Roman would admit, things hadn't quite gone as he had expected. He had figured that there would be Grimm here, but he had no way of knowing how much, or what kinds, there would still be in Mountain Glenn. Now he had a better idea, and he was reluctant to push his luck more than he had to, if only for personal safety if nothing else.
By the same token though he had gotten some stuff out of this. Now he had a map of the city, and some places that he could search for stuff. This place wasn't totally empty, and that meant that he was guaranteed to find something of value if he looked hard enough.
Now that he had the map, he had some options to choose from. With knowledge of where stuff was located, he could better find the places most likely to have stuff and go straight for them, as opposed to just wandering the city, hoping to find something and serving as Grimm bait in the process. As far as he was concerned, that was a good thing.
For the moment he frowned in thought, scanning the map. Where did he want to go next? There were all sorts of places, but there was the problem yet to be considered of the Grimm, and the damage that had been done to Mountain Glenn. Who knew how accurate this thing still was? He'd prefer to avoid taking unnecessary risks if he could help it, especially down here.
At last, he reached a decision. "Let's head back to the entrance," he told his men. "We'll see if the other groups found anything interesting, and then we can get to looting this place." With all the Grimm lurking about, he'd prefer to have more manpower, and if they've found more valuable stuff, then it would be the best way to get profit from his time.
"Alright boss," the men agreed, not providing any objection. If Roman wanted to move to a place where they could be safer, they weren't about to disagree with that shift in priorities. They might have been mooks, but they nonetheless had their own sense of self preservation.
Roman folded the map back up and slid it into a pocket, checking around them before he moved for the door. In the process he was joined the the other two men, who kept up a defensive posture as they left the bus terminal and moved back into Mountain Glenn proper, to cross the path back to where they had come from.
So they retraced their steps, moving along the quiet streets and alert for any Grimm that might appear to threaten the group. It wasn't hard to miss their presence, but no attacks came, at least for the moment. It only increased the anticipation and worry of those present as they eyed their surroundings. They had to have drawn some attention with the fighting earlier, and it was just a matter of getting out before it all came down on them.
At last they managed to make it to the entrance though, proceeding at something a bit faster than a walk, which Roman would yet claim wasn't a run or a jog either. He had his dignity to worry about, and would not let it seem like he was fleeing. He was just going to get reinforcements, that was all. There was nothing wrong with that.
"So far so good" he noted to no one in particular as they passed the train station, heading back into the tunnels once more. That made things a lot easier, since they only needed to cover their front and rear now, as opposed to all sides. As a result they were able to proceed along quicker, back towards the junction where they had departed from everyone else earlier.
Along the way they picked up the rail car, and it led the way as they returned to where they had come from. That just made things a bit easier, and it meant not having to get it later, so Roman wasn't about to complain. He had enough things to worry about as it was.
At last they arrived at the junction that they had begun their exploration from, to find that no one was present yet. Hardly surprising really, since undoubtedly the other two groups were busy with their own exploration at the moment. At least, Roman assumed that that was the case, and they weren't just busy getting drunk.
Sighing to himself, Roman took a seat on the rail car as he surveyed the other two tunnels. "Time for the waiting game," he muttered to himself, as he attempted to send the groups a message with his Scroll, indicating that they should return. Whether they get it, with how the tunnels were for his signal, was another matter entirely.
With it sent, there was nothing to do but relax, as far as he could tell. His men could be sent down the tunnels, but given how large the city was he didn't exactly have high hopes that they would find the two groups, and that would leave him undefended and them alone. Not the wisest decision, even for him.
So that's what happens, with the two men patrolling and making sure nothing snuck up on them, and Roman turning to smoking a cigar. Nothing too fancy, just enough to take the edge off and calm your nerves while you wait down here. It's better than nothing, that's for sure.
It was several minutes later that the sound of footsteps coming up one of the tunnels drew his attention away, and he glanced over to the left, adding his flashlight to the illumination present as five figures emerged into the main area. They seemed to be in well enough shape, none of them injured at least as far as he could tell. If they had met trouble, it obviously hadn't been more than they could handle.
"Excellent, about time you guys got back," Roman said as he hopped off the rail car, stepping towards the returning group. "Well, did you find anything interesting?" They didn't have anything with them, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
The lead member of the group nodded, as he stopped in front of his boss. "Yeah. Money, a bunch of stuff we could probably pawn off for cash, some vehicles. Couldn't find much in terms of firepower or really valuable items though." It was understandable, that much Roman would admit. It all depended on what people had been cognizant enough to grab when it all came crumbling down.
