[Archive]The Facility

Title: The Facility
Author: Daravel

Due to the story line, death will be a fairly uncommon occurrence; negative rolls will affect a wide range of things and produce non-lethal injuries. But you can still receive life threatening injuries and die! There will be waiting list in case a character does die, or to replace an inactive player.

The game is set in a strange place that none of the protagonists have been to before, they understand nothing of it at the beginning and must discover everything for themselves; they will then need to decide what they wish to achieve. Once all players are reasonably satisfied that they have done this, the game will end.

Rules:

Rolls:

Setting:

Character Creation:

Character Key:

*While in acclimatisation, you will be guaranteed a roll of 3,4 or 5 while learning an ability or proficiency*

Roll #1

The six of you start to come to your senses; Oranen is the fast to start talking. “Guys, what the hell is happening? Do you think we’ve been kidnapped? Some kind of freaky scientific experiment? Seriously, what is going on?” This outburst of panicked contemplation sets Janette off who seems to be on the verge of tears, she can only mumble incoherent words.

Johnny and Tom are more relaxed, they are taking the strange events in their stride, and they offer words of encouragement. “Look, I don’t know what is going on here, but we do know a bit about this place, that chip they plugged in taught us all about the powers we can learn. We should do this acclimatisation thing and then find a way to get out of here”.

This was the cue for Charles to pop out of his deep contemplation. “Yesss. I’ve been thinking, and I reckon that our best chances of survival come from picking a good range of powers that complement each other.” Artlis did not say anything; he sat watching his friends with a slightly bemused look on his face.

Johnny was the first to move from the floor, he began exploring the rest of the room. Above him hung the six red clamp devices that had held them captive, they stretched to the ceiling which was entirely black and seemingly smooth. The walls of the room were a damp grey with a curious line pattern of swirls, there was no visible exit and the only distinguishing feature were the 3 tiny but powerful light sources. The floor was covered in a dusty red carpet and contained only the six cushions that his friends were sat on. Charles followed Johnny and began a more thorough inspection of the walls but found nothing else of interest. At this point the group began to despair a little bit; Oranen didn’t even bother to look for the non-existent exit. Tom Gray lay back on his cushion, now not caring to move, he cast a lazy eye around the room and closed his eyes.

Artlis [5] sat watching his friends with the same bemused look, he seemed to be drinking in all the details and actions of everyone else; eventually he spoke. “Well, how about these powers then? I think I’d like to control the air.” He found it so easy, the acclimatisation room guided him past all the barriers, he felt it as he began to sense all the particles in the air and discovered the power to govern them.

Encouraged by Artlis’ success the others abandoned their lost hope of finding an exit. Johnny [5] went next. “If I learn to identify and defeat security systems, then I can bust us out of here!” Again, he found it so easy, the power of the room was channelled through him and he found he could feel the beating heart of the security apparatus around him. This gave Charles [3] an idea. “I’ll learn to control all forms of technology, and then I can help you once you identify the security apparatus.” Unfortunately, Charles found it harder to tap into the room’s potential and only just managed to grasp the basics of technological manipulation.

Oranen [5] had not been listening to the comprehensive strategy of his friends and instead spent his time listening intently to the noise of the room, and started to play his own sounds out loud; he soon discovered that he had learn how to control sound in all its forms. Tom [5] however had been thinking about their future survival in this ‘facility’ and opted to enhance his own defence, he played with the shadows being cast in the room and grasped the ability to move them at will and create or remove a shadow entirely Janette [4] suddenly said “screw you guys! I miss home and I want an ice-cream!” To her surprise an entire tub of it appeared on the floor in front of her, as had her ability to conjure any existent items from her memory.

The successes of the past few minutes left the group feeling buoyant and forgetful of their inability to escape from the room, they were busy planning their next batch of powers when the box descended from the ceiling once more. It came lower this time, right into the centre of the group, the woman’s face appeared again but this time it was distorted, her features were slightly different and her voice was strained. “This concludes your acclimatisation. You will now proceed to the main facility”.

The box disappeared almost as fast as it had arrived, the floor began to shake and started descending rapidly, it soon became pitch black and you all lose consciousness.
When you awake you are stood in a street, it is deserted and your first thought is that you are back home. This thought is dispelled almost instantly as out of one of the buildings a young man emerges and rapidly walks in your direction, he appears to have not seen you. You notice he is carrying an improvised bomb device and has a bag on his back, crammed with explosives.

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Roll #2

The young man continues his rapid advance down the street towards you, you notice that his eyes dart around the street and that he is muttering to himself; his hands are constantly moving, touching and tapping. It isn’t until he is about to walk into Johnny that his eyes focus and he becomes aware of your presence, his mouth flickers between a smile and a look of confusion as he comes to a halt. The presence of copious amounts of explosives triggers Artlis’ [6] survival instincts, he prepares to produce a wind barrier to dampen the effects of an explosion. The power builds inside him to a tremendous intensity, and he begins to lose control of it – if it is not dispelled soon it could have disastrous consequences. “Woah! Woah! Damn that’s strong. I’ll be able to protect us, but it better happen soon before I explode!”

Janette [3] favoured a more aggressive approach, “We had better be prepared to defend ourselves, Tom, take this Dai-Katana.” As she said it, two of the long bladed swords appeared on the floor; she picked one up for herself and held the other out for Tom. To prevent the young man from hearing your groups approach Oranen [2] attempts to drown out all other sounds by generating a non-damaging white noise in the young mans head. Unfortunately his control over the power is inadequate, the noise manifests itself inside his own head generating intense pain and destroying his concentration; the young man merely hears a mild tinkling. You stumble past the man to look into the window of the building he exited, your vision is blurred from the pain in your head, but you can make out a typical front room through the glass. The man is confused by your actions, and continues to look at you in a questioning way, waiting for you to let him pass.

Tom [1] accepts the sword from Janette and moves rapidly to place it to the man heads to subdue him, unfortunately he moved which such momentum that the blade pierces the mans neck, causing blood to begin spurting from the severed artery, you let go of him in shock. The young man falls to his knees and clasps at his neck in a vain attempt to hold the blood in, he utters a few dying words: “Why?... W-w-why? You want explosives? You now have explosives. There… dangerous things… Why get me? Dangerous things… get you.” With his last breath he summons the last of his powers and summons an explosive device with a timer that attaches to Toms left arm; the timer reads 00:02:00.

Charles and Johnny look at the dead man, there is clearly no use in trying to talk to him now. "Man, that was brutal" Charles muttered. Instead, Johnnie scours the immediate area for anything useful; the street is typical but conspicuous due to the lack of any vehicles. Looking up and down the road you see several crossroads indicating a grid system. A quick glance inside several of the buildings shows that they are all houses in varying states of upkeep.

You are now alone on the street, the man has died and his small bag of explosives has spilled across the pavement. The street appears to contain houses and at least one of them is inhabited, judging by the state of the interiors of several others; the town is not heavily populated.

The bomb on Tom’s arm will detonate in 2 turns.

Actions:

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Roll #3

Charles looked at the body in front of him, dismayed.
“He seemed harmless enough and clearly not very well, why did you stick a sword to his throat Tom?”
“It was an accident, OK? We don’t even know where we are, I’m not going to take any chances!” But Tom looked down at the young man feeling a deep regret.
“Rest in peace.”
Then his present circumstance filtered into his conscious thought.
“Besides, he put this bomb on me! What the hell are we going to do about his? It’ll take my arm off!”
“Hey, chill man. Sorry for getting angry, this place is just a little freaky. I’ll have a go at disarming, but I’ll… uhm… stand back a bit. Just in case.”
“Great! Yeah… Just fill me with confidence!”
“How about if I cover the shield to contain a blast…uhm… just in case. Oranen can probably assist as well.” Artlis looked a little worried by the situation, but was determined to his best for his friends. Oranen however looked a little sick, his head still pounding from the violent racket that had assaulted his ears, but he nodded. Johnny examines the device, “It’s got an anti-tamper mechanism, so, we can’t disable it manually, targeting the power source should work.”

Oranen [4-2 = 2] promptly got to work, he swayed and half fell into a sitting position, he conjured up his sound energies, preparing to use them to deflect any blast. His concentration slipped and once again a high pitched white noise bounced around his skull, too much this time, his vision blurred as he fell unconscious.
“Well, that didn’t quite work.” Artlis looked at Oranen with concern.
“We can’t move him now; we just can’t let the bomb explode… Ok, let me prepare before you go messing around with that bomb.” Artlis [1] retreated 20 meters down the road and sat down, attempting to re-master the power inside him he accidentally set it off in an uncontrolled blast – it swirled around him, lifted him off his feet and threw him through a window into the upper floor of one of the houses. Glass cut his head and arms; the resultant collision knocking him out.

“Oh crap… oh crap! This is insane. What the hell are we-“
“Will you calm down? I’m going to disarm it, ok? Let me pick up these other explosives first.” Charles [4] scooped all the explosives into the small bag, he moved backwards down the street, the rest of the group following, he continues to offer reassurance to Tom as he slips into a trance and reaches out with his mind. Charles feels for the bomb and picks out the individual components, identifying the power source he manages to deactivate it, rendering the device inert. Tom nearly collapses as the stress begins to bleed out from him, relief spreading across his face, Johnny rushes up to him and examines the device, confirming the disablement of the anti-tamper device, he removes it carefully.

Janette [3] sat down, the situation leaving her emotionally drained, she retreated inside her mind to escape reality for a short time and explored the possibilities of vectoring; to her surprise one of the blocks of explosive shot up into the air. Quickly controlling her shock she returned it to the ground at a steady pace. With the bomb safely disarmed Johnny turned his attention to the body of the young man, he bends down and starts to look through his pockets; the others look at him disapprovingly.
“Well, he might have something useful, we can’t afford to be all ‘goody goody’; this place is dangerous.”
Johnny discovers that most of the pockets are empty, except for the inside pocket of his coat which contain a folded piece of paper covered in writing, opening it reveals a map with annotations written on both sides. It is quite clearly an old map as it is crumpled and torn in some places but still very much readable.
“Nice” Johnny exclaimed. “Now we can really find out what this place is.” He take the map over to Janette and Charles. It appears to have been drawn originally by one person with careful handwriting who also started a diary on the back, various additions have been made by other people in the meantime.

