)
5. *preform an action (write in)
6. *ponder on a subject* (write in) (Lorekeeper’s Note: This will allow you the player to dig into Henry’s thoughts on certain subjects, I won’t allow for spoilers but if you want more lore info or just Henry’s thoughts, feel free to suggest ideas)

>>3248519
>3. *ask Nelson a question* (write in)
"... Shouldn't there be at least some grates in the chimney so someone couldn't toss in some bomb runes?"

>>3248519
this >>3248532

>>3248540
>>3248532
writing

>>3248519
“Shouldn’t there be at least some grates in the chimney so someone can’t just toss in some bomb runes.” Henry

“I mean any bomb runes that got tossed in there would just fall down into the basement and detonate against the ash trap in the bottom of the shaft.” Nelson said. “I have no idea why you’d want to do that though.”

“I don’t.”

“Uh huh.” Nelson replied.

Decisions:
1. *try to figure out where on the blueprints the vampire’s hold could be* (roll 1d100 for intelligence, 60 or higher required*
2. “Nelson, do you think there could be a secret room hidden anywhere in the basement?” (roll 1d100 for charisma, 40 or higher required)
Optional:

3. *ask Nelson a question* (write in)
4. *Cast a spell* (write in)
5. *preform an action (write in)
6. *ponder on a subject* (write in) (Lorekeeper’s Note: This will allow you the player to dig into Henry’s thoughts on certain subjects, I won’t allow for spoilers but if you want more lore info or just Henry’s thoughts, feel free to suggest ideas)

>>3248858
>3. *ask Nelson a question* (write in)
Are there any odd pipes from the generator or pumps that aren't on the schematics? Ones that aren't listed on the blueprints?

>>3248858
this >>3248864
but also
>1. *try to figure out where on the blueprints the vampire’s hold could be* (roll 1d100 for intelligence, 60 or higher required*
Either a hidden passage in a storage room, or something to do with those mystery cages...

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>3248858
>1. *try to figure out where on the blueprints the vampire’s hold could be* (roll 1d100 for intelligence, 60 or higher required*

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>3248858
>1. *try to figure out where on the blueprints the vampire’s hold could be* (roll 1d100 for intelligence, 60 or higher required*

>>3251298
>>3248858
Not sure how that happened. But the first roll was already really quite good so . . .

>>3248519
> “Where does the excess heat from the machines go?” Henry asked.

“Up and out through the main smokestack on the roof.” Nelson said. “The whole thing is incredibly narrow to prevent people from getting down into there. If we wanted to repair it I’d have brought along a child to do the sweep work. Fortunately it’s been kept in shape. Wish I could say the same for this heating unit.”

Two very different thoughts here.

A) How slim is Johnny, or alternatively can he reassemble himself if we collapsed him and dropped him down the flue?

B) What if we blocked it off and let the heat and presumably carbon dioxide/monoxide build up and either kill everyone quietly or drive them out of the room?

>>3242840
> Spiders are ambush predators, not attack dogs

From wikipedia on Jumping Spiders

Some salticid species are continually on the move, stopping periodically to look around for prey, which they then stalk immediately.

Also

The greatest attribute of jumping spiders is their advanced eyes

I want an undead giant Peacock Spider mount so bad.

>>3249227
well that's going on the wall

>>3248858
Henry took a good look at the map. A few things stood out to him immediately. First of all, the section with the cages was marked with a series of odd symbols, and there seemed to be an odd mark on the wall in the hallway leading to the armory. The odd section in the armory hallway was right after the first series of defensive steel bars. From what he could tell the control mechanism was located in the armory itself. There wasn’t any way to lower them from his side. If he could get through them he’d probably be able to access marked section.

As for the cages, what the hell would a Baron need them for? Was he breeding spiders down here or something? There was also a large cage marked off completely by itself. Perhaps he could inform the inquisition about it. Sure if it was just spider’s it’d probably just get written off as the Baron having strange tastes… but if it was anything truly bad then Henry would have him by the balls.

astly, there were a series of odd pipes that ran from the heating unit into the ceiling and then seemingly disappeared. They didn’t seem to lead up into the first floor, and Henry couldn’t figure out their use from the blueprints.

“Hey Nelson, what are these for?” Henry asked, pointing to the pipes on the blue sheet of paper he’d been handed. “It looks like a set of pipes that isn’t on the schematics.”

