Plotlogs
Blood In Blood Out Sr Lucas 241018
In the dense, shadowy expanse of Kabacki Forest on the outskirts of Warsaw, a group known as Forged Fortune embarks on a critical mission under the cloak of night. Their objective: to retrieve remnants of a nefarious past—a collection of samples from their progenitor, potent demon blood hidden within a World War II Nazi bunker. This blood possesses the potential to unlock secrets better left buried, or so they hope, in their quest to halt an Eidolon's ascendancy to godhood.
The team, a diverse assembly of individuals each with their own unique abilities, carefully maneuvers through the forest, wary of traps and remnants of war. Ash hands out gas masks, a necessity against the potentially toxic air within the bunker, and the group finds the entrance—a heavy iron door concealed beneath overgrowth.
As they descend into darkness, the bunker reveals its secrets. They find a lab from the 80s, rather than the 40s, filled with experiments and notebooks that indicate the continuation of the sinister Uber Soldat project long after the war's end. Isaiah, with determined fervor, locates a vial of inky black blood amidst several others within a cold storage unit beneath a tarp. This singular vial holds her father's demonic essence, the key to their mission's success.
Beyond the recovery of these samples, the group uncovers a shelf with a false bottom, revealing a keypad that responds to the entered code "CROATOAN," opening a path to even further depths. Though the bunker houses technological advancements mingled with the arcane, it becomes clear that such power only spells potential doom.
As they ready to leave, Isaiah decides the fate of the bunker—destruction, to erase the horrors that linger within its walls. With precise preparation, they set the stage for an infernal purge, a final act to obliterate the remnants of twisted experiments and dark research.
With Ash creating a Path for their escape, the team vacates the premises. No sooner have they stepped through the threshold than the bunker is consumed by a series of explosive reactions, set off by Isaiah's command to her fire imp, Shovel. An echoing boom signals the end of the bunker's legacy—a victory for the Forged Fortune, who walk away with the potent demon blood and a harrowing story etched into their memories.
This mission, marked by camaraderie, courage, and the confrontation of past evils, cements the resolve of the Forged Fortune. Their quest against the Eidolon, a step closer to resolution, leaves them battered but unbroken, ready for whatever lies ahead in their fight against the encroaching darkness.
(Blood In, Blood Out(SRLucas):SRLucas)
[Thu Oct 17 2024]
In Kabacki Forest
You stand in a tranquil clearing within a dense forest outside Warsaw, Poland. The trees are tall and imposing, forming a natural cathedral of intertwined branches overhead that cast cascading shadows on the forest floor. Underfoot, a carpet of moss and fallen leaves muffles your steps. The air is thick with the earthy scent of pine and damp soil. In the heart of this clearing, partially obscured by undergrowth, lies a hidden entrancea heavy iron door, rusted but resolute.
It is after dusk, about 61F(16C) degrees, There is a waning gibbous moon.
Ash says "That helmet covers gas, Elias?"
Turning his head to Ash, Elias speaks in a subdued tone as it travels through the mask, "Yes. It has multiple functions. But filtering air contaminants and gases are included in that."
Ash says "Then, I have an extra one - for Nico later, I suppose."
Bear grumbles, the sound muffled through his mask, "Never been outside the States before. Is Europe always cold as tits? Fuck, can barely breath in this thing!"
Bear grumbles to himself, "Some of us don't have fur on demand..."
"It is rather basics for anyone running operations when your likely foes are humans. They like to use technical such as tear gas to make up for their short comings. So you should be prepared with proper counter-measures. It is good that the Forged have masks." Elias states to someone, resting an idle hand on the hilt of his blade as he surveys his surroundings.
Ash says "Yeah, I loathe it. Everywhere is cold as Hel."
"It is rather basics for anyone running operations when your likely foes are humans. They like to use technical such as tear gas to make up for their short comings. So you should be prepared with proper counter-measures. It is good that the Forged have masks." Elias states to Ash, resting an idle hand on the hilt of his blade as he surveys his surroundings.
Ash nods seriously to Elias, as he speaks professionally.
SRLucas says "Do I have everyone"
Ash says "Yes, but Jayarr is afk for a short bit."
Isaiah says "Here. "
Bear brandishes his hammer, idly twirling the weapon in a meaty hand as he idles.
After purchasing documents and dossier from one Hiroshi Watanabe, Isaiah has obtained the location to the bunker that they have been searching for, after learning of potential samples left over after the second great War. Not just any samples. Samples of their progenitor, potent demon blood that could provide unlawful secrets and discoveries best left buried in the past. Obtaining these, may be the key to helping create specialized items or rituals in the pursuit of destroying the Eidilon that seeks to help them find their way to Godhood. With these, Regan senior could revitalize more of his true essence into the spirit form he's taken on.
OOC: Please pose your incoming emotes and so on! We will begin once everyone is 'Here'!
Bear curses softly as he suffers the effects of the cold in this forest. He yanks his jacket more firmly into place, breathing a bit labored in his gas mask. Goosebumps rise along his arms, but the man seems more concerned with getting the job done quickly and getting out of the chill than any danger he may have been warned about. Whether he's brave or oblivious would be for others to decide. "So, Nazis, huh? They the neo type, or are these like, vampire nazis from the actual war?"
Isaiah takes the fancy path, a blaze of glory as she arrives only a few feet away from the lid to the bunker below, her fingers linked with Bear's in a vice grip like she's tugging along a petulant child. Really, she just doesn't trust the big lug not to wander off the Path and get lost forever, so by the time the duo arrive here in Nazi Egypt, his fingers are likely either numb, or all the way purple. She only releases him when she's sure they are in the right spot, then pauses at his side- slightly behind him- as her pale blue eyes glance over the area. "Bear, be careful," she reminds him, her gas mask secured at her hip by a snap-off buckle for easy access. "Remember this is a fucking World War Two Nazi bunker, alright? There will definitely be gas, and trip wires, and potentially either false floors or false walls. Maybe even false ceilings. Just... Be careful with what you touch, okay?" A pause after this after she assesses the Appalachian man, and she tells him with great resolve in her voice, "I trust you. You're gonna do great. Just think before you act and you'll make it out in one piece. Remember, we're here looking for my father's blood- I can't remember if he was demonic by the time this happened or not, so it may be red... But most likely it is black."
A sudden, brief rise in the breeze in the immediate area accompanies the arrival of Victoria. She doesn't break her stride as she appears to step through air alone onto the ground, locks of hair blown about. As quickly as it arrived, it dies down and Victoria takes a few steps to the others with a nod of greeting, one hand smoothing her hair back into place.
Remaining quiet as the others talk around him, Elias just keeps scanning his surroundings quietly, watching for movement within the trees of the forest. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, his body language suggesting perhaps a touch of uneasiness.
Ash came in with a Path, arriving with a flourish before handing out masks, checking their equipment, and checking on each member of the group. They check, again and again, that they have bandages at the ready, before drawling, "Probably neo... let's hope neo. Buuuut, if not...." They wave a wooden stake that they have on hand. "I've been on a leech-squashing spree lately. I've still more to hunt, so call me Van Starling." They pat their bag before adding, "I have quartz, too, but unless it's used like a brick, I can only use it to channel prismatic or light energies... that really works bests on ghosts, not people, though."
As the group arrives, each in their own power the Forged Fortune have come together to deliver another telling blow to the spirit that they combat in their attempt to continue battling agaisnt the end of All Things. As Ash hands out gask masks to the others, the wind howls through the trees that surround them. They're out into the Kabacki Forest, thick trees that stretch for acres and acres on the outskirts of Warsaw. One of the first victories of the war as Nazi Germany opened the assault on what would become an attempt at world domination, it's no surprise that this relic of that historied past has been left here to rot, forgotten and shunned. Elias doesn't see much out here, but his eyes are hawk-sharp and he'll denote that the ground while normally even does occasionally seem to have small places where it is uneven. Bear and Victoria round up the group as they turn their attention to the task at hand. Off in the distance, the faint sight of something old and rusty can be seen barely poking from the overgrown underbrush and foliage that all but surrounds it,.
"Jay," Victoria nudges the redhead not too far from her, lips pursed as she silently extends a finger toward the odd thing in the foliage. "What the hell is that?" The words are a hiss, kept just loud enough to be heard by the parties they're intended for above the wind assaulting them through the trees.
Bear tightens his grip on his hammer as he advances towards that rusty point in the overgrowth. His gait is slower than average, keeping his gaze low to avoid the mentioned traps and trip-wires. He's not a perceptive fellow, so caution for him mostly involves other people in the group advancing first as he tries not to be blown up.
As everyone points, behold! It's the long-forgotten heavy iron door that sits there, almost completely overgrown by the plants and foliage surrounding it. (Feel free to look at the Iron Door)
Ash steps back from the grate, drawling, "I'll keep a look out... you'll be arcane lead here, Elias? For wards and shit? I'm the medic, I'll stay near the back. Sound good, Miss Bossman?" It's obvious that they're regretting their frail state, but they're trying to be more tactical about it than cowardly. They eye the area before drawling, "Be careful... the door's probably trapped."
"Neo-Nazis are a pale comparison to these fucks," Isaiah tells someone, the bearer of bad news tonight as she crouches down low, ticking her gaze in the direction that Victoria specifies, towards the underbrush, and then she creeps along. "Don't stay too close together," warns the Substitute Alpha. "If one of us gets blown up and we're packed in like sardines, we'll all fucking go," she hisses out through hushed, gritted teeth. Her keen eyes are peeled for danger in every direction as she keeps an arrow notched in her bow, but does not draw the string- one in the chamber, as it were. She pauses a foot or so away from the door, erring on the side of caution as she becomes even more weary, and only approaches the door after a thorough search of the area. If, and only if, it is safe, she starts to peel back the vines and gently scrape at the moss, attempting to get a good look at the locking mechanism they're dealing with here, and just how hard it will be to bust down. She'd test the lid a few times, braced for potential impact, and if nothing happens, she'll eventually stand and /pull/ with all of her might to try to brute force her way in.
