Rabite
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Post by Rabite on Jan 29, 2017 23:35:43 GMT -6
Dieter's agile moves allowed him to dodge the coming statue, and to attack the other hound before the one that he faced were able to react to it. However his plan only worked to a point, as the hound stopped it's attack in order to avoid the coming spear, so the attack would not make connections. But it did not expect the bolt to come again, and took the hit to the side, cutting a hole in the hound's body... but that was it. The damage was not enough for the hound to be worried about the girl, in fact, it's Dieter's combat ability and James' Wisps that's been drawing their attention.
"Hey! What are you people doing here?!"
The battle was going to continue, but then it was interrupted by two sudden intruders. It was a middle age man holding a shotgun, and a dog that's barking at the hounds. It looks like it's the neighbor and his dog that was mentioned in Belknap's diary, he probably heard the commotion and had came over to check it out, only to find some strangers and some weird creatures trashing the house.
"Watch out!"
"W- what is this thing?!"
James called out to get the armed man to pay attention, it seems he did not notice one of the hound was behind him, and grabbed the shotgun using it's tongue. But his disasters didn't end there, another hound took the opportunity to launch out it's tongue as well, this time the tongue darts out and stabs into the man's leg. Before the man could even scream in pain, the hound could be seen 'sucking' out something from it's tongue.
The man's pet dog tried to save it's master, but before it could do anything, the creature that was fighting Dieter had warped over. The hound took a large chomp on the dog from the side, with enough strength to snap the poor dog in half, killing it almost instantly.
Kate, who had been otherwise helpless so far in this battle, grabs a stanchion in the room and swings it right down at the hound's tongue in an attempt to save the man. The sudden strike from a seemingly weak target managed to hit right on with the bottom of the weapon, snapping the hound's tongue before it jumps away from her. Before the hound could launch a counterattack, James forced it away by launching series of spears towards it, causing it to keep it's distances.
"Are you o... k...?"
The man that was saved by Kate was in his mid 30s to early 40s, and looked decently health, so Kate and James was wondering if the man had disappeared when they saw what happened. The man, now looked like he's in his 80s, all shriveled up and looking nothing like his former self. His hair turns white like an old man as well, his muscles seems to be striped of strength and no longer able to support the old man's weight. Kate helped him down on the ground, but was unsure on what was going on. She looked back at James to see if he's got any idea on how to help the man, but the professor shook his head to show that either he doesn't know, or there is no way to help the man.
The hound that was responsible for this transformation howls at the others, the one that was attacking Tamara looked back with a seemingly annoyed look, and warps to beside the first. The three of them growled at the adventurers a bit, before disappearing, seemingly for a good this time as they did not reappear... for now.
James took a look around before waving to Dieter, asking him to keep watch while James checks on the old man. The guy was not poisoned, whatever those creatures did seems to have drained him of his essences of live, or his lifespan or something. It did give him an idea of what those creatures were, but figuring out how to deal with them will be a load of headaches.
There's also the dog's remains to check on, but he wasn't too eager to poke at a bubbling, melting dog corpses.
"Looks like we're getting something more modern here... ever read Lovecraft's work? Those things are from one of those books, Hounds of Tindalos. They can travel between time, and hunts after preys that looked or traveled in time, did you guys triggered something like that?"
"I think we should call an ambulance... but explaining what happened to this man would be difficult."
Kate seems to be done with checking the man, he's alive, but is otherwise extremely drained. They can't really abandon here, otherwise he might have die from it, not to mention he might become a witness. At least if they take him into a hospital where they have influence then they might be able to get keep him quiet, otherwise it might be a whole lot more difficult to clean up afterwards.
"And keep your eyes open, we haven't kill them, they're immortal and could otherwise recover with him... there's very little ways of completely killing them, but we can disable them by inflicting heavy damage to them within a short period of time. You see that man? The hounds can suck out their victim's 'time' from them, essentially it would be the same if your lifespan drops to minimum. I suspect that might be why Belknap is missing, he was hit by one of those attacks, and his corpse crumbled."
James gave his hypothesis, they're dealing with some extremely fearsome enemy here, and they're sure to return. They do however have a bit of time to get themselves prepared before they reappear, hopefully that would be enough for them to survive the next battle.
