⇨ HELL

[ringleaders]

Who: Vampire prisoners and rescue squad.
When: Evening Day 67 - Day 68
Where: Vampire Hell
What: The rescuers go to hell. Top levels are in approximate chronological order.
Warnings: Violence, torture, tryhard demons who aren't very creative.

RESCUE MISSION: HELL↴ The air smolders as you travel through the star-shaped portal the Ringmaster has opened - the gateway to the hell dimension that has taken so many if you. Ahead, you can see the grand entrance to Morningstar's fortress, a single point of civilization in the center of a barren, lava drenched hellscape. Of course, you won't be entering from the front. That would be stupid. The Ringmaster's plan is simply in explanation but far more difficult in execution. Her instructions are that she will attack the fortress directly, and that the rescue team is to enter inconspicuously and rescue who they can while she engages Morningstar. She has provided you with silver weapons - daggers, swords, and some projectiles - which you may or may not choose to use. Shedding a trail of orange and green embers, the Ringmaster will sprout her dark, feathery wings and take to the air, leaving the rescuers to contemplate their instructions now that they've arrived. The fortress is large, and as such there are many potential side entrances to find. It will take some doing, but the group will be able to accomplish it. Meanwhile, many of the vampires within will be distracted by the Ringmaster's now very audible arrival, and don't seem to be expecting a secondary attack. The initiative is yours, and the captives are there to be found... but will you succeed? ► GATEKEEPING: For those who don't trust their mettle enough to travel all the way to hell, there is an important job to be done back at the carnival. The Ringmaster's obsidian daggers have opened a portal there, but while the rescuers enter that portal must be protected - both to keep it from collapsing and stranding everyone there, and to prevent anything demonic from escaping onto the carnival grounds and causing havoc. If you need to take it easy but still want to help, this is a good place to be. It's also a good place for nervous hand-wringing about whether any of your friends will make it back alive. ► PLAYPEN: The cavernous pits where the neonate vampires are dumped, in order to engage in a survival of the fittest style battle royale where only the strongest and most cunning will emerge. Those that were turned during the masquerade were dropped down here a couple days ago, and so someone needs to go collect them. Try not to get eaten by the hordes of other starving neonate vampires down there while you're at it. Maybe you could even try to save some of them, if any seem worth redemption. ► CAPTIVES: While the supervisors were initially all caged together in large cell surrounded with a moat of lava, it seems that most of them have now been moved elsewhere. Where they have ended up is a puzzle you'll have to solve quickly - there are plenty of vampire sentries about to try to get in your way, and some of the prisoners may already be significantly worse for wear. If anyone has any powers that help them find people, this would be the time to use them. ► MINIBOSSES: Unfortunately, the enemies here aren't only capable of damaging the body, but the mind, too. In these particular cases, that corruption of the mind has been used pointedly to Morningstar's advantage - two of the carnival's most dangerous members have now been turned against it. If you want to get out of here alive, you'll have to go through them. If you're really lucky, you'll get them out alive, too. ► BOSS FIGHT: Before the rescuers and the rescued can escape, Lord Morningstar will arrive to corner them, with an entourage of elders. Let's hope that she gloats long enough for something to turn the tables.

Comments

[stillwinningthehardway]

And... here it is, the danger, now!

Scout's muscle memory takes over. She thrusts herself out of the way and lashes out with one of those heavy boots, tail swinging counterbalance as she tries to kick the woman's feet out from under her.

[sunflowerfields]

Hinawa may have superhuman speed and strength, but her mind is so blurred with hunger that she can't see anything but the throat, so she can't dodge. She feels herself toppling over, and hits the ground, hard. The hunger inside her screams, but her body just can't take any more. She lets out a groan of pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." She repeats, over and over.

[stillwinningthehardway]

"Right. Uh..." Before the vampire attack last time she was here she'd worked with the humans that lived on that miserable planet, heard them talk about what happened when a friend was turned.

She's here to try and rescue some of the people who were taken, and that's still the case. But she also really doesn't want to be stabbed in the back. Scout comes to a decision and removes the roll of thick silvery tape so often used by the carnival's repairfolk from her belt.

"Stay down. I'm going to bind your hands. You're still getting out of here, but you need some hampering."

[sunflowerfields]

You're still getting out of here. Hinawa finally allows herself to relax. She almost wants to cry with relief.

"O-of course..." Hinawa eagerly offers her hands. The hunger inside her rages, and the scent of the newcomer's blood is unbearable, but she can't hurt her anymore.

"There are... there are others in there. Some of them are children. They threw us all in there to... I think to cull us."

[stillwinningthehardway]

"Fortunately I'm not the only one who came. How are the others?" The tape's probably going to sting and pull out any small hairs on Hinawa's arms once it's removed. Scout applies rather more than she'd use for a normal human, also taping a fine silver chain of the sort used as a necklace on top. The silver should keep her from breaking the tape even if Scout dramatically underestimated the amount needed to hamper a baby vampire.

"I want to make a hobble and restrict you to short steps, too. Don't take this personally, but I don't trust you right now."