[Playthings] (Narrated Open RP)

[꧁ 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓲'𝓐𝓭𝓾𝓷𝓮 ꧂]

Shari chewed her lower lip as she watched Kieg advancing, even holding her breath. The exhale of which carried an alarmed, "Look out!" As the sentries appeared and began to advance.

Squaring her shoulders, she gripped her staff bravely, sliding carefully behind Kieg. "Do be careful, Sir. But don't worry! i have your back!" With that she thrust her staff into the air, causing a sudden swirl of chilled air to surround each of them, offering some protection and vigor.

Sparing a quick look over her shoulder at the others still on the other side she called out, "We have advancing enemies! Please be mindful, making your way over!"

[@sylverdubs]

Fangs eagerly drew his giant spiked weapon. ''RAAAH FINALLY, BATTLE!'' He shouted and waded forward, swinging his weapon in great, powerful arcs towards the enemies.

Fangs didn't bother with traps anymore, apparently believing that the only danger were things to hit. He moved in a straight line through the corridor ((C to J)), despite the very real possibility that more constructs would come out of their tubes.


((Fangs is making poweful but not very subtle attacks. He'll probably hit at least one of the constructs but I'll let our DM decide what he kills, if any. Best not to move close to him, specially on his flanks if one doesn't want to get clobbered with a backswing))

[𝐊𝐀𝐓 ᴀᴋᴀ 𝓡𝓮𝓭 𝓥𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻]

Kat rolled her eyes when Kieg tripped a trap. "Perfect." she sighed, shaking her head.

The sound of enemies appearing was chorused by Shari's calls, causing the blood in her veins to start pumping faster. It was go time.

She had taken a step forward when Fangs shouted and swept ahead. Her hand outstretched as if to try and stop him, poising in midair before coiling into a fist. "Is no one using their f***king heads anymore?!" Hissing through clenched teeth she backed up a few steps, not caring if the mage was going to get shoved or not, then took off strong, barreling ahead.

Her high-heeled boots clicked loudly off the hard floor as she sprinted, running straight along the first known safe stretch of flooring. Just before hitting the end, she then coiled up her muscles and launched herself into the air in an impressive leap forward, aiming to land safely on the non-trapped floor where Shari and the others stood- ready to immediately duck low to avoid Fangs' spinning should he not advance very far.

((Open to her leap being rolled on success, as well if she gets knocked out by Fangs etc))

[Kieg]

"Do be careful, Sir. But don't worry! i have your back!"

“All right!” Kieg calls enthusiastically, both as an answer to Shari and as a note of general approval towards the situation as a whole. Here at last is something he understood and is good at.

As nearest of the ancient machines begins to crackle with streaks of jagged lightning, his greatsword swings down in a powerful two-handed arc, carving a wedge-shaped chunk from its top. The machine sputters and spits lightning at him, the shimmering bolt running up the length of his blade to jolt and numb his hands and forearms. Grunting, Kieg kicks it hard enough with his steel boots to flip it over onto its back, and then pinions it in on the point of its sword in a downward finishing blow. Amidst the shriek of stripping gears and clatter of loose components pinging around the machine’s insides it shudders and drops lifeless.

“Hey they’re pretty soft on the bottom!” He calls happily, wrenching his sword out after an unnecessary twist.

There are two more loud clunks as Bares-The-Fangs charges across the plates, ((C and J are both unsafe, it appears!)) and two more pairs of sentries are spat from the wall openings, expanding from compact ball-forms into more lightning spiders. Fangs’ weapon connects solidly with one of the constructs and smashes it almost instantly, cracking it open and scattering metal internals and fractured arcane crystals everywhere. The others are quick to scuttle backwards out of the massive Argonian’s range, their arcane mechanisms somehow recognizing the danger.

Viper’s athletic leap sees her land gracefully and safely on the far side of the trap without setting off any more panels. She nimbly ducks under a duo of fangs’ wide swings, which, while she remains in range, seem like more of a danger than the mechanical foes.

The four remaining constructs all lower themselves and begin to charge their lightning projectors. Nimbuses of electricity form around their metal carapaces, arcing into the stone floor.

((The lightning is a painful, disorienting attack if it hits, but probably not a serious danger to anyone here, esp. not Kg or Fangs. Anyone can take or dodge one or all of these attacks if they want, and these constructs can be dispatched more or less at will by anyone, before or after they attack.))

If anyone looks for him, the Guardian Mage is nowhere to be seen.

