Monsters On The Run

[Philote]

Hypatos had to keep reminding himself that the living statue behind him was following his directions and not rampaging towards him. The statue seemed quite loyal at least, and was doing a descent job of making the path behind them unnavigable. Each path they fled down though only led them to another intersection that offered no escape from the labyrinth of civilization, and it was only a matter of time before their pursuers cut off their escape.

Several of the men cutting them off turn to stone as Hypatos faces down the pursuers, but the bright lights that they focus on the two of them cut off his vision. Hiding as close to the living statue as possible, Hypatos wracks his mind for a way to escape. A thought occurs to him, It would not help them escape detection, but it would allow them to flee for a few moments longer.

Hypatos slowly his ally towards the side of the pathway they had become trapped on <"Break it down! We're going through the building!">

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Rei looks at Ammon, <<Work for a god? Ha! I'm not some tame Raiju that can be made to follow a god! I'm a Kitsune, a seductress who can steal life energy from living men, burn down villages in mere minutes, shapeshift into whatever I want to be, and you ask whether I'm a servant of the gods? Not even close! WHO and What are <b>you by the way?>>

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

<<Ammon. Laborer. Got told I had the great 'honor' of guarding my God-kings tomb. The last thing I remember before waking up tonight was a pair of priest chanting and tearing my organs out. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have seen a lake or a river or something in this place? Anything with a lot of water?>>

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

<<I feel so bad for you. I'm guessing you failed then at guard-duty since you aren't in your tomb anymore. Do you know where we are?>>

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

<<Let's just put it this way; when I woke up, I realized that I'd been looted from the tomb. So, it safe to say I botched that job pretty badly. As for the looters, that's easy. I don't know how long I've been asleep, but only one people can steal so thoroughly: Romans! We're obviously in the clutches of the Roman Empire, circa 1630 something.>>

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

<<Right, I almost forgot, I keep hearing you say Roman this Roman that but I have no idea what that is. Please do explain for me. As well, year 1630 of what? Who's the leader of this place, I do want to know that.>>

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

<<Roman. Swarthy dudes, like bloodsports and wine. They march about conquering everything and then building roads all over them. They steal everything, including their own gods. They conquered some people, stole their gods from them, and renamed them so it wouldn't look like out and out theft. And they don't have a single leader, they have 50 old men who sit around and do nothing but talk and make laws.  As for dates, I'm just guesstimating. Could be a lot higher than that.>

[Zaleramancer]

A small puff of multicolored smoke appeared near Ammon and a large platter of small, round and very delicious looking snacks of some kind appeared. It floated in mid-air.

Fluttering by went a small card covered in Demotic lettering.

Courtesy of Zale of Reality 583. Enjoy!

Oh, and there's a small duck pond about ten meters west of here.

Also: Don't tell anyone about this, or my Sheut will feast on your heart as surely as the Devourer would. Especially not any wolves or men made from quartz or gorillas in expensive suits or damnit I'm babbling again.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Well, this wasn't the weirdest thing to happen today. And they did look delicious.

He took one and put it in his mouth. Not that bad. Whoever this guy was, he was a good cook.

<<If you'll excuse me, I have to go take a bath.>> he says to the two of them, grabbing the plate out of the air and walking to the west.  Mid walk away, he unrolls another bit of bandage and tosses it to Rei. <<It'll translate things for ya. He'll tell you how it works. You two play nice now. I'll be back.>>  He shambles away, taking the plate.

The duck pond is fairly small, but that was alright. It was big enough. Ammon lays the plate back on the air, spreads his arms, and flops down into it. His skin, hungry for any moisture it can find, soaks up water greedily. He can feel it, life giving water flowing into every pore in his body.

He rises out of it, feeling the magic that keeps him alive pumping now at full blast. The bandages, once loose and hanging off of him, where now wound tight. He looked down to his arms, and through the cracks in the bandages saw skin that was plump, brown, and alive. He felt a thud in his chest as his heart started to beat, pumping not blood but water through his veins. It was a hard beat, a fast beat. A divine beat. The power of a divine heart. He could see, better than he he'd ever seen before. Power of divine sight. He took air into his reformed lung, and realized that, until now, he'd been bereft of smell. He was sure his tongue would be able to pick apart any sort of flavor. He rolled his joints, and wondered if they had ever rolled so smoothly before. He felt so Human again!

He eyed a tree though, and wondered. He drew back his arm (swiftly, easily, no great coordinated labor like before) and brought it crashing against the trunk. It splintered inward from the blow, then fell forward into the lake with a clash and a splash.