"Neo-Nazis are a pale comparison to these fucks," Isaiah tells Ash, the bearer of bad news tonight as she crouches down low, ticking her gaze in the direction that Victoria specifies, towards the underbrush, and then she creeps along. "Don't stay too close together," warns the Substitute Alpha. "If one of us gets blown up and we're packed in like sardines, we'll all fucking go," she hisses out through hushed, gritted teeth. Her keen eyes are peeled for danger in every direction as she keeps an arrow notched in her bow, but does not draw the string- one in the chamber, as it were. She pauses a foot or so away from the door, erring on the side of caution as she becomes even more weary, and only approaches the door after a thorough search of the area. If, and only if, it is safe, she starts to peel back the vines and gently scrape at the moss, attempting to get a good look at the locking mechanism they're dealing with here, and just how hard it will be to bust down. She'd test the lid a few times, braced for potential impact, and if nothing happens, she'll eventually stand and /pull/ with all of her might to try to brute force her way in.
"Yes. I will watch for wards and traps." Elias says as his masked face looks up towards the sky, his index finger and thumb rubbing together for a moment before returning his attention back towards the door.""
"I swear, we need to go to somewhere pretty. Just once," Victoria sighs out. When Bear starts moving, she hangs back a moment, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth and seeming content to allow him to be the first to figure out if anything is going to explode. Keeping an eye on the door, she draws her bow into her hands and keeps a safe distance between, then suddenly stops. "Jay!" she barks as loudly as possible. "Don't put another foot on the ground. Stop!"
Isaiah freezes the moment she hears Victoria call her name.
Bear perks a brow, peering the door up and down, "I can pop most simple locks, but not sure if a door this old would be easy pickings or basically impossible." He follows in to inspect the door for possible weaknesses, though if he finds none, falling back on Isaiah's plan of brute force seems likely. He pauses as he hears Victoria call out, the urgency clear as he stays put.
Under Isaiah's foot, just brush the top is a buried mound of dirt. Suspicious.
"Uneven ground is not a good thing out here," Victoria frowns, a worried look cast to the almost hidden mound of dirt that Isaiah nearly stepped upon. She exhales slowly when Isaiah freezes and manages to avoid stepping down, the look of relief only momentary as she pauses to blink.
Nobody has heard a click.
Seemingly distracted for the moment, Elias snaps out of it as he looks towards the bunker door. He moves slowly towards it, noting, "It is important to remember, anything that seems unnatural is likely unnatural. Mined, trapped, and who knows what else this place has upon it." He states as he observes the door, reaching out slowly to touch the surface of the door, studying carefully the structure of the door and looking for hints of arcane enhancements or wards.
Isaiah slowly retracts her foot with sweat dripping down her brow like a leaky faucet when Victoria mentions a suspicious mound of dirt right beneath her foot. Her body is shivering, and yet the focus that she puts into moving her foot backwards until she is clear is as steady as a painter's hand. Her breath isn't held- it is breathed slowly and carefully, because the last thing you want to do is fucking faint when there are landmines involved. Once she's safe, she exhales slowly, murmuring, "Thanks, Vic... That almost cost me an arm and a leg..."
Victoria nods to Isaiah with a small smile.
Approaching the door, a couple of things can be determined quickly. It's heavy and made of old iron, before they really started using alloy. What Faeborn might call 'Cold Iron', and so even from a few feet Ash will instinctively know that they don't want to touch it. Elias doesn't find any sense of magic or warding on the bunker's door. If there was magic cast upon it, it's long since faded into nothing. As Bear inspects his options his assessment seems accurate. He sees the lock for what it is, and part of him feels like he MIGHT have the skill, but it would take every bit of his focus and a little luck besides. Heavy as all get out, any tugging at the door once it's determined safe to do won't budge for anyone of them. Isaiah may come the closest, causing the iron to groan and creak from the rust but it won't give.
"Wait a second..." Elias says as he looks up from the door, back over to Isaiah and Ash, "So, what did this thing store? You don't make a door like this unless you are trying to keep something out... Or in this case, keep something in. Do you know anything along those lines?"
From her position near the door, Victoria pauses to turn when Elias speaks, drawing eyes toward the area behind the group, and surrounding them to quickly scan for any potential threats before she turns her attention back to the matter at hand. Electing silence, her bow stays secure within her grasp, sharply pointed arrows ready as she subconsciously chews her lower lip in concentration.
Ash maintains their distance, for now, marking mentally where the mine was, and looking for similar things... but they don't move until the door is actually opened. They simply join Victoria in watching their surroundings.
Bear approaches the door, pulling out a set of locksmith tools from a large inner pock in his jacket. The delicate, precise devices look almost comical in those large, callused hand, but he handles them with a practiced skill, the ex-con clearly not unaccustomed to this side of criminality. He calls out to Isaiah as he sets to work, "Hey, Jay?! Lemme' get a little bit of fire near me while I work. Chill is makin' my fingers go number, and can't do gloves while I work with this."
And when Bear goes to work on the lock, Elias withdraws from the door, carefully stepping within his previous footprints, but putting himself some distance between himself and the door.
Isaiah steps aside to lean down by Bear, digging her fingers gently into his shoulders- kneading. A relaxing and thorough massage that sees waves of her own heat pulsing deep into his muscular tissue, and then into his bloodstream. His heart pumps that warmed blood throughout the man's body as she supplies the heat, and eventually it would reach his fingertips, too, increasing their temperature comfortably. "Keep going," she murmurs to him, keeping up that meticulous attention, firm but not jarring so that she does not disturb his work. "If that doesn't work... I am both fire and gasoline. I can make a small boom to bust us in," she whispers to the group as a whole, keeping her voice down in case any outsiders were creeping too close for comfort.
Elias seems to be wise this evening, sure to re-trace his steps. Bear begins to put tools to work, even though the lock may be just a little beyond his skill the man chooses to test himself against the lock which can't be faulted. While he waits for some light to work by, the rest will remain still as they wait and ensure they don't accidentally press upon any other hidden surprises as yet unfoundf. However, Elias also dnotes that those mounds and even points he'd spied before are easier to see now that they've almost stepped on one. He will be able to navigate the field without issue.
(OOC)Due to Elias' greater perception now that these have been identified he can help the rest navigate their locations. The Minefield is no longer Dangerous.
Ash drawls with a wince, glancing back to Isaiah before turning their head to keep looking, "That should be the last possible option. I'd rather someone nightmare in and look for a mirror. Or someone trying to squeeze through the gap as something small while the door is pulled as hard as it can. We cannot assume that the place is empty, or unobserved - a boom calls for danger."
Ash sends a little will o' wisp near the lock, just in case Bear can't see in the dark.
Bear narrows his eyes, keeping his full focus on the lock. That rush of warmth aids him considerably, large hands going from practiced to fluid. The lock is a challenge, but he seems the type to find the opposition invigorating, even with so many eyes upon him. The sound of a tumbler shifting audibly clinks, and the man goes very still. "Yeeeeesss..." His hand moves extremely carefully, and the sound of the lock yielding to him can be heard as the heavy iron door begins to creak in his direction, stray bits of rust rattling off the door, "Yes!" He quiets quickly, realizing he's being too loud, and stepping back to admire his work, riding the high of victory even over a door.
Ash smiles softly at Bear, murmuring, "Great job, Bear."
follow the spirit!
When pulled, the door will creak and groan more, rust giving way and flaking off. Vines ripping off and apart until it finally reveals the path that leads down and within its depths.
When everyone is following, done posing and or ready either follow up or move down! You can follow by using follow spirit
"Gas masks on. Now!" Isaiah calls out, pulling her mask from her hip, unsnapping it with a flick of her wrist and wquickly settling it over her mouth and nose before strapping it around her cranium. She does not breathe more than the faintest inhaled she had received through her nose. It's an immediate, urgent order barked, and once it's settled on her face, she calls out ,her voice muffled, "Do not breathe until the mask is secured properly and in place, and breathe slowly, even if it fucking burns, or you /will/ hyperventilate and pass out."
"Jesus," Victoria murmurs almost under her breath as she steps lightly down into the bunker. "Not sure I'd touch anything." Still, her gaze flits with curiosity along the items left behind. The vials, the equipment get a pause, but the papers and their symbols draw a more lingering glance. Absently, she pulls a mask over her face when Isaiah calls out.
Stepping down into the room, Isaiah's cautionary instincts kick in and on go the masks. The room is of course a mess, and the place has been ransacked at least once; probably during the height of the war. If this space weren't bad enough, more space looms in the darkness that isn't lit by the now open hatch door above.
OOC: If you have Education please Showstat.
OOC: If you speak Russian, please Showstat.
Bear winces as he enters, suddenly thankful for the presence of his gas mask. The smell of blood is heavy on the air, and as he descends into the bunker, that stained altar makes it quickly apparent why. He has no interest in any of the documentation littering the bunker, the large man mostly staying out of the way of the more expert occultists as he settles before the altar. He extends a hand, and lightly brushes the stone there, idle as he examines the room. "You guys hear that? Some shit is still runnin'."
While Bear is running hands along the altar, he can feel that the blood is thicker in some areas and others more thin. Before he realizes it, his hands are tracing strange letters, but definitely letters of some kind.
Bear blinks, peering at the altar. He closes his eyes a moment, and his hand illuminates from the palm, revealing the letters along the altar. He adjusts the brightness until its perfect along the material there, "You guys able to read this?"
Ash definitely had it off fo their face enough to breathe, not have been able to do so if they hadn't, until before they went in. They then adjust after arriving, according to Isaiah's instructions, holding their breath. Gooing over to her, taking footsteps already taken, Ash asks her to check that they're secured it properly.
Once that's done, they'd retrace those steps back to their spot. From there, they squat down, looking over the papers without picking them up, first. Best to be sure that they're not glued down, or otherwise indicative of a trap. They look over the books, trying not to wander, but eventually give into their biggest interest - the altar. They take careful steps in Bear's tracks over to it, looking it over carefully before bringing out their phone.
Ash uses Google Lens to scan the Cyrillic, able to translate it without needing reception.
Squinting, Elias keeps his gaze drifting off towards the north. He doesn't speak overly loud, but just loud enough for those nearby to hear, "Do you see that. I see something over there. It might be what we are looking for." The masked demigod suggests, raising his hand to point off towards the north.
"To answer your earlier question, in case you or anyone else missed it, we're looking for phials of blood. They should be black; they were pulled from one Isaiah Michael Reegan," Isaiah calls out just loud enough to be heard. "Be very careful with them- the blood inside is that of a DemiDemon, so they will be volatile and highly explosive. No fire, no sparks, and really any intense amount of heat should be avoided," the femme fatale lists off as she creeps carefully through the space, letting the professional Arcanists handle what she cannot; instead she does what she /can/ do, which is going around, starting with Ash, ensuring everyone's mask is properly secured onto their heads. At Elias's behest, she looks north once she's made her rounds, tapping Bear on the shoulder and slowly, carefully moving in that direction. "Bear, Vic, on me," she instructs, her footsteps cautious, checking the strength of each piece of flooring she walks on, eyes peeled for wires, for anything in her path that seems even remotely out of the ordinary.
