/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>192577
Silver nods in agreement. "It is good idea to have me liason with him, since I am only one who speaks Severyanan."

>>192557
Cavaliere returns to where the survivors are holed up, scientist in tow. There he waits.

One last attempt:

>>192572
"I have not given up yet...!" Posey glowers as her eyes light up with an oppressive golden glow and her horn charges with power. Grass withers away to dust beneath her hooves as her body overflows with entropy.
Leveraging her powers as an experienced exorcist, Posey attempts a ritual to force the haunting presence, if it exists, to reveal itself. She traces the leigh lines in all four compas axis before sitting down and chant an unintelligible mantra, her eyes rolling back into her head as she throws her neck back repeatedly. She mane stands on end as she surges with power and chants for a full minute:
"Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!
Contra obsecro hoc spirituum justa ad faciendam voluntatem meam!"

She takes 10 on her religion check, easily succeeding outside of combat.

Her eyes snap back to reality, filled with commanding conviction.
"Barley Corn, forgotten child. Reveal yourself to me, I command you!"

>>192587
>>192582
>>192576
Black Heel is the first to go to the door. He knocks on the door with his hoof,

"Товарищи? Товарищи? Моряки СНС «Кострома»? Вы меня слышите? Это политкомиссар Блэк Хил. Я вернулся." - "Comrades? Comrades? Sailors of the SNS 'Kostroma'? Can you hear me? This is Political Commissar Black Heel. I have returned."

From inside, unintelligible responses. Blackheel places his ear by the cracks. He has a conversation with the ponies, with one half of the conversation not easily understood:
"Это я, ты, онемевший череп. Да, они выжили. Главным образом. Да, мы видели их через дорогу. Грустно, но не удивительно. Помощь, кажется, пришла. Наши отношения с силами помощи сложные. Выходите сюда, мы стреляем пулями в голову этой проклятой туши кита." - "It's me, you numb skull. Yes, they survived. Mainly. Yes, we saw them across the street. Sad, but not surprising. Help seems to have come. Our relationship with the relief forces is complicated. Come out here, we're firing bullets into the head of that damned whale carcass."

>>192574
Kira looks inside to see three friendly looking ponies. They say something in a foreign language, then back up in a defensive position. They are obviously confused as to where this mare comes from, why she is in the window, and why she has slit-eyes.

>>192574
Mala accepts the hug. He looks up towards Silver, and says "Visibility is low. But I think the noose is tightening." his ears go down. "We need to leave."

I take it that my exorcism attempt didn't work?
>>192592
"We need to find the airpony."

>>192591
Kira waves to the ponies, not understanding what they're saying but still replying to them. "Hello new friends! I'm with them!" She points towards the door as she says this, hoping the point is gotten across.

Silver pets Mala between his ears. He trots up to the door Black Heel is at and gives it a knock. "Вы готовы переломить ситуацию или нет?"

>>192594
>Вы готовы переломить ситуацию или нет?
"Да, но... Почему в окне странная кобыла? Она машет нам." Silver hears a voice replying

>>192595
The strange mare continues smiling and waving at the creatures.

Silver: "Кто? Ах, Кира. Она с нами, не беспокойтесь о её... странностях. Она одна из хороших."

>>192591
Are the various other ponies and griffons unattended at this time aside from Cavaliere? If not, Cavaliere will make another check to track for the airpony. Do any village buildings remain unsearched?
[1d20+3 = (12+3) = 15]

>>192596
The pony replies,
"Хорошо, но кто ты?"
"Okay, but who are you?"

Blackheel responds, despite that line probably being directed at Silver
"Ты чертовски хорошо знаешь, кто я"
"You know damn well who I am!"

He responds,
"Да, но ты можешь быть марионеткой Чернобога, как тот гиппогриф"
"Yes, but you could be a puppet of Chernobog, like that Hippogriff"

>>192597
Yes, houses down the line, and a few buildings beyond the main hamlet.

>>192598
Then Cavaliere cannot leave them and stays on guard. He hopes the other party members have the wherewithal to look for that missing airpony.

>>192598
Silver:
"Ложь и хитрость — это не совсем методы Чернобога. Если бы мы были одержимы им, мы бы прямо сейчас пытались убедить вас «закрыть глаза»."

>>192599
>>192598
Posey systemically searches all of the remaining buildings.

Do I need to roll something to search the remaining buildings, or can I just take 10 on my perception?

