A mysterious area, explorers tend to go missing and never return. A low fog constantly blankets the forest floor and strange sounds have been reported being heard during the day. Not much else is known about the forest. (+3 Speed, +2 Endurance)

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Re: An Existential Crisis in C# [Mojave & I] [M]

Postby Mojave » 12/17/2016 1:43 AM

He opened his mouth to protest that he had gotten off his ass and tried to do something, but shut it when Lero appropriately pointed out that the move had been expected. His ears laid back on his head and he looked away, admitting defeat. "No need to thank me for a wasted effort. But I didn't mean to actually break skin." he said as apology for hurting the kid's friend.

He turned to Bob, sparing a quick glance at the unconscious Oliver. "I'm not a superstitious sort by nature, but I'm pretty sure we don't need you jinxing us." Tarot said in a flat tone. That would be all they needed, Oliver waking up and easly snapping the telephone cord and killing them all in a demonic rage. "Perhaps we should tie him with something... holy? Does he have a sash or something?" He suggested after Brian had spoken.

He followed Jay out the door, trusting Bob and Brian to deal with keeping Oliver contained and transporting him. He was relieved when he stuck his own head into the hall and heard the lack of commotion.

He ignored the small squabble between Jay and Francis, taking point in the group and leading them down the halls to a back exit. They made it outside unaccosted to find Kyruit waiting by the car. "What the hell are you still doing here?!" Tarot demanded as they closed the distance between the door and the waiting van. It was a sleek vessel, solid black and looked brand new off the lot except that it had tags. Tarot recognized it as Kyruit's own car and his stomach sank.

"Waiting for you, stupid. I'm not leaving my car to be stolen by any weirdos besides you lot. Just call me when you're done with it. I've got the helicopter coming back for me." She tossed the keys to Brian and turned to leave. "And Tarot, when you get a chance, call me. I want to know what all this is about." So saying, she turned and left them to figure the rest of their trip out on their own.

Relieved, he turned to the group he was travelling with. "Let's go, I guess."
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Re: An Existential Crisis in C# [Mojave & I] [M]

Postby Night » 12/19/2016 4:19 AM

Bob and Bryan took up point behind Tarot, Jay and Lero falling into step behind. Despite the lack of notable disturbances they kept close watch; it wouldn't be ideal to be snuck up on given their current situation. Luck took a turn surprisingly in their favor, allowing them to make it to the parking lot unscathed. Lero supposed that he should be thankful for small mercies, but he was fairly certain that there was a saying about the calm before the storm. (Though, to be fair, he also wasn't entirely certain how it could get worse that Oliver being possessed by a demon while they were on the run from fanatic robed figures out for their blood.) Regardless, it certainly didn't sit well.

He was sure that he was about to have to pick a fight with Tarot's well meaning friend when he noticed her leaned against their newly appointed get away vehicle. That Kyruit moved easily out of the way and allowed them pass was met with no small amount of thanks on his part. Perhaps he would have to reevaluate his choice to remain firmly in the atheistic category after today. He supposed he would think it over after they finished having tea over an exorcism at the church.

He opened the doors to the back, helping Brian and Bob heft their stolen chair into the space in the back. It was a bit of a fit, considering the height of the chair, but he was willing to bet that Oliver would forgive them after it was all said and done if he bumped his head a bit. They secured him as well as they were able and filed into the van, with Jay taking the wheel. Bob sat in the back, squeezed between Oliver and the door. It wasn't much of a defense, should he wake up, but it was something.

Jay peeled out of the parking lot, and Lero took the opportunity to breathe. Once he was certain that he wasn't going to yell, or punch anyone in the nearby vicinity, he braced himself against the window and turned to Tarot. "So, a quest, huh? You going to tell us anything about that, or just leave Jay to fill in the details?"
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Re: An Existential Crisis in C# [Mojave & I] [M]

Postby Mojave » 12/19/2016 11:02 PM

Tarot leaped into the van through the open back door and made his way to the front passenger seat. He was shortly joined by Jay who slid behind the wheel. Tarot thought it a bit weird that Bryan wasn't the one driving but didn't say anything. Perhaps the other man would be a better defense if Oliver woke up.

At Lero's question, Tarot glanced at Jay. Just how much did this guy know, and better yet, how? "There are some people I owe a favor to." he answered evasively. "But if I'm going to spill my secrets, I want answers too. I was content to leave everything alone since I was just getting a lift to Aldrect, but if we're going to help each other, I want to know what exactly I'm helping you with. I thought exorcisms were fantasy? And how do you know about my mission?" He turned back to Jay for this last question, unable to contain the words he'd been holding back since the hotel room.

