Gravestones and Smokestacks RP thread

[Nigel Wetherby]

Geneva buzzed with life within the steel and stone walls, a stern contrast to the barren outside world where the city watch kept hawk-like eyes upon the snow-buried outside. With the pure snow coating all, one could hardly tell a skirmish had occured that afternoon, a young guard had taken a stand against a snow-prowler and fallen in the stead of his fellow guardians.
The Reverands had taken his body away, mumbling promises of new life and glory in the heart of the queen as they always did.
No one listened to their grim eulogies, well none who admitted it. The guards mourned the sorrowful loss that night with a bottle of Jack-water, a powerful white liqour that burned the toungue and warmed you down to your bones. It was always passed around, but that night, there was sadness in that clear bottle.

Aven did not notice the plight of these sorrowful guardsmen, as he was having troubles of his own. In his pale, thin fingers was the mummified limb of a vicious UnterKohken he had combatted on the boat to Europe from Russia. The withered tentacle curled and twisted into a dried spiral.
An unfazed constable stared at the tentacle dissaprovingly and shook his head to the man, refusing to pay the bounty for such a beast.
"You must be spinning false truths, boy. What in the lord's name might a beast from the seas of Europe and prussia be doing in the waters of Russia!?
"Listen, I've no idea what a Germanic beast was doing in frigid Asiatic waters, all that I know is it took all of my  bitter ash-tar to suffocate the damn thing so that it would stop eating the people on the damnable spice ship!"

The cosntable simply chortled and pushed the dried extremity onto the floor, reducing it to drown, crackling bits on the floor. Aven prepared a venomus comeback, extending his finger towards the man like a stiletto trained on the constable's heart, but he could make no such remark. He simply grabbed the pen from the constable's desk and stormed off.

Three seconds later he realized it was at the end of a chain, and promptly returned it.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

The constable glared at the young man. At that moment Kemp walked in. He was fairly familiar to this place and didn't mind asking the constable for various things, though the man didn't seem to like him much.

"Hey, Limey!" said the constable. "Get useful and escort this young man off the premises."

Kemp looked to both men. He shrugged. "Sorry sir, but I'm not with the Police or Guards I told you. I'm Night Watch. It's quite different. International, ye see? It wouldn't be right getting involved in domestic disputes if you follow my drift.

Another glare made it clear that the constable was not in the mood for humor.

"Best leave now mate." he said, taking Aven by the shoulder and guiding him out. "No use arguing with brick walls." He closed the door behind them to make his comment the parting one.

"Sorry 'bout him. Can you find yer way out? I'm due for my beat soon but I figure I can start here." Unlike regular guards, the Night Watch kept a tabs on the interior of the cities, looking for the much more subtle threats that could come from within and possibly snatch citizens off of darkened lanes.

[Stella Gaslight]

The sunset bell rang thorough the campus of St Bethany's college signaling the closing of the campus for the evening.  Behind the high wrought iron fence students wandered to the eating halls and the dormitories as one by one the gaslights were lit with much ceremony and pomp. Nina watched them as she did every night while tidying the restricted section on the library.  A few students lingered, No surprise really with exams looming only a few days away.  The labs would be buzzing with activity as well as the last touches were put on projects.  She made her way over to a student having a problem with his research materials and turned the page to just the text he needed.  Nina was rewarded with a smile and a small bow to the black form looking down from the shelf above him.  Phobos made a quiet chucking sound and hopped off to check on the other students while Demos turned his back on the seen out the window and glided to the books awaiting re-shelving. Nina was pleased with how the evening was shaping up. Sometimes having two sets of eyes was very useful.  Another bell tolled this one more deep and mournful.  Everyone bowed their head in silent contemplation.  It had been almost a month since someone was lost in a monster attack. Every person was thinking about a loss, it was a connection that bonded them all together.  The ties that bind were stronger than death or so they say,

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Well yes, I suppose I could find my way out, I managed to get in then, didn't I?" He laughed weakly at his own pseudo quip, but the smile genuinely came from the watchman's talk of a brick wall, which the constable in his current state resembled with his flat features and bright red face.