"Luckily Mei Mei is immune to most of their attacks, both the acid and their fangs could not bite through her defense... other than her clothes. I'm not entirely sure about if she would be affected if they try to drain her time, but hopefully as an undead brought to life by mana she would be immune to it as well."
Mei Mei might not be able to fight them well, but at least she's the perfect shield for the team, and could at least hold the hound in place for a moment even if she could not harm them well. She can also help them solve the problem of the old man, a more powerful Jiangshi can turn their victims into their minions, so that's one way to solve their problems here if necessary. But first, they have to decide what to do, such as dealing with the old man and discuss how they're going to deal with the hounds.
"We need something that can completely wipe out the being... might be hard to find..."
"Something that can melt anything... the Universal Solvent... Paracelsus' Alkahest."
Kate seems to have been able to connect the dots, and lead them towards the item that they have came to look for. If it really works, the Alkahest would have been able to melt down the hounds completely, leaving them no chance to revive.
"The problem is, if he had discovered it, he did not leave any recipe for it. It's not like we can go back in time to ask him..."
James was not very confident that they could find some undiscovered record without some prolong period of research, and time is not something they have abundance of right now with the hounds chasing them... perhaps the others have some idea?
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Jan 30, 2017 1:17:47 GMT -6
The situation changed like a whirlwind, pragmatically one could say for the better, though morally that wasn't quite as true. The group continued to do battle with the hounds for a little while before both groups were surprised by an interloper, a man and his dog. The unlucky pair were attacked in seconds, for whatever reason the monsters-out-of-space saw them as targets of greater priority than the occultists. Suffice to say they were dispatched near instantly. The hounds left not long after.
The apparent change in the age of the man that came to investigate definitely caught Dieter's attention; to say that it disturbed him would be a massive understatement. As requested, he pulled guard duty while James examined him. To be sure that the dogs were gone he poked around the various blind spots in the room, also sneaking peaks out of the dust-caked windows to be sure no other humans were coming to look into the commotion. It looked clear in either regard, so that was to their advantage for the moment. By the time this patrol was done James was ready to tell the group what he had concluded.
It didn't make anyone very happy.
"I know of the man, recall that I recognized Cthulhu when Gedeon mentioned his name back on that ill-fated cruise ship. I do not recall these Hounds, however. It must be from a more obscure work, or maybe I read it and simply do not recall. I've read a lot over the years, enough to fill a small library," Dieter told James when asked if he knew the story. From there he spoke on the rest, "The dog did not seem to suffer any unusual fate, relatively speaking, so I suspect that their tongue attack is the only means by which they can drain 'time'. Avoiding that should be a top priority in battle, though I dare say the alternative is not much better."
Now came the big issue, what do they do about all of this? Luckily, Dieter could answer that question and the one about what drew the hounds to them at the same time. But he didn't do it just yet. He motioned for James, Kate, and the Jiangshi just to be safe to turn their backs. Once they did that the German returned to the mirror and put the cloth back over it. With the immediate threat gone he whispered to the scholar that he would take care of their witness problem first and then move onto what he was thinking about.
He spoke confidently and authoritatively to try and ease his, admittedly well deserved, distress.
"Sir, my name is Teodor Speer. These ladies and gentlemen, along with myself, are private investigators hired to look in on Mr. Belknap, whom hasn't been answering his phone or mail for several weeks now. There was a growing concern that something might have happened to him, and as you can see, that was a correct suspicion," without missing a beat the gentleman produced a perfectly forged fake identification and credentials for his supposed profession. It was only one of a dozen he carried around on urban work, for reasons just like this. Not that he'd have much room to question this in his current state of mind. The fact he spoke flawless German and looked like a native would also help his credibility here.
"I don't know what happened to you but it's clear you require medical aid. Please remain with us on scene, I'm going to call an ambulance immediately." Saying that, he pulled a phone out of his pocket and got dialing. It was actually a flip phone, the kind with a physical keyboard. Archaic stuff these days, but Dieter was fond of older tech. More reliable, as that cruise he mentioned also illustrated.
He said this into the receiver. "This is Speer. We have a Code A at my location and need an ambulance immediately. Victim is an adult male in old age. Cause of injury unknown. Subject is conscious but immobile with no outwardly apparent physical injuries. Mental state is unstable, so send a psychologist with the paramedics. Thank you, we'll be waiting."