Before Jay or Lero could respond, Tarot glanced down to ensure the necklace was still around his neck. Once sure of it's location, he looked back up at the two men he was speaking to.
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Re: An Existential Crisis in C# [Mojave & I] [M]

Postby Night » 12/21/2016 12:50 AM

Jay set a hurried pace through the city, turning seemingly at random through the smaller side streets. Lero could see Bryan out of his peripheral vision, leaned over the backseat and trying to help Bob keep Oliver's chair steady. The priest was, thankfully, still slumped down in the chair, blissfully unaware of the way his arms were crushed against the metal side of the van every time Jay turned unexpectedly. With any luck he would remain unconscious through the entire ordeal, and they would have an easy fight. Somehow, Lero didn't think that was very likely. It was never that easy.

Jay kept his gaze firmly forward, face pensive. "I'm really not the best one to explain what's going on to you. Normally that's Oliver's expertise. The best that I can tell you is that we are obviously not photographers." The corner of his mouth turned up in a grim imitation of a smile. "We are..." Jay hesitated, rolling over what to call their profession in his mind.

"Mercenaries, of a sort." He supplied finally. "We work with the church, or more accurately, we work with Oliver, who works for the church. We investigate the sorts of things for the church that they don't necessarily want well publicized."

"Like exorcisms." Lero broke in.

"Like exorcisms." Jay agreed. He slammed on the brakes, only barely slowing down enough to haul the vehicle around a particularly sharp turn. A black sedan was beginning to creep up on them, and he wasn't all that eager to learn whether or not it was full of their newfound friends. "When someone reports a spiritual haunting, or a demon possession, or the sighting of a god, the church sends us to investigate the claim and decide how best to deal with it if it's real." If being the key word. The vast majority of the time they were left explaining the faulty wiring in an old building to a needlessly scared pair of newlyweds, or telling parents of teenagers that their son wasn't possessed and just going through a few changes. It was remarkable how quickly people were willing to jump to conclusions.

"As for your other question, you should take a look at your own abilities and rethink it. Perhaps it's best left at acknowledging that we all have our own... unique talents."

Lero rolled his eyes at Jay's wretched attempt to play the mysterious figure. "He means that he can see the future." He drawled, bored. "Don't think that adding 'perhaps' to the beginning of a sentence makes you sound anything other than annoying." He tacked on for Jay's benefit.

Jay stuck his tongue out, glaring Lero down in the rearview mirror even as he darted through traffic. The car behind them was keeping pace; they would have only a few moments to pull Oliver from the back of the van and into the church.

"Uhm... Sorry to interrupt and all, but are we nearly there?" Bryan piped up from the back seat. Bob seconded the sentiment, voice strained, and Lero turned to see that Oliver was waking up.

Perfect.
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Re: An Existential Crisis in C# [Mojave & I] [M]

Postby Mojave » 12/21/2016 3:29 AM

As the vehicle careened through sharp turns, traffic, and side streets, Tarot wished he had a human form so he could better hang on. He worried that Jay's reckless driving would wake the priest up and silently prayed that Oliver remained unconscious until he was in the hands of someone who could handle a possessed priest.

"Well, no shit, Sherlock." Tarot gasped as he was tossed in his seat against the door. He narrowly avoided knocking his head against the window and decided to lay down in the seat instead of sitting up. He could feel his stomach lurching and he tried to focus on the conversation.

His attempt was nearly foiled when Jay slammed on the brakes and Tarot slid unceremoniously to the floorboard. He decided he'd just stay there. At least here he wouldn't be tossed out a window or have to see the city blurring around them. He wasn't aware of their pursuit so he tossed the mad driving to Jay's desire to get Oliver to the church and start the exorcism.

"Religious mercenaries. That's just.." He paused, not sure how to describe the concept. Of course everyone knew about religious crusaders, but mercenaries was something new to him. He wondered just how different his life was from theirs. "Strange." He finished his statement, unable to form any solid opinion about the matter. He wondered what they would think about his own resurrection, and if by experiencing the event he was now susceptible to possession himself. Or worse?

He growled low in his throat, more out of displeasure than any real threat, at Jay's evasion. He would have had a smart remark, but Lero interrupted with a flat explanation. He looked at Jay even more confused than before. "So I take it you saw me in some version of the future?" Tarot asked, knowing how the Sight worked and not wanting to dick around with vague questions and answers. "That doesn't explain how you know I can see in the past. Or that I'm trying to put some dead spirits to rest."