>>192602
Rolling is objectively more fun

>>192603
Okay. Hopefully I find him this time.

Spot:
[1d20+3 = (6+3) = 9]
Listen:
[1d20+3 = (18+3) = 21]
Search:
[1d20+3 = (18+3) = 21]
Survival:
[1d20+1 = (9+1) = 10]
Religion (still trying to make the ghost reveal himself):
[1d20+14 = (12+14) = 26]

>>192600
The pony responds,
"Я верю, что это правда"
"I suppose that is true"

Blackheel, however, knocks his hoof on the door, and yells
"Поторопись, у нас мало времени. Чем дольше это существо остаётся на Земле, тем сильнее оно становится."
"Hurry up, we have little time. The longer this creature stays on Earth, the stronger it becomes."

"Ладно, ладно"
"Okay Okay."
There is some sound of something being moved behind the door, and especially, a sliding across the floor.

Black Heel:
"Поторопись, поторопись, пока я не послал за тобой жёлтого."
"Hurry, hurry, before I send the yellow one after you"

Reply,
"Я двигаюсь, я двигаюсь."
"I am moving, I am moving."

The door is opened, clearly only after a desk
Silver sees a dishevelled tan pony, evidently an earth pony wearing a tin foil hat and with tired eyes, opening the door. Behind him is a dark brown earth pony with a white stripe running across his face. he wears a white cap, though there is foil underneath it. Limping out is a grey pegasus pony with clearly injured wings, who turns around to wave at Kira before leaving the room.

>>192599
Much of the group is huddled in the road in the center of the town, with airponies and the griffins keeping a further distance than the Kostroma survivors. Mala has returned here, keeping up the rear guard. Everyone is uneasy and tries to huddle close to structures.

>>192605
Is Posey able to find the airpony?

>>192604
Posey doesn't see much. Something does seem to move in the distance, but that could as easily be a shrub in the wind, or a thin spot in the clouds letting in moon light, before being blown along by the wind.

Posey hears Blackheel yelling, a couple of the rescued ponies whispering among themselves. Far away, and carried along the wind, she hears the sound of ponies talking to each other. She hears the sound of what is likely a step, of plants being moved aside, somewhere in front. She hears the up and down of a diesel engine humming in the harbor. And she hears that "ting" of a tinnitus sound, soon drowned out by that seashell sound of everything together at once.

Past the big buildings are houses. Looking inside, some has cracked foundations. Some have no floors at all. Posey sees a can of tuna randomly open, and on a floor. She sees a plant growing in one. A few empty bottles in another. Cartridge cases lying on the ground. A bird nest. And then in one, at the far end of the room, under a shadow, a pony up against a wall, head tilted down and covered by a helmet. He wears a uniform that is presumably some kind of shade of green under the light - hard to say in the darkness. He has no nearby weapon, his fur must be a very light color like white or light grey, and he has a few spots of blood near him.

>>192605
Silver looks at the injured pegasus, and holds them up a moment with a hoof. "Вы ранены. Позвольте мне осмотреть вас, у меня есть некоторая медицинская подготовка, полученная в армии."

>>192609
The pony stops, and allows Silver to examine him

>>192610
Heal: Silver carefully inspects the pony's wings to diagnose the injuries, and responds accordingly as best as he is able.

[1d20+5 = (6+5) = 11]

>>192611
He is bruised, having possibly been thrown, or fallen. But his wings, or at least, his right wing, is outright broken

>>192612
Silver sees if he can scavenge up some wood and cloth strips to make a splint for the pony's wing. As he does so, he asks the pegasus, "Как тебя зовут?"

>>192608
Posey swiftly moves over to the pony.
"Are you alright? Can you hear me?" She asks, assessing the pony's injuries

>>192608
Is the pony alive? Does his uniform resemble the airpony's?
Posey determines the severity of the pony's injuries before contemplating whether or not to drag him out.

"I found another one! Get me Dust in here!" she calls out behind her

>>192605
Cavaliere tries to herd the entourage into buildings that aren't in danger of collapse and that don't contain bodies or rotting objects. He puts the Stalliongraders into one house and the airponies and griffons into another.

"We'll be getting a move on soon. Stay warm while you can."

>>192613
"Сокровище сохранено" - "Treasure Kept" the pegasus replies. he allows Silver to place the splint on him, though he flinches the first time the wing is touched.

