knightsoflegend | andres ♔ i've turned into a monster

[Rose sure did, which, is impressive cause she rolled a 3 but fuck yeah Dhampir! (Spot 18) and she stiffens, focused on the trunk as she moves closer to the car, concern etched across her features as Will points out the very thing she's just noticed.

Dragging her eyes away she looks around the car, bending down to try and see something in the dark and thank god they can roll one okay Survival Check between them! (SC 15)] And tracks.

[Rose follows their direction, gaze slowly raising to the looming structure in the distance.] And they lead towards the Castle.

[Dun Dun Duuuuuun.]

[ dean comes over to check out the blood, and with a look of growing unease, flips out a lockpick and jams it into the trunk lock. after a moment, it pops open, and he takes a step back, bringing the flashlight to bear, his expression going entirely grim as he looks inside, then back up slowly at the others. ] Think we're on the right track.

[ when they look inside, they see one guard... bound and gagged, apparently unconscious, stuffed next to what is clearly another guard - dead, bleeding out of both the kneecap and the massive gunshot wound that obliterated half his face. ]

[oh shit.

will's eyes get big, but that's about the extent of his reaction. this is another day at the office, okay.] Stand back.

[he asks them to stand back like he's actually ... going to do something badass, but he's not. only in ~his mind~. other people too close up in his business get in the way and distract him. as he gets closer to the trunk full of dead guards, ~~a pendulum starts ticking in the bg~~ will seems to go into a trance-like state while thinking of the potential events that could have lead to this. (investigate 30)]

[ ♬ dreams - bastille ft. gabrielle aplin

the clues click together in his mind like puzzle pieces, as he examines the bodies, noticing tiny things that add up to a clearer picture:

the only signs of blood in the area are on the car itself, indicating that the man wasn't shot here. the slight difference in the uniforms, indicating that these are specifically palace guards, not the soldiers they saw out in the city proper. the head wound on the back of the skull of the unconscious soldier, and the bits of hair almost too easy to miss, barely sticking to the front of the engine lid. the crappy job that's been done of tying him up in the first place. the position of the gunshot wounds on the second guard.

just like that, he finds himself mid-replay.

elena and kyp stealing the vehicle, wearing the faces of either the vehicle's owners or other locals who wouldn't be considered suspicious. stopping outside the castle, parked right on the roadside, drawing a guard away from their post at the castle with some kind of story about car trouble.

guard #1 leaning down to look at the engine. the lid cracking down into his skull, rendering him unconscious.

one of them, maybe elena, less experienced, tying the knots. possibly interrupted in the middle of it, taken by surprise, by the approach of the other guard? no. she had her weapon, she was ready for him, on some level. maybe something had gone amiss with the plan, and her hasty tying had been tinged with panic over the alteration.

the second guard approaching, one of them shooting him from behind - in the knee cap, a shot clearly intended to disable, not to kill. the other shot was from the front, incredibly close range. maybe one of them less concerned about keeping the guards alive than the other.

the bodies stuffed together in the trunk. the car abandoned here in the woods, two brand new covers attained for the dual doppelgangers. covers guaranteed to get them entrance into the palace. ]

[ presumably rose and dean gave will his weirdo space bubble, so he is living that replay in his head for a minute or two. until he snaps out of it and cranes his neck back to them.] This was Kyp and Elena. They did this. They took the car, posed [you know … a very literal sense of posed] as locals, stopped outside the castle with a story about car trouble. Lured the palace guards over to help, and then … [he frowns.] It had been just one. The unconscious one. Something took her by surprise, or something went wrong, made the other guard come over. The two shots came from different people. The kneecap was from behind, meant to disable. The headshot was from the front. The range was closer. Then they stuffed them in the trunk and left them here.

They'll be wearing their faces. All-access passes.

[Rose lifts her head, watching Dean's face and slowly stands, hesitant for a moment as she looks at the trunk without actually looking in it and yet before Will utters the request to for space, she steps closer, her face paling, jaw and grip on her stake tight as she takes in the guards, staring long and hard at the gruesome sight of the half missing face and it's almost as if it provides some answer that she's not entirely ready to receive (WS 12). She doesn't even need Will's request to step back, she needs to do it for herself rather than stare at what's inside as words she'd spoken earlier came back to her;

'Three months is a long time to be with somebody.'
If Will's explanation was supposed to in some way make this better, it doesn't show, Rose's face a serious mask of near permanently etched lines as she tries to see the scenario he describes in her mind, replaying it several times with both of them cast in each role.

Something close to regret touches her features but she gives an infinitesimal shake of her head and sighing heavily, drags her gaze away from the bodies to focus on the Castle beyond the trees.]

Get a good look at them. [Almost sounding detached.] Knowing what we're looking for will make this easier.