Ash reads it out loud, taking care, though in a hushed tone, "It's a quote from Gregori. The last sentence says, 'Embrace the darkness, for it is there that the secrets of the universe whisper their forbidden knowledge.'" They wait a moment, glancing at the others. They nod to Elias, though they drawl, "I don't, but thank you. The first sentence says, 'In the shadows of the soul, where light dares not tread, lies the truth of our existence.' So, no light, Bear. I hope you have the senses to make up for it."
Nodding her head once, Victoria moves with gentle, cautious steps behind Isaiah, her lower lip caught between her teeth as her eyes narrow with a glance ahead of them. Her head tilts back as she hears someone' statement and she gives a soft, measured exhale.
Nodding her head once, Victoria moves with gentle, cautious steps behind Isaiah, her lower lip caught between her teeth as her eyes narrow with a glance ahead of them. Her head tilts back as she hears Ash's statement and she gives a soft, measured exhale.
Bear closes his fist, the gesture seeming to let him turn off the light he's emanating, nodding firmly in someone' direction at the advice. He falls in behind Jay when commanded, keeping his eyes peeled for danger. His hand rests on his hammer as he walks forward, the tension in his arm hinting at his readiness to lash out if something approaches.
Bear closes his fist, the gesture seeming to let him turn off the light he's emanating, nodding firmly in Ash's direction at the advice. He falls in behind Jay when commanded, keeping his eyes peeled for danger. His hand rests on his hammer as he walks forward, the tension in his arm hinting at his readiness to lash out if something approaches.
Ash pauses a beat, then drawls, after thinking about it, "Ra- ra- Grigori Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen... and rumored Necromancer. Anyone watch Anastasia?"
Bear quietly intones, his accent making the impression terrible, "Come my minions, rise for your master..."
Strolling in casually after Isaiah, Victoria, and Bear take point into the room. Elias lets his gaze slowly drift around the room to inspect anything of interest that stands out to him and anything that would likely pose a threat.
Behind her mask, Victoria's eyes widen larger than they normally do at the sight of the next part of the bunker, and she turns to regard the new space with concern and caution. Her usual silence follows as she glances between the others as they wander in.
"Don't tap on the glass," Isaiah warns those around her as she slowly, carefully wanders past the experiments suspended in half-life or in death. "We don't want to risk these fucks still being alive... And hungry." That being said, each boot step is careful not to crunch glass, and if it does, to either withdraw quickly or push down slow enough to make the noise nearly imperceptible. "I'm surprised this place still has any power left.. I heard a humming in the other room- must be some kind of generator, so it's either solar powered, running on the remnants of a battery, or someone is keeping that puppy alive. Be on alert," she murmurs to the assembled Forged Fortune.
Bear can't see very well as he descends deeper into the bunker, but the sickly hues of the substances around him and the footsteps of his allies allow him to orient himself. His gaze lingers primarily on those glass jars, eyeing those horrific hybrids with a disgusted expression. "What kinda' battery would last the better part of a century?"
Those with Occult knowledge will recognize the signs of blood magic when they see it. Or the attempts at it, at the very least. The jars here are filled with red, viscous fluid that's still very much liquid. The fluid is remeniscient of the fluids spilled across the altar in the first room. The lights above and overhead still flicker ominously, and while they cast shadow they're certainly not the in the heart of darkness are they? The group continues to meddle out what their next move is, and once more that strong smell may encouragte them to drop the masks down onto their faces for protection.
Ash suggests softly, "Lights off?" They look over the blood and the scientific tools and instruments. To the wolves and bears, they point out, "The blood magic here is not fully released... or this blood would have dried. Careful, now." They shift closer to the jars, looking over them carefully.
"Turn out the lights," Isaiah murmurs, her voice still muffled through her mask as she casts her eyes overhead, narrowing them at the flickering lights. Those masked baby blues start scanning the walls and terminals for switches or levers, careful to steer clear of the magic shit that she, for one, finds distasteful- and for two, well, she gave up her pursuit of the arcane intricacies when she chose to strengthen her Wolf. She has no business here; but she at least has the awareness of mind to recognize as much. "Careful," she echoes Ash's sentiment afterwards, still stepping slowly and carefully.
Victoria turns to regard the walls, a soft, slight snarl of unease leaving her as she glances about the room to find whatever controls the lights.
Careful examination of the background of the walls and surrounding mechanics of the bunker will eventually reveal a large lever-switch of its day. No sign of the generator or power sources it's connected to, but throwing the bracket, Isaiah will shut down all of the lights in the place. Pitch black surrounds everyone.
Bear tenses, hand tightening on his weapon's hilt as he's surrounded in darkness.
As the lights come off, the jars begin to glow more seriously and this is what caught Elias' eye. They light up the space in their own way, casting a bloody light. It's the only thing to see by, but to the south - the dried up blood on the altar seems to try and respond, giving off the faintest pulses of feeble glow.
Isaiah's blue eyes take on a naturally red metallic sheen from her demonic bloodline as she scans the room with eyes built for this darkness; to stalk it as a Wolf, or to stalk it as a hellish horror bent on inflicting agony in its prey. Either way, the darkness seems to make her more predatory now, and even the slightest movement in the pitch black causes her eyes to dart in that direction, friend or foe, ready to spring and pounce and gnash and tear and devour. She watches the glow, but she does not touch- only stalking a feral circle around the space; around her companions, too, as she observes them in silence.
Several blinks adjust Victoria's eyes easily to the darkness once the lights are off, and her fingers tighten around her bow. Her posture is indicative of a keen sense of distaste, and though it seems like she wants to recoil, she remains close by Isaiah, though staying out of the way of her pacing.
As the lights come off, the jars begin to glow more seriously and this is what caught Elias' eye. They light up the space in their own way, casting a bloody light. It's the only thing to see by, but to the south - the dried up blood on the altar seems to try and respond, giving off the faintest pulses of feeble glow. (repost)
Ash nods the group to the south, waiting to take up the rear again.
Hesitantly, Isaiah reaches towards one of the glowing jars, her fingers curling around the glass. With a steady hand she gently lifts it up, then pulls it towards her, stealing it away and, after waiting for a time to see if there is any sort of negative reaction, she starts to guide it back south again towards the altar.
Bear narrows his gaze and keeps a close eye on those jars. Completely out of his element, he simply prepares to attack if anything nears the group.
Moving back into the room with the altar, Isaiah is slooooooowly carrying that jar. Elias, Victoria, Ash and Bear in tow. The altar pulses more strongly with light the closer it that the redheaded Reegan gets. Otherwise the place remains eerily silent. Slowly but surely with the door open, the chemical smell will begin to clear out.
OOC: Due to air ventillation, the Chemical danger has passed.
Isaiah is hesitant here, too, approaching the altar for the first time, slowly, listening to the pleading hum of the jar she carries in her hands. Perhaps it calls to her, too, and perhaps not, but if no one stops her here and now, she starts to pour the liquid over the altar, letting it dribble and ooze over the stone slowly, like pouring resin into a cast or mold. She does not remove her gas mask quite yet as the danger passes, too focused on her task at hand, trying not to spill and prepared to dodge backwards in case she has made a mistake in the moment.
When Isaiah goes to pour the blood on the alter, Elias's body language tenses, but is overall facial expressions are as good as stoic behind the mask he has been wearing for the entire evening. The dark haired man's fist clenches without a word as he observes.
Ash watches carefully, but says nothing, does nothing, after taking of their mask. They clearly don't desire for Isaiah to mess up.
Pouring the blood onto the altar, Isaiah will have the instinct to back up as the blood begins to glow with a much more intense version of that bloody red aura of light. It spreads around the altar, until small letters seem to stand out, glowing brighter or perhaps darker than than the rest. The altar hisses as if being eaten into by acid, and the sides of the altar have been given rivulets specifically to avoid it dripping off the side to impact the ground. Letters pulse. : K N R A O O A T
Pouring the blood onto the altar, Isaiah will have the instinct to back up as the blood begins to glow with a much more intense version of that bloody red aura of light. It spreads around the altar, until small letters seem to stand out, glowing brighter or perhaps darker than than the rest. The altar hisses as if being eaten into by acid, and the sides of the altar have been given rivulets specifically to avoid it dripping off the side to impact the ground. Letters pulse. : C N R A O O A T (Letter Fix for ease of Puzzle)
Ash murmurs, "Latin...."
"Who takes Latin?" Victoria wrinkles her nose, displeasure for the situation clear in her expression as she shakes her hair out after removing her mask. "It's most definitely not me." Her eyes study the letters as she traces a tongue along the edge of her teeth slowly.
OOC: Showstat Games if you got it.
"I mean, I dabble in Latin. It is not really a word I am familiar with in Latin though. It is likely a coded message." Elias says to Victoria with a faint shrug.
Ash closes their eyes for a moment before explaining, "As in, not Cyrillic, the Russian alphabet. It uses the alphabet that we do in English, the Latin alphabet."
Ash says "The other stuff was in Cyrillic."
Bear looks like he is just along for the ride at this point, not the least bit useful in any sort of intellectual pursuit. "Lemme know if we're smashin' anything."
Elias and Ash both seem to rummage their memories. Ash's skill is more in the puzzle aspect of it, sorting out the letters. Elias may have some interesting thoughts too, trying to rummage up reccolections of stories they've heard. Ash will beat them to it though, as something seems to click in their mind.
Grey eyes shift to Ash as they speak, though Victoria remains silent, brows knit together as she listens.
Ash points put letters in an order, looking over at Isaiah. C R O A T O A N
Bear ever the eye out for something choice as old habits die hard, he'll recall spotting something that might have looked like a false bottom on one of the many shelves back in the other room.
A heavy sigh can be heard through his mask as Elias asks, "What does that have to do with Nazis and Russians?"
Ash says "Maybe they didn't keep it here."
Meanwhile, the rest of them narrowly avoid a tremendous explosion as the blood slowly begins to coagulate.
as in one didn't happen sorry.
"Someone wanna translate that word?" Victoria asks, flicking a hand through her hair to push it back from her face.
OOC: In theory this whole place should be very much covered in like SS symbols or flags and so on - I just didn't want to get too horrible with the descriptions.