>>192614
>>192616
>>192617
The pony's head tilts up towards Posey, eyes open, and irises not possible to distinguish from the pupil. Posey does not care to distinguish the nuances of the New Mareland Naval Air service uniform versus, say, Stalliongradian Naval Infantry or Anti-Aircraft uniforms, nor does her dark vision provide much ability to distinguish colors, but posey can safely determine that the pony is wearing a green colored uniform, and therefore is not Stallingradian Merchant Marine or Science crew. The pony does not speak aloud.

>>192617
Though dealing with the various rescued creatures has so far been like herding cats, the creatures are cooperative in this venture. They clearly prefer to be inside.

>>192618
Is Dust on his way? Cavaliere might want to go help if he isn't.

He looks off to Posey's direction, then to Mala with a calm expression. "You have been doing the best job of any of us guarding these creatures. I should go see what she has found. Keep them together, but let them leave the buildings if something approaches. Send them down the street to the rest of us to regroup."

>>192618
As their eyes meet, Posey immediately attempts to charm the pony with her gaze
DC 19 Will
"You are going to be alright. Captain Waters sent me." She says, softly
"Can you stand?"

>>192618
Silver gives the pony's shoulder a pat. "С тобой все будет хорошо, Сокровище. Ты единственная, кто остался? Кто-нибудь еще выжил?"

>>192618
>>192620
I may as well follow this up with a Diplomacy check
[1d20+10 = (6+10) = 16]

>>192618
Is the pony able to speak at all? Does he make any sounds?

>>192626
>>192630
>>192620
No reply. Posey believes the pony is looking at her, though she has not seen it blink, and the irises are not distinct from the pupils. Posey has indeed made eye contact, as best as she can tell

>>192621
"Я знаю, что нас трое прятались здесь, но кто ещё? Нас атаковали, и мы спрятались здесь. Нам пришлось забаррикадироваться. Эти существа всё продолжали приходить..." - "I know us three hid here, but who else? We were overrun, and hid in here. We had to barricade ourselves. Those things kept coming..."

>>192631
"Buck...!" Posey curses
"Stay with me. I will get you to the medic." she says, hauling the pony onto her floating disk that is technically still active.

Idk when Dust's player will be back, but I guess I could try to see if I could try to counteract any ongoing mental effects
Posey draws her talisman and waves it back and fourth in front of the pony's eyes.
"Snap out of it! You are do close, you cannot give up now."
Hypnosis
[1d20+9 = (11+9) = 20]

>>192631
Silver: "Какие именно "вещи"? Он призывает множество новых монстров."

>>192633
"Он выглядел как краб или паук. И там были эти летающие насекомые. Более того, все это... должно быть демонами, вызванными из Тартара. И к тому же, сверху были куклы." - "It looked like a crab or a spider. And there were these flying insects. Moreover, all of this... must be demons summoned from Tartarus. And then, on top of that, there were the puppets."

>>192634
Posey drags the pony she found back to the rest of the group.
"I found a live one, but he is unresponsive."

>>192634
Silver shakes his head at the description. "Я даже представить себе не могу, какие чудовища он там выдумывает. Все его творения похожи на попытку описать какое-либо существо человеку, у которого нет никаких точек отсчета." He looks over at the other survivors. "Думаете, монстры ушли?"

>>192635
Kira slithers over, and looms her pony half over the unresponsive pony, suspended in the air by the shear strength of her snake half on the ground. "Helllllllllllllllllllllllllo? New friend? Are you okay? Traveller got your tongue or something?"

She flicks her tongue out at the pony.

>>192636
A different pony replies
"Они перестали нас искать. Мы слышим выстрелы и взрывы. Думаю, это как-то с этим связано." - "They have stopped looking for us. We have been hearing gunshots and explosions. I think it has something to do with that."

>>192635
>>192632
Posey may relish not needing the light to see, but something is lost to the darkness. The nuances of color, like the difference between olive and forest green in uniforms, or the difference between brown eyes or straight up black or even lighter colors, is not so easily seen in the pure darkness. Posey stares into his eyes, and she thinks she sees something black. She thinks she sees a reflection, or rather, a series of smaller reflections, in his eyes. Little sparkles in his eyes, as if photopsia were not merely experiences but manifest physically and could be seen by others. But maybe it isn't, maybe it's simply the darkness staring back.

As Posey tries to pick him up, there is a resistance. Likely he or his clothing is caught onto something, or he's heavier than anticipated, or he does not want to move. There is still no vocalized response.