Spoiler:

Tom [6] ignored everyone as they piled around the map, he felt pretty crap, the events of the last few minutes replayed in his head – and it seemed that everyone had forgotten about Artlis who had disappeared through an upstairs window. Thoughts of Artlis being trapped led him to explore the mysteries of gravity. He was distracted and unable to harness the power as much as he had hoped but at least it was something. He lay down only to discover a grotesque image; he had reduced the gravity around the upper body of the young man who was now suspended like a puppet…

Everyone took a few moments to process events. Oranen is unconscious, lying next to Tom, but he looks ok. Artlis is also unconscious with several cuts inside the upper floor of the building Janette, Charles and Johnny are stood outside; they are perfectly fine, if a little shaken. Tom is lying next to Oranen, feeling very drained and disturbed by the body of the young man. On the plus side, you now have a map of the facility.

Note about the roll by author:

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Roll #4

A phenomenal rushing sensation, charging across open skies and the tremendous birds-eye view of a town far below; bustling with activity. Not just movement of body, but also movement of thought and emotion – you can see it all clearly. A quiet noise filters out the images as it tempers your concentration; you struggle to regain the clarity of a few moments ago as you, Oranen [1], float through your own subconscious. The noise increases in intensity as it becomes ever more familiar, you recognise it as the noise that plunged you into your own mind to begin with; it torments you. Faint voices reach your ears, whispering and conversing they remain unintelligible to you. You struggle against the noise as you strain to hear the voices, but begin to lose altitude, you plummet towards the ground and fog envelops you. Your physical body spasms as your virtual self strike the ground. Everything goes blank.

Back on the street Charles [1] looks up into the building that Artlis was flung into, processing the implications of the map he turns to the others and calls out. “This map suggests there could be other people able to help us get out of this place. We should go help Artlis and then stick together from here on out; these Enforcers don’t sound friendly. Also, can someone tend to Oranen?” After getting nods of agreement from everyone you head over to the front door and push it open, the space in front of you is pitch black so you step inside gingerly. After only a few paces your foot gets caught on something, as you tug it free you feel a huge mass shift and the creaking of wooden joints. The loud snapping and groaning is all the incentive you need to back out of the front door; just in time, as the majority of the upper floor collapses in a cacophony of sound – with a sinking feeling you realise Artlis was probably in one of those rooms.

Tom [5] watches Charles enter the building, satisfied that Artlis was going to be in safe hands he sits down and delves back into the mysteries of gravikinesis; this time the boundaries are almost non-existent as you further your understanding and mastery. While exploring the gravitational world around you a sudden awareness befalls you, one of your comrades is in danger – almost without thinking you lower the gravity around the debris surrounding Artlis, buying him vital minutes of air. You call out to the others to appraise them of Artlis’ condition, you have also lowered the young mans body, leaving you much relieved.

Trapped in a box, Artlis [2] struggled to explore, each direction he probed in was met with a dead blackness; he twisted and turned but could find no purchase within his own mind. Then the faint voices filtered through like a badly tuned radio, he could not understand them and he strained against his own mental shackles. Then he fell. The world began to fade to grey and then to fade entirely… He can’t breathe in here!

Janette [3] made to enter the building after Charles, but she met him coming the other way as he backed out hurriedly; the building began to collapse a second after. The fallout knocks both of you to the floor, covering you in a thick layer of dust. You sit up, coughing and brush yourself off. You notice plenty of twisted metal in the wreckage which suddenly shifts skywards as the effects of Tom’s meditation takes hold; you decide that the guys are better off sifting through that lot to rescue Artlis as you morph the metal in 30 perfectly round marbles.

Entering the building is no longer an option for Johnny [3], which means he will have to wait for his toilet break as present circumstances are probably more pressing. Fearing for Artlis’ life you quickly attempt to learn the secrets to healing wounds, while effective, rushing caused you to achieve only limited proficiency in healing minor wounds.

Oranen remains unconscious for one more turn however he now suffers from a temporary amnesia, Tom is sat next to him. Charles is back on the street, covered head to toe in building debris, Janette is likewise covered. Johnny escaped most of the dust and is preparing to rush to Artlis’ aid once he is free. Poor Artlis has two dislocated arms accompanying the smaller cuts which have been supplemented by deeper lacerations down his back; he is also suffering from a temporary amnesia and will be unconscious for one more turn. He is enitrely encased in rubble, the anti-gravity field provides approximately 6ft of air around his body. The outside walls of the house are still standing, the front two room of the top floor have collapsed through the floor.

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Roll #5

The prone body of Artlis is a sorry sight, bruised and battered it lies there awaiting its friends help; it itself completely helpless. Inside its mind Artlis [4] was not yet beaten, chained and imprisoned his internal self raged and roared against the oppressive forces, finally breaking free of his bonds he begins to assault the dark prison with a terrible fury. The walls are strong, the effort required to break them was immense; by reaching so deep into his powers Artlis learnt something new about them and felt the powers become an inherent part of him, and using this knowledge he tore the walls asunder. Freedom beckoned and he glided out to see the town arrayed below him, floating down and around the town he realised that he saw the real world within his mind. A whole world of opportunities was open to him, until he woke up…

While Artlis battled his inner demon the four remaining conscious friends debated the best methods of extracting him from his tomb.
“I won’t really be much used I’m afraid, look at me!” Janette small frame and lack of useful powers conveniently sidelined her from this filthy task.
“I can manipulate the gravitational field and move the rubble above him, one of you will then be able to go and pull him out.” Tom had walked over to the main group, leaving Oranen lying on his own 30 metres down the road.
“Sounds like a plan, I’m sure me and Johnny can get him out and heal him up.” Johnny and Charles moved to the sides of the front door, awaiting the go-ahead from Tom.

Janette [6] moved a little way down the street, sitting with her back against a wall she dropped into a dreamlike state, attempting to hone her abilities in mass and energy manipulation she manages to cause an almighty explosion in the room above her. She smiles, that was at least 10kg worth of energy converted.
“Oops, I hope there was nothing important up there.” Janette looked up to the others, meeting their scowls with a pleased smile.

The explosion caused the other 3 to jump, on seeing Janette sat calmly below the source; Tom [5] scowled at her, hoping her antics wouldn’t break his concentration. He needn’t have worried, it wasn’t long ago that he set up the gravitational field that protected Artlis and he slipped back into it with ease. Like a master he manipulated the field to part the debris on either side of Artlis’ body, brimming with confidence he decided to move Artlis as well. Gently he guided the body towards the broken ceiling and over the towering piles of ruined house, expertly Artlis was navigated to the battered front door which swung open with the lightest push and Artlis was placed in the centre of the road by Johnny and Charles’ feet who had retreated on seeing the bizarre sight.

Charles [6] watches in amazement as the body of his good friend glides to a halt before him, he decides to identify the house so he can pinpoint the group location on the map. You forget all about trying to heal Artlis, stepping up to the house and examining every surface unfortunately yields no clues; it looks just like any other house on the street. You look up and down the road and see that all of the roads contain houses. Suddenly the days dying light catches on something inside the door, you stop yourself before you dash right in and approach the mysterious object carefully. Lying down and reaching out with your hand you fumble around just inside the door and finally grab hold of a heavy material, you pull it towards you slowly and out of the door; you realise it is a backpack. Opening it you discover various pieces of useful camping equipment and some weapons; you toss aside anything useless.

Looking up and down the street Johnny [6] sees that you are still perfectly alone, although he gets an uneasy feeling from all the houses; anyone could be watching them from inside. Nevertheless you bend over Artlis and examine his wounds; they are many and will stretch your abilities to the full. You gently roll Artlis onto his front and place your hands across his back, tapping into the healing energy stored in your body you feed it into the lacerations. Carefully moving your hands up his spine, across his shoulders and down his arms you knit the skin back together, removing all the cuts. However, you can do nothing about the dislocated arm.
“This will have to be done the old fashioned way…”

Again Oranen [5] found himself above the town, this time he found he could control his movement with ease as the world unfolded before him. It wasn’t long before the voices came to him again, with a passion he followed them, tracked them; desperate to hear their words. The realisation that they were all around, inside his head came swiftly - he merely had to let them in…
“We can’t go that way, oh man, we’re trapped!”
“Can we have less of that quitter talk? Help me up on this roof and I’ll take a shot.”
“Behind you…”
…
“What’s our next move?”
“We’re going to the Creators house, that’s what!”
“Are you serious? No one can get through there… It’s suicide!”
“Oh, so I suppose you want to spend another 30 years here?”
…

On waking up you feel alive and connected, and yet, you’re not really sure who or where you are…

Oranen has discovered the psychic link, the ability to connect with other psychics in the Facility and listen and converse with them, however, his competence with it is very patchy at the moment; he also has amnesia for 1 turn. Artlis is also awake, the cuts and lacerations have been healed but his dislocated arms will need either a more advanced vitakinetian or fixing in the traditional method; while unconscious he has improved his aerokinesis to expert level, granting him an aptitude in aero manipulation. He also began to discover the secrets of astral projection, and has a temporary bonus to gaining the ability; however, he also suffers from amnesia for 1 turn. Janette is sat halfway between Oranen and the rest of the group, she has improved her ability to the level of trained. Tom and Johnny are stood next to Artlis, while Charles is sat outside the ruined house with a full backpack.

