/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."