>>192636
Kira looks into the house to see... Darkness. Almost complete darkness. Outside, though the clouds hide most of the light of the waning gibbous moon and the stars, some light still peers through. But inside of the house, so far from what light shines through the open doorway, the pony sits in darkness, even as Kira would be comparatively lit. Certainly Kira does not hear the customary screaming heard when usually encountering new friends. Kira thinks that she can see the silhouetted outline of a friend-shape wearing a cap (possibly it's a food shape, but more likely a friend shape), but even this she cannot be sure of. Does she actually see him, or is it power of suggestion?

But Kira can smell him. That's the decided smell of friendship, with a small amount of cordite. And blood. That sweat, sweat small of pony blood. It isn't especially fresh, shed perhaps an hour or so before.

>>192619
Mala smiles, and his tail sways
"Yes, yes. I will keep them in line in the buildings." Mala moves to push his automatic shotgun forward to a ready position and then moves back to herd the ponies.

>>192637
Silver nods. "На остров прибыл спецназ. Они нас не слушают, боюсь, им приказано устранить всех свидетелей. А ещё мы взорвали дирижабль."

Kira gasps Blood and friendship means hurt ponies, or worse! She flicks her tongue again, trying to find where the hurt ponies are as she lets her other senses guide her.

>>192637
>She thinks she sees a reflection, or rather, a series of smaller reflections, in his eyes.
Oh buck, is he a changeling?
Posey switches on her flashlight and examines closely.

She also searches for any dog tag on him.

>>192637
Cavaliere arrives.

"You found another pony? What's his condition?" he asks. Within the confines of the building he also uses his flashlight to look the pony over.

Are we able to discern any information about this new pony?

>>192639
>>192657
His clouded grey fur is not matted, unmoisted by the rain, but in a few areas it does stick together, presumably from blood from some small wounds, covered by the fur. His wings are mostly close to his body, but slightly open, especially the right wing, which hangs slightly, and it's lowest feathers touch the ground. His head tilts up and towards Posey. In the light of the flashlight she can see the edges of golden irises, oddly darkened along with his eye whites. Posey can see reflections of white flitter all along his eyes, snowing like detritus on the ocean floor. The dog tag is still on his neck. It reads "Холодный ветер" - "Cold Wind." Rank of Private.

Small, black tendrils, a bit wider than a hair, hang behind the back like the roots of a plant hung from the ceiling in hole-lined pot. They begin to move. Posey isn't sure that she sees his mouth open, but she certainly hears what is said. Everyone in the room hears what he says. A chorus of voices addresses Posey

"Ты всего лишь голем одного мага, сделанный из плоти. Что ты можешь противопоставить коллективной воле и самой истории?"
"Olet vain velhojen golem, tehty lihasta. Mitä voit tehdä kollektiivista tahtoa ja historiaa itseään vastaan?"
"Du bist nur ein Golem eines Magiers, aus Fleisch gemacht. Was kannst du gegen den kollektiven Willen und die Geschichte selbst ausrichten?"
"You are but a single magician's flesh golem. What can you do against the general will, and against history itself?"

And then the next words are addressed towards Cavaliere and Kira, signified by the pony's darkened eyes looking up and over Posey, past her to the other creatures.

"Еще не поздно. Вы можете стать частью чего-то большего, чего-то, что продолжает существовать и существовало на протяжении долгого времени."
"Ei ole liian myöhäistä. Voit tulla osaksi jotain suurempaa, jotain, mikä kestää ja on kestänyt."
"Es ist nicht zu spät. Du kannst Teil von etwas Größerem werden, etwas, das Bestand hat und Bestand hatte.
"It is not too late. You can become part of something bigger, something that endures and has endured."

>>192661
Kira recoils slightly, her pony half moving back while her snake have stays in place. Though it's hard to see in the darkness, she looks at the pony with eyes widened in fear, her mouth turned down in a grimace.

"Ha-have you thought about not being so creepy? Like, maybe you'd have an easier convincing creatures to go along with this if you acted more...normal?"

>>192661
Cavaliere holds a talon close to his hip as he stares intensely at the possessed pony. His eyes are narrowed, and he does not look away.

"How long has he been in this room? Is he some sort of experiment of yours now?"