It'd take a little longer than usual, but an ambulance would arrive at the location to take away the man. The paramedics all looked the part, and so did the vehicle, with all the proper equipment in the back, and all the proper procedures followed. But despite being credited to a local hospital the staff and vehicle itself were actually part of a collection team belonging to the Knights and kept on hand for cases just like this one. That is to say they'd pick up witnesses and subtly interrogate them before releasing them, turning them over to a real hospital whose staff they had under their thumb, recruiting them, or doing something else depending on their experiences and temperament.
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So with that done there was now time to explain what was on Dieter's mind. If they hadn't figured it out by that point it was obviously the mirror that he brought them to.
"This mirror is what attracted those monsters to us, and Belknap. I am certain of it. Tamara and I gazed into it, and within seconds, they were upon us. We each saw scenes from our past, so I think that this mirror is, in fact, some kind of window into another time. I would further wager Belknap had hoped to use it to expand his collection. He bit off more than he could chew this time." Covering it was just to be certain that no one else was marked for death, supposing facing the hounds alone wasn't enough to incur their wrath. Either way if the professor and company wanted to get their own flashback, they'd be doing it of their own conscious decision.
"So, my good doctor, I think that we can go back and ask the man himself. If we can figure out how this mirror works and exploit it. Or perhaps, get a view of his lab at the time of study. Clearly the gentleman took notes, so maybe we could 'look over his shoulder' so to speak, and puzzle out what it would take to be rid of these monstrosities once and for all."
That was his proposal. He let the rest of them think on that or put forward something of their own.
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Post by Pitman on Feb 1, 2017 19:33:06 GMT -6
As they were still engaged with the hounds soon Tamara heard a voice belonging to another man. Turning quickly she saw a man with his faithful dog with a shot gun, she knew in her head that was trouble.
"Look out!", Tamara soon shots but it was too late.
The Hounds from her point of view moved away from them and towards the man, seeing what exactly they did to him soon made her pause. It was exactly as she feared as the man's life looked like it was sucked out of him. Reminding Tamara is she was actually hit by that tongue before hand that would of been her at the result of the fight soon breath a sigh of relief.
Walking over to the man she soon walked up with Dieter but allowed the man to tend to the the innocent victim as Tamara soon put a hand at her chin. Hearing all the information and mention of Cthulhu and then remembering what Gedeon repeated saying how dangerous he was along with the Cult of their world. Though the Order of Mage Knights defeated the Demons during the various wars all those centuries ago the new being of Cthulhu was far worse then any demon mankind of Imaginary Macrosm faced. After Dieter soon explained to the man which she knew he would come prepared on a situation allowed him to handle the entire situation she soon turned to James.
"With Mei Mei we have some chance but this itself comes from this author Lovecraft correct? Since I been here its becoming more and more likely making me think that this book you talk of would possibly help us what we dealing with. Maybe we should see a copy of it to find exactly if they even have a weakness.", After she soon stated that James soon already had a reply in mind.
"The same thing we been needing to find to cure Gedeon? Coincidence that it will stop them and help him at the same time.", Tamara then added with a still pondering something in the back of her head.
Upon soon realizing Dieter saw something as well from the mirror then began to think of his plan as possible way she then soon hit something in her head.
"Wait... if he gazed into that mirror for whatever reason he is now gone. As well both of us gazed those hounds suddenly showing up. Then that could mean that mirror attracts them upon those who gazed into that mirror? If we do use it then there is a high probability they could show up.", Tamara then pointed out, though she is not good in the tactics department as the others she at least had some semblance of a brain. Even as it was heavily distracted on what she saw as well filled with worry for Gedeon.
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Rabite
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Emperor of H
Hey, look over here.
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Post by Rabite on Feb 2, 2017 23:49:31 GMT -6
The now old man looked like he was going to say something, perhaps to voice his concerns or ask some questions, but looks like he bought the story and simply nods to Dieter. He looked around and saw the remains of his pet as well, which had been slaughtered by those creatures while trying to save him. It may have been an annoying dog to Belknap but to the man it was his friend, who knew it would have came to this. He was just coming to check the noise out, and now he got turned into an old man and his pet killed.
But, the adventurers won't have to be directly worried by him, thanks to Dieter's team of medical staff that had taken the man in to care for his conditions.
