Slavegear - Part 2

"SHIT" she yelled and tried to grab her sword, but remembered she didn't have it anymore. She hissed and started a spell.

"What do we do now?"

// Hey guys, if anyone's coming for cards against humanity, the website is up:

https://pyx-2.pretendyoure.xyz/zy/game.jsp#game=149

The password is: idkcats123

We're starting soon and will be playing for about an hour or two. Feel free to join in if you can

(Moon, Tarmikos)


The shriek of the guard in front of you, deafens you for a moment, as the lightning strikes his armor. Visible injuries opened up all over his body, but as the lightning hit, his armor emitted a bright glow, absorbing a small fraction of the attack.

You've seen this before. The Artemis soldiers at the Dusan village wore the same thing.

The soldier in front of you exhaled, his eyes wide open and staring in horror, directly ahead. He crumbled to the ground, barely alive and paralyzed from the pain.




"BASTARD!" One of the other guards screamed. You saw his hands light up with telekinesis. The next second, a large statue smashes over your head, from your blind side.
The force of the impact was brutal. Your vision blurred and turned dark as you fall flat on the ground. The statue heavily landing on your left arm and rolling off to the grass.

Before you black out, you heard a bone break in your left arm.




Johan slowly lowered and sat on the ground. His eyes blankly staring into space and quickly loosing touch with reality, as he began to rock back and forth. You've seen this before, it was combat shock.
He remained sitting on the ground, non responsive and catatonic.



The other guard lit up his hand with telekinesis and his stun baton hit Moon in the back. Electricity pulsed through you, making your muscles spasm. You see the ground quickly approach, as you fall to the ground.





The next several minutes went through in a haze. Half conscious, you remember being dragged off somewhere, through numerous doors and long hallways, until your carelessly made to sit in a chair and violently tied up with chains.

The footsteps of the soldiers seem to indicate that they left the room.

Several more moments pass in a half conscious haze, before your vision slowly started to clear, and you could look around again.




You seem to be inside a small, featureless room with no furniture. The paint on the walls began to peal off in several places, but judging by the bizarrely decorated columns in the corners, it could be assumed that you're somewhere inside the mansion.

You appear to be sitting on two metal chairs, your arms and legs tied painfully hard with chains. The shock from being stunned still hadn't wore off and you feel you can barely move, without feeling severe spikes of pain.

You both seem to be sitting, facing an empty wall. The only door to the room must be behind you.

In front of you, is Johan. Also tied to the chair and positioned to face you. He seems to be conscious, faintly moving his head to look at the floor. A fresh bruise is seen on his forehead.



Its was quiet.

(Twilight, Wyvern, Radiance, V'tara, Derpy)


"Its the truth" Kaylee heavily sighed and looked at Radiance: "We don't have anyone in our group who's even remotely close to her skill level, of martial arts"

She looked at Twilight and Wyvern: "To achieve such level of skill and technique, a certain level of general physical fitness is required. I've never seen Harlequin, but I believe its safe to assume that she's considerably strong, fast and physically fit.

I wouldn't want to get hit by her punch" She rubbed her eyes for a moment, fatigue visibly showing in her body language, before she looked at everyone:



"...please. Whatever happens, do not attempt to fight her. You will loose.
Magic attacks seem like a logical choice against her, but she has been doing this job for a long time. She must have developed some way to avoid being hit by magic. Otherwise she would've been caught by now.

I don't know if she's just really fast and moves out of the way before spell hits, or if she only strikes from the shadows, or only attacks from our blind side, but, I know that she went largely unchallenged for years.

There's only a handful of martial artists I know, that could possibly stand up to her, but none of them are in Nyx, and none are in a position to help us right now.
At this time, all we can do is, try our best to avoid combat with her, and pray she's here as a detective, to investigate what happened with Slavegear.

...but if she came here as an assassin.. " Kaylee nervously rubbed her fingers and zoned out for a moment. Then slightly jolted, looked at you and awkwardly nodded:

"We should go"




She began walking toward the mansions main entrance, slightly limping because of the prosthetic.
At the entrance you notice a soldier in body armor and a butler, checking everyone's invitations and waving them through.
For some bizarre reason, the soldier was wearing dark sunglasses in the dead of night. As Kaylee approached, the butler pulled out a handheld metal detector and the soldier called out:

"Please present your invitations" he said in a bored monotone: "Is anyone carrying weapons or magical artifacts?"

(Rain)


As you continue to watch the maid, nothing really seems out of place. She slowly drifted around the ballroom, presenting appetizers to the guests, nodding and smiling.