"It is an Indigenous word from a tribe on the East Coast. Watch more History's Mysteries." Elias says to Victoria with a grunt through is mask, "I can't remember what it means though."
"I'm all full on television, thanks," Victoria smirks to Elias. "We agree on one show, that's plenty."
Bear says "Hey, didn't get a chance to explore it before the lights went out, but thought one of the bottoms of the shelves looked suspicious."
Ash says "It's the name of a place. I don't want to talk about it here, though...."
Ash trails off to look to Bear, then looks to Isaiah, their fearless leader.
"...." Isaiah falls silent as she tries to piece together this puzzle, and those with the closest bond to her might notice she shrinks in on herself a bit, her silence now pointed rather than observant or thoughtful. Ash would notice first the way she goes stock still, then glances to Bear, eventually breaking her silence. "... A bottom shelf?" she asks him.
Isaiah says "A shelf /bottom/. What do you mean?"
Bear nods simply, "Yeah, was about to check it out, but those creepy fuckin' things made me not wanna' take a knee. And yeah, y'know. Like a false bottom? Shit we'd use for dead drops and shit, back in the day."
"Show me," Isaiah instructs Bear then, guiding him on the same, safe path they had tread before back into the northern room. "I have an idea. Hopefully this is what I think it is."
Ash drawls with a smirk and sense of humor, "Dead drops... that's sexy. Super spy!" They make fingerguns, because of course, spy means guns!
Bear lets his fingertip ignite with light for a brief moment, guiding the group's gaze to the illuminated shelf as he points. "That one there. See how its a little thicker than the others on bottom? Like its got a compartment the other shelves don't have."
Returning to the seconddary room, This room is more scientific. The equipment here, old and dusty and broken is research equipment. WW II era computers, notes and chalkboards. The place is filled with half-failured and near-successed for those with the knowledge and practice of the Arcane. The Nazis had come close a number of time, never quite putting all the puzzle pieces in place. Different cultures, ideaologies are represented across charts, diagrams, pictographs anything they could get there hands on.
Inspecting the shelf, it is indeed a false bottom. Removing it ... a keypad. And wouldn't you know it the keys are letters, not numbers.
Ash grins, moving forward to clap Bear on the back... then moving back. Keeping that space, you know. Gotta stay safe. All the love for Bear, of course! A thumbs up from a distance.
Ash will take pictures as soon as they are sure that it's safe for light again... maybe on their way out.
Victoria remains content to keep a quiet stance behind those inspecting the shelf, watching.
Slowly strolling around the room, casually looking at the failed experiences as he goes along, Elias notes aloud, "Isn't it interesting that whom dabble in melding the arcane with technology, their cultures never seem to thrive after they do that."
"I fucking knew it," Isaiah hisses out as she stands on her toes and smooches Bear right on his cheek. "You're a fucking genius, Bear," she applauds him, then dips down, her fingers dancing over the keypad and punching in: C R O A T O A N followed by the ENTER key with hopeful ease, eyes wide and filled with excited glee, like nothing could possibly go wrong for her in this moment.
Ash blinks at Elias before pointing out, "...we do that, no? White Oak certainly does."
Bear tilts his head, "I mean, Germany is still about. Just like, castrated and shit." He beams a little at the kiss on his cheek. "Aww, shucks."
A panel, long shut squeeeeals and SQUEAKS as it slowly rattles open, revealing a basement below.
"Oh, I am well aware. It does work well for a while, doesn't it?" Elias says to Ash as he turns his expressionless masked gaze over to the fae person, "Funny. Isn't the world supposed to end not far off? I wonder what kind of device will cause that." A touch of amusement is on his voice, even though it is muffled behind his mask to a degree. He turns back to watch Isaiah as she punches in the code.
And the steps lead into what can only be described as a lab that is perhaps more modern than one would expect. The machines here look like they might be from the 80's instead of the 30's and 40's now. This place is full of notebooks on the shelves, research cabinets full and full of files of the kind of thing that eventually leads to Eugenics and several of these carry stamps familiar. The SS logo and another, often rumored but never proven to be connected to the Uber Soldat research done by Hitler during the height of the war. It appears someone continued that research as far as perhaps the middle of the 19080's.
Ash chuckles, bickering quietly to add, "Right, and the empires and civilizations of the past all failed because they had futuristic technology with their magic? There's a clear line between what is tech and what isn't that delineates what can and cannot be mixed with magic? Or are these outdated notions of the traditions of how magic exists only in the past, and never the present... certainly not Hand propaganda to maintain the balance between the supernatural and the humans...."
Rather than snarky or upset, as their word choice might suggest, Ash is clearly pleased, warmth in their voice, unable to help enjoying the discussion despite the setting. "And yet, gods of the forge lead the way. White Oak has knowledge that's been born of centuries of work...." They eye the machines, but they are *certainly* no forge god, nor are they a tech baddie. Their argument is for the joy of debate, not a personal hangup to defend.
Bear shrugs lightly, "Should all just stop the tech and the magic. Winner take all with guns, knives and clubs. Way its intended."
"Oh? I have yet to see a satisfying technological device augmented with magic that was a vast improvement over one and the other. Instead, often it diminishes both." Elias says to Ash with a faint shrug as he lets himself carry on this conversation while looking over the room, "For example, firearms often have complications when they are in heavily magical saturated areas, electronics tend to be less reliable, and the sort. On the opposite end, when you have high EM fields, it tends to neutralize magic. Hence neutralizers and naturalizing tech. It is trying to blend water and oil and expecting a good result. Instead you get chaos."
"Hey." Victoria's words to the rest of the group are quiet, with subtle serious undertones. "Under the tarp, there's something." She takes a few steps, reaching fingers out to brush the tarp aside and reveal what's beneath.
Ash holds back their response as Victoria steps forward.
"Shush and start looking around- carefully," Isaiah instructs as everything starts to turn into debate rather than focusing on the mission. "Remember what you're looking for, careful what you touch, and grab some attention from the rest of the group if you find something," the young woman instructs as she trails through the place, head on a swivel with careful steps. It does seem disturbing to her how recently this place has been upgraded, but perhaps she considers it something to mull over later. Right now she has one goal in mind: Her demonic father's blood sample(s) being retrieved and in her hands. That takes precedence over all in her brain.
At Victoria's behest, Isaiah's attentions turn towards the tarp, and those same cautious steps carry her closer and closer, heel-toe in those boots as she checks for things such as pressure plates or trip wires in this aged, but somewhat modern, space.
Bear looks over the room, slow and careful, not really touching anything as he simply checks out the space. Isaiah's words return him to high alert.
Beneath the tarp, lies what appears to be a Fridge. Opening it will reveal that it too, WAS still running, though nobody did turn those light back on in the previous areas of the bunker. Cold air WOOSHES out, to reveal several samples of what look like now vials of blood in the medical sense. Many of them red, a couple of them a deeper, dark red. And one is inky black.
"Ugh," Victoria moves back when a wave of cold reaches her. "I think it's what you're looking for," Victoria says, fingers still on the door as she steps aside. She doesn't reach in, just takes a step in order to let Isaiah have a look, keeping the door open.
Around the rest of the room are a number of left-over things and potential objects and items of interest from back then. Items to be examined and found to have value. Old sawbucks from back in the War days. Intel that might fetch something at the Goblin market or to an old collector.
OOC: Thank you very much for participating in tonight's plot! As we finish up I will be heading people out and letting people Emote out to the finish and vanish! If you have award needs or etc. please prepare them as best you can for me when we get to doling those out.
Ash lifts their suggests, "I'm going to step upstairs and start a path. If you *carefully* spill some of the redder blood throughout this room... it should only take a spark when we're going through. Sound good, Miss Bossman?"
"Well, I suppose that is the sample you were looking for?" Elias asks Isaiah as he looks around at all the Nazi regalia, "I kinda want to torch this place, but it isn't really my skill set. What do you think Jayarr? Want to scorch this place?"
"I'll agree and add a third vote for destruction," Victoria frowns with a light shiver. "This outdoes anywhere else so far for creepiest spot we've been in."
Bear shrugs lightly, "Not my call. Its Jay's op, and her daddy's blood. Figure its her choice what we do with the place."
"Burn it the fuck down," Isaiah agrees with Ash and Elias as she takes up that vial of inky black in hand, marveling at it with wide, eager eyes. The possibilities, the success, the prize, they all wash over her emotions, her nostrils flare easily, breathing in the old, aged scent of the space as much as the vial, eager, antsy, and grinning in a manic fashion. "Fuck these Nazi pricks and their research.. My father is fucking toast," she decides, clasping the phial carefully betwixt fingers and palm as she starts for the door, grabbing a few extra receptacles of blood, popping their corks, and drizzling carefully a trail of that nasty demonborn blood behind her group as they head for the surface. Once they do, she waits patiently for Ash to create their path, a singsong voice calling out: "Shovellll! Be a Good Boy for me, won't you? Once we're gone... Just jump in that hole."
Bear moves quickly as he hurries out of the bunker, elbow bumping a couple jars of demon-hybrid things and letting them smash to the floor. Like a bull in a china shop, he barrels out of the bunker;\
Ash says "Bear! What the fuck - I'm pathing in here!"
Ash did not say that.
Ash rushes out, not able to hide a wistful look at the creatures in tanks. On their way out, though, they carefully do *not* jostle jars of organic explosives, having a desire to live. They let the professional (@jayarr) handle all of that, carefully stepping in existing footprints as they do. Though they may have grabbed a nice scalpel or something, they seem to be pouting too much to gather anything very valuable. Only once outside to they start their path.
Ash rushes out, not able to hide a wistful look at the creatures in tanks. On their way out, though, they carefully do *not* jostle jars of organic explosives, having a desire to live. They let the professional ( Isaiah ) handle all of that, carefully stepping in existing footprints as they do. Though they may have grabbed a nice scalpel or something, they seem to be pouting too much to gather anything very valuable. Only once outside to they start their path.
Perhaps agreeing with Ash without speaking a word, Elias gets out when the going is good, following Ash out of the bunker. Let the pyromancer do pyromancer things.
And so as the group prepares to leave, Isaiah summons her trustly little Shovel, a fire imp with the disposition to match his name. As they step into the path one by one by one ... as the last of them disappear there will be a loud KABOOM that comes from within the depths that rumbles the land. Then a landmine explodes, KABOOM! And nother, and another! But too little too late, tonight it's Bear that gets the prize for exceeding his own talents and expectations - and their foil's loss as tonight they've secured a powerful asset in the fight againstr Reegan Sr.