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James and Kate receives the update on what happened before the hounds appeared, and then hears the suggestions from Tamara. Now there's a problem, James' specialty is History, Philosophy, and Mythology, not modern literature. Good thing they have Kate here as well, a general genre writer, she'll be as close as they might get for someone that knows about this topic.
"The Hound of Tindalos are attracted to those that have either see or travel through time, if that mirror showed some past images, then it is probably the reason why they suddenly appeared to attack us. As for reading a copy... H. P. Lovecraft himself published over 60 work, and that's not including the ones that he collaborated on. I don't think we have the time to read all of those to find what we need..."
It wasn't a bad idea... if they have the time. Being chased by a bunch of killer time jumping hounds while trying to read tens of thousands of pages is not going to be easy. Mean while, James was thinking of taking a look at the mirror, but then turns away quickly when Kate mentions how the hounds suddenly appeared.
"Hold on, so like what Tamara said, more of them would appear if me and you look at the mirror as well?"
"It's a possibility, but I don't think so. Tindalos are immortal and can travel freely through time, if they would appear to attack us then they would have done so already."
"Sounds kind of... vague?"
It wasn't a completely clear answer, more like a guess from Kate. But there's a perfectly good reason behind that...
"I can't help it, that's all that's mention..."
Unlike religion which have years of practice, organized, and have important rules for their followers, the 'Lovecraftian Myths' lack all these traits. It couldn't be helped, it's a series of novel, not actual religions that receives prayers and beliefs.
"....Well, there's a reason why that's modern literature and not a mythology, it's not refined or actually pass down by tradition... anything else?"
"The story itself was not very clear on the hounds, so I'm afraid that's as much as I can provide right now."
For a creature from a story that vague to appear with such power, James wondered why did this suddenly happen now and not before? Surely others have owned the mirror in the past, yet he didn't hear news of these mysterious disappearances. Either way they would have to figure how the mirror works, hopefully they could find a way to make use of it as Dieter suggested.
Thankfully that no more hounds appeared as Tamara suggested might happen if James and Kate used the mirror, perhaps the hounds from before decided to leave them alone for now, or that it already counted them in for seeing those hounds just like what happened with the other man. Kate saw an image of when she was born as a baby, while James saw an image of the time that he first received an award.
Now to figure out how to adjust it, James decided if someone like Belknap could do it, no way they could not do the same with a professor, a profession writer, a famed adventurer and a mage from another dimension. It was actually quite simple, after some search they had discovered a stopwatch like part of some sort. Right now the numbered parts doesn't seem to be moving, instead another switch to the side was pressed marked as 'fortuitus,' which means random in Latin.
"Hm... well, we don't really know when was the Alkahest invented but... we could go a few years before Paracelsus died, hopefully we can find some clues at that."
James gave in his suggestion, a decent guess of when might the solution be invented. There is however one problem, there's nothing to provide that the portal goes both ways. They would be using the mirror differently than with Belknap, Belknap could just watch how others moved the artifacts, they would have to read it in details and the mirror doesn't seem to have zoom in functions. They did determined that they could enter the mirror, but there's nothing to prove that they'll be able to return if they pass through it.
"If we choose to go in... Mr. Gerhardt, I think we need more heavy firepower. If the mirror really do send us back to when Paracelsus is still alive, then it would be in the 1500s, we shouldn't need to be worried about the government that uses swords and spears."
Even if the government, in this case the local nobles or king comes to investigate, they won't be as damaging to the modern identity of the adventurers. More so if things get violent, well, lets just say you would want to be the ones holding the guns in the fight.
"There were writings where the hounds received so much damage they had to retreat and heal, perhaps if we have enough firearms or powerful spells we can disable them the same way."
Kate added her own idea to this, they would want to bring something powerful enough to take out these creatures if at least temporary. Kate herself was also not very helpful in battle without additional weapon as well, as shown in the fight just moments before. They could actually make use of their numbers if she's got some sort of weapon, and the same problem applies to James who lacks the right spells to deal with these creatures.
If anyone have any additional idea, now is the time to hear about it, they would need every idea to deal with these powerful and tricky creatures that might come at them anywhere, anytime.