[꧁ 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓲'𝓐𝓭𝓾𝓷𝓮 ꧂]

Being very careful to stay out of everyone's way, Shari slides off to the side to a safe place, watching her friends carefully, while keeping an eye on the enemies.

As Kat arrives she smiles and offers a chirp of congratulations, for her leap.

That only meant one more was left to make it across, the mage. Nipping her lower lip she glanced quickly down the corridor to see if there would be anything she could do to perhaps help him, only to notice he was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh-- Lady-" she began, only to get drowned out by the crashing and smashing the others were causing.

Frowning lightly, she looked back to the scene before her, and clenched her jaw. Slamming the end of her staff down, squarely upon the floor, it sent out a cone of electrical current ahead of them, toward the remaining foes. It would not likely kill them all, but it would hopefully do some damage to them all at once, enabling the others to more quickly finish them off.

[@sylverdubs]

Fangs, now surrounded by constructs made a wheezing sound. It was unclear if he was laughing or having a stroke. With the enemies being too close, he dropped his giant weapon and boldly reached to pick up one of the machines. It fought back, sending sparks crawling along his hide. Fangs gritted his teeth then raised the construct and brought it smashing down onto another. Leaving the two wrecks on the ground where they lay inert, he raised both fists in the air and roared.

[𝐊𝐀𝐓 ᴀᴋᴀ 𝓡𝓮𝓭 𝓥𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻]

"What Shar-" her attention was taken by Fangs' unsettling breathing noises. As she cautiously stood, she eyed him up and down, wondering if the giant lizard was about to keel over. Then she saw the look in his beady, reptilian eyes and grinned. It was a look she knew very, very well. If anyone had a mirror for her to look into, she'd see the same one reflected back in her own eyes.

With everyone getting a piece of the mechanical pies, Kat snarled and stepped forward a few paces, before her eyes flashed and she murmured a few words. As her arms outstretched wide, and came back down, she inhaled-? Absorbed, the remaining constructs 'life' forces into her own body. It added a euphoric color to her cheeks and a shudder to her body.

With her eyes closed, she wasn't sure if she had ended the rest of the ones before them, but in that instant, she didn't care.

[Kieg]

Kieg glances around for more potential targets of aggression, but with mechanical creatures it's always so hard to tell if they're dead or not... He rams his blade through one that is sparking in a threatening manner (though if it's actually attacking, or just broken, he honestly can't tell) and twists the blade in it's insides until the electrical arcs cease. There! that probably did it, if it wasn't already done. He looks around in time to see Fangs' pile-drive a construct into another one, and Viper do.. Something, that left him feeling a bit uneasy.

At the end of it all, there are no constructs not left lifeless or smashed into bits across the hallway, and soon again only the sound of rushing steam and distant clanking gears can be heard.

"We did great!" Kieg enthuses, looking around jubilantly. "Bet if we stepped on a few more plates we'd have more to fight." He adjusts his grip on the wrapped handle of his greatsword in anticipation.

Across the trapped panels, more or less where he stood before, the image of the Guardian Mage wavers back into view, like a reflection on disturbed water that is slowly growing more still, evidently the work of some sort of obscuring spell. The mage's strange features twitch nervously at is peers around. "It is safe now?"

[꧁ 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓲'𝓐𝓭𝓾𝓷𝓮 ꧂]

When the enemies all fall, Shari is clapping and chirping enthusiastically, meeting Kieg's comment with a happy bobbing of her head, "Yes! We all did so very well. Is anyone hurt?" her glowing eyes survey the group, before she recalls the mage had disappeared.

Whipping around she quickly searches for him, to see him fading back into view. "Oh my goodness, i thought you had run away or something! Yes, it seems to be safe for now, but you still have to make it across."

A smile offered, she gestures for him to come join them.

[@sylverdubs]

''RAAAH! USSSELESS WEE-ZARD!'' *Fangs growled, looking particularly annoyed now. He stomped the last few feet to where the mage aspect was hiding and attempted to shove him in the direction of where Shari stood.* ''YOU GO FIRSSST NOW, USELESS WEE-ZARD!'' *He stomped back to the safe spot, clutching his weapon tightly.* ''THISSS ISSS NO CHUKKA-SSSEI! WE ARE NOT HERE TO TEACH YOUNGLINGSSS TO FIGHT! SSSTAY HERE IF YOU ARE TOO SSSCARED! WE DO NOT SSLOW!'' *He didn't wait to see if the mage had moved or anyone else, he stomped forward, venturing in the corridors ahead though with as much observational caution as before.