OOC: Alrighty! People Knows the Drill. Last Poses, stops and any rewards.
The team, a diverse assembly of individuals each with their own unique abilities, carefully maneuvers through the forest, wary of traps and remnants of war. Ash hands out gas masks, a necessity against the potentially toxic air within the bunker, and the group finds the entrance—a heavy iron door concealed beneath overgrowth.
As they descend into darkness, the bunker reveals its secrets. They find a lab from the 80s, rather than the 40s, filled with experiments and notebooks that indicate the continuation of the sinister Uber Soldat project long after the war's end. Isaiah, with determined fervor, locates a vial of inky black blood amidst several others within a cold storage unit beneath a tarp. This singular vial holds her father's demonic essence, the key to their mission's success.
Beyond the recovery of these samples, the group uncovers a shelf with a false bottom, revealing a keypad that responds to the entered code "CROATOAN," opening a path to even further depths. Though the bunker houses technological advancements mingled with the arcane, it becomes clear that such power only spells potential doom.
As they ready to leave, Isaiah decides the fate of the bunker—destruction, to erase the horrors that linger within its walls. With precise preparation, they set the stage for an infernal purge, a final act to obliterate the remnants of twisted experiments and dark research.
With Ash creating a Path for their escape, the team vacates the premises. No sooner have they stepped through the threshold than the bunker is consumed by a series of explosive reactions, set off by Isaiah's command to her fire imp, Shovel. An echoing boom signals the end of the bunker's legacy—a victory for the Forged Fortune, who walk away with the potent demon blood and a harrowing story etched into their memories.
This mission, marked by camaraderie, courage, and the confrontation of past evils, cements the resolve of the Forged Fortune. Their quest against the Eidolon, a step closer to resolution, leaves them battered but unbroken, ready for whatever lies ahead in their fight against the encroaching darkness.
(Blood In, Blood Out(SRLucas):SRLucas)
[Thu Oct 17 2024]
In Kabacki Forest
You stand in a tranquil clearing within a dense forest outside Warsaw, Poland. The trees are tall and imposing, forming a natural cathedral of intertwined branches overhead that cast cascading shadows on the forest floor. Underfoot, a carpet of moss and fallen leaves muffles your steps. The air is thick with the earthy scent of pine and damp soil. In the heart of this clearing, partially obscured by undergrowth, lies a hidden entrancea heavy iron door, rusted but resolute.
It is after dusk, about 61F(16C) degrees, There is a waning gibbous moon.
Ash says "That helmet covers gas, Elias?"
Turning his head to Ash, Elias speaks in a subdued tone as it travels through the mask, "Yes. It has multiple functions. But filtering air contaminants and gases are included in that."
Ash says "Then, I have an extra one - for Nico later, I suppose."
Bear grumbles, the sound muffled through his mask, "Never been outside the States before. Is Europe always cold as tits? Fuck, can barely breath in this thing!"
Bear grumbles to himself, "Some of us don't have fur on demand..."
"It is rather basics for anyone running operations when your likely foes are humans. They like to use technical such as tear gas to make up for their short comings. So you should be prepared with proper counter-measures. It is good that the Forged have masks." Elias states to someone, resting an idle hand on the hilt of his blade as he surveys his surroundings.
Ash says "Yeah, I loathe it. Everywhere is cold as Hel."
"It is rather basics for anyone running operations when your likely foes are humans. They like to use technical such as tear gas to make up for their short comings. So you should be prepared with proper counter-measures. It is good that the Forged have masks." Elias states to Ash, resting an idle hand on the hilt of his blade as he surveys his surroundings.
Ash nods seriously to Elias, as he speaks professionally.
SRLucas says "Do I have everyone"
Ash says "Yes, but Jayarr is afk for a short bit."
Isaiah says "Here. "
Bear brandishes his hammer, idly twirling the weapon in a meaty hand as he idles.
After purchasing documents and dossier from one Hiroshi Watanabe, Isaiah has obtained the location to the bunker that they have been searching for, after learning of potential samples left over after the second great War. Not just any samples. Samples of their progenitor, potent demon blood that could provide unlawful secrets and discoveries best left buried in the past. Obtaining these, may be the key to helping create specialized items or rituals in the pursuit of destroying the Eidilon that seeks to help them find their way to Godhood. With these, Regan senior could revitalize more of his true essence into the spirit form he's taken on.
OOC: Please pose your incoming emotes and so on! We will begin once everyone is 'Here'!
Bear curses softly as he suffers the effects of the cold in this forest. He yanks his jacket more firmly into place, breathing a bit labored in his gas mask. Goosebumps rise along his arms, but the man seems more concerned with getting the job done quickly and getting out of the chill than any danger he may have been warned about. Whether he's brave or oblivious would be for others to decide. "So, Nazis, huh? They the neo type, or are these like, vampire nazis from the actual war?"
Isaiah takes the fancy path, a blaze of glory as she arrives only a few feet away from the lid to the bunker below, her fingers linked with Bear's in a vice grip like she's tugging along a petulant child. Really, she just doesn't trust the big lug not to wander off the Path and get lost forever, so by the time the duo arrive here in Nazi Egypt, his fingers are likely either numb, or all the way purple. She only releases him when she's sure they are in the right spot, then pauses at his side- slightly behind him- as her pale blue eyes glance over the area. "Bear, be careful," she reminds him, her gas mask secured at her hip by a snap-off buckle for easy access. "Remember this is a fucking World War Two Nazi bunker, alright? There will definitely be gas, and trip wires, and potentially either false floors or false walls. Maybe even false ceilings. Just... Be careful with what you touch, okay?" A pause after this after she assesses the Appalachian man, and she tells him with great resolve in her voice, "I trust you. You're gonna do great. Just think before you act and you'll make it out in one piece. Remember, we're here looking for my father's blood- I can't remember if he was demonic by the time this happened or not, so it may be red... But most likely it is black."
A sudden, brief rise in the breeze in the immediate area accompanies the arrival of Victoria. She doesn't break her stride as she appears to step through air alone onto the ground, locks of hair blown about. As quickly as it arrived, it dies down and Victoria takes a few steps to the others with a nod of greeting, one hand smoothing her hair back into place.
Remaining quiet as the others talk around him, Elias just keeps scanning his surroundings quietly, watching for movement within the trees of the forest. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, his body language suggesting perhaps a touch of uneasiness.
Ash came in with a Path, arriving with a flourish before handing out masks, checking their equipment, and checking on each member of the group. They check, again and again, that they have bandages at the ready, before drawling, "Probably neo... let's hope neo. Buuuut, if not...." They wave a wooden stake that they have on hand. "I've been on a leech-squashing spree lately. I've still more to hunt, so call me Van Starling." They pat their bag before adding, "I have quartz, too, but unless it's used like a brick, I can only use it to channel prismatic or light energies... that really works bests on ghosts, not people, though."
As the group arrives, each in their own power the Forged Fortune have come together to deliver another telling blow to the spirit that they combat in their attempt to continue battling agaisnt the end of All Things. As Ash hands out gask masks to the others, the wind howls through the trees that surround them. They're out into the Kabacki Forest, thick trees that stretch for acres and acres on the outskirts of Warsaw. One of the first victories of the war as Nazi Germany opened the assault on what would become an attempt at world domination, it's no surprise that this relic of that historied past has been left here to rot, forgotten and shunned. Elias doesn't see much out here, but his eyes are hawk-sharp and he'll denote that the ground while normally even does occasionally seem to have small places where it is uneven. Bear and Victoria round up the group as they turn their attention to the task at hand. Off in the distance, the faint sight of something old and rusty can be seen barely poking from the overgrown underbrush and foliage that all but surrounds it,.
"Jay," Victoria nudges the redhead not too far from her, lips pursed as she silently extends a finger toward the odd thing in the foliage. "What the hell is that?" The words are a hiss, kept just loud enough to be heard by the parties they're intended for above the wind assaulting them through the trees.
Bear tightens his grip on his hammer as he advances towards that rusty point in the overgrowth. His gait is slower than average, keeping his gaze low to avoid the mentioned traps and trip-wires. He's not a perceptive fellow, so caution for him mostly involves other people in the group advancing first as he tries not to be blown up.
As everyone points, behold! It's the long-forgotten heavy iron door that sits there, almost completely overgrown by the plants and foliage surrounding it. (Feel free to look at the Iron Door)
Ash steps back from the grate, drawling, "I'll keep a look out... you'll be arcane lead here, Elias? For wards and shit? I'm the medic, I'll stay near the back. Sound good, Miss Bossman?" It's obvious that they're regretting their frail state, but they're trying to be more tactical about it than cowardly. They eye the area before drawling, "Be careful... the door's probably trapped."
"Neo-Nazis are a pale comparison to these fucks," Isaiah tells someone, the bearer of bad news tonight as she crouches down low, ticking her gaze in the direction that Victoria specifies, towards the underbrush, and then she creeps along. "Don't stay too close together," warns the Substitute Alpha. "If one of us gets blown up and we're packed in like sardines, we'll all fucking go," she hisses out through hushed, gritted teeth. Her keen eyes are peeled for danger in every direction as she keeps an arrow notched in her bow, but does not draw the string- one in the chamber, as it were. She pauses a foot or so away from the door, erring on the side of caution as she becomes even more weary, and only approaches the door after a thorough search of the area. If, and only if, it is safe, she starts to peel back the vines and gently scrape at the moss, attempting to get a good look at the locking mechanism they're dealing with here, and just how hard it will be to bust down. She'd test the lid a few times, braced for potential impact, and if nothing happens, she'll eventually stand and /pull/ with all of her might to try to brute force her way in.
"Neo-Nazis are a pale comparison to these fucks," Isaiah tells Ash, the bearer of bad news tonight as she crouches down low, ticking her gaze in the direction that Victoria specifies, towards the underbrush, and then she creeps along. "Don't stay too close together," warns the Substitute Alpha. "If one of us gets blown up and we're packed in like sardines, we'll all fucking go," she hisses out through hushed, gritted teeth. Her keen eyes are peeled for danger in every direction as she keeps an arrow notched in her bow, but does not draw the string- one in the chamber, as it were. She pauses a foot or so away from the door, erring on the side of caution as she becomes even more weary, and only approaches the door after a thorough search of the area. If, and only if, it is safe, she starts to peel back the vines and gently scrape at the moss, attempting to get a good look at the locking mechanism they're dealing with here, and just how hard it will be to bust down. She'd test the lid a few times, braced for potential impact, and if nothing happens, she'll eventually stand and /pull/ with all of her might to try to brute force her way in.