Oh, he felt human, alright. Even looked human, now. But that was the point, wasn't it? Look human until your within spitting distance of a graverobber, then splat! He's a smear!

He took another cookie from the plate, and almost fainted from the renewed taste.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Rei picked up the bandage and held it up. Translate for her? That was an interesting thought. As for the way that these "Romans" stole things, it would merit some looking into. She munched on a few of the snacks as she waited for Ammon to return and when he did, she asked her next question, <<So then you don't truly know when or where we are, but do you know what the situation in this village or town is? Do you know anything at all about where we are?>>

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The golem did not hesitate to follow orders. In mere moments he was against the wall, his anvil like fists swinging in great arcs down on the crumbling bricks and mortar. One punch cracked the wall, another pulverized it completely, leaving only the cloudy mist of brick dust hanging in the air.

The golem charged into the building like a Juggernaut, muscling his way through the interior walls. Brick, wood wiring and insulation were smashed away as the golem paved its way through the building, clearing a path for his friend.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Oh yes, that translator was going full blast now.

"Well, of the two guys I fought one looked like a Nubian," he pauses at her look and holds up his arm, pointing to the brown of his arm. "Their skin are dark, like mine but deeper. The other one looked more like a Roman, lighter skin than mine. Also, a few of those guards Alex threw around out front were paler than that, almost like him. I even think I saw one guy who looked kind of like you, come to think of it."

He takes the last cookie from the plate and savors it.

"The guards were no armor, but it doesn't look like they need it. They have tubes that spark and fire.... something, it was to fast and small for me to see. Point is, it punched right through me." He goes to indicate the hole, only to find that it has healed shut. "Well, it was there, believe me. Their chariots don't need horse, these building go higher than anything I saw back in my time, and" he lifts up the gold chains around his neck "These people have enough wealth that they can use it as fashion. Were probably in some sort of vast, rich, advanced empire. Like the old stories of Atlantis before the gods sank it. This might be a small village, for all we know. But, me and my friend here seem to have stirred things up pretty badly. You shouldn't approach anyone dressed in blue. And if you hear an awful wailing sound, run away. Especially if you see red and blue flashing lights in the distance. That's all I know."

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

<<Avoid any wailing noises? Got it.>>

Rei closes her eyes and quickly listens to the area around them, before catching an awful wailing sound in the distance to the general east and south, <<That would mean we're going to want to avoid going east or south for now. I can hear wailing noises in both of those directions>>

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Right. Good ears."

He points off to the pond with the tree in it.

"West has treated me good so far, so I say we head that way. Also" he says, eying the dress (or lack thereof, in Rei's case) of him and his companions, "we need to get us some proper cloths. The three of us look like we can at least pass for normal people, so if we look the part they should have a harder time finding us."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

<<Right.>> Alex agreed, <<I just hope their idea of a wardrobe isn't too different. I mean, I respect other people's cultures and all, but if men wear dresses here, like I heard they do in Ireland and Scotland, then I'll have to steal something from one of the Catholic officers.>>

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Screams of terror echoed across the desolate streets, mixing with the wail of police sirens and the ever increasing thud of collapsing walls. The golem continued it's headlong charge through the building, wrecking through the building's first floor, scattering debris. With a final thundering crash, the outer walls of the building exploded outwards in a blast of dust, crumbling mortar and debris as the golem tore into the street.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Rei sighs loudly, <<Clothes? Do I really need to wear those? They never feel comfortable! I'm a Kitsune, not a human for crying out loud!!!>>

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Naked woman are kind of a thing that draws notice. You could always stay here and hide out I suppose; I know for sure that there are people who have seen me, and I'd guess that someone must be able to describe Alex there. If you haven't done anything outrageous like assault a guard or twenty, they wouldn't be looking for you. It's just.... this ain't Yamato, it ain't Bohemia, it for damn sure isn't Egypt, and I'm actually having my doubts about it being Rome. For some reason though, we're all here, and none of us have a clue why. I'd like to answer that question, and I's sure you would to. But we can't if we have to constantly fight off those guys and who knows what else they can throw at us. So, the safest option is to blend."

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

<<Fine. I'll wear clothes, if it helps with blending in. I do hope that they have some nice kimonos....>>

[The Junkyard Cat]

"Guh......"  Waking up feeling awful. I look and seem to be in a corridor with no roof. -Who has a corridor with no roof- I thought Head still hurting I walk off into the distance where I see bright lights not sure where I'll end up next. I hear crowds of people. Realizing this I take cover. It was easy to scare one human but a crowd is a bit tricky and would be a bit careless for a boggart to not pick is targets to play with first.