“Well they are, sort of. I actually asked the Baron about those but he said they were put there by his father. I think it loops up into the castle and then back down into the basement to recycle the air. Odd thing was I can’t figure out where the pipes go back down to. They seemingly go from the first floor, back down through the basement wall and under the floor, then back into the unit which just struck me as odd.” Neslon said.

“Whys that odd?” Henry asked.

“They’re not running through one of the tunnels, so if they break you’d have to dig the damned floor up, its shoddy craftsmanship and I’d revoke the license of whoever had done it if it was one of my guys.”

“Anything else strike you as odd?” Henry asked.

>>3252051
“Besides the lack of care for this unit here? Well not really, I’m paid to fix the generator not ask a bunch of unrelated questions.” Nelson replied.

“I saw a large shipment of meat going into the darkened room over there, and keys I think? But when I asked about it the old butler told me to shove off.” Stu said. “I don’t know what sort of dogs he’s keeping in there but I have no idea what the hell would need that much food.”

“The hell you’d even know how much food a dog would need?” Nelson asked.

“My father breeds em for noblemen.” Stu replied. “He trained me a bit in it but my older brother took over the business and we never really got along.”

“So he dumped you on me and Martin then.” Nelson said.

Decisions:
1. *Head back into the cage room*
2. *try to bust your way into the armory hallway*
3. *head back upstairs to take your chances with the spiders*
4. (write in)

>>3252057
What a castle of wonder this is!

Let's break the pipe and loot whatever corpse we find! Johnny doesn't need air!

>>3252063
>>3252060
I still want to plug the pipes and asphyxiate everyone in the secret area. It's the easiest solution and they're probably monsters.

>>3252063
>>3252069
feel free to try it, tho you'll have to make 2 rolls, one for stealth and the other for intelligence

>>3252060
>4. (write in)
"For now, yall should lock yourselves in here, it'll help keep the spiders away until either the problem has been solved, or help arrives."
Then
>2. *try to bust your way into the armory hallway*

>>3252060
also this >>3252096

The ideal order would be
>"Lock yourselves in here for now to keep spiders away. Stay safe until things clear up or help arrives."
>*try to bust your way into the armory hallway*
>what >>3252069 said

>>3252101
one problem, the only access point to the pipe you want to clog is in the machinery room you're currently in, if they barricade themselves in you won't be able to get back in.

>>3252120
Then ask them to help clog it first before they barricade themselves in? Or have Henry and Johnny do it themselves?

>>3252132
roll for speech then, 1d100+5

Rolled 43 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>3252144

Rolled 7 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>3252144

>>3252146
>>3252147

failure, writing

Rolled 87 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>3252144
Can we cast mind fog o them and try again?

>>3252152
Or can we instead of persuade threaten with the fact that Angel's are gonna come clean this place out, and while they might be willing to forgive them up to this point they're notably not into "wasn't my concern" as a defense against dealing with apparent Vampires?

>>3252060
“Would it be possible to clog the mystery pipe?” Henry asked.

“The hell would you want to do that?” Nelson yelled, surprising Henry.

“Please keep the noise down, let’s not attract guests.” Johnny whispered.

“Well if it’s not doing anything… wouldn’t it be causing strain on the system?”

“Even I know not to touch something if I don’t know what it does.” Stu replied.

“For once I agree with the kid god damn it.” Nelson continued, “But it ain’t just that, I gave the Baron my word that we would maintain and repair the system, and I’m not going to go clogging up the pipes because of some god damn whimsy from a man I met five minutes ago!”

“But it might be putting excess strain on the system if it’s not doing anything!” Henry replied.

“This machine here is perfectly fine for the chateau mister. Now stop telling me how to do my damned job and I’ll let you go back to stomping bugs or whatever. I am not going to intentionally or unintentionally cause damage to the system, no way no how.”

“Fine, lock yourselves in here for now to keep the spiders away, maybe move some shelves to block the doorway. Hopefully this will be settled by morning.”

“Fine, sorry for getting upset.” Nelson said, “Just don’t EVER ask a mechanic or any tradesman to sabotage their own work, worst thing you could tell them.”

“Alright.” Henry said.

With some regret, Henry and Johnny left the machine room and headed out towards the armory door. Henry could hear the sound of something heavy being pushed behind him. Nelson and Stu were taking his advice to heart it seemed.