"Yes. I will watch for wards and traps." Elias says as his masked face looks up towards the sky, his index finger and thumb rubbing together for a moment before returning his attention back towards the door.""
"I swear, we need to go to somewhere pretty. Just once," Victoria sighs out. When Bear starts moving, she hangs back a moment, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth and seeming content to allow him to be the first to figure out if anything is going to explode. Keeping an eye on the door, she draws her bow into her hands and keeps a safe distance between, then suddenly stops. "Jay!" she barks as loudly as possible. "Don't put another foot on the ground. Stop!"
Isaiah freezes the moment she hears Victoria call her name.
Bear perks a brow, peering the door up and down, "I can pop most simple locks, but not sure if a door this old would be easy pickings or basically impossible." He follows in to inspect the door for possible weaknesses, though if he finds none, falling back on Isaiah's plan of brute force seems likely. He pauses as he hears Victoria call out, the urgency clear as he stays put.
Under Isaiah's foot, just brush the top is a buried mound of dirt. Suspicious.
"Uneven ground is not a good thing out here," Victoria frowns, a worried look cast to the almost hidden mound of dirt that Isaiah nearly stepped upon. She exhales slowly when Isaiah freezes and manages to avoid stepping down, the look of relief only momentary as she pauses to blink.
Nobody has heard a click.
Seemingly distracted for the moment, Elias snaps out of it as he looks towards the bunker door. He moves slowly towards it, noting, "It is important to remember, anything that seems unnatural is likely unnatural. Mined, trapped, and who knows what else this place has upon it." He states as he observes the door, reaching out slowly to touch the surface of the door, studying carefully the structure of the door and looking for hints of arcane enhancements or wards.
Isaiah slowly retracts her foot with sweat dripping down her brow like a leaky faucet when Victoria mentions a suspicious mound of dirt right beneath her foot. Her body is shivering, and yet the focus that she puts into moving her foot backwards until she is clear is as steady as a painter's hand. Her breath isn't held- it is breathed slowly and carefully, because the last thing you want to do is fucking faint when there are landmines involved. Once she's safe, she exhales slowly, murmuring, "Thanks, Vic... That almost cost me an arm and a leg..."
Victoria nods to Isaiah with a small smile.
Approaching the door, a couple of things can be determined quickly. It's heavy and made of old iron, before they really started using alloy. What Faeborn might call 'Cold Iron', and so even from a few feet Ash will instinctively know that they don't want to touch it. Elias doesn't find any sense of magic or warding on the bunker's door. If there was magic cast upon it, it's long since faded into nothing. As Bear inspects his options his assessment seems accurate. He sees the lock for what it is, and part of him feels like he MIGHT have the skill, but it would take every bit of his focus and a little luck besides. Heavy as all get out, any tugging at the door once it's determined safe to do won't budge for anyone of them. Isaiah may come the closest, causing the iron to groan and creak from the rust but it won't give.
"Wait a second..." Elias says as he looks up from the door, back over to Isaiah and Ash, "So, what did this thing store? You don't make a door like this unless you are trying to keep something out... Or in this case, keep something in. Do you know anything along those lines?"
From her position near the door, Victoria pauses to turn when Elias speaks, drawing eyes toward the area behind the group, and surrounding them to quickly scan for any potential threats before she turns her attention back to the matter at hand. Electing silence, her bow stays secure within her grasp, sharply pointed arrows ready as she subconsciously chews her lower lip in concentration.
Ash maintains their distance, for now, marking mentally where the mine was, and looking for similar things... but they don't move until the door is actually opened. They simply join Victoria in watching their surroundings.
Bear approaches the door, pulling out a set of locksmith tools from a large inner pock in his jacket. The delicate, precise devices look almost comical in those large, callused hand, but he handles them with a practiced skill, the ex-con clearly not unaccustomed to this side of criminality. He calls out to Isaiah as he sets to work, "Hey, Jay?! Lemme' get a little bit of fire near me while I work. Chill is makin' my fingers go number, and can't do gloves while I work with this."
And when Bear goes to work on the lock, Elias withdraws from the door, carefully stepping within his previous footprints, but putting himself some distance between himself and the door.
Isaiah steps aside to lean down by Bear, digging her fingers gently into his shoulders- kneading. A relaxing and thorough massage that sees waves of her own heat pulsing deep into his muscular tissue, and then into his bloodstream. His heart pumps that warmed blood throughout the man's body as she supplies the heat, and eventually it would reach his fingertips, too, increasing their temperature comfortably. "Keep going," she murmurs to him, keeping up that meticulous attention, firm but not jarring so that she does not disturb his work. "If that doesn't work... I am both fire and gasoline. I can make a small boom to bust us in," she whispers to the group as a whole, keeping her voice down in case any outsiders were creeping too close for comfort.
Elias seems to be wise this evening, sure to re-trace his steps. Bear begins to put tools to work, even though the lock may be just a little beyond his skill the man chooses to test himself against the lock which can't be faulted. While he waits for some light to work by, the rest will remain still as they wait and ensure they don't accidentally press upon any other hidden surprises as yet unfoundf. However, Elias also dnotes that those mounds and even points he'd spied before are easier to see now that they've almost stepped on one. He will be able to navigate the field without issue.
(OOC)Due to Elias' greater perception now that these have been identified he can help the rest navigate their locations. The Minefield is no longer Dangerous.
Ash drawls with a wince, glancing back to Isaiah before turning their head to keep looking, "That should be the last possible option. I'd rather someone nightmare in and look for a mirror. Or someone trying to squeeze through the gap as something small while the door is pulled as hard as it can. We cannot assume that the place is empty, or unobserved - a boom calls for danger."
Ash sends a little will o' wisp near the lock, just in case Bear can't see in the dark.
Bear narrows his eyes, keeping his full focus on the lock. That rush of warmth aids him considerably, large hands going from practiced to fluid. The lock is a challenge, but he seems the type to find the opposition invigorating, even with so many eyes upon him. The sound of a tumbler shifting audibly clinks, and the man goes very still. "Yeeeeesss..." His hand moves extremely carefully, and the sound of the lock yielding to him can be heard as the heavy iron door begins to creak in his direction, stray bits of rust rattling off the door, "Yes!" He quiets quickly, realizing he's being too loud, and stepping back to admire his work, riding the high of victory even over a door.
Ash smiles softly at Bear, murmuring, "Great job, Bear."
follow the spirit!
When pulled, the door will creak and groan more, rust giving way and flaking off. Vines ripping off and apart until it finally reveals the path that leads down and within its depths.
When everyone is following, done posing and or ready either follow up or move down! You can follow by using follow spirit
"Gas masks on. Now!" Isaiah calls out, pulling her mask from her hip, unsnapping it with a flick of her wrist and wquickly settling it over her mouth and nose before strapping it around her cranium. She does not breathe more than the faintest inhaled she had received through her nose. It's an immediate, urgent order barked, and once it's settled on her face, she calls out ,her voice muffled, "Do not breathe until the mask is secured properly and in place, and breathe slowly, even if it fucking burns, or you /will/ hyperventilate and pass out."
"Jesus," Victoria murmurs almost under her breath as she steps lightly down into the bunker. "Not sure I'd touch anything." Still, her gaze flits with curiosity along the items left behind. The vials, the equipment get a pause, but the papers and their symbols draw a more lingering glance. Absently, she pulls a mask over her face when Isaiah calls out.
Stepping down into the room, Isaiah's cautionary instincts kick in and on go the masks. The room is of course a mess, and the place has been ransacked at least once; probably during the height of the war. If this space weren't bad enough, more space looms in the darkness that isn't lit by the now open hatch door above.
OOC: If you have Education please Showstat.
OOC: If you speak Russian, please Showstat.
Bear winces as he enters, suddenly thankful for the presence of his gas mask. The smell of blood is heavy on the air, and as he descends into the bunker, that stained altar makes it quickly apparent why. He has no interest in any of the documentation littering the bunker, the large man mostly staying out of the way of the more expert occultists as he settles before the altar. He extends a hand, and lightly brushes the stone there, idle as he examines the room. "You guys hear that? Some shit is still runnin'."
While Bear is running hands along the altar, he can feel that the blood is thicker in some areas and others more thin. Before he realizes it, his hands are tracing strange letters, but definitely letters of some kind.
Bear blinks, peering at the altar. He closes his eyes a moment, and his hand illuminates from the palm, revealing the letters along the altar. He adjusts the brightness until its perfect along the material there, "You guys able to read this?"
Ash definitely had it off fo their face enough to breathe, not have been able to do so if they hadn't, until before they went in. They then adjust after arriving, according to Isaiah's instructions, holding their breath. Gooing over to her, taking footsteps already taken, Ash asks her to check that they're secured it properly.
Once that's done, they'd retrace those steps back to their spot. From there, they squat down, looking over the papers without picking them up, first. Best to be sure that they're not glued down, or otherwise indicative of a trap. They look over the books, trying not to wander, but eventually give into their biggest interest - the altar. They take careful steps in Bear's tracks over to it, looking it over carefully before bringing out their phone.
Ash uses Google Lens to scan the Cyrillic, able to translate it without needing reception.
Squinting, Elias keeps his gaze drifting off towards the north. He doesn't speak overly loud, but just loud enough for those nearby to hear, "Do you see that. I see something over there. It might be what we are looking for." The masked demigod suggests, raising his hand to point off towards the north.
"To answer your earlier question, in case you or anyone else missed it, we're looking for phials of blood. They should be black; they were pulled from one Isaiah Michael Reegan," Isaiah calls out just loud enough to be heard. "Be very careful with them- the blood inside is that of a DemiDemon, so they will be volatile and highly explosive. No fire, no sparks, and really any intense amount of heat should be avoided," the femme fatale lists off as she creeps carefully through the space, letting the professional Arcanists handle what she cannot; instead she does what she /can/ do, which is going around, starting with Ash, ensuring everyone's mask is properly secured onto their heads. At Elias's behest, she looks north once she's made her rounds, tapping Bear on the shoulder and slowly, carefully moving in that direction. "Bear, Vic, on me," she instructs, her footsteps cautious, checking the strength of each piece of flooring she walks on, eyes peeled for wires, for anything in her path that seems even remotely out of the ordinary.
