TTB One Shot

01[19:03] <@SpaceThor> It's an unpleasant night in Malifaux. Thick clouds blanket the sky, obscuring it and unleashing a steady rain down onto the city. Despite the chill in the air and the way the water seems to work its way into your shoes, you can't help but feel a little grateful for the clouds. Whether you've been in Malifaux long or short, it's still unsettling to look up at the sky and see two moons there.
01[19:03] <@SpaceThor> You're currently waiting for a train at the Southgate Station, hunched beneath the covered waiting area a few yards from the train tracks. THere are others here with you, huddled up in their coats as they try to stay warm, and despite not knowing them, you can't help but feel a ltitle grateful for the company. There are guards patrollign the area, but they're little more than indistinct shapes in the rain, barely visible in the dull glow of the streetlights.
06[19:07] * Johannes rolls his shoulders, attempting to shake off the rain pooling in folds in his overcoat.  From below a small, somewhat tattered black bowler peek out a pair of sparkling green eyes that casually glance up from a newspaper he reads as he waits...though it is becoming an increasingly futile endeavor to glean information from the sodden pages..  His mouth seems to be set in a permanant smirk,
06[19:07] * Johannes well-trimmed well-waxed moustache tweaked slightly upward, and he seems to be wearing a white collared shirt under his coat...though it has become slightly yellowed, likely from tobacco smoke.
06[19:07] * Paula_Smith waits patiently. The woman can't be too old--in her mid or late twenties, perhaps--and she is wearing a simple green dress on slightly tanned skin, with blue eyes and black, frizzy hair. She carries a few bags with her--books are seen in one. A schoolmarm, perhaps. A carbine is slung at her side, likely for self-defense.
06[19:08] * Adelisa_Merle sighs. Her long blonde hair is a shock of colour in the grungy dullness, less so her grey trousers, heavy boots and button up shirt. Adelisa is a tall, whip thin woman with a warm smile on her face. She playing with a runed rosary in her hands but looks otherwise unarmed.
[19:11] <Helena_Cosgrove> There's a half-muttered curse as a match refuses to catch fire for the third time in the hands of another figure waiting at the train stop. The woman holding the useless thing hangs a cigarette between her lips, beneath a wide-brimmed hat.
[19:12] <Helena_Cosgrove> Her coat is fashionable but veers to the more austere side.  Trousers mark her as a traveller much like the blond-haired woman beside her.
01[19:14] <@SpaceThor> You shift in your seat as you hear the distant sounds of the approaching train, muted by the rain but still audible. Then the train becomes visible, or at least, the light mounted on the front of the engine. Everyone glances up at the clock mounted on the side of the station: 10:15, right on time. Say what you will about the tyranny of the Guild, at least they're organized.
[19:15] <Johannes> "Looks like you'll be able to light that soon, eh?"
[19:15] <Paula_Smith> "Hmm. Right on time." She murmurs to herself, voice quiet. She reaches into one of her bags and pulls out a book to flip through before closing it.
06[19:16] * Johannes tips his hat to the woman standing next to him, holding it for a moment as if to mock the gesture by freeing pools of moisture. (@Helena ofc)
01[19:17] <@SpaceThor> As the train comes around the bend and into the station, the spotlight mounted on its engine illuminates a half-dozen figures below the raised loading platform, down on the rails. The figures look up as the light catches their misshapen forms, and with growing horror you realize that they're holding pieces of the rail track in their hands.
06[19:17] * Helena_Cosgrove finally gets a match to light just as the train moves into the station. Its passage blows out the fragile light just as the bowler-hatted man makes his comment. She regards him, "if you can spare a mat-"
01[19:18] <@SpaceThor> The train's brakes screech in protest as the engineer attempts to halt its progress, but it's clear from where you're sitting that it's already too late. The train's momentum is going to carry it right into the station.
[19:18] <Adelisa_Merle> "...oh hell..." She starts to run.
01[19:18] <@SpaceThor> There's one final, desperate 'WOOOOO WOOOO' from the train's horn as it chugs towards the station. The misshapen figures on the tracks climb up onto both sides of the raised platform, two on your side and four more on the opposite side. In the light of the approaching train, you can see the rain falling on their twisted forms, each one a depraved combination of dead flesh and mechanical parts. Entire swathes of rotting skin have been replaced with iron plates, and their arms have been augmented with wicked-looking blades and pneumatic devices.