"Just so you know sir," Aven said, "I have no blame for you, I simply blame that old walrus-face." Aven said as he folded his arms, indulging the pettiness of his inner child as he hurled the useless remains of his prize into the gutter. His satchel of capsules and vials soundlessly hung from his side, its contents held safely within padded compartments. He stepped out into the cobbled streets and searched for a place to kill time, his eyes falling upon the sign which oh-so-clearly read "Library"
He felt drawn to the place of books like a fly to honey, and though it was a meager campus library, it was still a wonderful place to pick up some of the newer formulae that were usually so prevalent in such prestigious colleges as those in Geneva.


A lone cart wheeled its way into the stone walls of the city, its driver remaining covered by a heavy black cloak as the contents of several steel-banded barrels shuffled and gurgled impatiently. The smell of so many people in such a small, walled-in space drove the barrels residents wild with feral sensations.

[Stella Gaslight]

Aven was quickly noticed but unfortunately it was Demos who saw him first and puffed himself up.  He did not like unknown males near his females. He swooped down on Aven.  ""Demos really acting like a silly fledgling at you age."  The woman with her back turned to him spoke like she was somehow seeing what was going on behind her head. The crow turned sharply and landed on a bust like that had been what he meant to do.  He let out a small indignant caw to let her know that he did not approve of this man.  Nina turned around with a smile on her face.  "Sorry about him. He is a bit protective.  So what brings you here?"

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Kemp gave Aven a friendly salute as he entered the prestigious library. Kemp could see that the afternoon would eventually be making way to night. He puffed into his hands slightly to warm himself up, then started to pace. The library was as good a place as any to get started. As the darkness became slightly more pronounced, he lit his lantern which glowed a pale yellow and gave off a faintly sweet smell. It was filled with various herbs that the monstrous would find unpleasant. The Night Watch were themselves not truly prepared to handle the unnatural, but no one else would patrol at this time. If they did come across something it was their job to send up flares, ring bells and whatnot until the real monster hunters came. However, almost all of the emergencies he came across involved him beating some petty mugger or assaulter senseless. Keeping the humans under control was just as important.

[Nigel Wetherby]

 "I am a travelling chemist, and I would like to see what the newest salt-hurling professionals have discovered in ways of potives and linements to ward off and send the lives of foul beasts."
He said with an eloquent flair that was purely from confidence. He straightened his glasses and eyed a book of experimental new formulas in the paper-covered almanac which shone with raised print.
The new tome rested upon the librarian's desk, like an ancient tome begging to unveil the secrets of history to the reader.  Aven reached out to it like an excited child, but a jolt of surprise hit him as a loud scream shook the air.

The dark cart rolled to a stop,the coach stood up and pulled a chord at its side, the ropes which held the barrels down fell away, the wooden cylendirs began to roll away. shattering as they hit the ground to reveal its grim contents.
From the splintering planks of wood emerged a pack of creatures, hunched over beasts with fangs and claws crafted from some indescribably shiny black stone. Their dark red, dry skins wrapped tightly over their emaciated forms.
Horrified cries from passers by shook the air.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

The nearby guards attempted to react to the macabre cargo the cart had just unloaded. The creatures, however, were fast and the guards were either killed or beat back. The cart had stopped in the road that lead up to the library and Kemp got a good look at what was going on in the twilight illuminance. Civilians were rushing in panic, being ripped down one by one. A large group of people ran past head, heading in the opposite direction. The creatures then began to slowly come down the street, snapping and frothing. The guards were help back by the majority of them.

The black cloaked figure barked something in an incomprehensible tongue. A couple of the creatures began to lope towards the library, straight at Kemp. He held his breath in shock, but tightening his stance. The first one came up to him, licking its lips in a mock grin, sharp teeth flashing. It came upon what it thought was easy prey. Kemp whipped out his steel tipped baton, striking with such force that the thing's head was caved in like a melon.

Kemp realized he needed to call reinforcements. He reached into his coat to pull out the flare gun. However, the next creature lunged at him. He managed to step back, but it caught the gun in it's jaws and smashed it. He kicked the creature back as it came at him. He backed up the steps to the library, realizing that he had no escape route now.