Actions:

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Roll #6

Oranen sat up and looked around, his vision was a little blurry and his head pounded, previous events were a bit hazy. Artlis remained lying down due to his dislocated arms; he looked up at the three people standing nearby. Janette stood up and hurried over to Charles, Johnny and Tom.
“Hello? Hello? Can you help me? I can’t seem to remember anything and I have no idea how I got here. Bugger it, my arms are killing me, what is going on?” Artlis looked up at the four figures beside him with a polite smile, he was dismayed when they all moved into a circle and began to talk in hurried whispers.
“Hello?”
“The fall must have messed up his memory; we’re going to have to look after him until it returns.” Charles cast an eye over Artlis who was sat fully erect and straining to hear what they were saying.
“How long could that take?” Tom turned to Johnny as he asked, hoping that his new found medical powers would offer more insight.
“I have no idea, I guess I can take a look at him...”
“Offer him some reassurance, tell him to come with us, that we’re friends and that we’ll keep him safe.” Charles then noticed that something was missing. “Where’s Oranen?” He span around to look up the street and saw him sitting in the exact same position as Artlis, his heart began to sink.
“Hello, could you guys help me? I have no idea what is going on.” Oranen’s voice carried down the empty street.
“Oh great! I’ll go look after him and find us somewhere safe to work out our next move. Follow us once you’ve sorted out Artlis.” Charles said this over his shoulder as he began running down the road to Oranen.

Johnny knelt down beside Artlis, placing his hands over his temples and to try to discover the extent of the amnesia.
“Do you remember anything at all?” He questioned.
“No, but you all look familiar, I have some hazy memories but nothing specific. My arm bloody hurts though!”
“Sorry about that, I tried to fix it, but no such luck. You’ll have to get someone to pop it back into place.” Artlis grimaced at this news.
“Great.” He said sarcastically.
“The good news is that we are your friends, you took one hell of a fall. Just stick with us until the amnesia passes, we’ll look after you. It doesn’t seem too bad and should pass pretty soon.”

Oranen followed Charles who was looking inside the houses they passed to identify a safe one to enter. Charles was explaining to Oranen the circumstances of his injury and assured him that he was among friends. On finding one that looked reasonably well-kept but unoccupied he called back to the rest to follow.
“I better give it a check before you go in, we don’t want any surprises!” Jonny called back to Charles as he was about to enter. Charles [4] was satisfied that they’d be safe enough inside so he began to play with the doorbell, exploring its components and modifying its construction; greater understanding of electronic devices flowed in as the tendrils of exploration probed further. From a simple device he created a complex machine and instinctively knew that the next time someone pressed that button, their ears would explode. Content with his handiwork Charles sat down and awaited the rest of the group to arrive.

While Johnny tended to Artlis, Tom [5] walked up the street after Charles and Oranen with Janette, the house they were waiting outside seemed to be sparsely furnished and immaculately clean, as if it had recently been built. That the house was so clearly uninhabited provided comfort, but Tom felt uneasy with the empty streets and lack of noise.
“Something tells me it’s all about to go wrong, I’d take this opportunity to prepare for the next disaster.”
He tapped into his own life energy, feeling the beating of his heart and the coursing of his blood; he then sought out the signs of life generated by humans. It appears that many of the houses in the surrounding area are occupied by one or more people. But more importantly, a small group of people are heading in your direction, while a second group are stationary some way back down the road in the direction you came from. As Tom withdrew from his trance he realised that he could now control the energy of life itself.

Oranen [1] suddenly discovered that he was surrounded by people.
“Oh... Hello. You must be Mr Charles’ friends? I understand that I am a member of your group. Unfortunately I do not seem to remember much right now.” Oranen sat down against the wall; his mind more significantly scrambled than Artlis’
“Is this place dangerous?” He enquired.
“It appears to be, yes.” Tom said, as he explained what he had discovered.
“Ahh, Then I suppose I should find a weapon!” He sprang to his feet and began a search of the surrounding area, the unnaturally tidy streets offered no hints of weapon stashes as Oranen made to cross the road to examine the other houses, Charles stopped him.
“Search this house, once Johnny has given us the go-ahead.”

Artlis [2+2=4] was helped to his feet by Johnny, the pain from his arms shot around his body as he walked., progress was slow but they eventually arrived outside the house; Artlis collapsed to the floor. Even though he was confused and could form no clear picture regarding himself or his circumstances, one song permeated through his consciousness. He decided to follow that song to take his mind off the pain, he found the threads easily and followed them, they seemed to stretch out into the world in front of him and he knew he had learnt something profound, but he wasn’t sure what.

Once he had seen Artlis to the safety of the group Johnny [2] stood by the front door of the house, reaching into the deepest recesses of the building he detected no security systems; exiting the trance he gave everyone a nod and they piled inwards. Relishing the quiet outside Johnny sat down by the door to practice his vitakinisis powers, he could not access his higher brain functions; something seemed to be interfering with his concentration. As he sat there wrapped in thought he did not notice the three figures turn the corner into the road, they were robed in black with their faces covered in an artificial darkness, their hands appeared to be covered in a metallic black while leather boots clanked on the ground as they walked. Back down the street a door opened, a gaunt, hairy face poked outside, it saw the approaching figures and looked dismayed it withdrew quickly. Meanwhile, Johnny had finally accessed his abilities and was manipulating a small cut on his arm, with a slip of concentration the cut expanded causing Johnny to shout out. The three figures looked directly at him; through him. He clambered up the steps and barrelled through the door.
“I’m really sorry guys, but I think we have company!”

“Do you think they are the Enforcers?” Charles was whispering now.
“Maybe, I don’t think we should take any chances.” Johnny had begun a search for anything useful in the house, but it seemed to only contain furniture.
“Artlis will be back with us in no time, we can put poor Oranen somewhere safe and then it’s 5 against 3 if they dare come near us!” With that Janette [3] lay down on the sofa and started moving the vase on the table around the room, working up its speed she fired it through the front window where it smashed against the house opposite. While she had managed to improve her vectoring speeds, she also caught the attention of the three figures.

Oranen continued his search of the house, also finding furniture and little else he discovered a rough bricked in yard at the back of the house and tried his luck out there. As he stepped on the drain cover it disintegrated, plunging him into darkness; his shouts just reaching the rest of the group. Down in the darkness Oranen’s eyes suddenly lost focus, the voices came back to him.
...
“Who was that by the door?”
“He’s not one of them, smells like a new kid... No concern of ours, today.”
“He can’t even use his powers properly in our presence, hardly a worthy challenger.”
...
“Hardly a challenge indeed, they throw pottery at us! Perhaps we should show them the extent of our powers?
“No... No... I want to destroy this group today, not get sidetracked in recreational sport. You, go and silence those worms, we will continue with the objective.”
...
“Sarah? Sarah? Are you here Sarah? SARAH!”
...
“Oh my god... Sarah, what happened? Who killed you Sarah? Who? Murdering scumbags! When I find you, I’ll rip you apart!”
...

All 6 of you are inside the house, Oranen has fallen down a drain but fortunately it is not very deep. The house looks newly built and furnished and is situated towards the end of the road which the Enforcers entered from. It appears that their targets are located 5 houses away on the same side of the road, next to the house with the collapsed roof. Oranen’s amnesia has gone, a resultant of the sudden fall, he has a twisted ankle but is otherwise ok. Charles has modified the front doorbell to generate a supersonic blast of sound and in the process has improved his technokinisis skill. Tom has delved the depths of Gravitational manipulation, generating an innate aptitude for it at the same time as improving his mastery of it.

Artlis’ amnesia has also lifted, he managed to stay connected with the psychic powers that flooded his body during his unconsciousness and complete his understanding of the basic principles of Astral Projection. Johnny’s cut is minor, but his shout of pain alerted the Enforcers to your presence, and Janette’s vase has highlighted you as potential dangers. One of the Enforcers is now stood outside the house in a deep trance while the other two have continued past the house.

Player Status:

Roll #7

“Alright, so what are we going to do?” Johnny had moved up to the window and peeked through the net curtains; the figure was still stood there staring at the front door.
“I’ll go and rescue that fool, he doesn’t sound too hurt.” Charles left through the doorway opposite the window, which Oranen had disappeared through earlier.
“The rest of you better get ready to fight, I will keep watch on the door. I don’t trust anyone in the place right now.” Janette positioned herself behind a chair facing the door and slotted 6 of her metal marbles into her fingers, holding them out in preparation to fire them.

Tom [5] made to follow everyone else but saw that they were all staying in the lounge to prepare, shrugging he sits down in the corner and begins to concentrate on the life-signs outside. The figure outside was blazing with life, Tom was drawn in, closer, and closer until he was navigating the very pathways of the figures body – secrets of biology unfolded in his mind. As Tom withdrew from the figures body he stole its life, a withering scream reverberated around the room as the very essence of life was torn from its body. Tom felt the energy enter his body, euphoria flooded his system as the youthful bounty coursed through his veins, eventually settling somewhere near his stomach.
“Woah. This is so awesome, I feel so alive! I could feel it as I ripped his life away from him.”
“I’ll try and take a look at him; I think you might have got a hole in one there Tom
Artlis [1] cast him self off from his own body and sailed through the front door, gaining height he cast his eye down to the hunched figure, spying through its cloak you see an old man with a pained expression. Revelling in your quick victory you circle lower, hovering just above his head, you reach out and make spectral contact.
“You are mine.” The voice was outside, it was inside, it was echoing all around. The figure stands up and turns his head to face you; his eyes have gone pure white and penetrate your soul. You flee back to your own body but find it already occupied, the Enforcer has seized control of your body. Desperate to alert your friends, you launch an assault on the frail figure outside and attempt to gain control of his. Hurtling through the door you rebound upon an invisible shield as you are entombed in a vice like grip; your soul begins to be crushed.

Charles [6] headed into the kitchen, calling out for Oranen he heard the muffled replies coming from outside; shaking your head at the stupidity of the guy you go outside and see the hole in the ground, and star to laugh. Stepping up to the edge, you see that it is not deep and Oranen is stood there looking up at you, annoyed. You continue to laugh and call down to him “What's that, Lassie? Oranen's in the well”. His face turns a violent shade of red and the torrent of abuse that is fired upwards only makes you laugh harder and as you bend down and offer your hand to pull Oranen up the side of the drain. The wall offers no purchase for Oranens’ feet and it takes a while for you to haul him over the edge, unfortunately you seem to have missed a lot of the excitement back in the house. Nevertheless the two of you hurry back inside.