The iron bars that stood before them were slightly rusted but absolutely solid. They extended from the floor into the ceiling and Henry wasn’t exactly sure which way they even extended. Regardless, they were too close together to squeeze Johnny through them, so brute force would be required

Decisions:
1. Use heat and cold runes to make the bars brittle. (will use up 3 of each rune, roll 50 or higher)
2. Use a bolt spell and pray for the best (-1 red mana, will require a roll, roll 40 or higher)
3. Use lightning talons (-2 red mana, no roll required)
4. (write in)

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>3252369
> 2. Use a bolt spell and pray for the best (-1 red mana, will require a roll, roll 40 or higher)

Ka-zap motherfuckers

>>3252495
Aw, leprechauns

>>3252495
well that's a near miss unless someone gets a better roll

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>3252369

>>3252579
o-oh no

gonna write more tomorrow, gotta get to sleep tonight

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>3252579
NO WHY?!?

>>3252579
That did not help.

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>3252532
>>3252603

>>3253780
>>3252618
well these will reduce the harm caused, but will not prevent it

>>3255212
Failing forward!

>>3252369
With little ceremony, Henry cast a bolt spell at the iron bars. Johnny couldn’t even sound of a warning before things went horribly wrong. The bar Henry had targeted shattered like glass, although shattered wasn’t exactly the correct word. A more accurate word would be EXPLODED. The bar exploded near instantly due to the heavy influx of destructive red mana, pelting Henry with the debris and causing him to fall backwards while screaming out in agony.

Henry managed to remain conscious as Johnny tended to his shrapnel wounds and horrid burns over the course of about thirty minutes. Henry had taken some nasty wounds to his leg and right hand, and would probably not be able to cast spells from it until it healed or he found a healer. Fucking hell this was NOT what he needed.

“You’re lucky we had this flask full of water with us, the thing can hold a LOT more than you would think. Otherwise you would’ve gone up in flames.” Johnny said. His tone was that of a disappointed parent.

“How bad am I doc?” Henry asked, coughing a bit.

“You’ll live thankfully. Your equipment flashed so I assume it was lightly warded. The wards gave out and you took a few hits. You could have died if you hadn’t been wearing that getup.” Johnny continued.

“Fuck off I’m not going to die to some metal.” Henry said.

“Well don’t try doing anything stupid right now.” Johnny said. “I don’t know if you’re in any condition to walk, let alone get involved in any scuffles.”

“Glad he’s alright then.” Nelson said.

Henry craned his neck and saw Nelson crouched over what looked to be a basic set of medical supplies.

“Lucky we keep these around, I was able to dig most of the bits out though I’d recommend you have yourself looked over after all of this is done. That’s got to be one of the dumbest stunts I’ve seen anyone pull, you’ve got some real stones on ya I’ll give you that.”

Decisions:
1. *Try to stand* (roll 1d100)
2. “Thanks I guess?”
3. “I’ve decided I fucking hate explosions now.”
4. “That hurt a lot more than it looked like.”
5. “Where did Stu run off to?”
6. (write in)

File: download.png (8 KB, 248x203)

8 KB PNG

>>3255240
Forgot to post image

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>3255240
> 1. *Try to stand* (roll 1d100)

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>3255250
Support

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>3255251
Fucking my nerves, bro.

> 5. “Where did Stu run off to?”

Also standing.

>>3255258
>>3255250
pass

writing

>>3255240
Henry got to his feet with relative ease. His leg and hand had a dull sort of pain running through them, and they continued to throb even after he was upright and steady on his feet. Although Johnny had offered to help him up Henry had refused him. He had decided he was going to get up under his own power or not at all. A few light injuries weren’t about to keep him down. He glanced at his right hand and managed to channel a bit of mana into it. He wasn’t able to do it as easily as he would’ve liked, but if he was lucky enough he would be able to cast spells out of it. His left hand would have to suffice for the time being


(Injures – Right leg (light), Right hand (light) -10 penalty to spellcasting until healed)


“Where did Stu run off to?” Henry asked.


“Back behind the barricade we’ve set up, I think you should join us there to be honest, I don’t want to see you getting gutted trying to blow up more of the bars or getting swarmed by spiders.”


“We only managed to remove one of the bars; I don’t think a human could squeeze through the gap though.” Johnny said.


Well that was one way to clue him in.


“The bang seemed to have startled the spiders away at least.” Nelson said, “Lucky thing too or you would’ve gotten swarmed.”


“Yeah…” Henry said, he wondered if that was Marlene keeping up her end of the deal or just dumb luck.


Decisions:
1. *Try to bust through the bars again* (will bring up options)
2. *Head into the cage room*
3. *Hunker down with Nelson and Stu for a bit* (will pass time)
4. *preform an action* (write in)
5. *say something* (write in)
6. (write in)

>>3255340
>6. (write in)
"You don't happen to know how to move the bars, do you Nelson?"