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Feb 3, 2017 1:01:08 GMT -6
Gerhardt didn't have any further ideas, this mirror got them into the mess so as far as he was concerned it was probably their best chance to get out of it. Fortunately it happened to be that working the artifact wasn't very hard, it seemed to have a clock built in that probably regulated what it did. Now the problem that left was how to actually find the time when Parcelsus made that mystical substance. But, as always, Dieter had a plan.
"As it happens, Doctor, I can provide both the date we need and the equipment for us to carry out the operation," he said with a boastful smile. "So simply leave all of that to me, and tell me what kind of gear you'll need to make this happen."
In addition to his own personal requests, which he already was picking out during the fight, the German asked the rest of the group what they'd want as well. Obviously things like rocket launchers were out of the question, due to danger to them more so than anything else, but almost anything else was feasible. As they knew, this man had a large cache of resources on which to call. And call he did. Literally, placing another phone call once he had pondered over what they would need.
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There had been a slight change of plans. When the paramedics arrived they took the man out as originally requested, but then a second team of men similarly dressed hauled between them a sealed trunk bearing a red and white cross and several other warnings related to the medical contents within. It looked like a case you'd use to transport organs in a cool and secure environment, but the group could guess that wasn't what was actually in it when the duo carrying it in left it and didn't move to take it back out with them. Dieter clasped both of porters on the back, shook hands, and exchanged salutes before they left and climbed back into the ambulance. He watched it drive down the road out of sight before turning sharply on a heel and trudging back to the chest to unclasp and open it.
It was like Christmas.
The inside had been renovated to hold guns and military equipment. A pull-out shelf akin to the kind a fishing tackle box possessed slid out of the way to reveal even more beneath it. On the top was a reproduction of a Fallschirmjäger 42, a combination of a light machine gun and an assault rifle; one of the most advanced rifles in the second World War, and several degrees more powerful than any contemporary rifle on the market due to its rate of fire and large caliber. This one was rechambered to employ the much more ubiquitous 7.62x51 NATO cartridge, coincidentally used by the M60 which was based in part on the FG 42. It also took after-market magazine, long and curved banana-style ones typical of that in use on other SAWs such as the Soviet RPK. Modern polymers reduced the weight overall, although the wooden stock remained to keep the aesthetic mostly intact.
Kitty-cornered next to that on the moving tray was the automatic Mauser Broomhandle that the Spear Bearer wielded to great effect back in Egypt. He snapped it up next.
Two more racks unfolded, one going left and the other right. On the left was an MP5 submachine gun, one of the later variations sporting a heavier caliber than the default 9mm. It was more modern than the stuff Dieter usually used, but no one could deny that it was a damn fine piece of equipment. It was also perfect for somebody like Kate, to whom he handed it. It was the retracting stock model, though he doubted the girl would want to use it in its collapsed configuration. On the right foldout sat another three pistols. Lugers, their unique design was unmistakable even for someone unversed in guns. One side arm went to each of the group other than the Gerhardt and the undead. These, too, were chambered in a more modern caliber.
At the very bottom sat an StG 44 assault rifle in 7.62 and several stick grenades. The bombs were there for anyone to take, but the rifle had James's name on it, so that was to whom it was given. Then even that layer pulled out, going downward, to reveal another weapon smartly packaged beneath for Tamara. Most importantly down there was where all the spare magazines were kept, because the guns came unloaded. There was enough to last them through a fight...or one would hope. They might have to use a hell of a lot of bullets here. It also held MREs and canteens, since they might end up to be there for awhile, and some more esoteric stuff. Vials of a dark mahogany colored mud; what it did wasn't clear but Dieter took it for himself. Safe to say it probably had something to do with his brand of magic. Everyone with them in Egypt would also recognize the Scale of Anubis in this section as well, hastily retrieved.
Last but not least, the top of the trunk had compartments for webbings, harnesses, and belts to actually hold all of this stuff. Once again, Y-strap configurations very reminiscent of the Wermacht battle kit. Knives were included, the hilted boucan style that his troops carried. If anyone didn't have a melee sidearm, they could take one. It wasn't much, but better than nothing if one of those monsters got close. Dieter put his harness on and began to fit pouches to various clips along the mesh that would hold grenades, spare magazines, and other general gear. While donning that he put some other stuff, mostly electronics, back in the chest to keep them secure.
