Markus shook his head, regretting offering to help already. "The subway is an underground train. Trains are like vans but really long, much faster, and go on a set route over and over again. Anyone can take a ride inside a train, but only special people can drive them." He explains.
"Like a caravan of horses," Jazde says with a smile, proud of her metaphor. "Good. We will take this sub way."
Mikkjal examines the map with great interest, mentally making note of Markus' instructions. What a strange mess of lines. Is this what passes for art these days? He nods as the man instructs them to take the subway to their destination, saying, "Aye, we shall make use of this creature. Shall we be off then?"
Minha nods, eager to follow the others to the belly of the beast. I am curious where all of these metallic creatures come from. They must clearly be demons from outside of the crater, she thinks, before turning to briefly face Mikkjal and Jazde. Hopefully they do not have any sort of hold over them.
"Interesting. These drivers must be truly special people to earn such a command," Gwenlyn says.
"Let's go!" She says to Mikkjal. "Time is of the essence..." she says, trailing of in thought mid sentence. Or is it? We've already been catapulted forward through time, and we met ourselves from the future. Perhaps we can find a way to try things over again if we fail.
Markus clears his throat. "You're better off walking. My driver isn't here to operate the vehicle." He says and nods. "It's not far, it'll get you used to the city a little more."
"Can we take this?" Jazde asks, placing a hand over the map that Markus has. "This place is large, loud, and confusing."
Markus nods, handing them the map. "Here, just bring it back after, alright?" He smiles. "Come back safe."
Bring it back? Is this so-called map truly that valuable that he can't spare it? Taking the map, Mikkjal nods. Turning to his companions, he says, "Let us be off then. We have a sub-way to find."
"We will," Minha responds, nodding to the man as well before following after Mikkjal.
A short time passes as the five of you leave the garage. You follow the path as Markus suggested and about half an hour later, you find the stairs leading down into the subway. Mikkjal leads you down into the lower levels. The stairs wind down a few floors before leading out towards a platform. There's a few metal objects that stop your progress, probably up to waist height on the average male. It might be possible to hop over it you notice as you approach.
[sblock=Time]7:07 AM, January 1st 2019.[/sblock]
[sblock=Map]
[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC]It's been a half hour since Kuemon scared those pedestrians out of the station. The station is in disarray, a garbage can was knocked over and its contents were strewn about across the entrance way. There's a stairway across from you, and a staff entrance to your left.[/sblock]
"This is the sub way?" Jazde asks, unsure. It looks nothing like I had thought.
She slips over the strange barriers, clutching her spear close.
[sblock=OOC]Are there other people here? Or no?[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC]It's eerily quiet. No one around to your knowledge.[/sblock]
"I guess so," Gwenlyn says to Jadze as she too jumps the strange barriers.
"It hardly looks as that man described it," Mikkjal remarks, slipping over the metallic barrier. "Perhaps this is simply its stable." Yet with a surprisingly lack of stablehands.
Jazde begins to slowly step through the metallic chamber, listening for the sounds of fighting. No big orc here, she considers. Hanzo? Was that his name?
Finally, you hear the echo of chatter from downstairs. It's a little muddled, but you are able to hear most of it. "Come on, Hanzo. Where is this beast you're looking for? Did it run off?" You hear a metallic sounding object being kicked across the room, coming from downstairs. "Tell me, or I'll tell Sayoko-sama that you're a fraud."
Beast? They must plague this land, too. The spearwoman continues to step toward the source of the voices, her spear at the ready. "I think who we seek may be ahead. Be careful — this Hanzo has company."
Hanzo sighs heavily, before looking up from his newspaper. "Company. Consider yourself lucky Markus' help arrived before the beast decided to eat you, Ueno. Let's make introductions." Hanzo glances around before standing and approaching the party.
The orc known as Hanzo stands 7 feet tall, and his shoulders are nearly half as wide. He is a veritable mountain of muscle, covered in a mosaic of purposefully formed metal plate armor and repurposed signage. Strapped behind hanzo's right shoulder is a halberd; its head is wrapped in barbed wire, and appears to be connected to a hidden battery. Olive-green skin clads his arms and body where metal does not, and his scarred head sprouts a mane of thick dreadlocks, though they could just as well be quills or spines given their rigidity. A bright pink bracelet bearing the symbol of a white cat's head stands out against Hanzo's otherwise ferocious visage: his coveted Hello Kitty watch.
Upon spotting the party (and recognizing they are warriors), Hanzo bows slightly and announces, "I am Shinkansen Hanzo, the Subway Striker; Conductor of the Pain Train," before standing up straight. Hanzo points at Ueno, "This is my dog, Ueno Kuemon. Please ignore his barking; he does it when he is scared."
[sblock=Ueno Kuamon's Appearance]Ueno is human, about 6' tall. He wears a white dress shirt and dark jacketed suit, which only slightly conceals the bullet proof vest underneath. Ueno's brown hairline is receding, and his lip is home to an average mustache.[/sblock]
[sblock=Mechanics]Perception, to spot the monster. 8(1d20) +16 = 24[/sblock]
The spearwoman bows her head deferentially, though her eyes don't leave Hanzo and his weapon.
"Well met. I am Jazde, of the Jomuun. And these are my friends." She gestures towards the others with her off-hand before peering around, confusedly. "Where is our quarry?"
The six of you speak together as your senses go off, Hanzo. The rest of you see Hanzo wince and react to unseen stimuli.
[sblock=Hanzo]Normally your intuition only gives you brief glimpses and ideas of where they are, but you're suddenly flooded with information as if your head's been filled with static noise. Its an indescribable feeling, yet so clear. You're surrounded, and not by the monster you thought you were hunting.[/sblock]
Hanzo wheels into a defensive posture, brandishes his halberd, and warns, "I fear we are surrounded by the beast. Be prepared for anything." Hanzo's eyes dart around the station, scanning for unlikely points of egress. Where are you hiding? Are you in the walls? Hanzo's thumb finds the switch on his halberd, and it begins to hum with electricity. Hanzo touches the halberd's head to the nearest point of the wall with exposed metal - a vent, grate, bolt, or sign.
"Good to meet you, Hanzo. I am Mikkjal, son of Geir, born under Violet. Though I suppose that means little to you," the snow elf says, smiling politely at their new orcish companion. He watches with interest as the orc seems to react to some unseen force and speak of a beast. "Surrounding us? This must be some large beast." Or maybe it is this elusive sub-way.
"What does such a thing resemble?" Jazde asks, her eyes peeled. She watches their back as she steps closer to the others, both hands on her greatspear.
"Gwenlyn Aera of the Heirs of Starlight," Gwenlyn says joining the introductions. "A beast down here? This is my first time in a subway but it doesn't look like there's much fresh food for it to eat down here," she says looking around the platform.
[sblock=OOC]If I may, can I get each person's Initiative, please?[/sblock]
[sblock=Mechanics]Initiative: 11(1d20) +9 = 20[/sblock]
[sblock=Mechanics]Initiative (7)10(1d20) = 10, 17 without external mods[/sblock]
[sblock=Mechanics]Init: 15(1d20) +10 = 25
Starting position preferably towards the front of where we're at[/sblock]
[sblock=Mechanics]Initiative: 3(1d20) +6 = 9 woo...
And I'll go behind the melee dudes[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC]Initiative: 27, pet matches mine as well[/sblock]