>>3255340
> 1. *Try to bust through the bars again* (will bring up options)

Hey, one's down already!

>>3255344
>>3255340
Supporting

>>3255344
>>3255357
>>3255360
writing

>>3255340
“You don’t happen to know how to lower the bars do you Nelson?”

“I do.” Nelson replied.

“The fuck didn’t you tell me?” Henry asked.

“Well you never asked and I didn’t know you were going to nearly kill yerself!” Nelson said. “Fecks sake I’m not feeling so bad for you no more.”

“Well how do I lower them?” Henry asked.

“Control lever in the armory itself, no way to lower it on our end even if you hijacked the copper wiring, there’s a failsafe built into the thing.”

“And our technician is out cold.” Johnny said. “What a lovely situation, so we either bust through or pray there is another way.”

“There isn’t.” Nelson said. “Look I’m heading back behind the barricade, so you two keep safe and try not to kill yerselves.”

“Right.” Henry said, waving the man off.”

After he was gone Henry continued his conversation.

“I say we bust one more of the bar’s down, that’ll give us access I think.”

“Should create a wide enough gap, one or two more outta do it.” Johnny replied.”
(-1 red mana from bolt spell)

Decisions:
1. Use lighting talons (-2 red mana, no failure chance)
2. Use bolt spell, preferably father back (roll 1d100, 50 or higher required)
3. Use runes (roll 1d100, 40 or higher required, will use up 3 cold and 3 heat runes)
4. (write in)editing

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>3255394
> 2. Use bolt spell, preferably father back (roll 1d100, 50 or higher required

Feeling lucky

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>3255394
>3. Use runes (roll 1d100, 40 or higher required, will use up 3 cold and 3 heat runes)

Playing it safe.

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>3255403
Supporting

>>3255400
>>3255403
riperoni either way, will continue tomorrow.

>>3255413
Oh thank god.

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>3255394
>3. Use runes (roll 1d100, 40 or higher required, will use up 3 cold and 3 heat runes)

>>3255403
>>3255400
failure again, although not critically

>>3256127
>>3255413
these will help quite a bit

writing

+

>>3255394
After Nelson had gotten back to safety, Henry tried his luck one more time. He thought he heard Johnny utter a rare curse as he sent the thing off. He had learned his lesson though, and arced the bolt between several bars, heating them up until they glowed orange. The things were not quite melted through though, and unless he did something quickly they might harden into place, welding with the floor and ceiling.

“What the bloody hell are you thinking?” Johnny asked. “We cannot afford to have you die, especially not to your own brash actions!”

“It’s working, I just got to…” Henry said, feeling a bit light headed all of a sudden.

“You have to rest sir, please.” Johnny said. “Let’s figure something else out, I don’t think the third time will be very lucky.

Johnny walked over towards a piece of stone that had been dislodged from the floor from a prior explosion, and tossed it at the bars, making a noticeable impression in one of them.

“I don’t think I have the strength to do too much to them…” Johnny said. “I don’t really want to risk breaking more of our equipment either.

(-1 red mana)

Decisions:
1. *Try another bolt spell, it has to work this time, right?*
2. *Try one of the ice runes, if you use all of its stored up energy at once, the bars should shatter right?*
3. *head into the cage room*
4. *head back into another part of the chateau*
5. (write in)

>>3258010
>5. (write in)
We're tired, time for a hearty swig of some nice cold water.

>>3258021
writing in

>>3258010
Henry found a crate to rest on and took a seat, he grabbed for the flask that he’d stolen from the baron before realizing that Johnny still had it from when he’d cooled off the burning chunks of shrapnel that had embedded themselves into him, painfully. He shuddered remembering it, although it had only happened twenty minutes ago it felt like a lifetime had passed.

“Give me the water flask Johnny.” Henry said.

The two looked at each other awkwardly, Henry briefly considering ordering the skeleton before he remembered what the guy wanted.

“Fine, please. Can I have the flask now, I’m dying over here.”

Johnny tossed him the flask. Henry opened it and greedily took a couple gulps. It was the purest damned water he’d ever had. Even if he got nothing else out of this trip if he could keep the flask it would all be worth it. Well that was a fucking lie but the flask was a good find.

Decisions:
1. *bolt again*
2. *rune plan*
3. (Write in)

>>3258102
>3. (Write in)
Enjoy the feel of cool refreshing water.
Then lets
Uh...
Lets do the runes.

>>3258122
>>3258102
Sure sounds good.