[𝐊𝐀𝐓 ᴀᴋᴀ 𝓡𝓮𝓭 𝓥𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻]

Kat sneered and perked her pierced brow as she watched Fang's go retrieve the mage like he was an errant child, or a scared and cowering puppy. The heavy, entirely judging gaze rested heavily on the mage as her head slowly tilted back and to the side, arms crossing.

"So.... Thought ye said yer f***king magic wouldn't work in here, er something?" she gestured vaguely, "That seemed, pretty magicky to me."

Grunting in agreeance with Fangs she too reached out to give the mage a purposeful shove. "This is yoooour key, after all, seems fitting ye lead the way from now on." There was a smug laugh, "Don't worry, we got yer yellow back."

If the mage didn't start moving, she would shove him again, this time with the intent to possibly send him lurching forward- before then following behind him.

"Although...." she added, leaning close to his ear, her voice a low purr, as she pressed the hilt of her dagger into his back, "Trust me, the sh*t before us be the least of yer worries if ye f***k me over."

[Kieg]

"Yes! We all did so very well. Is anyone hurt?"
“I’m fine!” Kieg volunteers, sticking a thumb up in the air. “That one was easy! ..Lots of sparks, though. Fun.”

The Guardian Mage yelps and cowers as Fangs’ bears down on him, and at the shove scampers across the floor in the direction he was thrust, miraculously without triggering any other traps. In response to Viper’s question he looks in her direction, straightening up some.. “Oh.. My magic still works on me …Just not anything else in here..”

He straightens up further still at the press of Viper’s knife, (This close she may notice he has an unusual, earthy smell, a bit like straw and mud) and nods at her demand that he take the front. “All right.”

Withe the green-cloaked mage at the lead the group advances (probably more slowly and cautiously than most would have liked) down the hissing, dripping hallway. Not more enemies or suspicious floors await, and at the end of the hall the group comes up against a closed mechanical door of the usual Dwemer construction; thick, dull brass with a multitude of gears and pneumatic pipes set into it. Hesitantly, the Guardian mage reaches out to pull down the level that normally opens doors like these; there is a deep, hollow clunk somewhere inside, but the door itself doesn’t move. Beneath the lever there is a curiously-shaped hole where a control rod or some other kind of key-like device looks like it may be inserted.

“I guess it’s locked..” The Guardian Mage observes. “..Does anyone know how to get around that? ..Or we may have to find another way around..”

((Anyone who has the skill to pick a lock can probably put their talents to work on the door, otherwise, other options may present themselves for getting past it, with some examination.. (or just brute force, even.))

[꧁ 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓲'𝓐𝓭𝓾𝓷𝓮 ꧂]

Nervous eyes watched on, as Fangs tromped back over the potentially dangerous panels, to force the mage forward, once again, back over them. Seeing no more deploy enemies, she exhaled an audible puff of air.

"Well," she began with a tentative smile, tone as positive as she could muster, "At least you have some magic available. Certainly better than nothing."

Chewing on her lower lip, she fell into line, trying to stay a few steps behind the mage in order to offer any help should he need it, while also trying to stay close to Kieg. She didn't know him well, but he seemed like a kind man who was also ready to help if needed. Being the size she was, and being the size he was, seemed logical to keep in range of him.

With the door, then, eventually before them, she tilted her head curiously, regarding it. At the sound of the deep clunk, her ears twitched, and she jumped a bit, glancing about quickly. "Oh dear! That didn't sound good at all! i guess you accidentally locked it?"

“..Does anyone know how to get around that? ..Or we may have to find another way around..” the mage asked.

She shook her head sadly.

[@sylverdubs]

*Fangs merely stood next to the door and crossed his massive arms over his chest. He looked at Kat but not impatiently, like he trusted that she would handle this task, without needing anyone to prod her to do the obvious. He -did- glower at the mage for good measure*

[𝐊𝐀𝐓 ᴀᴋᴀ 𝓡𝓮𝓭 𝓥𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻]

The red haired woman missed the look the Argonian was about to give her, for even before the mage had finished asking if anyone knew how to get around it, she was roughly shouldering past him, a hand shoving against his shoulder. "Move yer ass." she huffed at him, then added in a more grand tone, a smile on her lips, "I've got this." she scoffed, leaning over to get a better look.

She raised her hand in the air above her head, and snapped her fingers loudly, then pointing down at the lock, "Light!"

While she waited for someone to assist her, she began patting down her belt to produce her lock picking equipment.