Its only after several minutes of carefully watching her, you notice that she's methodically scanning the room. It was very subtle, but she was carefully looking at the face of each guest, before moving on.
It seems as if she was methodically looking for someone.


A few moments later, you heard Dr. Zarovee loudly introduce himself to someone. The maid didn't even looking in his direction and drifted right passed him, continuing to carefully scan the guests in the room.








(Alphonse)

A horrified looking butler materialized next to you after a moment:

"By god sir, what are you doing!?"

Radiance chuckled at the blind spot comment then nodded to Kaylee, ready to head in. Radiance held out his invitation for the butler to see then responded to the guard

"Not today sir"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Twilight, Wyvern, Radiance, V'tara, Derpy)


"Its the truth" Kaylee heavily sighed and looked at Radiance: "We don't have anyone in our group who's even remotely close to her skill level, of martial arts"

She looked at Twilight and Wyvern: "To achieve such level of skill and technique, a certain level of general physical fitness is required. I've never seen Harlequin, but I believe its safe to assume that she's considerably strong, fast and physically fit.

I wouldn't want to get hit by her punch" She rubbed her eyes for a moment, fatigue visibly showing in her body language, before she looked at everyone:



"...please. Whatever happens, do not attempt to fight her. You will loose.
Magic attacks seem like a logical choice against her, but she has been doing this job for a long time. She must have developed some way to avoid being hit by magic. Otherwise she would've been caught by now.

I don't know if she's just really fast and moves out of the way before spell hits, or if she only strikes from the shadows, or only attacks from our blind side, but, I know that she went largely unchallenged for years.

There's only a handful of martial artists I know, that could possibly stand up to her, but none of them are in Nyx, and none are in a position to help us right now.
At this time, all we can do is, try our best to avoid combat with her, and pray she's here as a detective, to investigate what happened with Slavegear.

...but if she came here as an assassin.. " Kaylee nervously rubbed her fingers and zoned out for a moment. Then slightly jolted, looked at you and awkwardly nodded:

"We should go"




She began walking toward the mansions main entrance, slightly limping because of the prosthetic.
At the entrance you notice a soldier in body armor and a butler, checking everyone's invitations and waving them through.
For some bizarre reason, the soldier was wearing dark sunglasses in the dead of night. As Kaylee approached, the butler pulled out a handheld metal detector and the soldier called out:

"Please present your invitations" he said in a bored monotone: "Is anyone carrying weapons or magical artifacts?"

"No weapons, no magical artefacts" Lord Diedrick Muller replies to the soldier.

(Twilight, Wyvern, Radiance, V'tara, Derpy)


The butler began waving his metal detector around you, then waved you to go through a walkthrough detector, that seems to have strange glowing symbols carved into it.
"Please proceed through the magical artifacts detector, then turn right at the hall and you'll see the main ball room. Have a good evening Mr. Weber, Mr. Muller"



Kaylee awkwardly came closer and the butler began waving his metal detector around her. It suddenly emitted a sharp, annoying beep, when the butler waved it next to Kaylee's foot:

"Alright, what's going on down there!" the soldier called out.

"Oh uhm.. its an artificial leg" Kaylee said, awkwardly smiling.

"Oh jeez, sorry ma'am, go through, just go through" the soldier began immediately waving her inside.

"Are.. are you sure?" Kaylee asked, slightly confused: "..don't you wonna check? There might be a knife"

"No, just go ma'am, just go" The soldier nervously waved her inside, with the look on his face that said, he doesn't care if the mansion falls down, he doesn't want to offend a spastic.




Kaylee drifted inside with an ill hidden smirk and waited for everyone to gather again:

"..alright. Our items should be in some sort of storage room. We can try to get them now, or head to the ballroom first to locate Dr. Zaroove"

https://youtu.be/83wor-pnZtk?t=6m57s

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Twilight, Wyvern, Radiance, V'tara, Derpy)


The butler began waving his metal detector around you, then waved you to go through a walkthrough detector, that seems to have strange glowing symbols carved into it.
"Please proceed through the magical artifacts detector, then turn right at the hall and you'll see the main ball room. Have a good evening Mr. Weber, Mr. Muller"



Kaylee awkwardly came closer and the butler began waving his metal detector around her. It suddenly emitted a sharp, annoying beep, when the butler waved it next to Kaylee's foot:

"Alright, what's going on down there!" the soldier called out.

"Oh uhm.. its an artificial leg" Kaylee said, awkwardly smiling.

"Oh jeez, sorry ma'am, go through, just go through" the soldier began immediately waving her inside.