The figure in black had simply strolled closer, making hissing sounds that caused the gibbering horde to generally move it's rampage closer and closer to the library. He then ascended the steps slowly.

"Halt!" shouted Kemp, backing up. This bloke looked to be bad news all around.

"I said stay back!" said Kemp. There was no way he was letting him into a crowded library. Damn it! Surely someone had called for reinforcements by now?!

Kemp was now right by the library doors. He tried a third time.

"I order you to halt!" he said, whipping out his baton and getting ready to clobber the intruder.

He didn't know what the hell the man did, but he was suddenly blasted back with ridiculous force, crashing through the library doors and being flung far into the main hall. He could hear patrons screaming and gasping in confusion through his ringing ears. He found himself unable to move and groaned. He then heard more growls as the man's pets started to follow him inside. Looks like someone wanted something very badly from this library. And he would likely kill everyone here as well.

"Bloody Hell..." he muttered. This was not a good start to the night.

[Stella Gaslight]

"That is the latest edition of..."  She trailed off as Demos crowed loudly.  She could see black forms moving outside and student's starting to panic.  Nina found the senior who she had helped with his research materials staring out the window.  "I need you to help get the underclassmen in to the steam tunnels then run to the security office.  I am counting on you."  The boy looked pale and gulped but then he squared his shoulders and started the evacuation.  Nina turned back to Aven.  "I hope you have some salts for slinging because we are about to be in big trouble."  With that the door was ripped open and the screaming truely started.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Two more of the creatures smashed in through a stained glass window of a serene looking lady, her demure face reduced to shards of tinkling, colored light as the emaciated beasts began to scrounge the floors, snuffling around the broken glass like basset hounds until their eyes came to the young librarian. The crows cawed irately, puffing themselves up in alarm as they approached like hungry jackals, their steely claws scraping at the floor as long, striped tounges wetted black stone jaws with thick coats of greenish drool.

A loud sound that could only be described as *Foomp!* made itself known, followed by the shattering of glass and the hiss of burning skin. The first of the hideous intruders clawed at its face as chemichal burning ate away its papery flesh. It screeched and hissed, twisting and writhing on the ground before ultimately falling still, its body contorted in a twisted form of pain.
Aven clutched what looked like a large tube attached to a pistol's handle.
"Well, I suppose there's no way the constable can deny this happened, eh?" He chuckled nervously, firing a second glass cartridge at the second creature, which artfully dodged the attack and charged at him, rewarded for its efforts with a pouch of sour smelling powder in the face. The red powder caused its piggy eyes to water as it stumbled about foolishly, colliding into shelves and tables.

"I thought you guardsmen were supposed to keep nasties like these out!" Aven said, loading another canister into his strange gun.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

"What the hell are you complaining about!" said Kemp hoarsely. "I'm the only one here. The regulars outside are dead. We need time for more to show. And anyways, those corpse-things ain't nothing. Just watch out for... him."

Kemp trailed off as he realized the cloaked stranger had stepped just near him. He appeared to be calmly walking through the carnage. Kemp swore, reaching for his knife. The figure seemed to sense what he was doing and stepped down on his right arm, near the shoulder. Hard. Kemp cursed. Such a slim figure shouldn't have such force.

Then it got much worse. There was another booming sound, like when he had been blasted through the door. He screamed as he felt a shock wave go through his arm. He looked to see a bloody mess. It looked liked someone had run his arm over with a heavy cart wheel where the man had been stepped on it. The bone looked to be snapped cleanly in two.

Kemp was beyond screaming now. He swore the man laughed as he stepped down further on his arm, grinding his heel. Kemp saw to his horror the limb was literally ripped entirely off now. The man, satisfied that Kemp was done for, continued on. Kemp looked at his removed arm. Then he remembered something.

"Oh hell. Not again." he muttered. Already he was feeling a very different sort of pain.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Guided by the scent of Viscera, the rest of the corpse-things began to close in on kemp, assuming the wound meant he would be easier prey.  However, an unusual smell filled the air, the smell of black blood. The blood of a goretouched.
The beasts backed away slowly, but their teeth and claws began to glow with bright red veins, which seemed to pull them closer to the guardsman.
The cloaked figure's cape fluttered in the breeze, and like that he was gone, leaving behind a pile of black feathers, and a book missing from the shelf.