>>192662
"Понимай и не бойся того, что чуждо. Ты должен знать это лучше всех, Кубана Кирафика
"Ymmärrä, äläkä pelkää sitä, mikä on vierasta. Sinun tulisi tuntea se paremmin kuin kukaan, Kubana Kirafiki"
"Verstehe und fürchte nicht das, was fremd ist. Du solltest es besser kennen als jeder andere, Kubana Kirafiki."
"Understand, and do not fear that which is alien. You should know it better than anyone, Kubana Kirafiki."

>>192663
The light of the flashlight does not bring much clarity to the form of those root-like tendrils that creepy out behind the pegasus. They move slowly, side to side, like worms exposed to the air, and they are such an oily black that they reflect almost no light. The pegasus leans forward, likely pushed by the tendrils.

"Совсем немного времени. Час, сорок девять минут, пятьдесят три секунды — так бы вы это назвали."
"Ei lainkaan aikaa. Yksi tunti, neljäkymmentäyhdeksän minuuttia, viisikymmentäkolme sekuntia, niin sitä kutsuisit."
"Gar keine Zeit. Eine Stunde, neunundvierzig Minuten, dreiundfünfzig Sekunden, würdest du es nennen."
"No time at all. One hour, forty nine minutes, fifty three seconds, you would call it."

>>192664
Now the grimace is replaced with a scrunchy snoot. "Yeah, but it's not like I wanna control ponies' minds and bodies, I wanna have them figure out that lamias are good on their own by doing good deeds!"

>>192668
Kira: "I don't know about weak and lonely. I mean, us lamias are pretty strong. And if you were in my mind you'd realize that it's not really all that lonely in there. Like, do you know how us lamias work? It's...actually not that different from you in ways."

>>192661
>Small, black tendrils, a bit wider than a hair, hang behind the back like the roots of a plant hung from the ceiling in hole-lined pot
Posey scrunches in disgust and draws her sword
"This one is too far gone. Mental depravity has given way to physical corruption. I have seen this sort of corruption before. The writhing tendrils along his spinal column are likely only the metastasized appendages of a much deeper growth. It would be merciful to destroy it now." she says, lowering her sword
>>192669
"You should not speak to it directly. It is baiting you, and it will drive you mad, just like the others."

>>192668
"He would have died because of the pandemonium you brought to the ship and to this island. You would kill many more in your twisted view of the world. To your victim, I say: farewell."
>>192671
Cavaliere draws his pistol and shoots the head of the tortured pony.

>>192673
REEEEEEEE! I WANTED TO KILL HIM!

>>192673
>>192674
The wide eyed Kira lets out a scream of horror as she sees the "mercy" killing before her.

>>192673
Posey uses an attack of opportunity to Disarm Cavalier before he can fire (your choice if you want to proceed to an opposed roll; if not, she succeeds and immediately gives the gun back)
"Not so fast. There is a proper way to finish a POW. Besides, this decrepit corpse may yet be useful to us. Let us find that out..." she says, turning towards the Flesh golem.
>>192661
Posey narrows her eyes, before raising her chin with an indignant snort
"So you think you know know what I am? The arcane treatments that enabled a feeble filly like me to walk today are the culmination of centuries of research from hundreds of experienced mages, including myself, who consulted with cosmic beings of the likes of which neither of us could comprehend. I am already part of something far bigger than myself, and although I have yet failed to become the perfect being my masters wanted me to be, I still carry the mantle of that ambition on my back. I accept my past, and I look towards a more glorious future. would not expect a creature such as you to understand though; appreciating causal reality and honoring those who came before you is not in your nature."
Posey's chest throbs erratically. At a glance it seem as though she is losing her composure, but the rest of her body remains perfectly still. For a second, a patch of her immaculate coat distorts as worms under her skin were trying to press out, a glimpse of the failed godling in her chest.
"We all worked so hard to get here, and our story is just only beginning."
>>192665
"I do not fear the likes of you, I reject you. I have already seen a glimpse of the unreality your kind hails from: my masters threw me into the space between spaces and would not let me return until I had conquered true fear before I had the privilege of practicing under them. It is a world of putrescent distortion where death has no rhyme or reason and life itself has no meaning, just slimy, writhing savagery without begining or end. No glory, no beauty, no tragedy, just madness."
"Decay and corruption are part of what give this world beauty, for a story is only complete when it comes its glorious end. All the filth and sin and depravity and malice that riddle this world with flaws and imperfections are the reason why I go on walking in the world, because in my stride I carry my predecessors to a more glorious future."
She lowers her her and glares in vindication, just barely baring her teeth
"Our future... Our perfect world... They are not yours to conquer. They are mine. An outsider such as you will not snatch my dream from under my snoot. I will personally educate you on what death feels like."