Oranen [3] followed Charles back into the house, he was alert for any dangers as the noise from inside grew louder. The drain had not really been a drain at all, simply a hole in the ground; as if someone had begun to dig it and then got bored. The garden was simple and plain, a paved area outside the back door which turned into empty grass that spanned the entire garden area, a flowerbed ran around the edges with a wooden fence separating each house; at the back of the garden a gate led somewhere between this house and the one residing on the other road. Once inside, Oranen noticed that the kitchen was much like the rest of the house, entirely new and untouched – not a thing out of place.

Back inside the lounge, only moments after Charles had left, Johnny [1] saw as Artlis returned to his body. “What’s happening out there? Did Tom get him?”
“He’s dead. Life sucked right out of him.” The Enforcer inside Artlis struggled inside the new body; he would not be able to stay here long
“Excellent! Let me pop your arms back into place. Are you ready? It’s going to hurt some.”
“Yes… I am ready.”
Artlis lay down on the floor as Johnny knelt down beside him, taking his left arm first he began to manoeuvre the shoulder joint back into place; the Enforcer did not react as he was not directly connected to the nervous system. Johnny moved to the other side and began to work on the right arm as the Enforcer exercised the left. He felt the strength grow in the limbs, but also felt his mastery of the body slipping away, he sat up.
“There, how does the feel Artlis?”
“Much better. Thankyou.” With that, the Enforcer reached out with the borrowed limbs and seized Johnny’s right wrist, he twisted it round to pull Johnny to the floor before kneeling up and bringing his other arm crashing down on the elbow. The snap sounded clearly in the room and was followed by a bellow of pain and sobbing as Johnny collapsed to the floor. He was looking up into the eyes of Artlis and finally saw the borrowed consciousness which began to flee, then his vision went white and he saw no more.

Artlis collapsed as the body was left without an owner, you could hear as the Enforcer on the other side of the door stood up and began to open it, Janette [6] prepared herself and waited, as soon as the Enforcer was fully framed in the doorway she fired all 6 of the metal marbles, they fanned out and took aim for different vital areas. The figure half turned to face Janette and his eyes went white, several of the small marbles began to change trajectory resulting in them smashing into the doorframe. One of them penetrated right through and smashed into the doorbell which set it off, luckily the destruction of the device rendered its destructive powers inert, but the noise was sufficient to alert the two Enforcers down the road. The Enforcer stood in the doorway had 2 large holes in his thighs, blood began to spurt from the severed arteries, he struggled to control his blood flow with his beleaguered body – but it was apparent that he wasn’t going to die just yet.

A soul is desolate without a body, while it does not affect a person when projecting, the knowledge that your body is stolen tears shreds from the soul. Artlis was pinned in mid-air by the Enfocer and was in agony, he could do nothing but watch the two Enforcers march down the road towards the other house. They walked with an air of supremacy, stopped in the middle of the road and began to rip the bricks from the building. The sky rumbled as someone inside the house called thunder forth, lightning arced across the sky and suddenly great forks of it struck around the Enforcers who calmly stood there as a small bubble protected them. The building began to crumble as its structure is stripped away, two men charge from the door way. The lead assailant’s form morphs as he covers the distance, his body becomes that of a huge Gorilla, plated in armour, he crashed into the shield and begins to hammer upon it. The second man breaks apart several lampposts and forms them into many blades which he casts at the bubble, upon impact, they crumple flat. Lightning continues to spit out of the sky, it has taken on a golden aura and seems to explode on impact; the bubble appears to crackle and spark furiously, but holds steady. The Enforcers begin to collapse the building around the person remaining inside, with a roar the Gorilla man bounds through one of the walls as they collapse inward. The Enforcers turn to face the lone man who has morphed the metal into a giant shield. A loud whistling echoes down the street as a doorbell is blasted from the walls, the Enforcers glance backwards to see their comrade collapsing to the floor in a pool of blood.

The Enforcer attacking you is badly wounded and is slowly bleeding out; however he will survive for a while. Janette is stood behind a chair facing the front door while Tom is sat in the corner furthest from the door. Artlis’ body is currently devoid of a soul, which is being held by the Enforcer. Charles took a long time to rescue Oranen and they will not arrive into the front room until the end of the next turn and will take their rolls last. Johnny has re-located Artlis’ arms but has had his own right arm broken at the elbow, the Enforcer has also whited out his vision. Down the road the two Enforcers have collapsed the building with two people inside, although the Gorilla man went inside intentionally, the third man is hiding behind a metal shield. The lightning has stopped. The two Enforcers are protected by a psychic bubble and are aware that you have severely injured their comrade.

Actions:

Character Status:

Roll #8

“Where the hell are Charles and Oranen? We need to decide what to do Janette. Johnny is blinded and Artlis may well be dead.” Tom ran to the door and looked into the kitchen but could not see into the garden where Charles was still hauling Oranen out of the drain.
“I say we finish these guys off, show them that we’re dangerous. Me and you Tom, we have to protect the others.” As Janette said this, a black box descended from the ceiling, outside view screens spread across the brickwork of buildings; the ladys face appeared and her voice echoed around the Facility, “Night time to begin in 5 minutes.” The view screens vanished with a “flup” and the house was left in silence for a while.

“Alright… I’ll go first, cover me, ok?” Tom [5] began to shift the shadows in the room, covering his body, Janette nodded and watched as the light was forced away from his body and he became a flowing black figure.
“Make sure the one outside the door is dead.” Janette followed the fully shadowed Tom to the door as she held the rest of her marbles in her hands.
Tom wrenched the door open and drew his katana, he began to run and as he passed the dying Enforcer on the path he slashed downwards across his stomach; almost cleaving him in two.

The Enforcers inside the bubble did not see the approach of the shifting shadow which glided rapidly towards them, they were concentrating on the young man behind his metal shield; they began to fold it around him. With a roar the Gorilla-man burst from the rubble of the house, a small limp form hanging from one gigantic fur arm; he placed it down gently behind a ruined section of wall and charged the two Enforcers. Tom engulfed the bubble in shadow, leaving a small section for Janette to aim through, as his sword struck upon the force field at the same time as the Gorilla-man crashed into it. He drove his sword into the pulsing energy and found that it became a battle of wills and power as he urged the sword to penetrate the armour; it crackled and fizzed viciously as the two Enforcers inside struggled to maintain their hold.

Janette [1] began to line up her shot, aiming for the small window in the shadow, she drops into a trance to hone her aim but Johnny starts talking and walks into a series of furniture; the resultant crashes breaking her concentration and when she fires she knows that they were off target. The huge mass of marbles shot down the street with some of them flying off at random trajectories; they entered the shadow at the wrong angle and merely glance off the protective shield. A rogue marble tore a hole clean through Tom’s abdomen; he collapsed as blood flowed freely from his body.

However, the double assault on the bubble had broken the enemy and at last a great furry hand passed through and grabbed one of the Enforcers around the neck, he was flung across the street and into the side of a building; killing him instantly. The Gorilla-man roared as the remaining Enforcer laughed and turned his attention to the young man encased in his own metal prison; balling up his fist he folded it in on itself multiple times until only a small cube remained in the centre of the road. A bellow rebounded from the buildings and gigantic fists pummelled on the shield; cackling with laughter the remaining Enforcer took to the sky. The Gorilla-man collapsed, blood seeping from 2 marble shaped wounds; one in its arm and the other in its leg.

Artlis [4] could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded before him, he watched as the two valiant warriors collapsed to the floor. Looking down he saw the Enforcer concentrating hard on him, the pressure around him increased and the yearning for his body grew deeper and more terrible. Focusing on the air around him, Artlis was able to block out the pain and build up a storm within his bonds; it grew in intensity until with a huge burst of willpower he sprung the vice open and soared upwards, free. As he floated down from his high he saw that this final victory meant the end to the Enforcer who now lay dead on the ground. His body sung to him, and his spirit yearned to be reunited.

While Janette prepared to fire Johnny [1] realised he had little to offer the team in a fight and despite his not being able to see he moved off to somewhere quiet, planning to master fire. He tripped over something small and crashed through a small table, stumbling through a door he marched forward before tripping on a stair; considering this a safe enough place he attempted to conjure a small fire. As he was in the throes of discovery his vision began to colour again, this concentrated his thought and the fire was conjured before his eyes; which were burned savagely.

Charles [2] burst through the lounge door just as Johnny sat down on the stairway, he saw only Janette left. “What the hell happened, I’ve only been gone five minutes!”
“We kicked the ass of those Enforcers, I just… uhh… missed with my marbles a bit. We will need to go and save Tom. Johnny was her-“. Janette turned around and saw the broken table, and then heard the scream as he burned his eyes into uselessness.
“Oh…”
“Alright… Well, I’ll go help Johnny.” Charles walked to the open door and saw Johnny slumped there, head in hands with tears streaming from his ruined eyes. Pulling the bottle of painkillers from his bag, he tipped out two and put them in his hand.
“Here mate, take these, they’ll keep the pain down. You’ll have to have a go at fixing this though.”
While Johnny swallowed the pills Charles brought one of the torches out of his bag and attempted to modify it to emit x-rays, closing his eyes he tried to prove is proficiency with all things mechanical; however he merely managed to break the torch.