"Ladies and gentleman, while I cannot provide the magical artillery you may desire, I am pleased to say that I have with me here some of the finest examples of weaponsmithing to ever grace this earth. I think, that this gear should even the playing field a little bit between the hounds and ourselves. This alone," he said while hefting his machine gun, "can tear a man in two in seconds. It may take several more to do the same to one of those hounds, but God willing, it shall be done. I have seen these strip the armor from light combat vehicles. No living being can withstand such a salvo intact."
A hand motioned to the other guns. "Those should perform with similar efficiency. It is no coincidence that all of them are automatic, as was suggested by Ms. Casimir we want to deal grievous injuries as quickly as possible to force a retreat. Be absolutely certain to control your fire and keep count of your remaining ammunition, you don't want to be caught reloading at an inopportune moment. Call it out when you must swap magazines, let us cover you." As the only one here with much military experience, and experience in using automatics, Gerhardt went over some basic tips and information while they armed up. "The pistols are in an American caliber, 10 millimeter. It hits harder than some magnum revolver cartridges. They are semiauomatic, but a good shot at a joint could well sever or badly damage it. Kate, your submachine gun is also chambered in 10. It has a very flat trajectory and good stopping power, I believe you will find it to be most suitable to your needs."
Lastly he touched on the grenades. "I was not sure whether to bring explosives or not, but I decided it is worth the risk. Better to have them and not need them, as they say. Those grenades lack the fragmentation sleeve, so they deal damage from pure concussive force. Shrapnel would be more dangerous to us than the Tindalosi, and it would do little damage regardless due to their alien anatomy. These should be considered relatively safe, but still treat them as the dangerous weapons they are; they still possess a kill zone of around 5-10 meters. Use them to force the hounds to split up. They are pack predators, do not let them press that advantage. Saying this I go back to covering one another, we must not allow our group to be split and divided. Know where your allies are at all times, call out if you have something to say, and support one another. We may face more than three this time, so we must be operating at peak efficiency."
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Once done he let everyone else equip themselves, helping if necessary, and then he spoke to James again. "I am as prepared as can be. I recommend that if anyone has delicate electronics on their person, they store them in that trunk. Going through a magical portal could well destroy them. Now that I have solved out gear problem, allow me to solve the problem of the date."
This called for the Scale. Dieter used it while manipulating the time piece on the mirror, judging whereabouts in time the alkahest had been produced. He had a few facts to go on. When Paracelsus lived, how long his own alchemists took to research new formulae, and things like that. It was rough, but enough for him to conceptualize and thus judge the date down to when the famed researcher had produced it. Or so it was hoped, they would have to trust the Scale, but that was still much better than an educated guess.
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Supposing that nobody else had any business or things to do and suggest, the adventurer took his natural place at the head of the formation. He checked his weapons a final time, took off the safety, chambered a round, and lead them through the portal.
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Post by Pitman on Feb 5, 2017 13:54:25 GMT -6
As Tamara hears James soon revealing he didn't know much of modern literature she soon raised an eye brow thinking he know so much, but for once he know nothing as much as she initially thought. It brought Kate to the forefront being a modern writer, which soon told them of what they were dealing with. All of this information soon reminded her of something, this H.P Lovecraft works... started around same time the Cult of Chucthulhu from her own world which itself was very coincidental. The entire situation called for some drastic measures in itself as what to do would be best. In the end both James and Kate looked into the mirror which itself showed no hounds showing up at all at that instant.
"Strange... so they don't just suddenly appear when you look into the mirror. Could it be another reason entirely?", Tamara soon questioned as they soon finished in what they were doing.
Within soon time passed the teams that Dieter called in soon helped the man but also brought in weapons they would desperately need. Tamara was given one that had her name on it figuring it must have the various items within. As she opened it was as she expected a small vest to be put under her coast which she soon began to place on her chest. Once doing so she soon noticed the various belts that carried ammunition as well two weapons a shot gun that reminded her what Gedeon used back on the ship from a while back. Next to it a 9mm pistol which was standard as she soon loaded both as got the bullets into their various holsters. What was different from the weapons normally were was runes engraved into the gear which gave off a magical aura. As well engraved combat knives were finally pulled out which showed you that this sort of concept of use was managed in this world just like hers. The more she thought of it the more she soon remembers that person she saw but also how much easier it would of been had they were able to create such gear sooner. As she was fully prepared and now ready she soon walked towards the group with the shot gun on a sling.