01[19:18] <@SpaceThor> No sooner have the strange 'iron zombies' managed to climb up onto the raised platform than the train hits the section of damaged track. There's a deep rumbling sound that shakes the station as the engine skips the tracks and hits the ground, tossing up dirt and rail ties in front of it like a small wave.
01[19:18] <@SpaceThor> Despite its attempts at decelration, there's still enough momentum left in the train to send the first car slamming into the back of the engine. The second slams into the first, and so on down the line, like a row of screeching, crumpling metal dominoes.
[19:19] <Paula_Smith> "... RUN!" The scream's loud and piercing, and she turns to do just that, only grabbing one fo her bags... bu tnot quite soon enough.
01[19:19] <@SpaceThor> It only takes a few seconds for the train to come to a complete halt, but the undead abominations are already wrenching open battered doors and forcing their way onto the train. A woman inside one of the cars screams in horror as a thick cloud of steam pours out of the engine's damaged boiler and into the rainy night.
06[19:22] * Adelisa_Merle sighs...and draws a pair of knuckledusters from her pocket. "...we can't let them kill the passengers."
06[19:27] * Helena_Cosgrove lets her cigarette fall from her mouth. It bounces on her shifting coast as she moves to draw a strange bayonetted pistol.
06[19:29] * Johannes sighs and reaches into his coat, producing a small pistol from within.
06[19:29] * Paula_Smith readies her carbine and winces.
[19:29] <Johannes> "I'll settle for not letting them kill me, but I think I'll need this either way."
01[19:30] <@SpaceThor> The zombies don't seem to have noticed you yet.
06[19:36] * Adelisa_Merle takes a couple of steps back, raising her rosary to kiss it.
06[19:40] * Johannes takes a deep breath, steadying his aim as he takes a couple steps to the side towards a likely avenue of escape...just in case.
06[19:43] * Johannes swingshis pistol to cover the door to the engineer's compartment, losing a shot at a zombie trying to get in!
06[19:47] * Johannes 's shot pings off the side of the train engine, doing little but denting the metal.  Johannes sighs wearily.
01[19:47] <@SpaceThor> The other zombie starts to stir, but still does nothing.
06[19:52] * Helena_Cosgrove also takes a shot but just like Johannes, her shot somehow misses the mark. "Metal bastards!"
06[19:53] * Paula_Smith takes aim wiht her carbine. "Blasted things..." She murmurs, and fires.
01[19:57] <@SpaceThor> A bullet hits on the joint of metal and flesh and digs in with a tinny "Plink!" sound.
[19:57] <Paula_Smith> The schoolmarm smiles as her bullet hits. "... Mmm. Tough little things."
06[20:01] * Adelisa_Merle focuses...and dashes towards the creature, leaping into the air...and coming down foot first into his face.
06[20:02] * Adelisa_Merle lands and drives her foot up into it's face, knocking it onto it's back with a shattered skull...
01[20:03] <@SpaceThor> It collapses off the platform, crashing into the ground with a thud.
01[20:03] <@SpaceThor> The other zombie moves in to attack Adelisa.
06[20:04] * Adelisa_Merle ducks under it, taking up a practiced savate stance.
06[20:09] * Johannes throws a haymaker at the zombie, but it leans over to follow Adelisa and he whiffs, throwing himself off balance slightly.
06[20:15] * Helena_Cosgrove steadies her arm as she watches the melee and squeezes off a shot just as Johannes tilts himself away. The bullet clangs off a pneumatic arm and into the undead flesh.
[20:16] <Paula_Smith> She takes a step back... and grimaces, pulling out a book. She opens it and holds up a hand... pages start to flip and her eyes glow with an electric blue light. "ELECTRICA IUSTITIAM!" She calls out... and a bolt of pure blue electricity lashes out towards the remaining zombie.
01[20:19] <@SpaceThor> The lightning arcs to the metal and the scent of ozone and burning flesh fills the air.
06[20:23] * Adelisa_Merle spins, driving an elbow into the skull of the creature and smashing it to the ground. She grins to the others.