Oranen [2] limped a little way behind Charles and entered the room just as he was closing the other door behind him; eager to make up for his absence he hobbled up to Janette and half jumped out of the door, ready to blast any enemies. He saw the dead Enforcer by his feet, Tom and a Gorilla lying in pools of blood on the street with a small metal box in the middle of the road.
“Good job there is no one to fight, I’m not sure I’m really up to it right now”

Night time will begin in 3 minutes (1 turn).
*Night time will begin at the end of the next turn and end at the beggining for the turn after that - You will understand *

Spoiler:

Roll #9

The sun rapidly retreats behind the houses and darkness looms, there is very little man-made light – soon it appears it will be pitch black.
“We’d better get Tom inside, looks as if the night time here is even worse than the day time.” Oranen was looking at Charles who was somewhat larger than him.
“Uh. I don’t think it’s a good idea to move him, I’ll bandage him up and guard him.” With that Charles [6] ran out of the house and down the ruined road, as he approached the two bleeding figures he slipped his bag off and rummaged around inside; brandishing some bandages, painkillers and antiseptic he proclaims “Calm down everyone, I know first aid!”
“I didn’t see anyone panicking.” The voice startled Charles who was looking at two unconscious forms. A woman was walking quietly towards him, bruised and battered; she had awoken from behind the collapsed wall where the gorilla-man had placed her.
“Well, if you want to rely on your… umm… ‘expertise” she cast a look at the medical supplies “then I won’t stop you tending to your friend, but I think I can handle mine.” She bent over the large Gorilla form and cast her hands over the fur in search of the wounds; her eyes shot back as she found them.
“If you don’t succeed, I’ll take a look at your friend in the morning; there won’t be enough time tonight.” Charles nodded and began to apply the antiseptic to the wound, binding the wound tightly with the bandages and handing two painkillers to Tom, who barely conscious, struggled to swallow them. Satisfied that your handiwork would keep Tom alive for a while longer you scout the surrounding area but see it is devoid of people; lamenting your lack of useful medical knowledge you are about to delve the secrets when the woman’s eyes snap back into focus. A flicker of a smile appears on her face, then her eye caught the small metal box in the road and the energy drained from her; she collapsed beside her friend and uttered a single word.
“Thankyou.” And then it happened…

The feeling of freedom after captivity is impossible to describe, and Artlis’ [2] consciousness was consumed with thoughts of his body; he felt himself dragged back into the house and inside the body. He woke. Feeling oddly refreshed and somehow completely aware of the situation he made his way outside.
“I’ll see if I can move Tom inside.” Oranen and Janette were left with questions unanswered as he disappeared into the growing gloom.
“Glad you could join us again” remarked Charles as Artlis strolled towards him. He attempted to create an air buffer to carry Tom upon but his mind resisted and he felt his energy drain from him as he too collapsed; clearly not ready for arduous mental tasks. A strange, small blue light appeared on his temple…

Johnny [6] was left alone, he could hear muffled voices to his right; the pain had subsided somewhat. He attempted to heal his ruined eyes but could feel that he did not have the power so he plunged deeper and began to experiment. Beginning in the Occipital lobe he navigated the neural pathways and crossed the optic chasm before encountering the damage to the eyeball itself; he began to knit the cells back together as he gained understanding of how to fix more serious wounds; a little bit of daring and experimentation. However, it appears that it will take longer to heal a major wound. A growing, pleasant warmth spreads downwards from his head…

In the room next to Johnny, Oranen [2] and Janette discussed the apparent complexities around using abilities.
“This place, it seems to produce some kind of energy field from which we draw our power and then channel it into a specific ability; but gaining the knowledge itself doesn’t seem to stop us losing control and screwing up massively.”
“Well, perhaps we can explore the basis of our power, you know, like learning the basics, then we won’t be groping in the dark all the time.”
With a nod, Oranen began to unravel the elementary theory of sound; unfortunately, the noise of Janette sending things flying next to him prevented him from isolating the base sounds of his environment. Suddenly all was quiet and a peace descended over him…

Janette [4] found no such barriers and immediately found her self in amongst the atoms of the world and discovered how simple it was to give them a little push to start them flying around the room.

As the sun disappeared behind the last building, the town was plunged into inky blackness until lots of little lights began to shine, small and blue, they were attached to each person. Those still standing found their legs weaken as they slipped to the floor and everyone’s eyes began to close; once they were fully prone and asleep the blue light expanded and encased them in a bubble. Tom and Artlis are asleep in the road, 5 houses away from the others; the Gorilla-man and woman are lying near them. Janette and Oranen are asleep in the front room of the house while Johnny is in the hallway.

Spoiler:

Roll #10

The night-time world of the Facility is a peaceful one for those cocooned in the pulsing blue bubbles, outside however things begin to move. The buildings are repaired, the debris is cleared and damaged foreign objects are removed – the Facility returns to its clinical state.

As the days first light flickered past the houses the sedative effect wore off and everyone’s eyes snapped open; instantly alert and feeling completely fresh. Tom first noticed that the pain in his stomach had subsided and gentle probing revealed that the wound had largely healed. The blue light obscuring his vision began to recede up past his eyes, he looked around, seeing Artlis and Charles lying nearby and the blue light disappearing he felt safe enough to sit up.

Janette woke up, instantly she knew something was wrong; the room was pitch black and she could sense several people nearby. After ten seconds of banging and muffled noises light flooded the room causing her to screw up her eyes, as they readjusted she saw that Oranen was gone. Instantly racing to action she scanned the street outside and saw nothing, she barrelled through the kitchen door and saw that the garden was likewise deserted; she inspected the lounge and found no signs of a struggle. Disheartened she forgot about Johnny and headed outside to Artlis, Tom and Charles to raise the alarm.
“Oranen has been taken.” Janette’s voice was cold and hard. Charles shot to his feet.
“What happened?” The others listened, their faces draining of colour.
“I woke up, everything was dark. I don’t really know what happened, there were lots of people in the room – by the time I could see anything they were all gone.”
“This place is completely fucked up.”
“It was the Enforcers.” The ladies voice startled them; they turned to look at her as she was helping her comrade off the floor who had turned back into his human form. “You drew attention to yourselves, normally they wouldn’t target new people but you attacked them and now they will be watching you. It happened to us, the night after our first encounter one of us was taken at daybreak. I’m sorry to say that you won’t find him again.”

“I’ll head back to the house and check that Johnny is ok and look to see if I can tell where they took Oranen.” Janette was defiant and received solemn nods from everyone and set off back down the road. Charles approached the lady and man.
“Can you tell us a bit more about you and this place?”
“My name is Darvan and this is Isthilia. When did you get here?” It was the first time they heard the man speak, he had a deep voice and spoke steadily.
“Yesterday.”
“Ahh, then you won’t have explored far. We are currently in the residential district, it’s relatively quiet here and there is little of value, as you can see, destroyed buildings are rebuilt during the night and thus supplies are constantly lost.” He gestured at the houses which last night had been blown to pieces which now stood perfectly, bare on the inside except for basic furniture. “When you move out of this area you will need to be on your guard there are truly all kinds of people in this place. We’ve been here several months; you lose sense of time after a while. The Enforcers are kind of in charge, they run experiments and test you all; no idea what they’re looking for though. If you resist, they torment you and finally kill you. If you crumble under their torture then they will persist until you are nothing more than an empty shell – you will see many people like this. Or you can pass their tests, and then they take you off somewhere.”
“I take it you chose to resist.”
“A decision that hasn’t really paid off, as you can see. Some groups have more success than others, you will see some truly awesome fights if you survive long enough. You ought to check out the shops, you can pick up all kinds of gear there; several people gain a measure of immunity by setting up their own shops but you’ll need something to trade. The Facilities shops are run by robots and you’ll need some credits to shop there; head over to the nearest InfoPoint and check your balance.”
“Thanks for the advice, but what about getting out of here? We have a map, can you give us an exact location” The man laughed bitterly.
“No chance. None. The energy fence runs around the whole place and it is impossible to get around. You’re only hope is to survive. As for where we are… we’re close to the North West corner, if you head west to the end of this block then carry on a further 2 blocks you’ll be at the fence, then it’s a further 3 blocks north to the uppermost road. Right, I’m sorry we’d better go – we’re heading over to the shops to stock up, and then well, off to wherever.” He looked a little forlorn and his gaze lingered on the spot where the metal box had been the night before. Charles [3] thanked him and sat down with the rest of the group as the man and lady walked down the street. He began to explore his knowledge of the basic workings of mechanical and electronic devices by repairing the torch; he found the knowledge flowing freely and repaired it with ease.

Johnny [4] woke up. A dull ache from his arm sharpened as his senses attuned, his vision was still blurred as his eyes continued to heal. He called out as he heard footsteps in the room next to him and the thud from a door shutting, after sitting alone in darkness for several minutes he decided that he was likely to be alone for a while and began to knit the fibres of his arm back together,

“So, what are we going to do now?” Tom was sat on the ground trying hard to not aggravate his wound.
“I guess we head to the nearest InfoPoint. But I don’t care what Darvan said, I still want to find a way out of this place; exploring some more places on the map might be a good idea.” Artlis spoke with a certain authority, clearly eager to get moving.
“Well, I agree. But considering that this area is meant to be safest, I want to be prepared for whatever we’re going to have to deal with.”
Tom [6] accessed the stored energy within his body and experimented with it, discovering the ways in which it could be manipulated; choosing a nearby plant he drained its life and simultaneously channelled it into a random brick. It started a to shake and then suddenly popped out of the wall and landed on the pavement, small brick legs sprouted from the sides of the brick and carried it away behind some houses. However, he felt as all the stored life energy left his body, leaving him slightly less buoyant.

Janette [2] re-entered the house and headed for the hallway where Johnny was still sat, he was concentrating hard and in pain. She heard the clicks as the bones in his arm began to mend and waited for him to exit his trance. She apprised him of the situation and the groups desire to move onward; he agreed once he heard of the abduction of Oranen and headed out into the street to meet the others. Janette continued into the backyard to find the drain cover, hoping to replenish her metallic balls stock. Delving into the atoms she attempted to split them into perfect spheres but on this occasion the structure seemed too complex and she could not hold them together and the entire manhole cover morphed into a strange liquid and sloshed to the bottom of the drain.

“Hmm. These fancy powers really take it out of you and I’m tired of falling unconscious all the time.” Artlis [4], Tom and Charles we’re waiting for Janette to come back before they set off. Artlis explored his own circulatory system and discovered the aspects of his body that governed the use of abilities; he learnt how best to manage his energy allowing him to complete more strenuous activities and engage in them for longer.

While the group were discussing their next plans a series of coughs brought their attention to a figure huddled in a doorway. He looks up sharply and on seeing 3 people he smiles and stands up, he waves his arms and exclaims “Stand easy. John Smith. Could any of you fill me in, what is going on here?”
Artlis stepped forward “We were wondering that ourselves, we’ve only just arrived in this…place.”
“Then perhaps I could discover it with you?” Artlis turned to the other two…

*
Janette is currently in the back garden of the house that she, Oranen and Johnny slept in. Charles, Artlis and Tom are in the street 5 houses away where the fight with the Enforcers took place – all signs of yesterday’s activity is gone as Darvan and Isthilia have left. They are confronted with a decision; do they let John Smith join their group?