Walking up she soon overhears the exact time frame they had to go which made Tamara to completely cause at the year mention as he used the scale to determine this. The face on Tamara would make the others notice as it would be quite interesting and enlightening to know why. Tamara would turn her heads to the others and soon begin her reply, "That century... is the same century the Asheborne Family begun. My ancestor the Hero of Asheborne, Gilbert was alive during that century. It was... the Final Daemon Wars that the Coalition of Man defeated the Last Lord of the Daemons. Its quite strange that I am going to that era but not my own world."
Never the less Tamara had to do what she must, for Gedeon and to keep pushing forward. Taking her position in the formation he was ready to go with a pump action of her shot gun which meant it was ready to fire at a moments notice.
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Rabite
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Hey, look over here.
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Post by Rabite on Feb 9, 2017 1:30:02 GMT -6
While James only treats his weapons as tools, Kate was looking quite satisfied with what she received, being more interested than firearms than the professor is. In a way, you can say the younger woman is more adventurous than James himself, at least so when it comes to the dangers and how to deal with them. James used a webbing to shoulder his assault rifle, and stored his pistol on the right of his hip, with the Book of the Coming Forth By Day stored on his left in a bag. Kate did the same with her sub-machine gun in regards to the webbing, but she stored her weapon to her side, kind of like how women keep their purses. Being a fairly close range weapon, she would be able to use it for most of the situations that she would encounter, making the pistol less necessary as a weapon. However there's no reason not to bring more equipment, so she decides to keep it hidden from sight just in case. Kate took a garter holster and left the room to put it on, using it to store the pistol and knife that was provided for her. James decided not to take a knife, the metal covered Book of the Coming Forth By Day is more than enough as a blunt weapon and as a shield, it'll be better to use instead of relying on the blade. They both took some grenades and other supplies as well, and had Mei Mei carried extra ammo and rations if necessary.
The instructions from Dieter was long, but reasonable, making sure that everyone knows what they're doing with their equipment. The adventurer also seems to have most of the possible situations thought out, as evident by the warning for electronics and the effect of what the magic portal might have on them. The two stored cellphones, watches, and even small things that they don't want to lose such as wallets and keys into the box. Considering they'll be going a few hundreds back in time, that'll be a lot of effort to find your house keys if you happen to drop it somewhere back then.
As for Tamara's comment, it wasn't something that they could really say much on. In James' opinion... so what? Not the kind of person to think of such sentimental things, he tried but couldn't think of something to go with that comment. Kate simply gave her a polite response, and continue with the preparation.
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[1536, Leipzig]
The team step through the portal one by one, and end up in some sort of storage. The team can see weapons such as swords and spears, supplies such as bags of flour and wheat, typical storage goods. The walls around them are made out of bricks, ones that seems to be of a decent age. No one else is in the room, but there's a wooden door leading to the exit with a faint scent of blood in the air. The door itself is not locked, so there would not be any problems in opening it.
If the group decides to go through the door, they found find themselves in some sort of school, with hallways leading to many classes rooms. However classes is not in session today, many people in robes are running around in the halls, most of them carrying medical goods and equipment. If they look into these class rooms, instead of students being in their seats, they would see a large number of wounded. These wounded seems to be soldiers, judging from the clothing and equipment on some of them, and are mostly suffering from cuts and bullet wounds. Looks like the place is being used as a field hospital of some sort, with many of the wounded under treatment.
Surprising the treatment these people are receiving are different from the usual perception of what medieval medical treatment are. Instead of having their limbs chopped off or stuffed with herbs, professional surgeries were done to seal wounds, loss limbs are patched up with a mixture of egg yolk, rose oil, and turpentine. One of the teachers that were working with exceptional speed, noticed the team and walked over.
"You guys! You dress like that man named Belknap, tell him I need more medical supplies here!"
The man is in his 40s, he did not give much care about the sudden appearance of these strangers, but he seems to be able to connect the team with Belknap just based on what they are wearing. After he finished giving out his demands, he turns back to the wounded and finished his operations in a flash.
"Well? What are you standing here for? We got an army approaching and we need some men on their feet, unless you want to deal with them yourself?!"
"Hold on hold on, Belknap is dead so I can't ask him for you, and we need to hear some information to figure things out... Who are you?"