>>3258102
This >>3258122

>>3258775
>>3258304
>>3258122
roll 1d100 + 10

Rolled 80 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3260246

>>3260266
pass, writing

>>3258102
Henry took another long sip from the flask before setting to work. He reassured Johnny that he wasn’t going to try bolting the thing, but instead he’d overload some cold runes to shatter the iron. After propping the stones up against the metal, he tapped into the runes’ mana reserves, unleashing them all at once. With only one rune this wouldn’t have been effective, but with three it was overkill. The pole shattered at the base and created a gap wide enough for Henry to fit through once the other bars had cooled down.

He didn’t feel like waiting so he just poured water on them until he was finished. It felt like a waste at first but Henry found that the flask could hold a LOT more water than it should’ve been able to. He could see why the Baron treasured it so much. This thing would be worth hundreds of gold if he could find the right buyer, unless he just kept it for himself.

Stepping through the gap, Henry eyed up the hallway. There were three more sets of bars spanning down the corridor and then what looked to be a hairpin turn at the back. From the blueprints it looked to be a defensive structure that could be opened up to fire arrows through.

The corridor itself was fairly nondescript, with a series of light rune holders and oddly enough a couple of iron work designs that looked like they had held torches at one point in time.

Decisions:
1. *Inspect the hallway* (roll 1d100)
2. *try to push further in*
3. (write in)

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>3260312
>1. *Inspect the hallway* (roll 1d100)

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>3260312
>1. *Inspect the hallway* (roll 1d100)

>>3260373
>>3260345
writing

>>3260312
(-3 cold runes)

There wasn’t really much to see inside the hallway except for the torch holders of course. Henry tried out a few of them but found they wouldn’t budge. Johnny on the other hand was busy testing each and every one of the bricks, occasionally knocking against the wall looking for a hollow spot. Eventually he found something. An area of the wall that was clearly hallow, tall enough for a person to fit inside, but blocked off with brick. Upon closer inspection Henry could tell that the bricks in that section were slightly different, color wise. It wouldn’t have been noticeable if someone didn’t know what to look for.

Henry tried the last torch holder he had access to, and it slid out of the wall with a click. Henry dropped the metalwork onto the ground while the sound of moving gears echoed from behind the wall. The weird looking brickwork section slid backwards and then fell down into the floor, revealing a hidden stairwell that led further down. A series of light runes flickered lighting up the passageway.

Decisions:
1. “Get your weapons out Johnny, I’ll follow you.”
2. “I’m gonna head in first, I don’t want you blocking my spells.”
3. (write in)

File: 150px-LCB_Eversor_badend.jpg (17 KB, 150x473)

17 KB JPG

>>3260504
> 1. “Get your weapons out Johnny, I’ll follow you.”

> Write in

Can we use Lightning Claws on Johnny to DYNAMIC ENTRY through the wall? Pic related

>>3260504
>1. “Get your weapons out Johnny, I’ll follow you.”
Easier to fix johnny than us.

>>3260504
>1. “Get your weapons out Johnny, I’ll follow you.”

>>3261006
Don't save thumbnails

>>3262972
>>3261605
>>3261006
roll for kool aid man

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>3263174
OH YEAH

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>3263218
OH NO
NOT AGAIN

>>3263219
DICE SCORED DUBS
Will this post get a 22?

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>3263174

>>3263218
>>3263218
o-oh

>>3263174
BEING THE BOOM

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>3263174
Try again

>>3263436
>>3263434
>>3263223
>>3263221
>>3263219
>>3263218
I'm allowing the 77 to be used since I can always make time for kool-aid man

>>3265898
forgot to put the name in because its late

File: download.jpg (8 KB, 280x180)

8 KB JPG

>>3260504
“Get your weapons out Johnny, I’ll follow you.” Henry said.

“I hope you have a plan in case there are a lot of them.” Johnny replied.

“Hide behind you and pray everything goes well, it’s always worked in the past.”

“I have supreme confidence in whomever you’re praying to.” Johnny dryly replied.

The two slowly crept their way down the narrow brick hallway, as they moved into utter darkness Henry could hear the sound of soft piano music coming further down the tunnel. The two elected to not bring out light runes. Henry didn’t want to reveal their position and Johnny could see well enough in the dark anyways. The passage continued until light streaming in gave away an archway on the left side of the tunnel. Johnny stopped dead and poked his head around the corner before shifting back into the dark corridor.