"Are.. are you sure?" Kaylee asked, slightly confused: "..don't you wonna check? There might be a knife"

"No, just go ma'am, just go" The soldier nervously waved her inside, with the look on his face that said, he doesn't care if the mansion falls down, he doesn't want to offend a spastic.




Kaylee drifted inside with an ill hidden smirk and waited for everyone to gather again:

"..alright. Our items should be in some sort of storage room. We can try to get them now, or head to the ballroom first to locate Dr. Zaroove"

"Well, there are less people here now, so i think we should get them now" Lord Diedrick Muller suggests "The later we leave it, the more people there will be to see us leave."

Moon looked around, trying to move before wincing in pain. She then yelled "OH FOR FUCKS SAKE"

She noticed Johan and frowned "You ok? And I definitely owe you a violin for this." She tried to yank her arm free but ended up screaming in pain.

Twilight shows the invitation, making a dismissive noise. After going through the scanner, she enters as well. She looks around, acting ridicilously snooty.

"Hmph, I suppose it can pass for a party location. Although they let filthy peasants in."
At that line, she tosses a glance to Al, who's being himself.

(Al)
"I'm watering the plants, what does it look like?"

(Twilight, Wyvern, Radiance, V'tara, Derpy)


Kaylee motioned everyone to follow and began making her way through the halls, subtly scanning the area. As you pass somewhere near the main ballroom, the live orchestra and singing could be faintly heard from the stage.

Kaylee froze up for a moment, seemingly thinking, then shook her head and pressed on.
A lot of batpony butlers and maids pass by you, on their way to the ballroom, carrying all manner of exotic dishes and drinks.

The mansion quickly proved to be a maze of hallways and doors. Kaylee began to look slightly hopeless, when she suddenly jolted and pointed at a far off set of doors, with the 'Storage' sign over them.

"..there..." she whispered: "..hopefully that's where the Serpent statue will be. Our.. items.. should be stored at the base of the statue, inside a hidden compartment. If only we could-"

She stopped talking, as she noticed a lone guard in body armor and dark sunglasses, casually patrolling next to the door.
The guard looks bored out of his mind, dragging his feet and barely paying attention to the surrounding area. But he still carried a stun baton on his belt and an impressing sword on his back.

He seems to be mingling next to the storage room.
The general area around him, seems to become crowded from time to time, as a butler or guest walk by every few moments.










(Moon, Tarmikos)


"Moon!" Johan screamed out with worry: "I'm.. fine. Please, don't worry about me"
He's looking at Moon with concern: "...they.. tied these chains pretty hard... I can't move at all. Please, don't hurt yourself trying to get free, it looked like they hit you pretty badly"

The general area around the room seemed quiet. After several moments, it became apparent that Johan is deliberately avoiding eye contact with Tarmikos, preferring to look anywhere else around the room.

Moon immediately stopped trying to free herself and looked around as if trying to find a way to escape. "I-I need to get out. T-they can't take me away......t-they might send me back there...." she shuddered and looked down to the ground.

(Alphonse)

"I say sir!" The butler looks like he's about to explode: "This is highly inappropriate behavior!
The Ball of Sanja is an extremely formal event! And your general.. attire... is rather lacking and less than satisfactory!
And appropriating exotic dishes with such.. crude manners.. is inappropriate and reflects poorly on our establishment!

Please act responsibly!"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Twilight, Wyvern, Radiance, V'tara, Derpy)


Kaylee motioned everyone to follow and began making her way through the halls, subtly scanning the area. As you pass somewhere near the main ballroom, the live orchestra and singing could be faintly heard from the stage.

Kaylee froze up for a moment, seemingly thinking, then shook her head and pressed on.
A lot of batpony butlers and maids pass by you, on their way to the ballroom, carrying all manner of exotic dishes and drinks.

The mansion quickly proved to be a maze of hallways and doors. Kaylee began to look slightly hopeless, when she suddenly jolted and pointed at a far off set of doors, with the 'Storage' sign over them.

"..there..." she whispered: "..hopefully that's where the Serpent statue will be. Our.. items.. should be stored at the base of the statue, inside a hidden compartment. If only we could-"

She stopped talking, as she noticed a lone guard in body armor and dark sunglasses, casually patrolling next to the door.
The guard looks bored out of his mind, dragging his feet and barely paying attention to the surrounding area. But he still carried a stun baton on his belt and an impressing sword on his back.

He seems to be mingling next to the storage room.
The general area around him, seems to become crowded from time to time, as a butler or guest walk by every few moments.










