[Day 2, Night - A House South of Town]

[direstnews]

[Written into the ground alongside one of the houses to the south of town tonight are a series of strange letters, forming a rough circle near the wall. A figure of approximately Loki's build, not there during the day's exploration, leans against the wall at the corner. The door to the house is open.]

[Some hours after the sudden switch from day to night, Loki stands in front of the door, a candle before him, a kitchen knife in one hand and a spoon in the other. He checks the mirror set carefully in the darkness, nothing yet visible in its surface. Then he strikes the knife with the spoon's handle, and he holds his breath - and he waits.]

Comments

[tonewlengths]

[Also arriving at the side--

What the hell]

[12npcs]

[The roof bends precariously under the cyborg's weight. However.. from above, Raiden gets an view of the scene unfolding below.

Whatever it was searching for in the ground, Loki's curious gaze only spots it rising from between the vines and sloughing over the form of the gardener and her daughter...

The beast beats once, and then twice against the glowing, cross shaped barrier that materialized in front of it and then with an enormous heave, clockwork hands curl around the edges of it, and sizzling, rips it apart.

It surges forward, limbs dragging it towards the assembled group at uncanny speed.]

[atacarme]

[anyone near her will hear a few murmured words on her lips before she kneels down and slams her hands against the ground.

A pure wall of fire shoots up in front of the beast only a beat after that]

[12npcs]

[The beast rears back, startled by the fire... The flames obscure your vision ...

Something black arcs up OVER the wall and rushes down at you from above.]

[atacarme]

[she glances up and curses - that barrier didn't work, so this is going to be all combat, isn't it.

Leaping back, she shouts out another string of words, and throws her hand up; a bolt of lightning shoots down from the sky, right at the black figure]

[soul_sister]

[Immediately fires at it, the area lighting up under the pure white blast.]

[overclocking]

[Of course it's never that easy.

Backpedals as the barrier dies and everyone else attacks, reaching for his blades.]

[12npcs]

[It's head turns towards the pair of them as Rosette fires. It moves with uncanny speed and the bulk of it flattens to the ground as the alchemized bullet rips through anything left above.]

[soul_sister]

Dammit! [She shoves her handgun into its holster at her belt and reaches back.]

Sacred! We've got to pin it somehow!

[direstnews]

[Waits a beat, and then another to make sure he has a safe distance - and then darts toward the place in the ground, taking just a second to see if it was the place from earlier, where they'd dug up the head.]

[If it wants whatever's there, maybe whatever's there can be used to get its attention- keep it distracted.]

[12npcs]

[It is, in fact mostly sitting in the selfsame garden- In fact, a portion of it remains there, flattening as a holy blast rips the top off of it... the other surges upward, pouring over magical flames to rush at the half elf behind them.]

[direstnews]

[...come on, lower half. I know you want to move so I can get in there.]

[allsneakandnoplay]

[whaaaat the hell.

switches his vision to infared to see if it gives him any new information, ready to leap in the instant it gets through that flame wall and hits his fellow kidnapees, but for now, staying out of sight, watching it for battle patterns, poised.]

[12npcs]

[Under your gaze, the warm mass seems to divide, half sinking below a flash of gunfire from the nun.. the other surging up over the fire barrier...]

[allsneakandnoplay]

... [FLICKS BACK TO NORMAL TO SEE WHAT THAT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE]

[charmed_life]

[Dodge roll to the side]

[Close range fighting is gonna be tough with this one. Maybe if she can get around behind somehow...]

[12npcs]

[Its attention seems to split between the nun and the half-elf...

The body divides with that attention...]

[charmed_life]

[Well, no time like the present!]

[Here we go, making a circle wide enough to get around behind]

[tonewlengths]

[I have a feeling I am out of my depth here.

Diving to the side, oh god Loki what are you doing over there]

[direstnews]

[Trying to sneak into a firefight without getting killed, apparently.]

[tearsinnajar]

[Gun drawn and arriving on the scene a bit late, Elena quickly comes to the conclusion that this is more than she was expecting when she dashed out of the Inn.]

—Oh shit! What is that thing!?

[12npcs]

[It turns towards your voice, its mass gathering around its head.]

[assworthsaving]

[Not on his watch! Drake hardly has time to react or make a stupid joke before the thing is turning on Elena. He fires a shot at it, trying to get its attention.]

Over here, asshole!

[beeductionist]

[ oh wow. Sherlock is way towards the back of the group, given his lack of fighting prowess, but that doesn't stop him from staring at the creature, transfixed. ]

[soul_sister]

[There doesn't seem to be any one way it attacks. Some times it leaps and crawls, other it moves just like liquid. Most of the time, it keeps to some twisted, mocking shape of a humanoid, wearing all the doll parts its gathering.

It isn't until Loki offers up a particularly, strangely defined and worked torso, still covered in dirt, that most of the remaining pieces are distracted enough for finishing blows to be struck.]