A Dirge for Derrick Cork: The Warren

[Twitchcraft]

(For the purposes of this thread, those who have ventured into Boomtown have made it through security and across the scarred landscape to the Troll warren. You have the advantage of a moonless night.

To keep the thread moving, there will be periodic prompts to react to. Post whatever you're comfortable with -- don't worry about running short or long. If you have questions about what you see or hear or what you'd like to do, PM them to me. You're also free to coordinate posts among yourselves via PM; remember that you're a team and teamwork pays off in situations like this.)

The wind blew sharp and cold, carrying with it the scent of the warren. It smelled of rot and damp and rust.

The entrance was little more than a wide crack in the bedrock. It sat at the bottom of a crater carved out by a Rikti bomb. If not for the stench, it might well have been easy to miss.

Two Trolls stood rigid on either side of the crack, their eyes scanning the rim of the crater. There'd been patrols along the way, too, though it was impossible to say for certain whether those had been focused on watching for intruders or merely assisting in the scavenging efforts. Either way, that made half a dozen of the creatures outside the warren. Who knew how many more waited inside?

[Lauren Lombardi]

Lauren ducked back behind a rusted shell of a former automobile, her eyes scanning the other would-be heroes assembled with her. An army, Wyatt said. He was told to bring an army, and here were seven people, ready to plunge into an area most everyone else in Boomtown avoided like the plague.

“OK. If anyone has suggestions on how we should do this, let’s hear them. I’ll admit, stealth is simply not one of my better skills. A human bonfire is the exact opposite of subtle. On the other hand, I’m not sure a frontal assault is a bright plan either.”

Lauren was fairly confident in her own abilities, but she wasn’t invincible, and the Trolls would have the benefits of raw numbers and home turf. Wyatt, on the other hand, well he could probably handle a small army himself as long as he could stay focused. Lauren knew she and Wyatt could keep the Troll’s attention from the others long enough for them to do their thing. Cassie, Eric, and Mia pretty much knew how to handle themselves.

“For you new guys? Wyatt and I are your shields. If there’s a brawl, we’re the first in and the last out. You stay behind us. If you draw any unwanted attention, make sure we know about it. We can take the pounding so that everyone else can do their thing. Got it?”

Chris and Sam. They were unknowns. What was it that Chris did again? Lauren remembered hearing a rumor that his magic had backfired, causing him to burn himself in the bunker. She thought she remembered hearing Sam didn’t even have control of her powers, yet. What were they even doing here? Yeah, a frontal assault could end up being a massacre.

Lauren tried to focus on the task at hand and keep her thoughts hidden.

“Now, we’ve got no idea what the layout is inside, how big it is, how many Trolls are in there, where to go to find what we’re looking for, or how long it will take us to find it. Anyone have any ideas?”

[Chris Sloan]

Chris nodded to her, ducked behind other nearby wreck of a former car. He then turned to Mia, "If you've gotten better with it, you might be able to use the farsight spell to scout the area." He looked around the group, unsure of anyone else's abilities enough to make ideas.

[Cassandra Finch]

Cass stole a look at the entrance. "That might be best. I'm okay at stealth, I guess. Or better than a bonfire, at least. But I wouldn't bet on me in a Troll warren alone."

[Wyatt Wyborn]

If he was working alone, Wyatt’s typical strategy would be to rush the entrance and surprise the guards, and then use the bottleneck there to try to make a stand and hope that he could outlast the waves of brutes who would surely be coming. How many would that be? Wyatt shook his head. That was a bad idea right here. He and his friends were trying to get inside. Blocking the entrance with a prolonged battle would just ensure their mission’s failure and probably get someone hurt – or worse.

But he wasn’t working alone. He knew that Lauren was right. She wasn’t as tough as him, but she made up for it with her powers. A human bonfire might not be subtle, but it sure didn’t take most bad guy types long to figure out she was too hot to stand toe-to-toe with.