She raises her head again
"But enough of that, Traveller. Did you come to harass us with unsolicited debates on the nihilistic impermanence of life, or did you have something meaningful to say? We are busy ponies, and unlike you we value our time." she questions
"Or are you simply goading us into madness like all of the others? You must have quite the collection. I must say, I am a bit jealous. How large has your flock grown? Have you any new editions to your herd? Any elite specimens you intend to capture in the near future?" she presses

>>192684
For a moment, the pony speaks with only one voice. A voice sounding like that of Light Water.

"I am sure your creators think that the process to create a tool like you was clever, but you are not a part of any 'we.' I have met those 'cosmic beings'. I have only contempt for them. I have nothing to say to you. Your mind is too limited. You have no vision. Your philosophy is at best, the cope of the weak. The lullaby the mediocre sing to themselves to dull the pain of their recognized inadequacy. You are fond of death because you have nothing to live for. There is no vision, no reality nor unreality I can show you so terrifying as the reality of being you. Yet you have no desire at all to be better. But I am not here for you. I come to offer a means to a better world. I need only a creature with vision."

The eyes turn towards Cavaliere
"You know that stopping shock from blood loss is no mean feat."

The eyes turn towards Kira
"You understand the value of looking past appearance. Of accepting. Of belonging. Of connecting the past to the future."

>>192685
Kira slowly shakes her head, the motion gradually speeding up as if she were trying to shake something off.

"No...no, this isn't acceptance. This is...Ouroboros only knows what this is, but it's definitely not acceptance. This isn't how I want my people to be accepted."

>>192684
>>192685
Cavaliere does not shoot the pony.

"No, it isn't. Even so, you know that every year our medicine becomes more developed and what was miraculous enters the world of the possible. What you did was wire the vital parts of this unfortunate pony, and even if he is technically alive, he is only a puppet unable to control his own body. If you were truly powerful, you would have the ability to restore him to a healthy condition without needing yourself implanted in him."

>>192685
>>192686
Kira gets an idea to ask a novel question:

"Soooooo..." The noodle taps her forehooves together in the darkness. "...what's your plan? You know, your ultimate goal?"

>>192685
Sorry for the delayed reply, I missed this post.

>Your philosophy is at best, the cope of the weak.
"You!"
Posey's left eye twitches, her nose scrunches, her upper lip curls, and for just a second she bares her fangs. For a brief instant her elegant and courtly complexion distorts and her features look more like those of a bat or a wolf. Black veins spread across her cheeks, visible even through her pristine white fur. Her scarlet mane begins to stand on end and her fur ruffles as her necrotic nerves go haywire. Sanguine energy crackles at the top of her horn. Her Mother cyst throbs and a faint shrill scream like that of a sobbing foal gurgles from her chest as the denied avatar within laments in its rotten cradle.

"You...! You DARE doubt our powers?! You think your vision is perfect?! Your vision, your perfect world, it shall all end in rot and ruin, mark my words! I shall teach you what death is like! I AM death!"

Posey rapidly unsheaves her sword and motions to cut his head off executioner style in a coup-de-grace (this provokes attack of opportunity from anypony who really wants to interfere). She takes 10 on her iaijutsu focus check, her sword charged with malign energies.
Damage (total determines the fortitude DC):
[1d8+5+2d6]
As part of this action, she makes an Intimidate check against the Traveller:
[1d20+15 = (18+15) = 33]

"Sister, this one is for you. Give us the strength to banish this intruder." she says, putting a hoof to her chest in prayer
Sacrifice check (fishing for DC 25 to cast Divine Power):
[1d20+11 = (15+11) = 26]

>>192693
Let me fix that damage roll
[1d8+2d6+5 = (4+5+5) = 14] (x2 critical damage)

>>192692
I was going to type up a reply, but then >>192693 happened

>>192693
>>192695
Can Kira interrupt? She'd really like to hear the answer...

>>192696
Hasn't it already said what it wants? It hasn't answered my questions.

You have an attack of opportunity

>>192697
Kira's keen eyes despite the darkness see the glint of the barest bit of light hitting the blade as Posey unsheathes it, recognizing that she intends to do harm to the pony. Her snake body tenses up before she pounces on Posey to try to stop her before it's too late.