Their conversation as interrupted by Bryan and the stirring priest. Tarot swore for the benefit of the group and looked up at Jay again for their ETA.
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Re: An Existential Crisis in C# [Mojave & I] [M]

Postby Night » 12/26/2016 2:03 AM

"Strange is such a kind way to put it." Lero kept his voice intentionally devoid of emotion to prevent any of his own annoyance from leaking out. He never thought that he would get nostalgic for normalcy, but the idea of a nice evening watching television or out drinking with friends was starting to become a foreign concept. Jay hit the gas, the van rocketing impossibly faster through a red light and narrowly allowing them escape from an oncoming car. Usually Lero would get on to him for trying to get them all murdered. Somehow he was sure a fender bender death was infinitely better than whatever awaited them should their unwanted guests catch up with them, or if Oliver escaped the confines of the chair.

"Close." Jay chuckled. "I saw us having this conversation. Unfortunately it's not so pinpoint accurate that I could foresee much more than the beginning of it." He wasn't going to laugh, really. It was just astounding how willing Tarot was to believe that they had all the answers already. That they weren't fumbling around in the dark. "The rest I was spectacularly unaware of, though I suppose that is an interesting development."

Oliver strained against the phone chord holding his hands behind his back, an unholy scream ripping from his throat. Pure, unadulterated rage seemed to light him from the inside, filtering out of his eyes by way of a demonic yellow glow.

"All of that effort to keep him down, and not one of us thought to gag him?" Brian shook his head. "We really don't have a future as kidnappers, do we?" Bob gripped at Oliver's legs as the priest thrashed, working to keep him held down.

"What, were you considering a future in sex trafficking? Because I'm sorry to tell you this, Brian, but there's a distinct lack of paperwork involved. I really don't think it's suiting to your talents." The jab fell dry, humor going flat in the face of the gravity of the situation. The burn on Oliver's neck had grown darker, the skin splitting in the places where the collar had touched it.

Jay slammed on the brakes, sliding into the parking lot before a rather unremarkable church. "We don't have time for this. Get him out, the Cardinal is waiting for us."

How the Cardinal had known this would happen, Lero wasn't willing to think to hard about. He threw open the door with a nod towards Tarot that vaguely suggested they would talk later. Getting Oliver out of the truck was significantly more difficult when he was screaming and thrashing. The Cardinal, an elderly man in red and white robes, threw open the door to usher them in. When they had all filtered through, Bob slammed the heavy oak entry shut behind them. From his pocket he produced a small unlabeled vial.

"You got a light, Frankie?" Lero handed over his lighter wordlessly, working to help the others bind Oliver down to a table in the center of the sanctuary. Heavy silver chains had been driven into the ground at one end, the other wrapped as securely as they were capable around the priest's chest and extremities.

Bob took a deep breath, pressing the lighter against the cork of the vial until it caught fire. Then, he threw it down against the door, where for a fraction of a moment it seemed as though nothing were happening. Then the fire began to grow and expand, wrapping itself upwards in an unnaturally smooth and flat pattern until it formed a barrier in front of the door.

"It'll buy us time, if nothing else." The explanation was primarily for Tarot. Even Bob could see how the situation seemed to grow increasingly strange to an outsider.

With the priest secured and the door blocked, Brian nodded towards the Cardinal to begin.
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Re: An Existential Crisis in C# [Mojave & I] [M]

Postby Mojave » 12/29/2016 6:53 PM

Tarot ignored Francis's comment- after all he had already decided there wasn't much he could say about their line of work being a mercenary himself. He focused instead on keeping himself relatively balanced in the madly swerving vehicle. "WHAT?!" He yelped as his head smacked into the underside of the dashboard. "You had no idea- Damnit! Fine, now you know, let's just move on." He growled, angry at himself for divulging so much information with so little provocation. Though he supposed it would have all come out sooner or later, and dramatic revelations weren't really his thing anyway. Besides, this whole schtick with Oliver was proving to be dramatic enough that his own adventure seemed tame and relatively boring in comparison.

Behind them Oliver began to scream and glow, Brian and Bob exchanged sarcasm, and then they were screeching to a halt before a massive cathedral. An older man stood outside and Tarot sped past him into the safety of the church. He watched as the barrier was put up on the door and turned back to the group who'd picked him up. "What now?" Tarot asked as Brian nodded to the Cardinal.
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