Yeah, well it'd be easier if one of 'em had a face left. [ Dean's mouth curves down in a deep line, and he turns to look at Rose, his thoughts loud and clear on what this says to him, as far as Kyp and Elena are concerned. ] We've got an ID on one at least. If we work fast, maybe we can catch 'em before they swap again. [ He hesitates a sec, and then slams the lid back down. ] We'll come back for him later. Hopefully Sleeping Beauty won't wake up and get twenty years of future therapy outta tonight before then.

[he was hoping he wouldn't have to be the one to say it ... but he'll be the one to say it before they leave the car.]

We have access to one intact guard uniform now.

[When Dean catches her gaze, the mask she's forced into place falls away and she's broadcasting loud and clear herself about how she really feels about this. That momentary flash of regret from before returns, stronger now, like maybe she's about to throw this mission out the window, all to move a body.

Once again however, wisdom prevails (17) and she shakes her head but it's likely more apparent to both Will and Dean how much it's costing her to do this. (WS 8).]

No - We can't afford to waste time. They're headed for the Castle and we have people in there, we have to stop them before they can do anymore damage. [Her gaze slides back to the trunk and she adds;] Leave him with whatever shred of dignity he has left.

Edited (missing word. shh. I suck) 2014-10-09 22:53 (UTC)

I guess getting past security's not really the issue anymore, when ... [they're over here mostly dead in the trunk.]

[With a grimace, Rose just nods.] Better for the others at least, I guess.

So we try to sneak in, lay low, hope we can avoid being seen, and if we are, knock 'em out.

Don't see much other choice unless we wanna lose time collecting uniforms. We might be able to get some on the inside.

[Rose manages to crack a wry grin even if it doesn't reach her eyes.] Yeah... piece of cake. [So dry.]

They gotta have a laundry room somewhere, right?

One would imagine.

Peachy. Let's go then. We're burning moonlight. [ dean that isn't even a thing. off they head back towards the castle, although they'll be approaching the fence from the side thanks to their venture through the woods ]

[And I'm figuring we pick up with them at said fenceline which means Rose is making a spot check (24) to look for the easiest way over.]

Hows your climbing skills? [Voice low.

If she had to bet? She could probably scale the wall no problem. Dean she figured likely too. Will was (sorry Will) the unknown for her, mostly cause she'd never worked with him in the field til now.]

[he replies back, voice also low] I don't think I've tested them enough to give an accurate estimation. [but, you know, w/e, he's young-ish and spry. he has a ~rotator cuff issue~ or something but he can man through it. he will, however, also keep an eye out for alternate methods. (spot 22) and his ears open just in case ... anyone else is out this way. (listen 34) ]

[ will doesn't hear anybody approaching, although he does notice some lights on in the upstairs rooms of the palace, burning on this side. no figures are visible in the windows, however, and he doesn't see any alternate ways in. dean moves to the fence, studies it for a second, and then reaches out to test the bars. this isn't jurassic park so he doesn't pretend to get electrocuted, merely looks back at them, shrugs, and then tries to scale it (climb... 11). he doesn't get very far because it's just not very effectively built for climbing, and he lands with a thump beside them again, scowling. ] Great.

[idk why will decided he could do it after watching dean fail miserably, but he did. (climb 14) he gets a little higher than dean does before giving up, though, i guess. merit badge???

wow team we are being thwarted by a fence. way to go.] Maybe there's some kind of weakness in it.

[Once upon a time when Brooke was new and tried to make her first character sheet, she gave Rose a rank in climb and afterwards, when she got used to D20, thought that was a really stupid use of a skill point.

Until Doppelhunt Inc. VS The Fence of Fail.

She only just makes it however (Climb 18 - that one rank baby), swinging a leg over and trying to steady herself enough to possibly help the others up as she makes a sweep inside the fenceline for anyone ready to shoot at her or... something. IDK I just woke up (Spot 25.)]

[ wow dean's man pride is intensely wounded apparently, because after seeing rose do that he tries again and gets a 25 this time. CLIMBS BETTER THAN SHE DOES. GIVES HER A POINTED LOOK AT THE TOP before he starts down the other side. ]

[-1 action point to give poor will an 18. WAIT FOR HIM GUYS. :'( HE'S THE NERD. HIS ROTATOR CUFF THO.]

[(WS 24). All the things she could have said and done at that look and now we'll never know.

Rose was going to help Will but he's a geek who works out and he's got this so, she's going to climb down the other side. ]

[ dean gestures towards the palace, making with the stealth as they move towards the wall. (move silently 23, and when he gets to the wall hide 22) ]

[since both his hide and move silently ended up in the single digits somehow, i'm just gonna say ... will tripped. and fell. in the dirt. bless his heart. ]

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