Ash reads it out loud, taking care, though in a hushed tone, "It's a quote from Gregori. The last sentence says, 'Embrace the darkness, for it is there that the secrets of the universe whisper their forbidden knowledge.'" They wait a moment, glancing at the others. They nod to Elias, though they drawl, "I don't, but thank you. The first sentence says, 'In the shadows of the soul, where light dares not tread, lies the truth of our existence.' So, no light, Bear. I hope you have the senses to make up for it."
Nodding her head once, Victoria moves with gentle, cautious steps behind Isaiah, her lower lip caught between her teeth as her eyes narrow with a glance ahead of them. Her head tilts back as she hears someone' statement and she gives a soft, measured exhale.
Nodding her head once, Victoria moves with gentle, cautious steps behind Isaiah, her lower lip caught between her teeth as her eyes narrow with a glance ahead of them. Her head tilts back as she hears Ash's statement and she gives a soft, measured exhale.
Bear closes his fist, the gesture seeming to let him turn off the light he's emanating, nodding firmly in someone' direction at the advice. He falls in behind Jay when commanded, keeping his eyes peeled for danger. His hand rests on his hammer as he walks forward, the tension in his arm hinting at his readiness to lash out if something approaches.
Bear closes his fist, the gesture seeming to let him turn off the light he's emanating, nodding firmly in Ash's direction at the advice. He falls in behind Jay when commanded, keeping his eyes peeled for danger. His hand rests on his hammer as he walks forward, the tension in his arm hinting at his readiness to lash out if something approaches.
Ash pauses a beat, then drawls, after thinking about it, "Ra- ra- Grigori Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen... and rumored Necromancer. Anyone watch Anastasia?"
Bear quietly intones, his accent making the impression terrible, "Come my minions, rise for your master..."
Strolling in casually after Isaiah, Victoria, and Bear take point into the room. Elias lets his gaze slowly drift around the room to inspect anything of interest that stands out to him and anything that would likely pose a threat.
Behind her mask, Victoria's eyes widen larger than they normally do at the sight of the next part of the bunker, and she turns to regard the new space with concern and caution. Her usual silence follows as she glances between the others as they wander in.
"Don't tap on the glass," Isaiah warns those around her as she slowly, carefully wanders past the experiments suspended in half-life or in death. "We don't want to risk these fucks still being alive... And hungry." That being said, each boot step is careful not to crunch glass, and if it does, to either withdraw quickly or push down slow enough to make the noise nearly imperceptible. "I'm surprised this place still has any power left.. I heard a humming in the other room- must be some kind of generator, so it's either solar powered, running on the remnants of a battery, or someone is keeping that puppy alive. Be on alert," she murmurs to the assembled Forged Fortune.
Bear can't see very well as he descends deeper into the bunker, but the sickly hues of the substances around him and the footsteps of his allies allow him to orient himself. His gaze lingers primarily on those glass jars, eyeing those horrific hybrids with a disgusted expression. "What kinda' battery would last the better part of a century?"
Those with Occult knowledge will recognize the signs of blood magic when they see it. Or the attempts at it, at the very least. The jars here are filled with red, viscous fluid that's still very much liquid. The fluid is remeniscient of the fluids spilled across the altar in the first room. The lights above and overhead still flicker ominously, and while they cast shadow they're certainly not the in the heart of darkness are they? The group continues to meddle out what their next move is, and once more that strong smell may encouragte them to drop the masks down onto their faces for protection.
Ash suggests softly, "Lights off?" They look over the blood and the scientific tools and instruments. To the wolves and bears, they point out, "The blood magic here is not fully released... or this blood would have dried. Careful, now." They shift closer to the jars, looking over them carefully.
"Turn out the lights," Isaiah murmurs, her voice still muffled through her mask as she casts her eyes overhead, narrowing them at the flickering lights. Those masked baby blues start scanning the walls and terminals for switches or levers, careful to steer clear of the magic shit that she, for one, finds distasteful- and for two, well, she gave up her pursuit of the arcane intricacies when she chose to strengthen her Wolf. She has no business here; but she at least has the awareness of mind to recognize as much. "Careful," she echoes Ash's sentiment afterwards, still stepping slowly and carefully.
Victoria turns to regard the walls, a soft, slight snarl of unease leaving her as she glances about the room to find whatever controls the lights.
Careful examination of the background of the walls and surrounding mechanics of the bunker will eventually reveal a large lever-switch of its day. No sign of the generator or power sources it's connected to, but throwing the bracket, Isaiah will shut down all of the lights in the place. Pitch black surrounds everyone.
Bear tenses, hand tightening on his weapon's hilt as he's surrounded in darkness.
As the lights come off, the jars begin to glow more seriously and this is what caught Elias' eye. They light up the space in their own way, casting a bloody light. It's the only thing to see by, but to the south - the dried up blood on the altar seems to try and respond, giving off the faintest pulses of feeble glow.
Isaiah's blue eyes take on a naturally red metallic sheen from her demonic bloodline as she scans the room with eyes built for this darkness; to stalk it as a Wolf, or to stalk it as a hellish horror bent on inflicting agony in its prey. Either way, the darkness seems to make her more predatory now, and even the slightest movement in the pitch black causes her eyes to dart in that direction, friend or foe, ready to spring and pounce and gnash and tear and devour. She watches the glow, but she does not touch- only stalking a feral circle around the space; around her companions, too, as she observes them in silence.
Several blinks adjust Victoria's eyes easily to the darkness once the lights are off, and her fingers tighten around her bow. Her posture is indicative of a keen sense of distaste, and though it seems like she wants to recoil, she remains close by Isaiah, though staying out of the way of her pacing.
As the lights come off, the jars begin to glow more seriously and this is what caught Elias' eye. They light up the space in their own way, casting a bloody light. It's the only thing to see by, but to the south - the dried up blood on the altar seems to try and respond, giving off the faintest pulses of feeble glow. (repost)
Ash nods the group to the south, waiting to take up the rear again.
Hesitantly, Isaiah reaches towards one of the glowing jars, her fingers curling around the glass. With a steady hand she gently lifts it up, then pulls it towards her, stealing it away and, after waiting for a time to see if there is any sort of negative reaction, she starts to guide it back south again towards the altar.
Bear narrows his gaze and keeps a close eye on those jars. Completely out of his element, he simply prepares to attack if anything nears the group.
Moving back into the room with the altar, Isaiah is slooooooowly carrying that jar. Elias, Victoria, Ash and Bear in tow. The altar pulses more strongly with light the closer it that the redheaded Reegan gets. Otherwise the place remains eerily silent. Slowly but surely with the door open, the chemical smell will begin to clear out.
OOC: Due to air ventillation, the Chemical danger has passed.
Isaiah is hesitant here, too, approaching the altar for the first time, slowly, listening to the pleading hum of the jar she carries in her hands. Perhaps it calls to her, too, and perhaps not, but if no one stops her here and now, she starts to pour the liquid over the altar, letting it dribble and ooze over the stone slowly, like pouring resin into a cast or mold. She does not remove her gas mask quite yet as the danger passes, too focused on her task at hand, trying not to spill and prepared to dodge backwards in case she has made a mistake in the moment.
When Isaiah goes to pour the blood on the alter, Elias's body language tenses, but is overall facial expressions are as good as stoic behind the mask he has been wearing for the entire evening. The dark haired man's fist clenches without a word as he observes.
Ash watches carefully, but says nothing, does nothing, after taking of their mask. They clearly don't desire for Isaiah to mess up.
Pouring the blood onto the altar, Isaiah will have the instinct to back up as the blood begins to glow with a much more intense version of that bloody red aura of light. It spreads around the altar, until small letters seem to stand out, glowing brighter or perhaps darker than than the rest. The altar hisses as if being eaten into by acid, and the sides of the altar have been given rivulets specifically to avoid it dripping off the side to impact the ground. Letters pulse. : K N R A O O A T
Pouring the blood onto the altar, Isaiah will have the instinct to back up as the blood begins to glow with a much more intense version of that bloody red aura of light. It spreads around the altar, until small letters seem to stand out, glowing brighter or perhaps darker than than the rest. The altar hisses as if being eaten into by acid, and the sides of the altar have been given rivulets specifically to avoid it dripping off the side to impact the ground. Letters pulse. : C N R A O O A T (Letter Fix for ease of Puzzle)
Ash murmurs, "Latin...."
"Who takes Latin?" Victoria wrinkles her nose, displeasure for the situation clear in her expression as she shakes her hair out after removing her mask. "It's most definitely not me." Her eyes study the letters as she traces a tongue along the edge of her teeth slowly.
OOC: Showstat Games if you got it.
"I mean, I dabble in Latin. It is not really a word I am familiar with in Latin though. It is likely a coded message." Elias says to Victoria with a faint shrug.
Ash closes their eyes for a moment before explaining, "As in, not Cyrillic, the Russian alphabet. It uses the alphabet that we do in English, the Latin alphabet."
Ash says "The other stuff was in Cyrillic."
Bear looks like he is just along for the ride at this point, not the least bit useful in any sort of intellectual pursuit. "Lemme know if we're smashin' anything."
Elias and Ash both seem to rummage their memories. Ash's skill is more in the puzzle aspect of it, sorting out the letters. Elias may have some interesting thoughts too, trying to rummage up reccolections of stories they've heard. Ash will beat them to it though, as something seems to click in their mind.
Grey eyes shift to Ash as they speak, though Victoria remains silent, brows knit together as she listens.
Ash points put letters in an order, looking over at Isaiah. C R O A T O A N
Bear ever the eye out for something choice as old habits die hard, he'll recall spotting something that might have looked like a false bottom on one of the many shelves back in the other room.
A heavy sigh can be heard through his mask as Elias asks, "What does that have to do with Nazis and Russians?"
Ash says "Maybe they didn't keep it here."
Meanwhile, the rest of them narrowly avoid a tremendous explosion as the blood slowly begins to coagulate.
as in one didn't happen sorry.
"Someone wanna translate that word?" Victoria asks, flicking a hand through her hair to push it back from her face.
OOC: In theory this whole place should be very much covered in like SS symbols or flags and so on - I just didn't want to get too horrible with the descriptions.
"It is an Indigenous word from a tribe on the East Coast. Watch more History's Mysteries." Elias says to Victoria with a grunt through is mask, "I can't remember what it means though."