He turned around and raised three fingers. There were three people inside? He then took his right hand and created a ‘person’ out of it, to walk along his left. Then he raised one finger. So one of them was humanoid, probably a vampire, maybe the butler? No he’d seen that man in sunlight; it had to be someone else. Johnny then made a four legged animal in the same manner, although Henry had no idea if it was a horse or a dog. A dog made far more sense. Johnny raised two fingers after that.

So there was a person and two dogs inside the chamber, fantastic.

Henry gently tapped his fist against the wall, pointed to his hand, and sent a bit of red mana along it. He hoped he wouldn’t give their position away doing so, but Johnny only stared at him with a blank expression on his face. Henry figured he was going for confusion but wasn’t sure why... of course, Johnny couldn’t see mana, fuck. Henry pointed at his right hand using his left and made a fancy flourish like how he imagined a court wizard would cast a spell. Then he pointed at Johnny’s weapon. He then made a swinging motion at the wall. Johnny nodded in understanding before readying himself.

Henry cast Lighting Talons on Johnny’s sword and watched in amazement as the skeleton cleaved through the brick wall like it was made of paper and then burst his way through into the next room. The sound of dogs barking followed, and then the sound of swords clashing as the spell wore off. Henry couldn’t exactly tell what was happening from where he was, what with all the dust and debris in the air.

What a hell of a way to make an entrance.

Decisions:
1. *wait where you are*
2. *head inside and cast a spell at whomever Johnny is fighting*
3. (Write in)

>>3265955
>3. (Write in)
Head in and incapacitate the dogs
Before they run off with johnny.

>>3265955
this >>3265961

>>3266867
>>3265961
roll 2d100

Rolled 64, 8 = 72 (2d100)

>>3268941
ok

Rolled 76, 53 = 129 (2d100)

>>3268941

>>3268945
>>3268949
writing

>>3265955
Henry rushed into the room after Johnny, being careful to not injure himself on the destroyed brick and jutting pipes that stuck out of the destroyed wall. Henry saw a set of half destroyed armor covered in ash on the ground, a couple of dogs, Johnny, and what looked to be a vampire in a combination of plate mail and chainmail based on how quickly he was swinging the rapier in his possession. The vampire didn’t have any head protection though, and Henry guessed that they’d caught them completely off guard.

Henry knew better than to try fighting the vampire, but the dogs were something he could handle. With one swift motion he decapitated one of the hounds while positioning himself to take out the other. The second dog didn’t even flinch from seeing its buddy die horrifically though. It immediately lunged for Henrys throat. Henry blocked it by placing his blade in the thing’s mouth blade but was pushed to the floor by the momentum. The dog clamped down on Henry’s blade and tried to wrest it from his grasp.

The two fought for a moment before Henry pulled out his dagger and plunged it into the dog’s throat. The dog rolled off of him and sputtered for a moment as blood pooled around it. Henry whacked the beasts head a couple of times with his short sword before pulling out his dagger from the mutilated corpse. Fucking hell he was covered in dog blood now. Fortunately his cloak had taken the brunt of the blood splatter, and well, red was a good color to be wearing when dealing with blood.

Johnny was actually winning against the vampire, and had backed the undead thing into a corner. The vampire raised his arm up to go for an overhead strike but his weapon caught against an exposed pipe in the ceiling. This gave Johnny all the time he needed to cut the man’s head clean off, reducing him to a pile of ash a couple of seconds later.

“I believe that is all of them.” Johnny said, shaking ash off of his blade and looking around.

The skeleton had a few holes in his rags now, the vampire had managed to get a couple of hits in.

Decisions:
1. *Search the chambers for evidence*
2. *get a better look around*
3. *raise the dog corpses to use as guards*
4. (write in)

>>3269067
>1. *Search the chambers for evidence*
And make sure johnny is alright.
AND look down the hall to see if anyone heard the commotion.

>>3269067
this >>3269086
max stealth
max quiet
max payne

>>3269086
>>3269115
writing

>>3269067
Henry doubled back and peered down the hallway, looking to see if anyone had followed them in. They were good for the moment it seemed. As for Johnny… he was… Johnny. Henry wasn’t concerned about damage to the guy, he was basically indestructible as Henry had found over the years.

“You okay?” Henry asked.

“Extraordinarily so, it’s been far too long since I’ve been able to dispatch such vile creatures.” Johnny replied. “I know we’ll likely regret this within a matter of days but for the moment I’m satisfied.”

“Right.”