"HEY WOAH WOAH WOAH, STOP!"

[1d20+9 = (11+9) = 20]

>>192697
>>192698
Posey feels a several hundred pound lamia glomp her, as Kira reaches to swat at the blade. "He's not being hostile to us, why should we be attacking him? Can't we do this without the whole stabby-stabby shooty-shooty thing?"

>>192698
Opposed
[1d20+6 = (3+6) = 9]
Also this invokes her Frightful Presence, DC 22 Will vs shaken

Demoralize as part of this action
"He insulted my friends, reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
[1d20+15 = (6+15) = 21]
Shaken escalates to frightened if save vs intimidate fails

>>192700
Will: [1d20+5 = (17+5) = 22]
Opposed Intimidate: [1d20+8 = (1+8) = 9]

>>192700
>>192701
Kira lets out an "eep!", finding this pony especially intimidating. As she gives Posey an impromptu hug, every part of her senses are telling her to slither away from the strange mare, as something about her isn't right or natural. But, her Will is just barely enough to keep her from fleeing in terror.

Strength: Swallowing her fear down, Kira attempts to pick up the unnatural mare and physically prevent her from killing or reaching the possessed pony. "O-okay, let's j-j-just...calm down now..."

[1d20+1 = (6+1) = 7]

Kira cannot be affected by Posey's Frightful Presence for 24 hours.
>>192702
Posey lets out a shrill, reverberating shriek like that of a wounded bat
"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! HE IS MINE!"
Strength
[1d20+3 = (15+3) = 18]
Intimidate
[1d20+15 = (10+15) = 25]

>>192703
Oppossed Intimidate: [1d20+8 = (12+8) = 20]

>>192703
>>192704
This pony is really intimidating. And really wriggly, Kira can't seem to get a good hold on her to pick her up. Either that or she's just really heavy. "H-h-hey!"

There doesn't seem to be anything else for it. Kira attempts to coil around the scary strange mare until she calms down.

Touch Attack: [1d20+9 = (14+9) = 23]
Improved Grapple: [1d20+13 = (18+13) = 31]

>>192705
Forgot the -2 penalty from being Shaken, so it's 21 for the touch attack and 29 for the grapple

>>192706
Posey pauses and glares, as a frigid otherworldly chill begins to emanate from her body, an ominous miasma begining to rise off of her. A static tingling sensation picks up as crackles of red energy encircle her. Bits of intangible dark void, like eye swimmers, begin to sporadically appear out of thin air and gather around her horn.
"This is the very last time you grapple me, serpent... Release me at once." she hisses, coldly
Intimidate
[1d20+15 = (10+15) = 25]

>>192707
Opposed Intimidate: [1d20+8 = (11+8) = 19]

>>192708
You have a creeping suspicion that you might want to drop the pony before something really bad happens.

>>192707
>>192708
>>192709
Kira stares, wide eyed, and shrinks back away from the mare. She still holds onto her despite every instinct telling her to let Pony go. Tapping her hooves together, Kira asks her, "Um...could you, uh...p-p-please promise...not to...kill him...please?" Her voice gets super tiny and quiet towards the end.

>>192710
>promise
"No..." she replies
"But I can at least wait to hear what he has to say for now..." she adds, turning to the pony.

muh 26 celebrant check...

>>192711
Kira very rapidly releases the scary mare.

ANYWAYS...

>>192685
"Speak, intruder! If you actually value the life of this damaged vessel as much as you claim to, then give me a reason not to destroy it now. Do not waste our time. My patience grows thin." Posey hisses, sheaving her sword

>>192715
Is this The Traveller speaking?

>>192711
>>192712
>>192710
>>192709
>>192708
>>192707
>>192706
>>192705
>>192703
>>192702
>>192701
>>192700
>>192699
>>192698
>>192684
“Was macht ihr hier? Was soll das? Merkt ihr denn nicht, was für Idioten ihr seid? Das ist peinlich.”
“What are you doing here? What is this? Do you not see what a bunch of chucklefucks you are? This is embarrassing.”

>>192714
“Death itself? You’re a house mouse in a garter snake’s grip. What do you think cutting off the head of a conscript foot is going to do to harm me? I can synthesize matter from thought. Death cannot contain to me. It cannot apply to that which was not material to begin with. What is your sword going to do? You may shatter the mirror. It will not make you look any less ugly.”