More of the corpse-things began to approach, six in all drew in on Kemp, their jaws gnashing as if they were sharpening against eachother, their claws scraping the tiles of the library. Aven let loose another canister of the same burning mixture, which looked to be a vial of clear fluid with silvery red speckles floating within. The canister smashed against the side of a corpse thing's head, hitting one beside it with backlash and causing the monstrosity which took the brunt of the chemichal attack to keel over and curl into a ball of contorted, unbridled bestial suffering, while the beast beside it snarled and hissed as it's left eye was melted away by the attack.

[Stella Gaslight]

Nina ran to the book safe office and came back with two small pistols just in time to see the theft.  "Put that down."  She yelled firing, The bullet missed him but struck one of the beasts closing in who screamed and clawed at the wound.  The chemist looked at her with confusion.  "Blessed argent bullets. one of the perks of working at St Bethany's."  Nina joked cause if she let herself think of the nightmare around her she would start screaming.  Demos circled from above giving her a full view of the monsters at all time while Phobos saw that the students escaped.  She saw the horribly wounded man on the floor and nodded up at the black flapping shadow.  "If we can get the guardsmen to the steam tunnels we can bar the blessed gates and be safe until help gets here."  Nina smiled grimly as the alarm bell in the central tower rang out.  The guards knew where the problem was now all they had to do was survive until help arrived.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

The creatures turned, moving from the downed guardsman to the aggressive monster hunter. However, there was a noise behind them. Kemp, though armless and likely suffering a broken spine was somehow kneeling. The monsters however kept a slight distance as they could tell something was wrong.

"Damn bloody bugger just had to go and take that arm off..." muttered Kemp. However, he realized that if he tried to take halting actions now it would be likely he would be armless for the rest of his life. "Bloody Damn." he muttered as he shrugged off his coat. He had taken a fancy to it.

Then he started to shift. It happened in fluid bursts, his muscles expanding, his shirt ripping. His skin became a shade of green and scaly and tough, while his face contorted as he gained long claws and teeth. Hard spines and plating emerged over his body. He let out a low growl as he moved to his full height. The last thing to change were his eyes, finally glazing over to the yellowish ones of a monster.

He then picked up his human arm off the floor. He ripped something off the upper arm, then took the limb and, to the disgust of those still watching, started to devour his own limb. Once he was done he closed his eyes for a moment, looking to be focusing. Then, amazingly, his stump started to grown and twist, until the monster now had two pairs of very muscular arms, with very sharp wicked looking claws.

"Well, can't say you blighters didn't ask for it." he said in a low voice. The three monsters still left approached him warily. Then one of them leapt, trying to take him by surprise. Kemp moved even faster - he batted the creature to the ground like it was but a mangy dog, audibly snapping its spine.

He then rushed forwards, impaling one of him on his claws, as it scratched to no avail. While he mangled this one he spun to check on the other. It was loping across the library, heading for a girl who was strangely still here - she appeared to be blind as well though she was packing a pair of pistols. He was too far to help - he bit down on the one who was still scratching him, rending the shoulder spitting the things arm out of his mouth, then shouting a quick warning to Aven and the girl.

[Stella Gaslight]

Calm now, she thought taking careful aim, just treat it like one of the pheasants. It was looking at her like she was on the menu and making her skin crawl. Nina compensated for the change in caliber and recoil but she really wished she had her trusty rifle insisted of these pretty pea shooters.  A little closer, a little more, there it was.   She fired what shod have been a perfect chest shot but the monster turned at the last moment grasping for Phobos.  The creature howled with pain as the bullet buried it self in the flesh around the ribs.  The creature clawed at the nearest living thing which was unfortunately Phobos returning from the steam tunnels.  Phobos took a took a hit to the leg and started to bleed.  Demos trying valiantly to save his two hens from the monster flew in to it's face claws out.  It flailed knocking Demos in to the wall were he lay dazed.  Nina grabbed her face and screamed the pain of having her connection broken off so suddenly was intense.  Half blind she fell backwards as the monster jumped at her, claws out and ready for blood.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Kemp saw there was little time, though the birds had given him a slight amount. He rushed, still holding the wriggling monster. He saw the monster leap. Not close enough yet he instinctively threw the monster he was carrying. The two beasts collided in midair and landed in a writhing pile on the floor. Now fully enraged and immersed in the heat of battle he kept going, running near on all fours, using his larger arms to dash across the library floor.