You have also raised your profile with the Enforcers and are a target, you must move quicker now to discover more about the Facility and achieve your objectives. Fortunately you have made two new friends – if you see them again. Where will you head from here?
*

Spoiler:

Roll #11

Jannete walked back into the house and found Johnny still sat on the stairway.
“Are you alright?” He nodded.
“Yeah, I think so. I can see again but my arm is killing me; I think its healing.”
Janette leaned against the doorframe and cocked her head slightly.
“This place is hell alright. Come on, lets get back to the others.”

Outside Artlis, Tom and Charles were urgently discussing the new arrival.
“Look, I know we can’t trust him completely but this place is dangerous; I think we could use all the help available. We just have to watch him carefully.” Charles looked at the other two and received nods. He walked over to John and offered his hand.
“Welcome to the gang.” John took his hand
“Thanks. First off, can you tell me what the hell is going on?”
“To be honest, we’re not really sure ourselves. We got here yesterday and already had one of our members kidnapped and apparently pissed off the bad guys. We found a map and are looking for a way out; there is some kind of fence surrounding this place, we’re checking it out.”
“Uhh, right… OK.” Janette and Johnny caught up to the group and Charles introduced everyone. “Is it dangerous here?”
“From what we’ve experienced, yes it’s very dangerous. Learn to defend yourself.”

The colour drained slightly from John’s [1] face, taking a deep breath he accessed the fire that flowed through his body and attempted to conjure a fireball and send it arcing into the sky. The threat of impending danger poked into John’s concentration and caused him to send the fireball speedily down the road, it slowly faded from sight.
“Oops. I hope I didn’t hit anyone…”
“Let me find out.” Artlis [1] grinned as he felt the euphoric feeling of freedom flood his soul and cast himself off from his body. He flew over to the final block and spied 2 young men stood on the street, gliding over he saw one of them was badly singed; clearly from the stray fireball. Artlis moved closer, hoping to catch some of the conversation when the second man walked into the road, looked straight at Artlis and spoke.
“Wa that yoo? Wutcha think ya dooin chuckin fire roun’ the place? Almo’ ad my mates ‘ed orf.”
“Uhhh… Sorry. We were just preparing ourselves, didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“Yeaaa. Right, Well you’s ad best come up ‘ere and ‘pologise.”
“Of course. We’re heading your way now.” Artlis turned and hurried back to his body.
“Come up ‘ere n see wha’ ya get.” The singed man smirked.

While the group waited for Artlis to return Janette, Tom and Johnny prepared themselves for inevitable dangers ahead. Janette [1] starts to rip sections of tarmac from the road and fling them into the air; the power flows wildly through her and she sent ever larger sections skyward. It is like a drug and she was hooked until the power began to feed off its own energy and a 20 metre section of road and pavement was torn from its foundations, turned vertically to form a wall, and begun to move slowly towards the group – pushing them westwards, towards the two young men. Tom [3] and Johnny [4] had been more successful. Tom had discovered the ability to manipulate the chemicals in the brain to induce different emotional effects, specifically fear while Johnny had learnt how to arrange different atoms into reactive, flexible forcefields.
Charles looked up and down the street.
“How the hell did you manage that Janette? We have to move Artlis and press on.” The group carried Artlis down the street, they were trapped on this block. He awoke and told them about the two young men.
“We’ll have to go and apologise in person.” John led the way to the last house on the road where the two young men were sat casually watching the small group walk while pursued by a large wall of concrete and tarmac. John walked up to the ashen faced man with badly burned hair and several scalds on his face. Meanwhile Charles walked to the end of the road, a road ran perpendicular to it and seemed to continue into the distance in both directions, the road they had walked on continued for a short way and then stopped, it gave way to a wide expanse of grass that was utterly featureless. A shiny, shimmering blue light hung in the air, identical to the one that covered them the previous night. It extended high into the air.
“I’m terribly sorry about this; I was trying to perfect my aim and as you can see, failed miserably.” John proffered his hand.
“Tha’ alrigh’. I forgi’ ya.” The man took his hand and there was a loud bang and all went white.

Charles found himself stood outside a curious maze, the walls were opaque but strangely incorporeal, and there were several entrances. He could tell that he had not moved, but that the maze had been conjured onto the road. He could see the ever advancing wall behind the maze.
John and Janette who had been stood nearby found themselves in the middle of the maze, in a section with 3 paths leading out of it; the two young men were there also. The uninjured one drew several daggers from unknown recesses while the injured one merely smirked and closed his eyes.
Tom, Artlis and Johnny each found themselves alone in the maze; maniacal laughter resonated from the walls.

Spoiler:

Roll #12

Charles [3] sprang into action, fearing the worst for his friends he took the nearest entrance. Instantly he was disorientated by the swirling material that formed the walls; laying a hand gently against them he felt that they were solid but still he could not shake the feeling that they were barely there at all. Remembering the scene before the appearance of the maze Charles darted through the maze, heading for house that stood on the corner of the street. Distant echoes emanated from the walls as quiet whispers seemed to flitter past his ears as he ran, more than once he found spinning around to confront an unknown assailant. Each wall was identical to the last and soon the outside world began to fade into blurriness; all points of reference lost in a murky grey. The whispers turned to laughter and the echoes to drumbeats but still Charles ran on blindly, his legs burned and each breath was a labour. Suddenly, sunlight bloomed as he turned a corner and there stood Janette and John facing the two young men; one still fingering several blades.
“What…the hell… is… going on?” Charles was panting now, nearly collapsed on the floor.
“They” Janette pointed at the two men. “conjured this, seems they weren’t so forgiving afterall. But, what the hell happened to you? You look like you’ve run a marathon.”
“Been running… for ages… to find you guys.”
“D’ya like our tricks? Te’ch yoo people ta come ‘ere ‘n’ chuck fire ev’rywhere.”
Charles felt his strength returning and casually slipped his bag from his shoulders, slipped a hand inside and felt the soft texture of explosives, his fingers finding the detonator.
“Yoo ‘nger our friends. Yeeeah, we ast ta do som’thin ‘bout tha’, dun’ we?” The young man who was un-inured and standing began to rotate the knives in mid air and spin them around his body. His long hair whipped around him and his dirty clothes were buffered by the generated currents.
“It starts wiv yoo.” He pointed straight at John and the knives turned, points aiming towards him.

John [5] was ready for them, he had been slowly building and mastering his power and with the slightest hint of aggression he unleashed a torrent of flames, burning the air around the young men like a tornado they closed in a clung to their skin like napalm. A slight shimmering encompassed them both causing sparks to spit angrily, fizzing and sharp bangs; but their flesh was ruined, scolded and aflame they screamed in agony. Janette caught Charles’ eye who quickly flashed to her the object in his hand, with a nod of understanding she prepared…

An eerie calm descended as Janette cocked her head and looked straight at the two men, who still writhed but were momentarily silent.
“Go to hell!”
Charles drew the small explosive from his bag, firmly pressed the red button and slid the package between the two burning men, it rebounded slightly off the strange forcefield as Janette [3] launched the section of road they were stood on into the air. Like a rocket the fireball kept climbing, then a brilliant light and a thunderclap that reverberated from the walls – a deep resonating sound. No one was able to see where the two men landed.
“Yeah! So you guys like our tricks? Where are your little friends?” Suddenly the maze went black.

Footsteps approached and then died away, shouts in the distance were drowned out by the continuous laughter. Artlis [1+1=2] looked about him, the pearly walls swam and shifted and after only a few steps he realised he would make any headway on foot; looking to the sky he propelled himself above the maze, bright flames drew his eye to a section of maze, carefully he descended in that direction. The fireball shot up like a cork and two figures were blasted in opposite directions, Artlis had no time to spot their fall as a sudden sickening feeling caused him to falter, a black shadow swirled around him, solidified and kicked him hard in the stomach. Artlis fell to the ground in a deep corner of the maze. The shadow flowed around him and morphed back into a man, the maniacal laughter reached an unbearable intensity.

Tom [3] stood in a small square, the laughter had died almost as soon as it started and the maze was still; even the shimmering walls were motionless. Looking about for any reference he saw only the advancing wall of road creeping ever nearer their location; deciding that he would be unable to find his friends Tom sat down. He navigated the life forces present, detecting 8 other people within the confines of the maze; not wanting to accidentally target one of his friends he turns his attention to the lone figure in the house on the corner. At this distance Tom struggled to master their neural pathways but set in them a sadness which lulled them into a depressive state. Then the noise started. A shadow [3] engulfed his vision, a knife slid out from the darkness and slashed towards Tom [2] who, completely disorientated failed to block the attack in time. Slashed across the arms and chest, Tom fell back to the wall, a follow up kick sprawled him onto the floor; fortunately the assault had missed his healing wounds.

Johnny [6] had been the closest to Janette and John, after only a few wrong turns he walked into the square just as the two young men were catapulted into the sky, he watched as the two men disappeared from sight.
“Looks like you guys have it sorted. Shall we get out of here?” Johnny nodded appreciatively.
“I’m not so sure, they mention some “friends”. Have you seen Artlis or Tom?” Charles looked far more concerned.
A spasm of panic spread to the group as they realised that their victory here was probably leaving their friends alone and vulnerable. An almighty crack spurred them into action as the advancing wall of road flattened the outer wall of the maze. Fearing for his friends Johnny sought deeper understanding of his medical powers, he sought them out in the maze but he could feel only darkness; he resorted to exploring experimentally and discovered new techniques, but some he did not fully understand – He wondered if he might have picked up some ‘bad habits’.