01[20:23] <@SpaceThor> As the last of the two mechanical undead falls, you slick back the wet hair in your face and try to take stock of your surroundings. There's a distant gunshot from an unseen Guild guard, but for the most part the battle seems to be over.
01[20:23] <@SpaceThor> Oil and blood are seeping out of the fallen creatures, already washing away in the rain. The rest of the undead saboteurs have disappeared, taking their prizes-the train's passengers and a few crates of mechanical supplies-with them into the night. You're not entirely sure waht they plan to do with the prisoners or the mechanical parts, but something in your gut tells you that it won't be anything pleasant.
[20:24] <Adelisa_Merle> Her smile fades as she realizes the passengers have been taken. "...Damnation."
01[20:26] <@SpaceThor> Suddenly, you hear two gunshots from up ahead, and a man in a trench coat stumbles into the light of a nearby street lamp. He snaps open the chamber of his revolver in an attempt to reload, but the rain, poor light, and his shaking fingers are making it difficult.
01[20:27] <@SpaceThor> Another of the mechanical undead clomps towards the man as he fumbles with his gun. The steam engine welded to teh corpse's spine chugs as it pumps black smoke into the rainy night and propels the zombie forward. Its dead eyes stare at the man as it raises a sword-like arm to cut him down...
06[20:28] * Helena_Cosgrove raises her pistol; the business end pointed at that sword-arm. Perhaps a shot can unbalance the thing...
[20:28] <Paula_Smith> "Oh no you don't!" The woman snarls. "Enough damage today!" She raises a hand again...
06[20:29] * Johannes raises his pistol.  3 shots left by his count, and he's rarely wrong.
[20:29] <Adelisa_Merle> "Damnation!" She repeats, raising the rosary in her off hand...
06[20:40] * Adelisa_Merle waves the rosary, causing it to glint. "Heya, Zambie! I've seen meaner than you before!"
01[20:40] <@SpaceThor> It turns at the noise.
[20:41] <Paula_Smith> And while that goes on, the schoolmarm shoots out a bolt of lightning again.
06[20:46] * Johannes aims CAREFULLY and fires a shot that burrows into the zombie's shoulder.
[20:47] <Johannes> "Best reload fast, over there!" he calls out, mentally ticking off another bullet.
06[20:55] * Helena_Cosgrove joins Johannes in firing lethal ammunition as her shot blasts into the dead thing's elbow, blowing back its arm.
06[20:56] * Paula_Smith shakes her head... and starts to move, stepping forward with a wave of her hand, glasses glinting as she waves a hand at the zombie twice--sending cascading waves of lightning at it.
[21:00] <Paula_Smith> The first wave simply frizzles--but the second strikes true, sending the beast smoking to the ground. She closes her book wtih a hmph. "Blasted... annoying... pitiful..."
01[21:01] <@SpaceThor> The man raises a hand to shield his face from the rain. Now that he's closer, it's not difficult to make out his balding hair and rumpled, blood and oil-stained suit beneath his coat.
[21:01] <Paula_Smith> "So, sir, I take it your night is going as well as ours?"
01[21:02] <@SpaceThor> "Thanks for the help there friends." He reaches out, shaking your hands in appreciation. "I don't know what I would have done if..." His voice trails off and he grins, happy to be just alive. "Well, like I  said, thanks for everything. The name's Daley, Travis Daley."
06[21:02] * Paula_Smith inclines her head. "Smith, good sir. Paula Smith."
[21:03] <Adelisa_Merle> "Adelisa Merle." She gives a jaunty salute.
[21:03] <Johannes> "Name's Johannes.  Good to make your aquaintance and all that...were you also looking to take the train?"
[21:03] <Helena_Cosgrove> "Not much chance of that now."
06[21:03] * Johannes cracks open his revolver and fishes around in his pocket for a moment before coming up with a pair of cartridges he quickly loads into his weapon.
01[21:03] <@SpaceThor> Travis runs a hand through his balding hair. “Ah, I’m an accountant. For the Guild.” He smiles, a bit nervously, as if aware that many people in the city were less than leased with the Guild's draconian methods. “Mostly it’s nothing too exciting – never anything like this – just numbers and shipments and that sort of thing.” He gestures towards the derailed train. “I was here to sign off on some mining supplies that were heading down south, but right after the accident, those undead…things…tore the door right off the hinges and started hauling the equipment off into the night.” He bites his lip, as if slightly embarrassed. “I…sort of hid, at first, hoping that they were just after the machinery, but when one of them came after me, well…you saw how that ended.”