Henry took the time to get a good look at the chambers they resided in. There was a small room containing a set of three coffins and a much bigger room which contained a single grand coffin. The room they were presently in was some sort of common room, with furniture and décor scattered about. There was also a device that was emitting music. Henry had heard of such a thing, it was generally only affordable to the rich though. Apparently it utilized a recording rune of some kind to play back music. The runes weren’t able to be mass produce so each one had to be made individually. Henry saw a bunch of knobs on the side and figured it was controls for the device.

The grand coffin room had a couple of rooms which shot off from it. One of which looked like a private office.

“Pretty slick setup here.” Henry said. “Without knowing what to look for you’d never have guessed it was here.”

“I believe those were some of his guards.” Johnny replied, pointing back to the pieces of ash coated armor. “The one I cut in half was probably the man in charge of the guard based on the patterns on his armor.”

“So we better not fuck this up then.” Henry said. “No turning back now.”

Henry glanced into the study and noticed a good deal of papers scattered about. He also heard faint whispering in the back of his mind. Fucks sake he knew EXACTLY what the fuck THAT meant.

Decisions:
1. *Search the desk for documents* (roll 1d100)
2. *Look around for the fucking demonic vessel* (roll 1d100)
3. *Head back into the main room and toss the furniture about, might be stuff hidden behind it*
4. (write in)

Rolled 17, 78 = 95 (2d100)

>>3269176
>1. *Search the desk for documents* (roll 1d100)
>2. *Look around for the fucking demonic vessel* (roll 1d100)

Rolled 37, 10 = 47 (2d100)

>>3269176
>1. *Search the desk for documents* (roll 1d100)
>2. *Look around for the fucking demonic vessel* (roll 1d100)

Rolled 97, 25 = 122 (2d100)

>>3269176
fuck me and my low rolls

>>3269227
>>3269198
37 and 78, going with it

>>3269176
Henry searched over the desk while dutifully ignoring the voice whispering in his ears. The papers on the desk related to a lot of things, invoices for repair and maintenance work, various issues relating to the surrounding hamlets and villages, upcoming events the Baron was holding, and a report on issues related to the ‘holding cage project’. Henry figured it had something to do with the cage room.

Nothing that would connect the Baron directly to Vermillion. That would’ve been a bit too convenient Henry figured. He either have to find something elsewhere or side with Marlene and hope she wouldn’t fuck him over.

He tried to think about what his next move would be when a soft ethereal voice intruded into his thoughts.

‘free me, wealth and power will be yours’

Fucking hell the asshole wasn’t even original.

“Fine, where are you?” Henry asked, trying his best to not sound annoyed.

‘… behind the painting.’ The voice replied, slightly unnerved by Henry’s response.

Henry turned to a portrait of Baron Orion hanging from the wall. Henry made a note to make sure he got to watch the Baron die. Anyone who kept a painting of themselves like that was a complete and utter asshole in his book.

He flung the painting to the floor unceremoniously and found an alcove in the brick wall containing a simple vase. The vase itself was a stone construction which was adorned with some light ornamentation and some basic runes. Henry realized these were unpowered and that the actual meat of the holding spell was probably located inside of the container itself.

‘Release me…’ the voice said, ‘revenge will be yours…’
Henry grimaced. The demon was probably too weak to get into his head but it could certainly read his emotions and perhaps the surface level of his soul. As long as he kept the thing in its cage it was harmless… however, owning such a thing was HIGHLY illegal, all he’d have to do was get the inquisitors involved and the Baron would be in some VERY hot water.

Decisions:
1. *flip the vase off*
2. “I’m not dumb enough to let you out you varmint.”
3. “You really thought I’d be dumb enough to listen to you?”
4. (write in)

>>3269346
goodnight

>>3269346
>"How long has the Baron been keeping you cooped up in here? How old are you even?"
>"So you can tell me where his secret documents might be, can't you?"
>"I mean, if you REALLY want to stay in some stupid flowerpot forever, be my fucking guest buddy."
>"Come on Johnny, let's head back. We're CLEARLY not needed here."
>all of the above as nonchalantly and as sarcastically as possible

>>3269502
>>3269346
This, combined with some classic Henry negotiation tactics.

So a bunch of cynical sarcasm, fueled by paranoia. Although, since it IS a demon, it's actually out to get us so in this case our paranoia is justified.

Now that I think about it, that also describes pretty much every interaction we have with people other than Ophelia, Johnny, and Charles.