Spoiler:

Roll #13

John [2] watched as the others started rushing out of the clearing into the maze again. “Wait…wait…wait! Stop. We can’t risk getting separated and lost in here. Let me try and locate Artlis and Tom first.”
John placed his hands against the wall and extended his senses outward; unfortunately his mind was not trained for such endeavours and he could not push his mind much further than the small clearing he was stood in and he found nothing interesting. He felt drained.
“Whoa… that’s a little harder than I expected. Maybe one of you would have better luck.” Charles [3] nodded and looked about the maze, hoping for some sign. A scream pierced the air, Charles’ eyes shot up and he saw numerous small objects fly up into the air.
“Annnnnnnd… I’m going to guess…. This way.” He span around and pointed down the pathway heading towards the scream and the group plunged into the maze again. They took turn after turn; the featureless walls provided nothing to navigate by, Charles headed for the house that was in the direction the small things had flown into the sky from. While they ran Janette [2] looked for something to fashion into pellets, she pulled on the walls with her mind but they flexed like elastic, as they bent the light shifted, they sprung from her grip and formed back into a solid wall. Casting her eyes about as they moved Janette could only see the concrete of the road, 2 slabs she pulled free and span them quickly, they crumbled and flaked resulting in nothing but dust.
“Dammit.”

As the others delved further into the maze, eager to rescue their friends, John turned his attention to their inevitable escape from the maze. Reasoning that they would want to head away from the impending doom of the concrete wall he scouted out some of the passages heading west. Becoming just as fixated as his new friends on his own task, he soon slipped behind and found himself completely alone, but he had at least found a pathway that took him close to the western edge of the maze.

Johnny [5] watched Janette as she worked, intrigued by the possibilities of her power; crestfallen as the concrete span out of control and disintegrated he asked Janette if she could attempt to create him a weapon of some kind.
“I don’t think I could manage anything very complex, perhaps something small.. A grenade?” She shook the dust from her hand as she said this, looking perturbed.
“Of course. I was thinking about a katana or something like that.”
“Hmm. Ok. It’ll have to wait until we’ve found the others.”
Johnny agreed, deciding to arm himself for the time being.
“I’m tired of these clowns being in control all the time; let’s see what I can do with this maze.” Without waiting for a reply, for he knew it would work, he thrust his arms out in front of him and raised them; the ground followed. It split in half and tore the walls of the maze as it struck out in a straight line, creating a clear pathway. Ahead they could make out two figures; they ran on.

Tom [3] looked about him. The man stood above him and his friends were no where in sight. The cuts on his chest and arms were bleeding slowly, luckily superficial; he was winded – the man advanced, grinning at his panting form. Tom shut out the dull pain and his own wheezing, concentrating on the air around him; he increased the gravity between him and his assailant, forcing him back. He grinned evilly and thrust his hands downwards in an attempt to grab Tom, his fingers bent cruelly under the pressure and he roared in pain; withdrawing them he stumbled backwards.

The man advancing on Artlis’ had an identical grin, filled with malice. Likewise to Tom, Artlis wasted no time and conjured up a terrible wind storm, directing it over the man and dividing it into many smaller storms; he was lifted off his feet and pulled in numerous directions. The resultant tearing made Artlis cringe in horror, the sound was clear against the silent maze, he backed away slowly as both of the mans arms were ripped from their sockets and flung against the walls, blood and tissue spurted into the air. The man collapsed in a heap on the floor. The image caused Artlis to shrink back, thinking only of finding his friends when the wall behind him parted and a pathway emerged, with his friends charging down it.

Once Charles reached Artlis he checked him for injuries, seeing that he was mostly alright except for the haunted look in his eyes. The group saw the bleeding man, unsure if he was still a threat and unwilling to slaughter a dying man, they watched him. Charles looked around, seeing that Tom was not with nearby he asked Artlis if he had seen him.
“Ahh. I’m sorry. I’ve been alone ever since this damn maze appeared. He was just over there.” Artlis pointed away to the west. “When the maze appeared, if he hasn’t moved since then.”
“I had hoped to get the group together and get out of this rat trap. Let us stick together from now on.”
It was then that Janette noticed John’s absence.
“I heard him muttering something about an exit, I confess, I was so caught up in finding Artlis and Tom that I ignored him.” Johnny looked at the ground as he said this, embarrassment flooding him.
“Don’t worry. This maze does crazy things to all of us. Let us find our friends.”

A sudden shadow crept ever closer to the group, looking around them they saw the huge advancing wall as it lowered itself and came to rest as a roof to the maze, then it began to press downwards, buckling the walls. The man near Tom stood against the wall, still reeling from the pain; the one with the rest of the group began to turn into shadow again but struggled to complete the transformation.

Spoiler:

Roll #14

Tom caught his breath, his cuts felt as if they were aflame; he struggled to his feet and clung to the wall. A roof began to descend on the maze plunging everything into a eerie darkness lit only by the mysterious walls. Looking down on the whimpering form of the cloaked man ahead Tom felt no sympathy and for his next action, no remorse. He bent down and laid his hand upon the bare flesh of his foe, Tom [6] conjured up a force greater than any he had yet experienced; directing it towards his assailant the resultant fluctuations in gravity rent the very air, mangling his arms and ripping his legs asunder, blasting the wall to pieces. The blowback threw Tom’s inner senses out of whack, not even looking back and without any idea of direction, Tom ran into the maze.

“Let’s get a freaking move on guys! This roof isn’t going to stay as a roof for long.”
“West…. Head west. Tom should be that way somewhere. John will have to find his own way out.” Artlis called back to Janette as they began to run, leaving the half-shadow man upon the floor. Janette [3] ran on ahead and quickly tore up the ground and erected makeshift supports to hold up the ever descending ceiling, there was no noticeable difference but the group felt safer even as they had to weave their way up the path around the new obstructions.
“They won’t hold… not on their own.” Janette called back as she sidestepped past the final one. As if to reinforce that fact, the walls began to crack and buckle under the downward pressure.
“We don’t have much time, can you clear a path out of here while I go and find Tom?” Charles [5] did not wait for an answer and turned off the path in the direction that Artlis had indicated as Tom’s likely location. Without the extra support the ceiling here was lower and descending faster, fortunately the mystical powers of the maze seemed to also have been broken; the light of the walls faded. Fortunately Charles ran into Tom after only a few turns.
“Are you ok?” Charles looked him up and down, noticing his torn shirt.
“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine. Where is everyone?” Tom was shaking slightly as the adrenaline bled out from his system.
“Back this way, I’m sure we’re close to the exit.” Charles grasped Tom’s hand and pulled him back the way he had come, disorientating him completely. The lucky choices of Charles meant that the two of them exited the maze only a couple of minutes after the rest, following the signs of their desperate bid to hold up the roof; nearing the exit the roof had collapsed and they had to climb over the debris to reach the open air.

Artlis [4] watched as Charles disappeared around a corner, fearing that he may never return. He energised the air, creating a pocket of air that buffeted around above their heads and snaked away down the maze, pushing the ceiling upwards and slowing its descent. His powers had directed them towards the exit and the group moved on with greater speed.
“We’re close, come on… The walls can’t hold much longer”. Artlis shouted behind him as the walls began to crumble and chunks fell to the floor around them. Nearing the exit they could see daylight ahead of them, but the walls began to deteriorate, hastily Johnny [1] threw 2 pillars upwards from the ground, they burst threw the roof and knocked sections of the wall aside; great slabs crashed to the ground among them.
“Run!” Was all that Artlis managed to shout as he dived to the ground and scrambled out into the open; Johnny followed only a few steps behind until a large rock pinned his leg to the ground, shattering the bone. Janette did not emerge.

Shortly after Charles and Tom emerged over the top of the rubble, seeing their trapped friends they rushed to help Artlis; they spied John [3] who had finally managed to wonder out of an exit further up.
Un-noticed by any of the group a lone man exited the house your assailants had been sat outside, he was dressed impeccably in a suit and walked with purpose and self-assurance, he rounded the corner of the maze and was almost upon before you were aware of his presence. He smiled disarmingly and held his hands up, palms facing towards you.
"Don't shoot. It appears that we have... uh... Got off on the wrong foot? You must understand, I did not help these... people... out of choice."
He stops and looks at you expectantly, awaiting your response.

Spoiler:

Roll #15

Everyone ignored the man at first, concentrating on the rescue effort; he stood patiently, still smiling and watching your efforts with interest. Artlis began to hurl small bits of rubble aside in a frenzy, his face hard set and a fire in his eyes; suddenly he exploded in a fit of rage.
“Damn this place, damn it to hell! What the f-. Why the f-. Just what the hell are we doing here?” He stops. Breathing heavily he taps his hand upon the nearest boulder. “Fine, you want to play games, try this for a game!”
“Wait, Artlis… What are you going to do? I think it might be best if you leave this to the rest of us.” Charles laid a calming hand on Artlis’ shoulder.
“No… No… I can do this. Teleportation. Can’t be that hard can it? In this magical sodding place. Teleport her out, everyone’s happy, right?” With that, Artlis [3] incredibly managed to spirit the bruised and battered Janette out from her rocky prison, unfortunately, Artlis replaced her.
“Oh man… Tom, can you get him out of there?” Johnny was laying sprawled on his front and could only see several pairs of legs and had watched in dismay as one had disappeared; he heard a faint pop behind him. “And don’t forget me.”
“Of course.” Tom hurried over to the rubble pile, the descending roof had begun to fracture and snap as it met varying resistance across the maze; fortunately it seemed to have come to rest on top of the rubble. Sitting down next to Johnny, Tom [2] attempted to gradually lift the rubble of his two trapped friends but something was resisting him; the downward force of the enchanted roof was too great for Tom to counteract; the prison buckled inwards slightly causing everyone to wince and Johnny to shout in pain.

“Hey, let’s be careful with all these powers popping off all over the place. You’re getting way too trigger happy. We can probably pull Johnny out if we just move a few of the large rocks.” John [4] took a moment to appraise the situation before hauling aside several boulders and levering a final one up. “Hold this Tom, while I pull him free.” Johnny slid out, his mangled leg trailing behind.
“Thank you.” The pain in Johnny legs subsided slightly as the pressure had been relieved. “I can’t believe Artlis… This place really screws up your head. We’ve got to look out for each other.” Johnny [5] easily set his leg to heal and could feel the bones knitting themselves back together. Turning his attention to Janette he did the same for the broken ribs, but she still looked a little dazed.
Janette [4-2=2] lay on the hard ground looking up at the sky, feeling a little giddy and unable to maintain a consistent train of thought she considered her prior actions and grinned stupidly at her obvious heroism and began mumbling “lucky really… no one else… rock to the face… hero… saved you all.” Deciding to continue with her heroic streak Janette tried to gain greater mastery over matter, but delving so far into her subconscious generated a pounding headache and she quickly stopped.