[21:05] <Adelisa_Merle> "Just mining supplies?" She raises an eyebrow.
[21:05] <Helena_Cosgrove> "What would zombies care about mining?"
[21:06] <Paula_Smith> "Mm. Indeed." She eyes the guildsman warily. "They seemed to be... machine as much as flesh. I..." She frowns. "I'm no expert at such things, but is it possible they were looking for... parts?"
01[21:06] <@SpaceThor> "Would if I knew."
[21:06] <Johannes> "Didn't know they were smart enough to have objectives, even."
[21:06] <Adelisa_Merle> "Open cut graverobbing?" She shrugs.
[21:06] <Johannes> "Might be..."
06[21:07] * Johannes starts walking towards the engine car.
[21:07] <Johannes> "Shall we see if the conductor managed to survive?"
01[21:09] <@SpaceThor> There are wounded guards around. One guard nearby clutches a hand to his side, a nasty wound oozing around his fingers. It doesn't look good.
[21:09] <Adelisa_Merle> "They cannot be moving too stealthily...should any of you have talent at tracking?"
[21:09] <Helena_Cosgrove> "We can check at least. They seem to have kidnapped most of the others." Helena glances at the blonde, "I do not."
06[21:10] * Johannes stoops down to help one of the wounded guards.
[21:11] <Johannes> "Ah do think a doctor might be needed here as well."
06[21:13] * Paula_Smith glances. "I have no training..."
01[21:19] <@SpaceThor> You do your best, but his wound is too heavy for your unsure hands.
06[21:19] * Helena_Cosgrove turns back to Travis. Medcine is not her forte. "Did you see which way the villans went?"
06[21:19] * Paula_Smith 's hands shake lightly, gritting her teeth. "Blasted... sons of whores," she says after a moment, letting out a breath, pulling back with blood on her dress.
01[21:20] <@SpaceThor> Travis sighs. "Damn shame."
01[21:20] <@SpaceThor> "Ah, I'm not certain why you folks were waiting for the train, but..."
06[21:20] * Adelisa_Merle crouches next to her and closes his eyes, praying in latin.
01[21:21] <@SpaceThor> "But those mechanical zombies took the mining supplies and headed to a manhole cover over that way." He motions.
01[21:21] <@SpaceThor> "I can't authorize any payment from the guild, but, well, those are very valuable supplies..."
06[21:21] * Johannes sweeps off his hat and holds it to his chest briefly before placing it back on his head.
[21:21] <Johannes> "I suppose I have time on my hands now."
06[21:22] * Johannes lifts them up and examines them with a wry expression.
[21:22] <Helena_Cosgrove> "I work for the Guild myself and I was headed south," Helena says. "I doubt I will be heading south any time soon."
06[21:23] * Adelisa_Merle nods "Can any of you track?" She looks to the others.
06[21:23] * Paula_Smith looks up and nods. "These things killed people that didn't deserve it," she says simply. "Whether or not there's payment, I believe hutnign them down is rather the right choice."
[21:23] <Paula_Smith> "And, ah... no."
[21:23] <Paula_Smith> "I am a simple schoolteacher, albeit one who can defend herself."
06[21:24] * Helena_Cosgrove glances at Paula, raising one eyebrow in disbelief.
[21:25] <Johannes> "Ah suppose that I can give it a shot, should the rest o' you be willing and able."
[21:25] <Helena_Cosgrove> "Regardless, I doubt they could get far, quickly, without leaving an easy trail with all those people over their rotting shoulders."
[21:25] <Johannes> "Where should we find you, sir, should we locate or retrieve the supplies?"
01[21:27] <@SpaceThor> "Ah, well, you wouldn't be looking for me, but if you tell them I sent you that should be enough."
01[21:28] <@SpaceThor> The manhole cover is open, about two and a half feet wide. There's a ladder bolted to the wall that leads down into the blackness. You will likely want a light source of some kind.
[21:29] <Johannes> "Don't suppose there'd be an intact lantern on that train?"