"Well, better than nothing I suppose," Roman admitted before turning around, looking to one of the men that had been with him. "Anything from the other group yet?"
One of his men walked over to the tunnel on the right, taking a few steps inside and shining his flashlight down the empty expanse of concrete and metal. "Nope, nothing yet."
Roman sighed, resisting the urge to get more frustrated than he needed to be. "Of course. Things can't just be simple, now can they," he muttered, more to himself than the men around him. He was left with something of a dilemma. His men down there might be in trouble, or they might just be taking their time. By the same token, it was taking his time as well, and that was time that could be used for other things.
The returned group had dispersed around the junction, assisting in making sure that the place wasn't about to get swarmed by Grimm, while Roman moved back to the rail car. Time for him to make a decision, as usual. This had better be worth it.
Manpower:
Roman Torchwick
2 Logistics
2 Combat
3 General
[ ] Loot Mountain Glenn
-[ ] Left Tunnel
-[ ] Middle Tunnel
[ ] Go look for the remaining group
[ ] Wait here
[ ] Leave
After a moment of thought, Roman let out a resigned sigh. Better safe than sorry, he supposed, and it wouldn't do to lose five people in Mountain Glenn. It wasn't paranoia if there really was something wrong, and it wouldn't exactly look good for his reputation if he didn't do anything about it, in spite of how he might feel.
He took a moment to examine the tracks, making sure that they could shift the rail car onto the new route. He wasn't about to leave it behind, especially with the advantages that it provided. Fortunately it seemed that the switch was still in working order, so it could go along with them at the same time.
Hopping on the railcar then, he waved his arms about to draw everyone's attention to him. "Alright boys, men, whatever term you choose to describe yourselves, saddle u. We're going to go get our people back and make sure they haven't horribly perished."
However negative that might be, the men went along with it. The switch was thrown to send the railcar down the correct path, and once everyone had taken the opportunity to reload and ready themselves the group proceeded down the tunnel, ready to go locate the missing group.
Roman walked near the middle of the group, letting the combat guys lead the way down the tunnel, since they were more skilled with this sort of thing. If they were walking into danger then it would be for the best, since it meant the people most capable to handle it would be right there. Which was something he didn't mind in the slightest.
The tunnel seemed like the other that Roman had proceeded down, sporting the signs of battle damage and Grimm activity. Long fallen bodies, twisted metal husks that could be any number of things, they are all passed by with trepidation as the group moved along. Even a derailed passenger train, car, which must have been toppled during the course of the evacuation, giving more impact to the tragedy which had taken place here.
Though Roman saw it, he refused to let it dissuade him from what he was here to do. Why should they let something that had happened years ago intimidate them? It was obvious that the place wasn't exactly swarming with Grimm anymore now that the people were gone, so he was confident that they could handle whatever happened.
They managed to make it down the tunnel free from attack, which was worrying and annoying, albeit not entirely unexpected. It would have been awkward to get this worked up, only to meet them on their way out. Yet it just increased the likelihood that something was wrong.
Things began to change soon enough though, the end of the tunnel appearing in the distance with flickering lights, most likely from fires and the like. The industrial sector of the city was most likely to be quite different in terms of setup, and while Roman had seen the map he was more ready for anything. Better than taking the risk, that was for sure.
"Keep your eyes open," he told his men as they stepped beyond the tunnel. "Let me know if you see any sign of our people."
They left the tunnel behind and almost immediately entered into the industrial sector. The first thing hit was a rail yard, tracks and cars scattered about the place. That was where produced industrial goods would have gone out, so it makes sense to have it this close. But now the place had been devastated, the tracks torn up, the cars toppled, all a result of the fighting that happened.
Besides that there was the machinery necessary to load it up, but there wasn't the time to determine whether it was functional or not. They would have to come back later to find out, when they weren't busy looking for their people.
Past the rail yard was a panoply of buildings, with the warehouses first. They were large, though whether they were full or not was another matter. Once again, it was the matter of simply not having the time to check, though some of them did appear to have been emptied out in a hurry.
Walking past the rows of warehouses, Roman glanced back and forth as his men did much the same. At any moment a whole swarm of Grimm could come pouring out, a horrifying sight to the imagination. But fortunately it was one that stayed firmly there, rather than infringing on reality. Roman much preferred that it stay that way.
Beyond the assembly of warehouses were the factories, most of which were oriented towards industrial products and large scale consumer goods, though it was likely that some had been used to make weapons as the end drew near. Yet again, another thing that they would need to take time out to check.