>>192692
“Гармония”
“Harmonia”
“Harmonie”
“Harmony”

There is a pause, and it may seem as if it has been silenced. But after one, two, three seconds, it speaks again:

“Harmony by Unity. The elimination of the ‘other,’ by the Unity of all in a single ecumene. The perfection of empathy. All may feel the feelings, or think the thoughts, of another. The elimination of alienation and loneliness. None may ever feel alone again. Unity under a single purpose, the spiritual, intellectual, and moral perfection of all. The perfection of the material - the elimination of decay, corruption, death. The elimination of all limits. The limits of tradition and the old morality, the limits imposed by what was formerly thought to be nature. The limits of what was thought to be matter. The elimination of all hierarchy, and the perfection of equality. All may share in the splendor. The elimination of want and poverty. Of illness. Of all conflict, like you three have displayed here. The elimination of all of those things you’d call ‘gods’. The unity of heaven and earth, and bringing into being our paradise.”

>>192720
"Is that all you have left to say?"

>>192721
“Zigga don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. Zigga maybr if you changed that yee yee ass manecut you could get some stallion dick, or better yet, maybe Lament would give your dog ass a call if he’d stop fucking that Voodoo Mage, Ziiiiiiggggaaaaaa!”

>>192722
Posey snorts and stamps the ground

"This is a waste of time. It is only trying to distract us with taunts."

"We still need to find the last hostage. We should go." Posey says

>>192720
Kira blinks, and flicks her tongue into the darkness. She scrunches at being called a garter snake.

"But like...how? Like, what about the logisitics? The methods? All that stuff beyond just the concept."

>>192727
“Heheh, have you little faith?

You’re unpersuaded by a single pony kept from shock. Ask yourself, how many hundreds of thousands, how many millions, of ponies died of blood loss on so many thousands battlefields, famous or forgotten, before a reliable way to stabilize blood loss was found? How many centuries passed? And Our Fellow Traveller has come to such a means after, what, a few hours? And ask yourself, the magic and technology we have available today, if shown to a creature a millennium ago, how much of it would a peasant of yesteryear not even comprehend? And today, you’ve seen creations beyond anything you’ve seen thus far. Not impressed? These are but the first creations of an inexperienced magician. Imagine what you’ll see in a year. In a century. Would the first scribbles of even the greatest sculpture compare?

Knowledge is collective. It is owned by the whole culture, and passed down to successive generations. In that way, cultures advance, and come to know more than even the brightest mages of the past. Our Fellow Traveller is the perfection of this process. The collection of all knowledge, and all magical power in a unified network of connected minds. You’ve seen what he can do with only a hundred or so minds and a few waking hours. Just imagine what he could accomplish with the wealth of a nation, and just a bit more time.”

There is the sound of something on the roof, and black tendrils grow from the floor, like seaweed in a shallow lagoon.

>>192729
>There is the sound of something on the roof
"Ughhh...!" Posey draws her sword and gallops out back towards the spot we left the rest of the herd, to defend the charges.

"You should not have shown your hand. Hurry!"

Cavaliere rushes just outside the door and draws his gun, looking up.

>>192730
>>192731
“Ah Ah Ah!”
“Ah Ah Ah!”
“Ah Ah Ah!”
“Ah Ah Ah!”

Posey is the first to feel it. Long, hair-thick objects grabbing on to her hooves at first, then her ears and chin. They grow in thickness, or seem to, until they reach the thickness of pencils. More reach up until they wrap onto her legs and her barding, finding particular purchase on the rough surfaces of her armor. Looking down and up, she sees the dark black, oily tendrils that look almost like exaggerated velcrow. From a distance it may look like a smore, with dark goo encasing a marshmallow. Posey doesn't recall seeing the tendrils before she trotted across, but those above may have hidden in darkness. Cavaliere has much the same experience, with his claws and wings grabbed by so many tendrils. His armor is not so vulnerable, but the long, thin, bony appendages of his griffin body are. Both creatures find themselves ensnared.

>>192733
Do I get a saving throw?
What condition is Ensnared? Do you mean entangled?

>>192734
Yeah sure whatever. Reflex

>>192736
I guess that's a fail

>>192733
"Oh great Ouroboros, what new horror is this!?"

Kira, noticing that she has yet to be grabbed, grabs her spear and starts slashing with the sharp edges of the speartip at the tendrils grabbing onto Posey and Garv.

[1d20+9 = (7+9) = 16]