06[21:29] * Helena_Cosgrove looks about. Surely one of the dead guards held a lantern on their person.
06[21:29] * Paula_Smith checks her gun and reloads the single spent bullet, grimacing. "I might have had a torch in one of my bags, but, ah... They're rather scattered now."
[21:30] <Johannes> "I'll check the train, you collect your luggage."
01[21:30] <@SpaceThor> There aren't any on the guards, but there are a few hanging from the station. The station employees are nowhere to be found, either dead, abducted, or fled into the night.
06[21:31] * Johannes takes a couple down.
[21:31] <Johannes> "I'm sure nobody will mind."
01[21:32] <@SpaceThor> Nobody nearby minds.
06[21:32] * Helena_Cosgrove takes one from Johannes as he steps down. "Surely not before we can discard them. We should move quickly before all we find in the sewers are dead bodies."
06[21:32] * Johannes heads down the ladder first and begins to track!
06[21:32] * Helena_Cosgrove head down after.
01[21:32] <@SpaceThor> The sewer is larger than you would have guessed; the passage is about twenty feet wide, with stone walkways that run along either side of the central channel. The channel is flooded with runoff from the rains, and the cold water laps at the stone walkways as it rushes past you into the darkness. The current looks strong, and you can’t imagine where it might lead. Nowhere good, that’s for certain.
06[21:32] * Adelisa_Merle turns up her nose. "Lovely."
06[21:34] * Paula_Smith pulls up her dress and frowns. "I've seen worse... just not for years."
06[21:34] * Johannes pulls out a pocket kerchief and hands it to Adelisa.  It reeks of cheap cologne, but it's probably better than raw sewage.
[21:35] <Johannes> "I'm afraid even I can only play the gentleman to so many at once.  Hopefully it will get better later on."
[21:35] <Johannes> "now..."
06[21:35] * Helena_Cosgrove rankles her nose but seems able to cope. "Unfortunately, I've smelled worse."
[21:35] <Paula_Smith> "Oh, no worries, I understand," she says with a sigh. "There are worse fates than smelling sewage."
06[21:40] * Johannes suddenly starts striding confidently down the sewers, nodding quietly to himself as he lowers his lantern so it casts light along the ground and walls.
[21:40] <Johannes> "Disturbed piles of refuse, scrapes in the wall and floor from mechanical limbs on clumsy bodies...and it seems a few slipped into the flow and climbed out afterward, judging by these wet patches."
[21:41] <Paula_Smith> "Quite the expert at such things, are you, then?"
01[21:44] <@SpaceThor> The sound of rushing water has been your constant companion for some time now, but now you’re detecting a new sound from up ahead: the chugging of motors. There are faint hints of smoke, oil, and blood in the air, distinct despite the more common (and less pleasant) odors of the sewer. As you creep forward, you can make out a light from up ahead, spilling out from an arched passage.
01[21:45] <@SpaceThor> Five people are strapped down onto the tables, a few struggling weakly from wounds suffered either during the train accident or the resulting fight. In a way, it almost reminds you of an operating theater albeit one where no care has been given to sterilization or cleanliness. There are three mechanical zombies in the room, but they’re all clustered in a group around an aethervox. The radio-like device is turned on, and you can hear the soothing tone of a man’s voice emanating from its speaker.
[21:46] <Adelisa_Merle> "...well, that's just disrespectful to the dead...or to be dead..."
06[21:46] * Helena_Cosgrove moves to a crouch, extinguishing her lantern.
06[21:46] * Paula_Smith narrows her eyes and tries to listen...
06[21:47] * Johannes does the same, pulling out his pistol.
01[21:47] <@SpaceThor> "the ‘common sense’ of the lay man. It is true," the voice drones on in an academic tone, "that the phrase ‘common sense’ is often considered on par with obvious wisdom, but is that actually the case? The vast majority of people in the world, the ‘common element,’ if you will, do not come from academic backgrounds. They do not know the facts and scientific principles that govern their life and, if given the chance, would be unable to tell the difference between a heart and a brain! Why, then, should we allow the ‘common sense’ of these uneducated masses to dictate scientific policy? Or, for that matter, ethical policy? No, I say that we are beholden not to."
01[21:47] <@SpaceThor> Remarkably, the undead seem to be ignoring their captives in favor of listening to the lecture.