"I'm all full on television, thanks," Victoria smirks to Elias. "We agree on one show, that's plenty."
Bear says "Hey, didn't get a chance to explore it before the lights went out, but thought one of the bottoms of the shelves looked suspicious."
Ash says "It's the name of a place. I don't want to talk about it here, though...."
Ash trails off to look to Bear, then looks to Isaiah, their fearless leader.
"...." Isaiah falls silent as she tries to piece together this puzzle, and those with the closest bond to her might notice she shrinks in on herself a bit, her silence now pointed rather than observant or thoughtful. Ash would notice first the way she goes stock still, then glances to Bear, eventually breaking her silence. "... A bottom shelf?" she asks him.
Isaiah says "A shelf /bottom/. What do you mean?"
Bear nods simply, "Yeah, was about to check it out, but those creepy fuckin' things made me not wanna' take a knee. And yeah, y'know. Like a false bottom? Shit we'd use for dead drops and shit, back in the day."
"Show me," Isaiah instructs Bear then, guiding him on the same, safe path they had tread before back into the northern room. "I have an idea. Hopefully this is what I think it is."
Ash drawls with a smirk and sense of humor, "Dead drops... that's sexy. Super spy!" They make fingerguns, because of course, spy means guns!
Bear lets his fingertip ignite with light for a brief moment, guiding the group's gaze to the illuminated shelf as he points. "That one there. See how its a little thicker than the others on bottom? Like its got a compartment the other shelves don't have."
Returning to the seconddary room, This room is more scientific. The equipment here, old and dusty and broken is research equipment. WW II era computers, notes and chalkboards. The place is filled with half-failured and near-successed for those with the knowledge and practice of the Arcane. The Nazis had come close a number of time, never quite putting all the puzzle pieces in place. Different cultures, ideaologies are represented across charts, diagrams, pictographs anything they could get there hands on.
Inspecting the shelf, it is indeed a false bottom. Removing it ... a keypad. And wouldn't you know it the keys are letters, not numbers.
Ash grins, moving forward to clap Bear on the back... then moving back. Keeping that space, you know. Gotta stay safe. All the love for Bear, of course! A thumbs up from a distance.
Ash will take pictures as soon as they are sure that it's safe for light again... maybe on their way out.
Victoria remains content to keep a quiet stance behind those inspecting the shelf, watching.
Slowly strolling around the room, casually looking at the failed experiences as he goes along, Elias notes aloud, "Isn't it interesting that whom dabble in melding the arcane with technology, their cultures never seem to thrive after they do that."
"I fucking knew it," Isaiah hisses out as she stands on her toes and smooches Bear right on his cheek. "You're a fucking genius, Bear," she applauds him, then dips down, her fingers dancing over the keypad and punching in: C R O A T O A N followed by the ENTER key with hopeful ease, eyes wide and filled with excited glee, like nothing could possibly go wrong for her in this moment.
Ash blinks at Elias before pointing out, "...we do that, no? White Oak certainly does."
Bear tilts his head, "I mean, Germany is still about. Just like, castrated and shit." He beams a little at the kiss on his cheek. "Aww, shucks."
A panel, long shut squeeeeals and SQUEAKS as it slowly rattles open, revealing a basement below.
"Oh, I am well aware. It does work well for a while, doesn't it?" Elias says to Ash as he turns his expressionless masked gaze over to the fae person, "Funny. Isn't the world supposed to end not far off? I wonder what kind of device will cause that." A touch of amusement is on his voice, even though it is muffled behind his mask to a degree. He turns back to watch Isaiah as she punches in the code.
And the steps lead into what can only be described as a lab that is perhaps more modern than one would expect. The machines here look like they might be from the 80's instead of the 30's and 40's now. This place is full of notebooks on the shelves, research cabinets full and full of files of the kind of thing that eventually leads to Eugenics and several of these carry stamps familiar. The SS logo and another, often rumored but never proven to be connected to the Uber Soldat research done by Hitler during the height of the war. It appears someone continued that research as far as perhaps the middle of the 19080's.
Ash chuckles, bickering quietly to add, "Right, and the empires and civilizations of the past all failed because they had futuristic technology with their magic? There's a clear line between what is tech and what isn't that delineates what can and cannot be mixed with magic? Or are these outdated notions of the traditions of how magic exists only in the past, and never the present... certainly not Hand propaganda to maintain the balance between the supernatural and the humans...."
Rather than snarky or upset, as their word choice might suggest, Ash is clearly pleased, warmth in their voice, unable to help enjoying the discussion despite the setting. "And yet, gods of the forge lead the way. White Oak has knowledge that's been born of centuries of work...." They eye the machines, but they are *certainly* no forge god, nor are they a tech baddie. Their argument is for the joy of debate, not a personal hangup to defend.
Bear shrugs lightly, "Should all just stop the tech and the magic. Winner take all with guns, knives and clubs. Way its intended."
"Oh? I have yet to see a satisfying technological device augmented with magic that was a vast improvement over one and the other. Instead, often it diminishes both." Elias says to Ash with a faint shrug as he lets himself carry on this conversation while looking over the room, "For example, firearms often have complications when they are in heavily magical saturated areas, electronics tend to be less reliable, and the sort. On the opposite end, when you have high EM fields, it tends to neutralize magic. Hence neutralizers and naturalizing tech. It is trying to blend water and oil and expecting a good result. Instead you get chaos."
"Hey." Victoria's words to the rest of the group are quiet, with subtle serious undertones. "Under the tarp, there's something." She takes a few steps, reaching fingers out to brush the tarp aside and reveal what's beneath.
Ash holds back their response as Victoria steps forward.
"Shush and start looking around- carefully," Isaiah instructs as everything starts to turn into debate rather than focusing on the mission. "Remember what you're looking for, careful what you touch, and grab some attention from the rest of the group if you find something," the young woman instructs as she trails through the place, head on a swivel with careful steps. It does seem disturbing to her how recently this place has been upgraded, but perhaps she considers it something to mull over later. Right now she has one goal in mind: Her demonic father's blood sample(s) being retrieved and in her hands. That takes precedence over all in her brain.
At Victoria's behest, Isaiah's attentions turn towards the tarp, and those same cautious steps carry her closer and closer, heel-toe in those boots as she checks for things such as pressure plates or trip wires in this aged, but somewhat modern, space.
Bear looks over the room, slow and careful, not really touching anything as he simply checks out the space. Isaiah's words return him to high alert.
Beneath the tarp, lies what appears to be a Fridge. Opening it will reveal that it too, WAS still running, though nobody did turn those light back on in the previous areas of the bunker. Cold air WOOSHES out, to reveal several samples of what look like now vials of blood in the medical sense. Many of them red, a couple of them a deeper, dark red. And one is inky black.
"Ugh," Victoria moves back when a wave of cold reaches her. "I think it's what you're looking for," Victoria says, fingers still on the door as she steps aside. She doesn't reach in, just takes a step in order to let Isaiah have a look, keeping the door open.
Around the rest of the room are a number of left-over things and potential objects and items of interest from back then. Items to be examined and found to have value. Old sawbucks from back in the War days. Intel that might fetch something at the Goblin market or to an old collector.
OOC: Thank you very much for participating in tonight's plot! As we finish up I will be heading people out and letting people Emote out to the finish and vanish! If you have award needs or etc. please prepare them as best you can for me when we get to doling those out.
Ash lifts their suggests, "I'm going to step upstairs and start a path. If you *carefully* spill some of the redder blood throughout this room... it should only take a spark when we're going through. Sound good, Miss Bossman?"
"Well, I suppose that is the sample you were looking for?" Elias asks Isaiah as he looks around at all the Nazi regalia, "I kinda want to torch this place, but it isn't really my skill set. What do you think Jayarr? Want to scorch this place?"
"I'll agree and add a third vote for destruction," Victoria frowns with a light shiver. "This outdoes anywhere else so far for creepiest spot we've been in."
Bear shrugs lightly, "Not my call. Its Jay's op, and her daddy's blood. Figure its her choice what we do with the place."
"Burn it the fuck down," Isaiah agrees with Ash and Elias as she takes up that vial of inky black in hand, marveling at it with wide, eager eyes. The possibilities, the success, the prize, they all wash over her emotions, her nostrils flare easily, breathing in the old, aged scent of the space as much as the vial, eager, antsy, and grinning in a manic fashion. "Fuck these Nazi pricks and their research.. My father is fucking toast," she decides, clasping the phial carefully betwixt fingers and palm as she starts for the door, grabbing a few extra receptacles of blood, popping their corks, and drizzling carefully a trail of that nasty demonborn blood behind her group as they head for the surface. Once they do, she waits patiently for Ash to create their path, a singsong voice calling out: "Shovellll! Be a Good Boy for me, won't you? Once we're gone... Just jump in that hole."
Bear moves quickly as he hurries out of the bunker, elbow bumping a couple jars of demon-hybrid things and letting them smash to the floor. Like a bull in a china shop, he barrels out of the bunker;\
Ash says "Bear! What the fuck - I'm pathing in here!"
Ash did not say that.
Ash rushes out, not able to hide a wistful look at the creatures in tanks. On their way out, though, they carefully do *not* jostle jars of organic explosives, having a desire to live. They let the professional (@jayarr) handle all of that, carefully stepping in existing footprints as they do. Though they may have grabbed a nice scalpel or something, they seem to be pouting too much to gather anything very valuable. Only once outside to they start their path.
Ash rushes out, not able to hide a wistful look at the creatures in tanks. On their way out, though, they carefully do *not* jostle jars of organic explosives, having a desire to live. They let the professional ( Isaiah ) handle all of that, carefully stepping in existing footprints as they do. Though they may have grabbed a nice scalpel or something, they seem to be pouting too much to gather anything very valuable. Only once outside to they start their path.
Perhaps agreeing with Ash without speaking a word, Elias gets out when the going is good, following Ash out of the bunker. Let the pyromancer do pyromancer things.
And so as the group prepares to leave, Isaiah summons her trustly little Shovel, a fire imp with the disposition to match his name. As they step into the path one by one by one ... as the last of them disappear there will be a loud KABOOM that comes from within the depths that rumbles the land. Then a landmine explodes, KABOOM! And nother, and another! But too little too late, tonight it's Bear that gets the prize for exceeding his own talents and expectations - and their foil's loss as tonight they've secured a powerful asset in the fight againstr Reegan Sr.
OOC: Alrighty! People Knows the Drill. Last Poses, stops and any rewards.