Although to be honest, Ophelia and Charles are more likely to get us killed, and what Johnny wants for us is even worse. Us, redeemed and an honest upstanding citizen who mouths positive platitudes and pretends the world isn't mostly a horrible place mostly filled with people who would be monsters if the weren't just so terrible that they can't even aspire to being properly evil and instead are just kind of shitty until they get some righteous indignation to motivate them briefly to kill us for some stupid reason like necromancy even though it's objectively at worst gross and could probably do a lot of good in the world if Angel's didn't have such a bug up their probably perfectly smooth and sealed bottoms about it, and everyone else is too willing to ride what is probably an equally smooth area around their crotch as if they actually had giant flaming dicks of Holy Wrath instead of putting a modicum of effort into dealing with monsters themselves.

You know what could have handled all the things that go bump in the night? Our magnum opus, the pinnacle of fleshcraft that we conceived. And honestly, while we're a pretty good Necromancer in the sense of craftsmanship, we're well aware of our lack of formal education or resources for research, let alone being one of those geniuses packed with innate talent and a perverse amount of intelligence like Owlia.

So if we could come up with something like that, not because we're anything special but merely because we were willing to entertain the idea of doing so, imagine what humanity could do if they stopped being self righteous fart sniffers shoving their heads all the way up their asses for long enough to actually let someone be productive without requiring being the severe environmental health hazard of intelligence and obsession that Owlia is to be able to have the chance to build something that will only destroy what it's intended to.

Yes, I'm bitter we destroyed our blueprints. Oh, it's probably for the best, we would probably just end up either getting killed by an angry feathered motherflocking Angel's after using it to most likely save the damn day, or just getting so fed up with people pretending that they are good because they only hurt people society seems not worth protecting and lick the boots of house in power to avoid becoming said undesirables themselves.

>>3269346
In fact, it's been a stressful day for Henry and I would like him to rant at the Demon.

> Wow, I should be insulted and I'm honestly a little underwhelmed with you for even offering us "revenge". If we wanted that, we could get it ourselves. Oh, sure, we'll take the opportunity to kick someone we hate when they're down, but we wouldn't cross the street to do it. If people would just fuck off and leave us alone, that would be fine enough. It's bad enough we get dragged into this stuff in the first place, last thing we want to do is perpetuate it by voluntarily involving ourselves in this drama.

Then

>It was too much to think you could offer me anything useful, even just something like information about the Baron. So I didn't.

> You can just stay quiet if you don't have anything useful to say, I gotta start tossing this room to try and find any valuables or evidence to take down the Baron. Although if revenge is important to you, maybe you can surprise me and tell me where he keeps his valuables and any incriminating documents or, I don't know, other things like yourself that would guarantee that he doesn't come out of this alive.

> Also I don't have anything against you personally, but if I don't find anything else my best bet is to use you as evidence. Maybe if I can find enough to justify killing him, I can just forget to mention you to the Inquisitors and you can try your whole "Demonic Power And Revenge" schtick on someone dumb enough to ruin because they feel bad about people being people, which is to say they're all terrible anyways so why waste the effort singling only one of them out because they happened so be terrible to you personally.

Yes. Yes I am happy with this. I really feel like it channels Henry's general attitude at being pulled in to this BS by Vermilion, and being forced to first deal with Lisa, and then the Inquisition, then a Fae, and fucking Owlia being her usual annoyingly successful self despite also being actually retarded not as an insult but as a serious evaluation I mean really how did putting a pot on her head actually work, and then dealing with the Fae being the person we were supposed to kill, and now we're going up against Vermillion which is honestly terrifying in and of itself despite the opportunity to also kill Lisa which will be nice.

And here's this Demon, acting like he's hot shit and all superior to us like he can give us the world if we do just one little thing, also like Vermillion, except the demon is trapped and mostly powerless.

A nice heaping of disdain with some condescending conciliatory bargaining for help we don't really need, or at least we can act like we don't need it. Like we're doing the demon a favor by letting it help us.

Did I mention that Henry isn't above kicking people when they're down?

FYI, I totally plan to still tell the inquisitors about it. Especially since we can probably raise some zombies, like say the Dogs, and sic them on the Baron and blame the demon

>>3269841
What a post. Good shit.

>>3269975
Better to rant if the demon refuses to fall for Henry's sarcasm trick.

So incredibly petty, I love it

>>3269502
>>3269841
>>3269975
>>3270594
>>3271455
jesus christ I thought the big one was mine

>>3272241
Henry needs a vacation after this.

And hey! Side benefit of killing Vermillion is that we can finally take one!

Then we can ruin THAT by telling Rosq that we're a Necromancer while we're lulled into a false sense of security.