06[21:52] * Johannes sneaks slowly into the room, grabing a small, sharp piece of glass off the ground.  Getting the attention of one of the calmer...or at least better-dressed hostages, he attempts to calm them with a single finger to the lips and a roguish grin before slicing through their bonds and sending them back towards the others.
01[21:52] <@SpaceThor> They do their best to slip out.
06[21:54] * Johannes repeats it on a second prisoner, now working from closest to the zombies back to safety
06[21:55] * Johannes gets a third, takes a deep breath and goes for a fourth, wondering what on earth the zombies see in the sermon, but thanking god it's something
01[21:55] <@SpaceThor> The lecture continues to drone on and on and on.
06[21:55] * Johannes nods silently as a fourth makes their way out, and then goes for the fifth.
06[21:56] * Helena_Cosgrove shifts; the cold of the sewer seeping into her legs.
06[21:56] * Johannes slits the bonds of a final prisoner before sending them on their merry way to hide behind the others.
06[21:57] * Paula_Smith bites her lip and watches...
01[21:57] <@SpaceThor> "And with that, today's lesson is concluded. For your homework, fetch more students from the realm above and admit them to these classes. Class dismissed."
06[21:57] * Johannes glances over his shoulder at the zombies before moving for a box of supplies.  Greed IS eternal, after all.
06[21:58] * Johannes freezes.
01[21:58] <@SpaceThor> The zombies shuffle around, out of their haze and turn....to see Johannes.
[22:01] <Adelisa_Merle> "Oh Damnation."
06[22:04] * Johannes gives a hard kick to one of the gurnies, sending them tumbling over between him and the zombies.  Bringing up his gun, he pulls the trigger, yelling out as he does.
[22:05] <Johannes> "I THINK THEY SAW ME!"
[22:05] <Paula_Smith> "Quite." She opens her book again and narrows her eyes.
06[22:10] * Paula_Smith holds out her hand... and lighting builds. "OMNES! POTENTES! FULGUR MANU DEI!" She cries out... and lighting FLOWS from her, reaching out ot the zombies, shattering all around them, sparking off the ground, the ceiling, the aetervox...
06[22:19] * Adelisa_Merle raises her rosary, offering a quiet prayer...black light glows around one zombie's head as she dashes in to plant a heavy boot into another...
01[22:20] <@SpaceThor> The zombie swings wildly and digs a deep gouge into a fellow zombie. The third zombie dies painfully (if it can feel pain), as it crashes to the ground and boiling water scalds the decaying flesh.
01[22:20] <@SpaceThor> One zombie charges the mage that targeted it last time, while the other tries to close with the closer threat.
01[22:22] <@SpaceThor> The mechanical arms hiss and boil as they crash into Paula's legs. It rears back for another round, but fails to connect.
[22:23] <Paula_Smith> She winces in pain, grimacing.
06[22:33] * Helena_Cosgrove begins to shout at the zombie attacking Paula, throwing a loose piece of machinary at its head to get its attention.
06[22:34] * Johannes charges forward, barreling towards the zombie menacing Paula!
06[22:37] * Johannes misses the zombie with his fist, but then his knee comes up and slams into its jaw.  He backs off, clutching at his leg.
[22:37] <Johannes> "Hard chin on this one!"
06[22:39] * Adelisa_Merle drives her foot into the top of it's head with a vicious axe kick.
06[22:42] * Paula_Smith stares at the one still in her. "Vis," she says simply, a wave of lightning bursting from her outstretched hand at him.
01[22:43] <@SpaceThor> It collapses, the machinery shorting out and ceasing to function.
06[22:51] * Helena_Cosgrove trains her pistols on the last one with which Adelisa is dancing. Her last bullet explodes out the back of the zombie's head a moment later, sending it clattering to the ground. She blows the smoke curling up from the gun barrel with a smirk.
01[22:52] <@SpaceThor> You take a moment to catch your breath. The scent of blood mixes with that of oil and water, hanging heavy in the air like foul incense. You’ve managed to defeat the last of the mechanical zombies and bring an end to their twisted experiments. They will no longer threaten the city, but where did they come from? Who made them? You shake your head, dismissing these questions. There are more important things to worry about right now.