If only they could know what was inside…

Then Chris mentioned the farsight spell. Mia had told Wyatt about that, but –

Mia. He wished she hadn’t come. But he would never tell her that. And she had a right to be here. In her way she was every bit as powerful as he was, but still, the thought of her falling prey to Trolls…

Focus.

If Peyton was here she would tell him to keep his head in the game.

[Mia Cobol]

Mia stayed low behind the debris, hiding near Wyatt. She clung tightly to the bag at her side, reassuring herself that the mish mash of reagents she brought was still there. While she had never been a brilliant strategist, she'd been on enough patrols to know one thing: Stay behind the tough ones.

She glanced at Wyatt as Lauren mentioned him. Stay with Wyatt. Keep him on his feet. He'll keep me safe. She kicked herself for not being better prepared. The charms she had given Jess and Lorne seemed to work well enough. But they were too complex to duplicate on such short notice. So she was going to have to rely on her healing magics instead.

Chris's voice broke through her thoughts and she quickly dug into her bag, retrieving a bit of charcoal. She nodded and whispered back. "I've gotten a little better. I can at least pick a direction of the... being I want to see through. Still not good enough to pick a single one though."

With that Mia turned and pressed her back to the broken down wall she was hiding behind. She ground her thumb into the end of the charcoal, blackening it. Letting her eyes fall closed, she brought her thumb to her forehead and drew a third eye in the middle of it. As she chanted quietly, the symbol began to glow a faint ice blue. Now she waited as the spell sought it's target.

[Eternal-Equinox]

Sam looked around and ducked behind the cover of some rubble. The others were playing out their plans. Looked like the options were pretty limited. She didn't even have real use of her powers. They had only kicked in twice since showing up at the school and both times all she managed to do was drop the temperature around herself drastically. The other night she felt so bad for frosting up the room but Raven never complained, only joked about it.

She tugged on the padded gloves Raven had given her to protect her hands since the only thing she could count on currently was punching the bad guys. She was out classed by the other kids and she knew it. More and more she was feeling usless as they headed out for more and more of these 'missions'

She heard Lauren tell her to stay behind Wyatt and herself, that shouldn't be an issue. She had no desire to stand toe to toe with any Trolls any longer then she had to. What the hell was she doing out here, she wasn't any more useful then any normal person would be. In fact there is a chance she could hinder everyones efforts. She just wanted to help out, but was being here the best way for her to do that?

There was no use trying to worry about it now, she was here. She simply nodded back to Lauren to let her know she had heard the advice.

[Twitchcraft]

One of the Trolls staggered.

With no moon, it was impossible at first to discern exactly what had happened. Only when he turned toward the trash barrel fire could anyone see the silhouette of the arrow that had lodged itself in his gut. He let out something between a groan and a growl and dropped to one knee.

The other Troll made no move to help, instead scanning the rim of the crater. He raised a hand toward the opposite slope, pointing at something unseen, and took an arrow to his shoulder for his efforts. His cry of rage echoed off the stone walls.

Half a dozen hooded figures moved from cover, sprinting, leaping, and hovering their way down the slope. One let fire curl from his fingers, sending it toward the wounded Trolls. Another snuffed the flames in the trash barrel with a wave of her hand and then sent the barrel flying into the warren. Others brought swords, speed, and sheer strength to bear. Each of them bore a stark symbol on his or her cloak -- a raised, closed fist.

By the time they reached the center of the crater, the alarm had gone up. And the Trolls poured forth from the warren to meet their adversaries.

[Twitchcraft]

(Folks, so we're clear -- we will not be holding to a strict posting order. If you have courses of action you want to pursue, you may do so at any time.)

[Lauren Lombardi]

“What the...?”

Lauren gaped at the commotion in the center of the crater. Of course. Whoever told Wyatt already told them, too.

“OK! Stealth it is! We have a diversion, but it’s going to be a race! Let’s skirt the battle and see if we can gain the entrance first. Wyatt, I’m not lighting up, yet. You’re our shield. Go!”

Lauren tried to gauge the path of less resistance, and pointed Wyatt in that direction following close behind. She might not be shielded, but she was still tougher than most and had brute force enough to help clear the way.