The monsters were just getting up when Kemp impacted them. All of them skidded across the floor and crashed into the wall. Kemp took the one he had been fighting and thrown, grabbing its head and forcing it straight into the wall with a sickening crunch. He turned to the other one, which was struggling more like a trapped animal than a ferocious one. For a hideous monster it had an expression that was surprisingly similar to fear. Kemp gave a roar in his full voice, not the whisper he preferred in this form, before tearing out the throat of his foe.

He sat back, breathing heavily despite the ease he had taken in mutilating the things. Gods, he'd just ripped three... whatever they were... to ribbons.

He was glad the library was nearly empty now. He saw that the girl had fallen backwards.

"Ah, are you alright, ma'am?" he asked in his lower voice, trying to stand up as properly as he could, looking a little ashamed at his form and onslaught.

[Stella Gaslight]

With her eyes distracted she turned the wrong way to respond to Kemp.  "I think I will be all right,  Can you  help me find my birds?  I think they are on the floor near the folklore collection.  Phobos has a cut on her leg and Demos is the still one.  They are my eyes and I cannot see without them."  She stood up nearly banging her head on a table.  She could feel the heat of a large figure no too far from her.  She put her arms out an stepped forward until her hands touched scales.  Demos was coming to now and sending her strange blurry images.  "Who are you?"  Nina asked using Kemp's arm to steady herself when she tripped over a broken chair leg.

[Nigel Wetherby]

"He's a goretouched." Aven said, fascination raising his voice as he approached the scale-laden guardsman.
"Of the order Lycanthropia, I would imagine."
He loaded his gun with a canister of silver oxide powder immersed in alchohol, one could never be too careful around shape-changers. Scientists now adays had been twisting them into all sorts of grotesque forms. Crafting chimeras of insect, reptile, and even arachnid humanoids. And it was well known that Lycanthropian goretouched were highly unstable.

He lowered his gun as the creature spoke, but fingered the handle nervously.
"It is good to see you two were unharmed, but just what on earth were those damn things? I've never seen them in the Almanac Monstorum, they must be a new species, or perhaps constructs..."
He prodded an evicerated corpse of one of the creatures, he would ahve been able to study its nature if not for the fact that mister kemp had reduced them to piles of shiny, wet viscera.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

"My name happens to be Kemp. Kemp Necker." the goretouched replied.

"I apologize if'n I frightened you." he said. "But it wasn't my fault at all. It only slipped cause the blighter who snatched the book blew my arm off."

He loped over to the scene of his first kill, and shuffled around, looking across the floor. He finally picked something up and moved over to Aven and Nina. He took the silver spiked clasp and wrapped it as best he could around his massive arm, the silver spikes piercing even his tough scales. He held it, tightening it bit by bit as the arm shrank and started to return to normal. The transformation took awhile but moved faster the further he was able to drive the silver into his arm, purifying his racing blood. Soon he was back to human form, the clasp pulled tightly around his arm, small trickles of blood dripping down. He wiped slightly at this, before moving and putting his coat back on, buttoning it up.

"Speaking of, who are you folks? And what do you know about that fellow in black? He seemed to know just where he was going and what he wanted from here."

[Stella Gaslight]

Demos was up again and grooming his ruffled feathers.  It was a relief to be able to see clearly again.  Phobos cawed and hopped piteously towards Nina.  "Hush now you are going to be just fine."  She took a handkerchief out of her pocket and bound the bird's wound then used another to wipe blood off her own leg.  "My name is Nina Lafayette I am the head librarian for the cryptozoology collection.  I only saw the figure for a few moments but it took a book,  The first addition On the behavior of Revenants by Thomas Delaney if I am not mistaken.  A curiosity for collectors but most of the information inside had been dismissed scientifically.  I don't understand why they would take it many of the other rare books would fetch a larger fee for the danger involved."

