pembrokeshire ♔ the day has come where i have died

[immuno]

WHO || Lydia Martin, Alaric Saltzman, Helen Magnus, Rose Hathaway, Sydney Bristow
WHAT || A couple of knights take a short trip west to investigate reports of Shadowkind deaths.
WHERE || Police Station, Pembrokeshire, Wales
WHEN || May 20th
HOW || Actionspam

The briefing was simple and direct: a string of disappearing Shadowkind centered around a small farming town in Wales. The Karthur Institute wasn't called in until the local authorities got reports of incessant, blood-curdling screams coming from a barn just past the edge of town. They found a girl curled in the corner there, screaming her lungs out, shaking, and looking like she'd been running around the forest alone for days.

They also found the five bodies of their missing townspeople in the barn.

They tell the knights (and thus, Wynn tells them) that the girl is in police custody, but they don't tell them that she's pinned in a cell. They've fed her and given her a coat by now, but the deputy is quick to alert Helen, Rose, Sydney, and Alaric as they arrive of the bad news.

"She hasn't shut up since we put her in there." He glances back over his shoulder, toward the lock-up. "Not screamin', just wanting to know who they were." He looks back at the knights, grim. "Don't think she's got any idea how she got out there. I don't have it in me to tell her I don't either; wherever she's rom, it inn't Pembrokeshire."

Comments

[immuno]

Your theory is magic? Are you kidding me? [ while syd does spot a pair of pruning shears on the workbench, lydia manages to pull her hands free from the zip ties, turning fully to glower at rose. ] They drugged us and you're making up stories about magic?!

[ I guess werewolves and resurrection rituals and kanimas are all normal, but magic is a bridge too far. She gets to her feet. ]

Let's just get out of here and call them before someone —

[ ahahahaha make a listen check. Lydia's gaze drifts upward, tracing something along the ceiling. ]

... Do you hear that?

[superswank]

[ free or not free, the shears make a better weapon than nothing. well. for some. syd and rose are sort of walking weapons, so she'll walk over to hand the shears to lydia deliberately. her listen check is only a 13, so she frowns, maybe not hearing it. ] I don't think drugs quite covers it.

[littledhampir]

[And with that magical listen check of 11 Rose is hearing even less than Sydney right now as she manages to get to her feet.] Wow yeah, you really are new here.

[Working out the stiffness in her body like there's not ya know, crazy kidnappery types doing god knows what overhead.]

[immuno]

Can we please worry about how new I am later? [ She looks around wildly, but doesn't see another way out. :( Unfortunate. ] I'm fairly certain whoever grabbed us out of that alley is coming back, and I for one would like a plan.

[superswank]

[ syd nods to the shears. ] We'll have the element of surprise. [ she moves to one side of the door/stairs/whatever it was to hide in the shadows. (hide 35) ] We deserve answers.

[littledhampir]

We will? [Rose's spectacular crit fail on her hide check sees her standing out in the open, looking at Sydney like she's strange. The girl is one step away from hiding by covering her eyes...

Looking around she fails to find anywhere to take cover and instead just shrugs.]

I'll... draw their attention?!

[immuno]

[ Yeah Lydia isn't helping either with her spectacular hide check of 10. She's basically sitting under a work bench and hoping whoever comes down those stairs doesn't look below eye level tbh.

The door at the top of the stairs opens and light filters in just past where Sydney hides at the base of the stairs (because there's no room behind the door at the top of them). He's a fairly big (both height-wise and around the middle) dude by the way his feet are thudding on the wooden stairs. Sydney can just see him, if she looks—he's ... surprisingly old. Really old. Over 70 old.

He doesn't seem to notice her as he comes to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and turns to spot both Rose and Lydia being fucking geniuses. ]

Resourceful bunch, aren'tcha? [ Vague old man grumbling. ] The others were easier.

[littledhampir]

[Yup. This pole sure is hiding noone because Rose is not in fact the size of Jimminy Cricket. She could start pole dancing and be less conspicuous right now.

She is however braced for an attack... or was until she caught a look at Cotton-Eyed-Joe and relaxed her stance just a little.]

You?! [Side-Eye.] You're the one responsible for all those dead bodies? [Not even trying to hide her disbelief because seriously. Old man is old.]

[superswank]

[ that may be enough for rose to doubt him, but syd isn't so sure he's not still a threat, and his words make it clear that he's part of this. sorry grandpa. gonna knock u out.

her leg snaps up towards the back of his head (atk 16, dmg 10 if it hits), followed by a second weaker kick (atk ... 8 yeah no) that misses the old man in the dim light. ]

[immuno]

[ 16 hits!