Still, they were impressive enough, rising upwards and quite clearly showing the signs of heavy activity even now. But the fires had died, the metal had rusted, and this area had fallen into ruin. It was a sign of progress lost, but Roman didn't care to spend the time thinking of it.
Before he could depress himself any further, a shot rang through the air, followed on its heels by several more in a rapid cadence. It quickly became apparent that combat was going on, proving Roman's suspicions right. "Well now, I suppose we know where they are now," he noted matter of factly, making sure that his men had noticed it as well. Which they had, given that it would be hard to miss.
It seemed to be coming from a nearby factory, and he gestured towards it as he surveyed his men. "Come on, I suppose we shouldn't keep them waiting for us." With that said Roman picked up the pace, accompanied by the rest of the group as they headed for the site of the battle.
It turned out that that was another factory, to no real surprise. The main doors had been torn open seemingly long ago, and that looked like the way that the group had gotten inside. In all likelihood they had been scouting to see what they could salvage from this place, if there was anything usable left behind from the evacuation and such.
Now it had turned into something of a trap, by all indication. Moving inside Roman could see a whole bunch of machinery and equipment, conveyor belts, furnaces, everything that one would expect with all the damage that came with it. Nothing all too much out of the norm.
There was just the problem of the fight currently going on, multiple guns firing, bullets ricocheting off of the metal surfaces as roars and snarls filled the air. Roman had to roll his eyes at the entire situation, though he did what he could to keep from drawing attention. Yep, they were deep in it for sure.
Entering into the main area, not far beyond the entrance, he got a good look at the situation that was at hand. His men were on the far side of the factory, their backs to the wall in a semi-circle. Surrounding them were several Grimm, alternating their attacks and applying pressure. There were three Beowolves and three Boarbatusk, all of which looked veteran to some extent.
True, it didn't account for how many his men had managed to take out before they showed up, but by the looks of it they hadn't come out unscathed either. He couldn't tell for certain, but they way some of them hung back indicated that their Aura wasn't in the best shape. It was a good thing they had shown up when they did.
Then he saw the big one. It was strange and more than a bit terrifying, with eight long legs that lifted it into the air and propelled it forward, forward arms that were bent like they were almost in prayer, if it weren't for the sharp cutting teeth on them, and a white and red bone armor on its back and lifted head, eight glowing red eyes that looked about as it strode forward.
It was worrisome for sure, but Roman was able to identify it as a Mourning Reaper, something akin to a praying mantis, if a praying mantis was bigger than a beowolf and was completely black, with an insatiable desire to murder humans. This was definitely going to be fun, he thought to himself sarcastically.
"Why do I always have to bail people out," Roman said aloud, letting the beseiged group know that he was here, even as the Grimm reacted, spread out amongst the machines. Less element of surprise, but there was still room to react. He had the feeling that his people would appreciate it as he let the combat begin anew.
[X] Use Dust (3 attacks left)
-[X] Mourning Reaper:
--[X] Yellow (electricity)
--[X] Use an electricity dust crystal to attack the Reaper from afar, hopefully it will paralyze the Reaper and will give your men a chance to attack.
[X] Try to rally your man by saying something like "You've done good job at holding so far, now it's time to finish the job!"
As for your men....
[X] Tell 2 of your combat men to focus on
-[X] Mourning Reaper
[X] As for the rest
-[X] Each attack a separate Grimm
[X] Use Dust (3 attacks left)
-[X] Mourning Reaper:
--[X] Yellow (electricity)
--[X] Use an electricity dust crystal to attack the Reaper from afar, hopefully it will paralyze the Reaper and will give your men a chance to attack.
[X] Try to rally your man by saying something like "You've done good job at holding so far, now it's time to finish the job!"
As for your mooks....
[X] Tell 2 of your combat men to focus on
-[X] Mourning Reaper
[X] As for the rest
-[X] Each attack a separate Grimm
So while we don't actually have a tie, in the interest of prompting discussion or something like that I am going to remind people to vote or provide input, given that there are only two votes thus far.
[X] Use Dust (3 attacks left)
-[X] Mourning Reaper:
--[X] Yellow (electricity)
--[X] Use an electricity dust crystal to attack the Reaper from afar, hopefully it will paralyze the Reaper and will give your men a chance to attack.
[X] Try to rally your man by saying something like "You've done good job at holding so far, now it's time to finish the job!"
As for your men....
[X] Tell 2 of your combat men to focus on
-[X] Mourning Reaper
[X] As for the rest
-[X] Each attack a separate Grimm
