switzerland ♔ the words tightening around my throat

[silverguardian]

WHO || Nyna, Cara, Felicity, Stiles
WHAT || The Knights are sent to hear about a prospective job from an art collector
WHERE || Bern, Switzerland
WHEN || April 13th, 2015
HOW || Actionspam

The streets of Bern swell with the myriad sights and scents of its industry: the wood and polish of carpenters' shops, tantalizing aromas wafting from dozens of bakeries, and the heavy oil scent of artists.  Meanwhile, hundreds of rich colors give the district an appearance of a holiday festival.  The townhouse of Asheron Coyl comes into view, perched on a small rise that overlooks the street.  A low fence covered in vines abuts the street.  A gate opens onto a flagstone path that wends past frozen flower beds, fountains, and sculpted shrubs to the front doors.  A bell hangs next to the gate, reading "Please ring bell" in several languages.  With an 11 disguise check, Nyna didn't really bother to dress all fancy, opting instead for her paladin armor, sorry guys.   She can be the sexy bodyguard.  

Comments

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles went all out with his disguise check of 29. Sup ladies. Glancing around at the rest of the group, he shrugs.] At least it says please. [he reaches out to ring the bell. It's not like they can do much else before that, right?]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity, on the other hand, went sparkly, but she is still looking fabulous (disguise 27). She is also not opposed to sexy bodyguard, either, giving Nyna a small smile as she scans down the line of languages, picking out both English and at least recognizing the Spanish (knowledge - language 12).]

Politeness will get you everywhere.

[silverguardian]

[ it's only when they get close enough to ring the bell that they see the door to the townhouse is hanging ajar, and covered at the bottom with bloody smears. slithering sounds come from inside the house, punctuated by loud thumps and sudden shattering glass. ] What--

[allmydreams]

Son of a bitch.

[She will decide to not wait for them to be buzzed in, and just head right for the door, drawing her gun out of her purse as she goes. Never let it be said she doesn't come prepared. She makes her way close to the open door and try to peer into the house itself and see if she can see anything, while not being seen at the same time (spot nat 20, hide 30)]

[mordsith]

[Cara doesn't care what she's meant to wear and is always wearing the same exact thing. Every day. Red leather catsuit. It's clean, at least, which is a good thing. With her agiels at her side, she follows Felicity into the residence. (listen 16, hide 20)]

[killingtodeath]

[This suit is not really made for running, but Stiles trails behind the girls as best he can. (spot 20 total, hide 15). He's probably just peeking over Felicity's shoulder at this point.]

[silverguardian]

[ the inside of the once-lovely townhouse is in shambles. paintings torn from the walls lie in broken pieces, furniture is overturned, and glassware is shattered across the bloody floor. their spot and listen checks are more than enough to notice the movement in the room directly to their left... where two large octopus-looking creatures writhe and squirm along the floor, seemingly undeterred by the mess. their long tentacles lash out in all directions as if seeking something to crush. nyna draws her greatsword off her back instantly ] To arms!

[silverguardian]

[ nyna gets directions to the next house, and then off they go down the block.

a shiny black car stops in front of a house marked number 14. a handsome man in a charcoal and cream outfit and black cloak steps out of the car carrying a wrapped painting under one arm - only one package - and a polished ivory walking stick in the other. with a few quick glances at his surroundings, he makes his way towards the front gate. as he steps inside, something unseen strikes him from behind, sending him sprawling across the lawn. the painting flies out of his grasp.

nyna curses in elvish and draws her giant sword. ] Stand down! [ she seems to be addressing whoever or whatever is invisible, and she's pretty terrifying about it (nat 20 intimidate check???) but since the thing is invisible, no one can really tell if that had any effect on the attacker. it doesn't, however, stop it from pummeling the fallen gentleman twice (atk 24;atk 16; dmg 18 total). the blonde man lets out a cry of pain, his body jerking against the might of the unseen force. ]

[mordsith]

[Cara rolls her eyes. WHY INVISIBLE?! Regardless, she moves over to the man on the ground and seeks the invisible assailant, trying to punch it with her closed fist.

She assumes that if she aims over the gentleman that she'll hit her target. (atk nat 20 + 7, dmg 10) She's sort of hoping that she can knock it on the head to distract/disorient it and maybe haul it off the guy and hold it in place... but we'll see what she can manage with that first blow.

The first blow, by the way probably happens in slow-motion with her hair whipping around looking all bad ass.]

