Barille 04 - Hollodo is taken

Begin a Session

INT. RECK — TRACKING THE ISOTOPE TRAIL — LATE — DRAINED

Barille pushes deeper into the settlement on fumes, the hand terminal leading him by its thin decaying line. The trail bends toward the living quarters, toward somewhere people wash and sleep and think they're safe.

Undertake an Expedition(Wits)—3 vs 10|4 The trail leads into a Zones(45)Living Area(59)Public restroom or showers district — and then into the worst thing it could have led to. Action + Theme(86)Advance Blood Pay the Price(53)A friend, companion, or ally is in harm’s way (or you are, if alone)

The entity has run Hollodo to ground in the public showers, and it's on him. Barille doesn't stop to think. He draws and moves. Enter the Fray(Heart)—8 vs 10|6 Save Hollodo from the entity Position:Position → out of combat

The thing is still hard to look at, like it's playing a trick on the back of his eyes, and it's fast, and it is Creature First Look(54)Hideous. Bone spikes ridge its forearms. Barille levels his pistol and fires. Strike(Edge)—3 vs 9|2 Save Hollodo from the entity +2 (2/10) Position:Position → in control The shot goes wide of anything vital and the creature is already moving. He tries to break clear of it, but it's simply faster than he is. React Under Fire(Edge)—6 vs 8|6 Health:3 → 1 Endure Harm(Iron)—7 vs 8|10 Momentum:3 → 1

Take a Break Barille is going to come out swinging when I get back.

INT. RECK — PUBLIC SHOWERS OFF THE LIVING QUARTER — EVENING — DESPERATE

Steam and bad light. Hollodo cowers against the tiles. The bone-spiked thing has forgotten him for the moment — it wants
Barille now. Barille's pistol is up and his stomach is open, and the only way anyone leaves this room whole is if the creature stops moving. Want: kill it. Before it kills them both.

It doesn't move like a human. It doesn't even move like something from this space or time, there's a jitter, a flicker, and then it's simply on him, driving a forearm spike into his stomach.

BARILLE BLACK
Ughhhh. *coughs blood*
Dodge this...

Point blank, he twists the pistol and jams it against the creature's midsection. Clash(Iron)—8 vs 4|5 Save Hollodo from the entity +2 (4/10) Position:Position → in a bad spot Two rounds into the chest and the thing scrabbles backward.

BARILLE BLACK
Hollodo! Get. Up. And. GET OUT!

HOLLODO
Barille?! Gods, what is that thing?

BARILLE BLACK
It's mine. Now get out of here.

Barille rushes it. Close range is where it bleeds, so keep it close. He drives in to wall-jump and kick the thing off its feet, to keep it scrabbling. Invoking Brawler asset: Gain Ground(Heart)—6 vs 5|8 Momentum:1 → 2 Momentum:2 → 4 It mostly works. The creature recoils. It looks like nightmare, but a relentless offensive is keeping it on the back foot. He presses, dives and slides across the wet floor after it as it retreats through a doorway into a new space. Zones(18)Entertainment Strike(Iron)—6 vs 5|2 Save Hollodo from the entity +2 (6/10)

The creature bursts through and screams, real pain now, ooze trailing from its wounds. But it's still fast, and it pivots away from Barille toward Hollodo, who's fled into a pachinko hall. Barille cuts to head it off, picks a machine lane, and tears down it at a sprint. Gain Ground(Edge)—4 vs 4|9 Position:Position → in control Bone creature gets Hollodo(0/The Starforged/Campaign Barille Black/Clocks/Bone creature gets Hollodo.md) Bone creature gets HollodoThe Starforged/Campaign Barille Black/Clocks/Bone creature gets Hollodo.md → 0/1 Momentum:4 → 3

Wrong lane. The thing is smarter than he gave it credit for, and now it's right on Hollodo, distance between them, a crowded floor, no clean shot. So it's a flat-out sprint with a gut full of internal bleeding. Barille grits his teeth, holds for half a beat, and runs. React Under Fire(Edge)—6 vs 5|9 Health:1 → 0 Endure Harm(Iron)—5 vs 2|2match Health:0 → 1 Position:Position → in a bad spot

Full sprint. He fires two rounds through a glass partition and vaults the frame without breaking stride, blood soaking through his shirt but the gap closing. The creature is nearly on top of Hollodo when Barille bull-rushes it. Strike(Iron)—4 vs 7|10 Position:Position → in control Bone creature gets HollodoThe Starforged/Campaign Barille Black/Clocks/Bone creature gets Hollodo.md → 1/2

The creature's arm shoots out and catches Barille by the throat, stopping him dead. It holds him at arm's length without even looking at him, its face, if it has one, still fixed on Hollodo cowering below. Somehow it seems larger now. More certain. Barille goes for the old trick, forcing the pistol against the bone plates along its side. React Under Fire(Iron)—5 vs 5|7

It's seen that trick. Its free hand tears the pistol from his grip and flings it away, and then it turns its attention fully onto him. It grins? Then it drives another spike into his chest and pins him to the wall. Health:1 → 0 Endure Harm(Iron)—6 vs 10|10match Endure Harm(28)You are unconscious and out of action. If left alone, you come back to your senses in an hour or two. If you are vulnerable to ongoing harm, Face Death.

Does the creature leave Barille here? 50/50(3)Yes

The last thing Barille sees is the creature folding down over Hollodo, gathering him up, and stepping into an otherworldly portal in the side of the building. Then it all fades to black.

End a Session

Barille 05 - name tbd