Touch of Terror
25st of July 2006 A.D.
Nodding you approach the woman, hand reaching out as though for a handshake, though "Not at all. Nice to meet you ma'am. I do want to ask a quick question about something". As the faux-nurse takes your hand, frost spreads on the woman's skin as you clamp down your fingers painfully and in a voice filled to the brim with frozen rage you half-whisper. "How badly would you like to live through this...?"
What she sees in your eyes you will never know, her once pretty face contorting into a mask of terror. You can feel her heart
pounding through her wrist. She shakes her head, or at least you think it was a shake of the head, she could have just been spamming to get out of your grip, then just as suddenly the look of horror falls into slack incomprehension and the woman collapses forward leaving you to catch her so she does not smash her head on the off white tile.
Lost 1 Essence -> now at 9/12
"Hey!" You manage not to curse, though less because of your father and Lydia listening and more from sheer shock.
Still half holding her you turn to look at the people behind you. Thankfully Ruth is the only one paying any attention to what you had just done... or tried to do at least. The realization that you can be scary enough to make monsters faint is a strange and heady one.
"Mrs Koskinen. Please take your friends into your rooms and lock the door until someone comes for you."
"I..." the lady looks between you, Lydia still standing there looking as surprised as you feel and your dad setting down the duffel bag to grab the sword. "Yes, yes I will. Godspeed."
With a little help from Lydia she starts to suher the others into what looks like a game-room, suspiciously unused one from the glimpse you catch of it.
Just as you are trying to shake your prisoner awake you see a man, just shy of middle age, balding and solidity built in a jacket with the Soul's Rest mark and logo on his jacket rush in from down the hall. Thinking quickly you open your mouth to spin some story about how the nurse had just collapsed. Then you see the flash of a pistol being drawn from inside the jacket.
Looks like we found security.
Throwing the unconscious woman away from you, much to Usum's confusion.
"A hostage is a useful thing..." you reach out to draw the sword within, the fire hissing in the air. In the moment it takes the gunman to level the weapon at you and fire, just a little high of center mass the blade is already between you, cutting bullets out of the air with an eerily bell-like sound.
Used 1 Essence -> Now at 8/12
"Lay down your arms and you will be judged fairly," your dad calls pulling Amoracchius free of the bag with quick effective movements.
"You don't know who the fuck you're dealing with!" the man snarls as he bounds upwards in a jerky too quick motion, limbs controverting unnaturally. He actually
sticks to the ceiling like a giant bug, you realize as you charge, but if he thinks that is going to keep him out of reach of your sword he is sorely mistaken.
You slice the gun from his hand sending a pair of fingers flying and then you continue the slash diagonally across his chest until you hit bone, a rib you think. He falls with a heavy thump spilling blood all over the corridor.
And that of course is when Lydia comes out of the game room, takes one look at the gunman one before huffing, looking up at you. "Started without me have you?"
That shouldn't be funny, it really shouldn't... but it was anyway.
For his part dad is not in as high spirits, though after looking at the man for a moment he shakes his head. No time. Now you have to get to the basement.
"Clippy, what's the fastest way to the basement from there?"
"Straight down mistress," she replies much to tour surprise.
"I estimate that with the use of arcane tools you should be able to break through in 70 seconds , rather than the 100 seconds it would take you to reach and traverse the stairs even if unimpeded."
What do you do?
[] Dig straight into the basement with Essence tools (Cost 1 Essence)
[] Take the normal route, risking more guards. but also not leaving a giant hole behind you.
[] Write in
OOC: When you rolled 18 successes for that intimidation I had to stop and look out the window for a bit, in the end I decided that you has shocked her so much she literally faints if she fails a Stamina check, which she did. Then when the guard came around the corner between DPE and the fact that you were holding an unconscious ally of his he decided rightly that it was an attack, spent a willpower not to listen to you that round and fired. It did not go well for him, but you now have one unconscious nurse and one guard in critical condition on your hands. 