Lydia is sitting in the corner and out of the way because how do you even help with this and also he's between Rose/Lydia and the door. #useless. She's not here for this combat shit.

So she just lets out a yell as the old man rounds on Syd. He takes a 5-ft. step back. He grabs Sydney's wrist to cast vampiric touch with a cry (atk 19, sapping 14 hp). ]

Those creatures had no place in this world. I could not return them to their own, but I can at the very least remove you all from this one.

[littledhampir]

This is because they were Shadowkind?!

[Oh yeah old man or no Rose's face suggests she's all for kicking this guys ass, the brunette moving in on him and aiming another blow at the back of his head as he faces down Sydney. (Atk 16 Dmg 20). Rose was super pissed I guess.]

[superswank]

[ LYDIA DIS IS WHY SHE GAVE YOU THE GARDEN SHEARS OK. anyways, syd yanks away from his grasp because FUCK NO. she snaps her leg around for two kicks (atk 20, atk 18; dmg 24 total), not bothering to address fucknuts crazy right now. ]

[immuno]

[ Lydia is pushing herself as far back into the corner under the table as possible with the shears held in front of her because this is EVEN MORE TRAUMATIZING THAN WAKING UP NEXT TO A PILE OF DEAD BODIES. ]

[ Because y'all just killed like an 80-year-old man. His ribs make a loud snapping noise at Sydney's second kick, and the bone crunches straight through into his heart, dropping him in a second. Literally murdered him. Good job. ]

[ Lydia lets out a scream. ]

[littledhampir]

[As the old man drops, Rose spares only a brief moment for his crumpled corpse before her head snaps around to the screaming Lydia, a perplexed look on her face, like everything that just happened is perfectly normal and WTF is even wrong with you, you've seen dead bodies before!]

So much for getting out of here unnoticed...

[superswank]

[ syd is less pleased with this turn of events, but mostly because she wanted to question him. instead, she contents herself with leaning down to search him (search 11), as she says: ] We might not be out of the woods yet. [ she glances back at lydia, brow furrowed in concern ] He was ready to kill us. He might have help who's just as willing.

[immuno]

Yeah, and now we have a body to hide!

[ She throws the shears forward, voice sharpening. ]

And absolutely no evidence that he was actually the one you were looking for.

[littledhampir]

He admitted it! [No Rose that's not evidence, her gaze moving from Sydney and the body to the exit.]

I vote we get going before the help comes to see what's keeping him. [Trying to hear if there's any more movement up above (Listen 28).]

[superswank]

Hiding the body isn't exactly one of our concerns. [ wynn always covers that shit up pretty well, ngl ] We need to search this place. The evidence we need might be upstairs.

[immuno]

You want to hang around? [ how is this real. ] What if he has friends who come looking for him?

[littledhampir]

Then you stand behind us and while we deal with it. [So matter of fact like this must be Tuesday or something.] Though... maybe grab those shears again just to be safe.

[The most comforting Rose.]

[superswank]

[ syd hesitates at least, looking back at lydia, before saying to rose: ] She's a civilian. Maybe we should get her out and then come back with the others. [ she lets the rest go unspoken - not only that lydia is clearly uncomfortable here and was freaked out by the combat that might rear its head again at any moment, but that she also might end up getting herself or someone else hurt since she's not trained like they are to deal with it. it's safer for her to get her to safety first. ]

[immuno]

Oh no. You are not sending me back to Officer Incompetent, and you obviously need supervision to make sure no one else gets murdered in the course of this little family outing of yours.

[ she grabs the shears and gets to her feet, stubborn as hell. ]

[littledhampir]

[Welp. Rose's Wisdom check was 10 so who knows if this is smart or not. She lifts her shoulder in a shrug.]

Stay close to me and try and keep the blood curdling screams to a minimum. [To Sydney.] If we get her out of here first they'll have time to destroy evidence.

[superswank]

Fine. But let's make this quick. [ she takes the lead towards the steps, heading up the steps quietly and gesturing for them to wait a sec at the bottom (move silently 29). she listens at the door at the top (listen 9), before pushing the door open slowly and glancing out (hide 20; spot 19) ]

[immuno]

[ Lydia stays behind Rose, and makes no such effort to remain quiet while going up the stairs. She's in high heel.s It wouldn't happen anyway.

Luckily, Sydney doesn't see anyone out the door! And it sounds like the coast is clear too. ]