[allmydreams]

[Welp. Since the thing is invisible and Felicity is not dumb enough to shoot into her people in combat with the thing she can't see - she does not have that kind of skill - she's going to notice the fact that the the guy who got out of the car, happens to look like the guy they've been tailing. The fact that he's down to one painting is not a good thing, but since they are definitely not going to let him make this delivery, with Nyna and Cara both engaged with invisible guy, Felicity is going to make a break for the painting.

She darts quickly past the fight (tumble 14 action point says 28) ready to grab the painting if she can make it to the other side without being attacked in the process.]

[silverguardian]

[ cara feels her weapon strike, raking into the foe, which emits a horrible inhuman screech. she feels no blood spurt forth, and finds that even its body does not feel... totally there, as if the creature itself were composed of air.

felicity manages to breeze past them and pick up the painting itself, while nyna moves in beside cara to try to stab the thing and aiming for right near where cara stabbed (atk 28, dmg 9).

the air creature turns and slams each one of them once (atk 17 @ cara, dmg 9 if it hits), (atk 15 @ nyna, which misses) ]

[mordsith]

[The attack misses Cara and this is not the sort of thing she expects to be fighting. It is solid enough to accept a beating, but not solid enough to feel as though it is there. She doesn't like it.

She turns to Stiles, who is probably still there.]

Make sure he does not flee!

[Because, who knows what is gonna happen. Of course, now she's going to try and track where the thing went (listen 17) and will strike out with her agiel where she believes it might be. (atk 19, dmg 5) ]

[killingtodeath]

Who? Him?! [He points to the guy that the invisible thing was beating up on before they showed up. Sure he seems sketch but Stiles isn't exactly the 'hold em down and keep em here' type. He's squishy. So he will just... watch the guy to see if he tries to do anything???]

endrik archerus' home

[silverguardian]

[ a tall stone tower partially covered in flowering vines overshadows the neighboring manors. an iron plaque beside the front gate reads "Archerus". a flagstone path leads across a handsome yard to an ironbound door at the base of the tower. it's quiet and seems relatively peaceful. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity takes her time as she moves towards the house, using her sweep ability to get the best lay of the land that she can (spot 31). She's also keeping her ears out but she's never been as good a listener as she was an eagle eye (listen 15).]

[silverguardian]

[ felicity can see servants moving through the windows within, scurrying to and fro. ]

[allmydreams]

[Felicity keeps her eyes on the windows, but she starts to move forward to knock on the door.]

I see a lot of people moving in there, but no sign of any paint monsters.

[She will just continue to keep her fingers crossed that the recipient hasn't opened it yet.]

[silverguardian]

[ a well dressed servant answers the door, his expression somewhat fretful. he addresses them in french, and nyna responds in english. ]

We're looking for the man who lives here. Mr. Archerus? We believe he might be in some danger.

[ one of his eyebrows shoots up, but more in surprise that they might know something than at the implication.

"He... he should be up in his tower room. Why do you think something has happened to him? I admit, we have feared as much, but the room, it is locked." ]

[mordsith]

[Cara is still here, yo. She's been watching everything and now she's here to contribute.]

I take it you do not have the key? [She glances beyond the woman (spot 17).] Which direction is this tower?

the next day...

[behindcloseddoors]

[ gus and alanna arrive, and are escorted by the servants of the tower to meet with their friends, who are sitting over what is likely a largely untouched breakfast with their host, endrik archerus, who rises when they enter. ] Ah, hello. Welcome to my home. I apologize that it is under such... unfortunate circumstances.

[druidisms]

[ gus shrugs, catching felicity's eye like yes hello sister, i am here to rescue you. ]

Nature of the job. I'm sorry my bear scared one of your household staff. [ mellie is staying outside rn bc she is a terrifying fur beast tbh. cutie. ]

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles glances up at the sound of voices, but it's like he's in a fog, having a hard time registering just what's going on.]

Wha..? [He shakes his head once his brain catches up with the rest of him. Right. The back up.] Hey.

[trebond]

[ Arriving alongside Gus, Alanna gets straight to the point; ] Can I see her?

[ It's her gut instinct to pour everything she has in to trying to help, even if it's too late. ]

[mordsith]

[Cara is going to stay near Stiles, trying to make sure if he needs to take a moment to rest, that he does so. They don't need anyone else dying here.]

[allmydreams]

[There's a small sign of visible relief when Felicity sees Gus, because of all the people Wynn could have sent, for her this was probably the best. She gives him a small smile, before turning to Alanna with a nod.]

Yeah. She's upstairs, I'll show you.