"Me?! You haven't heard of me? I am Paracelsus! The Greatest Physician of the Holy Roman Empire... no, of the whole Europe! The one that transcends even the great Celsus!"
Well, at least they found the guy that they came to look for, and his attitude is quite matching for the name that he took up.
"Now if you don't want go face that army for the rest of us here, then get going, I got a bunch of people to save. If they die here it'll taint my glorious name!"
James looks back at the rest of the team, to see their opinion on this. They could get the items that Paracelsus ask for, which seems to be the easy way out, but you never know what he might ask for and how much of it. There's also the problem of increasing the chances that the hounds might appear from multiple time traveling, which might be highly dangerous as well. The other choice is to defend the place, but that means that they'll have to fight an unknown amount of enemy soldiers. The bright side of this is that these should be medieval soldiers that don't have much training and are like cavemen by comparison to what the team is armed with.If there's any questions they want to ask Paracelsus, they can deal with it now before they make the choice.
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Richter
Veteran Member
Posts: 1,870
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Post by Richter on Feb 9, 2017 22:42:01 GMT -6
Dieter really had to say that he did not like portals, artificial or "natural" made no difference; the feeling of being wrenched in a nonexistent direction was disorientating in the extreme, and the man couldn't help but wonder on the thousands of things that could go wrong in the seconds leading up to taking that first step. Any such reluctance and apprehension was absolutely scrubbed from his face, this should go without saying to protect the morale of his friends, but it was still there. Luckily this time nothing went amiss, or so it seemed. In sequence each of them stepped out into the interior of a stone and plaster building. More telling was the medieval equipment placed in racks along the walls along with foodstuffs that had no better methods of preservation employed than being kept in a dry environment.
"I believe we have arrived in the correct time period. If it is the correct place, that is another question entirely. It appears we landed in someone's warehouse, let's move out and see if we can get our bearings," Gerhardt recommended as he went for the door. It wasn't locked, so he lead the way through and into the halls beyond.
The flanks of said halls were periodically broken up by windowed doors leading into lecture rooms that were being repurposed for use as a hospital. It was clear now that they were in the right area, the clothing matched the artwork and accounts of the era to a T. Drab, earth colored clothing that flowed, were adorned with feathers, and similar. That was on the doctors, the soldiers bore mail and chain with colorful emblems emblazoned on them. Dieter could recognize several as belonging to local nobles due to his knowledge of history, James would surely draw the same conclusions from his own studies. He turned to give the professor an affirmative nod to signal that everything went well with their jaunt through time.
Right at that moment was when somebody finally found them. Turning around would reveal to the adventurer a man much more colorfully dressed, and more ostentatious in personality too. This time James beat him to the punch on striking up conversation, but that was just as well. It was quickly put forward that the head of this hospital was none other than Paracelsus himself. Fitting that a man whom would take such a name would be fast to introduce himself and his accolades to anyone unfamiliar. That is not to say that they're undeserved, however.
Most interesting of all was the fact that he was familiar with Belknap, and in fact, people from the future in general.
"Well professor, it seems you were right to pick out Belknap as the kind of person to seek out the elixir. It appears that he was in the process of searching for it himself before meeting his fate. I wonder if he knew of its uses as a weapon prior, or if he came for other reasons? I suppose it matters little now," the German speculated.
Paracelsus was fast to put out some ultimatums, of which neither sounded very good. Playing logistics seemed easier at a glance, but there was no telling if that would stir up the Hounds again. That possibility immediately turned Dieter away from that option and caused him to cast his vote for the opposite.
"I would rather we deal with portals and time travel as little as possible, if I am to have my say in the matter. Continued travel may call those monsters back sooner, and in greater number. I do not like that prospect. Nor do I trust that mirror. Belknap evidently managed to return, but we cannot be certain of how it will react to repeated use nor if it had been damaged in the fighting prior to our arrival. All told, I believe that the better option would be to see to this army that Paracelsus is in conflict with. Considering the era, I expect it to be the French."
Before making any permanent decisions some more questions were asked of Paracelsus to make things more clear. They had arrived in Leipzig, the HRE was at war with France, and the army they would have to fight was estimated to be a few hundred men coming down from the North. Evidently they'd have a little while to prepare and get a feel for the lay of the land.
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