[Nigel Wetherby]

"My name is Aven, Aven Reinhart." He extended his hand, shaking Kemp's and giving the lady librarian a flourishing bow. "Travelling Adaptus Alchemia, self-taught scholar, and bounty hunter."
He motioned to a laquered box which he placed the canister of silver oxide into. "My father was more of a hands-on fellow, but i do my best to keep up our line of monster-hunters. Someone needs to keep the place safe, and sometimes muskets dont do the whole job, would you not agree, mister Kemp?"

He chuckled to himself, though it was purely to lighten the mood, he himself found the joke to be wildly innappropros.
"Wait, did you say Thomas Delany?" He straightened his glasses after wiping off a bit of the creatures blood from Kemp's attack. "He was a genius in the feild of Necrology and Necrophsycology! My father knew him and accompanied him on many expeditions, well that was until he vanished."

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

"Euh, do yah think we could have the conversation on all the 'ologies somewhere else?" said Kemp, looking towards the blasted door of the library. Guards were already coming in and trying to ascertain what had just happened.

"Right on time..." muttered Kemp. He saw one of the people who had been huddling in the library speaking to an officer. He then saw that the officer in question was the good constable.

"Oh hell, they all saw me slip." he moaned softly. "There goes my job."

On cue the constable came up to him. He looked Kemp over smugly, then noticed Aven.

"Knew you looked like trouble." he said. "We're taking everyone in the library in for questioning. You two are coming straight with me. You're our best suspects right now. Sorry my good lady but just follow where the officers direct you. I shan't let these two bother you any longer."

Officers began to rather roughly handle Kemp and Aven back to the prison, while they escorted the other witnesses in a more gentle manner towards the headquarters.

"Perfect. Just perfect." muttered Kemp as he was near dragged along.

[Stella Gaslight]

Nina ran forward as her new friend was taken away.  "Please sir don't harm Mr. Necker he saved my life.  One of those monsters nearly got me but he stopped it."  She considered it very distasteful but when needed she was capable of acting like the simpering sort of female that got men to do things for her. If she still had eyes she could open she would be fluttering lashes but as it was she developed a concerned and confused look.  "Both these gentlemen protected me from those monsters and that odd dark figure that stole a book and then vanished."   Demos and Phobos stayed on the top of the book shelves they knew that she needed to appear as normal as she could for this to stand a chance of working.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Aven nodded in agreement with the Librarian.
"Sir, i will have you know I am not trouble!" He said defensively, nervosuly defending his family lineage from the idea that he was just a troublemaker.
"As you will plainly see, and smell, I am a registered graduate of the Academia of Alchemia Adeptus! It is my duty to defend all from the ever-present threat of monsters!" As he spoke, he presented his certification, a metal card of engraves silver wrapped around a card of iron. His name was carved in imperial script.

The heavy scent of chemicals and melted beast flesh hung in the air, and the young man exibited some of the eccentricities common in "salt slingers"

[Thorinis]

Hearing the commotion coming up the street, Luther looked out the window to see people fleeing from the direction of the library. Grabbing his axe and shield from the wall he did not have time to place on the chain mail. Running the full way  by the time he made it to the square he saw the entire situation cleared up. "Damn" he thought, practice was all well and good but with out trial he would never thing himself good enough to fight with the guard. Seeing the librarian, the monstrous man, and someone that did not look familiar he proceeded anyway hoping maybe he might get to fight after all. seeing the Constable whom he did not like because he tended to bully everyone, he came up the group and glowered at the Constable after hearing him claim one a troublemaker.

The Constable while not afraid of Luther, was careful not to find out what the big man was capable of. The fact he could wrap a hand around his head and probably squash it like a melon came to mind. Looking the card over for a forgery knowing he would find none, he handed it back, "Your lucky she is willing to vouch for you or we would be dragging you down to answer questions. I don't care who you are. Luther you keep hauling the axe and shield around with out being called and I might have to confiscate it."

Turning away he glared at the Goreforged, "You on the other hand, will have some explaining to do I think when your Commander find out."

Seeing several guards standing about he yelled,"What are you doing get back to your posts, can't you see its all taken care of." This caused all the men to quickly dispatch back to their immediate post.