(Moon, Tarmikos)


"Moon!" Johan screamed out with worry: "I'm.. fine. Please, don't worry about me"
He's looking at Moon with concern: "...they.. tied these chains pretty hard... I can't move at all. Please, don't hurt yourself trying to get free, it looked like they hit you pretty badly"

The general area around the room seemed quiet. After several moments, it became apparent that Johan is deliberately avoiding eye contact with Tarmikos, preferring to look anywhere else around the room.

"What do you suggest we do?" Lord Diedrick Muller asks the group "There would be too many witnesses if we had a confrontation now..."

"I'll go mingle with the crowd a bit," Radiance suggests "see if I can't learn anything useful from the guests here." He turns and walks casually into the group of people standing around seemingly melding into the crowd. As he walks he scans the area with his hearing.


Tarmikos' eyes open finally as he gains consciousness. He glances at Johan giving him something of an off-putting smile. Not a word escapes from his mouth. Instead, he just stares at Johan for a few moments then closes his eyes again. The smile never leaving.

(Moon, Tarmikos)

"...you lied to me" Johan quietly said, after Tarmikos smiled. He was looking off to the side somewhere, avoiding eye contact.



(Twilight, Wyvern, V'tara, Derpy)

"Maybe we can distract him somehow.." Kaylee said, nervously shuffling her feet: "Maybe.. we can talk to him and.. make him leave his post somehow"

"We, we all need to figure out a way to get out. Because you two don't want to be in prison, and I don't want to get sent back to the asylum or executed." she frowned.

(Moon, Tarmikos, Johan) there's almost a blinding lightbas a figure walks into the room. It stands in the middle of all three of you, as the light dissapears you gaze apon the one and only... Firewing, she was wearing a holy looking heavy armor, a massive golden sword with engravings all down the blade was strapped to her back, her mane seems to be a little longer then before... Though... One look at her face shows she's not very happy... A long sigh escapes her, you all can see her shake her head in dissapointnent. Walking up to Tarmikos, she looks him in the eyes, "what were you thinking?"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Moon, Tarmikos)

"...you lied to me" Johan quietly said, after Tarmikos smiled. He was looking off to the side somewhere, avoiding eye contact.



(Twilight, Wyvern, V'tara, Derpy)

"Maybe we can distract him somehow.." Kaylee said, nervously shuffling her feet: "Maybe.. we can talk to him and.. make him leave his post somehow"

"Possibly" Lord Diedrick Muller replies to Kaylee "But what could we say?"

(Radiance)

You're hearing is assaulted with a cacophony of voices and sounds for several moments, until everything began to slowly clear and come through.




You could hear dozens of conversations around you, dozens of people moving around, talking and laughing. A live orchestra played in the ball room. A lone mare sang from the stage.

Off in the corner of the room, you heard the name Dr. Zarovee mentioned several dozen times and a cheerful laughter. A group of several elderly men and women were standing there, loudly talking.
And around them, making a perfect perimeter, stood half a dozen hulking ponies, unmoving like statues.

On the other side of the room, you could hear the soldiers quietly talking into their radios about an attempted break in, somewhere in the garden.
The replies in the radio's were hard to hear. As you strain to separate the radio sounds from the voices of the guests, another voice suddenly comes through.





There was a mare, talking to someone, on the other side of the room. It took you several moments to piece together that she was a maid, as she offered several appetizers to several guests. After doing so for a while, she moved off to the side, away from the crowd, and you could clearly hear a tiny ear piece radio, click in her ear.

'Any sing of Kaylee?' someone asked the maid through her ear piece radio.

"No" the maid quietly whispered: "This was a bad idea. There's too much security. We should scrap the operation"

'No!' someone barked at her through the radio: 'We've lost too much time already! She will be here, I know it! Just.. keep looking.
You're doing good. We're fine.
No one knows what we're doing'

"Copy" the maid whispered, then cheerfully greeted someone, offering him another appetizer.

"F-fire?" she mumbled and tried to yank her arm free again, with just made her emit a cry of pain. "Nice to see ya, when you'r not telling me to kill myself."

"Who has time to think anymore?" Tarmikos chuckles "All we've done is act, all we are is an act, so why not continue to do so." he then speaks to Johan "Everything is a lie"


Radiance makes a mental note of the conversation keeping an ear out for where the maid is headed. He directs his walking path so that he's always close by but never appearing to be following. He does, however, direct the majority of his attention towards the guards. Trying to pick out what exactly happened.

"SHUT YOUR FACE" she yelled at Tarmikos "You're a selfish, reckless moron who could get us all killed."