During this time the newcomer had not moved, still smiling he politely coughed to alert you to his continued presence. Charles looked up and nodded, walking over he introduced himself. His hand was placed casually over the pistol attached to his belt, ready. “Well, you had better explain yourself, you say you weren’t helping those goons out of choice, so who are you and what were you doing? And if you’re serious about helping us, you could start by pointing us in the direction of supplies and giving us some information about this place.”
“Alright, no problem… I’ll start at the beginning.” The man took a seat on a large stone. “I came here, oh, about 3 or 4 months ago – hard to keep track of time here you see. I was alone, I’m a farmer, out in the fields in the morning minding my own business, and the suns are up in the sky when it all goes dark. Next thing I know is that I’m here, part of this freaky experiment. I’m on my own, right? So I think the best thing to go for is defence, I make a pretty good shield. It let me survive the more predatory residents here. That was until I met these people.” He gestured generally towards the house. “Man, they were viscous, determined and outright crazy. I’m holed up in some house and they start bringing it down around me, once I’m good and buried they continued to pound me, it was utterly relentless and in the end I collapsed, exhausted. They brought me here and forced me to help them – my defensive abilities complemented their out and out attack strategy. I said they were crazy, not stupid. They could track my mind, so no escape. I’m sorry for attacking you guys, but, I had no other option really.”

“You want to know about this place? I’m afraid, there isn’t all that much I can tell you. Simply, the Enforcers are on top, they want us for something – well, they want some of us. Tests, experiments, missions and fear; that’s their game. If you want to survive you keep your head down and get on with life. Head over to the InfoPoints, you can pick up missions there, they earn you credits which you can use in the shops, or to pay to stay alive. They come from the Enforcers I reckon, another way of testing you.”
“We have some supplies in the house, but not much. These guys were content with murder than quality of life. But I guess its all yours now. I can’t help you much with the rest of this place, I didn’t exactly see much of it, at least, and none that was worth remembering.”
“So, I’ve got some useful skills, how about I come along. Plus, I have certain influence with some of the more unsavoury characters around here; being an evil psychopath has some advantages!”

Everyone is now out of the rubble (Artlis is beyond your aid). You are stood on the corner at D1. It is time for you to find out what this place is and how you are going to get out.

Spoiler:

Regnar is playing as the newcomer (no character info as I forgot to ask him for it - I will update this post once it is all sorted, shouldn't affect you for this roll). I will be away for several days. Hopefully things will be spiced up a bit now, the newcomer has some information that you can use and you should now be venturing into the Facility proper.

Roll #16

Charles absorbed the mass of information the curious man had just given, he seemed polite enough, well spoken, but still had an air of danger about him – possibly the effect of hanging around psychopaths for 3 months.
“Sure, you can come along, but no… funny business. What’s your name?”
“Mackeever.”
“Right, well… Mac. Could you show us around.” Charles gestured to the house. “I’d like to get as many supplies as possible.”

“Sure, no problem. But I think your friends may have other plans.” The rest of the group were whispering to each other, John was gesturing away over the houses. “Feel free to go inside, there’s nothing too dangerous in there, but like I said, there isn’t much.”

“Alright, thank you.” Charles turned to his friends. “You guys decide where we’re heading, I’m checking this house out first.” He pulled the map from his bag, marked the block with a B and handed it to Janette. Covering the short distance quickly, Charles [1] found the door ajar, stepping inside his sense were assaulted by a putrid smell; as his eyes adjusted to the gloom he saw the squalid conditions. Dirt, dirty clothes, dirty plates, dirty dirt. A thick layer of dust hung in the air making it hard to see far, gripping a torch in one hand – its rays barely penetrating the musk, Charles ventured forward a few steps and sifted through the assortment of rubbish. Finding nothing of value, and repulsed by the environment, Charles gives it up as a bad job. As he headed back to the group he was hit with a violent coughing fit.

Janette sat up, her head was beginning to clear a bit, then she suddenly shot to her feet. “Right… Mr.. See your dead friend here?” She cast her eyes around crazily but the corpses were now trapped in the tomb behind them, instead she spied a piece of rock, picking it up she wielded it above her head. “If you accidently do… something… to us… then… bash bash bash bash bash bash” she pounded the rock down onto a larger piece spraying everyone in dust; mackeever merely raised his eyebrows.

“I assure you, I won’t be doing anything…somethings to you.”
“Right, well… that’s good.” Janette looked embarrassed, she got up and joined the others who were poring over the map. “Sorry about that, my head was aching like mad. I suggest we head over to an InfoPoint, see if we can’t find out what is going on here.”
“The nearest InfoPoint is a couple of blocks over, that way.” He pointed in a south easterly direction.
“F2, yeah… That’s where we should head.” Charles joined them, spluttering a bit from his coughing fit. “Are you ok?
“Yeah… yeah. That place is a damn health hazard, what the hell were you people doing in there?” Charles barely had enough breath to be annoyed.
“I did warn you… They were animals.” Mackeever picked up a small shield he had laid on the floor and adjusted his dagger that was strapped to his side and headed after the rest of the group. The walked alongside the huge fence that ringed the Facility, it pulsed and hummed, the energy appeared to be the same that encapsulated them when they slept. John [6] kept an eye out for anything interesting as they walked, in the far distance he saw a huge construction that seemed to grow with every step they took, sections reached out to the energy fence and it scaled to an immense height. “That must be the tower referenced on the map… I wonder if it is this ‘base of operations’ the person talks about on the map?” The others turned the corner to head towards the InfoPoint, John studied the tower a second longer and saw a small flash from one of the upper levels, it sparked out towards the fence. “Interesting…”

Tom [4] had not being paying attention to the others, instead he spent his time unlocking the final mysteries of necrokinesis. He fed his power into a lump of rock in his hand, seeking to not only animate it, but give it life; he felt it twitch as stone became sentient and woke up to its world; then it died. Tom was suddenly keenly aware of the energy fence nearby and how in fact its power radiated outwards and fed into the very fabric of the Facility; taking a risk, he let it in. This time, the power flowed more fiercely, he felt it course through his system and into the rock. Instantly it snapped awake, two tiny eyes flickered open. Suddenly a small fist emerged and punched Tom clean in the nose “You killed me!” it yelled in a squeaky voice, jumped off his hand and scurried away. The rest of the group laughed, but Tom did not care; he had all the power in the world.

The group walked down the road, and soon their objective was clear, a large overhanging structure under which were stood 6 booth like devices. Sat around on the pavement were several scruffily dressed men and women, some gazed longingly at the devices while others merely sat with their heads in their hands.
“Ignore them… They are driven mad, the Enforcers have broken them and they server no further purpose. They are harmless…mostly.” Mackeever strode past them and disappeared into one of the devices which sealed itself behind him.

Spoiler:

This roll is cut short a bit, I haven't done Mackeever in the InfoPoint. This is because I have no time now as I need to be up in 6 hours. Also, those bits of the rolls will be PM'd to you (each of you may use a minor to access the devices and recieve that info via PM). I will write up Regnar's piece and let him plan his action, I assume each of you will use the devices next turn. Alternatively, I can just get you all to use them now, write it up for you and then you make actions after. I'm away till Monday, let me know which you prefer

Roll #17


Janette steps out into the sunlight first and waits alone. She [Janette] [5] considers the road ahead and the inevitable dangers; conjuring 20 sharp, slender and aerodynamic knives which fit neatly into a sturdy leather belt that appeared suddenly around her waist – she felt much happier. Everyone else exits simultaneously and a discussions immediately commences; Tom [3] peruses the paper map but no armouries are clearly marked on the map but he ponders the designation of ‘dangerous’ – surely dangerous places are places where people have weapons?

“Looks like we’ve all been given different missions then? This enticement of credits is all well and good, but, how beneficial are they going to be? My mission is to go to one of these shops and get us some equipment; then we can see how worth it these missions are.”

“Sure, sounds like a good idea. We don’t want to be running around chasing worthless credits when we have more important things to be doing. Having said that, my own mission shouldn’t take a minute, I just have to talk to that man… there.” John pointed at one of the zombie like figures that sat along the pavement.

MacKeever listened patiently. “The credits will be worth it, they do more than buy simple goods in the shops. If we’re going to head off and complete our own missions then we should aim to meet back here – certainly before dark.”

“Guys, Oranen is alive… and someone is after us… me. We can’t all just run off alone; we should stick together as much as possible.” Janette’s voice was overshadowed by the slightly more powerful voices of the men.

“I will be heading to the Warehouse on D9; I am in search of some prisoners that I am sure can help us. The rest of you seem to be staying in this vicinity; I will meet you all back here by nightfall at the latest.”
“I will come with you… I don’t think anyone should be alone. Especially not those warehouses that the map has marked in red” Johnny [5] began to follow MacKeever [2].
“The warehouses you say?” An old man approached the two of them. “Yeah, I’d be damn careful heading that way. That’s where them Enforcers come from. What do you want in those warehouses?”
Johnny turned and guided the old man into an empty part of the street. “You have seen these warehouses? What do you know of them?”
“Seen them? Why... I’ve been in them! Back when I still harboured dreams of getting out of this place. They use a few of those warehouses as bases closer to us; where they actually come from, I don’t know.”
“Why did you go inside if it’s so dangerous?”
“Answers, of course. Lots of people round here and have been here a long time, you hear rumours – but no answers. People said the best place for answers was to get inside one of those warehouses and have a good look around, so I did.”
“Was it one of these Warehouses? What did you find?” Johnny showed him the map, pointing at the two red W’s on the map. The man took a minute to get his bearings.
“Could have been… I’d hate to say.”
“We are looking for some people; did you see any prisoners inside?”
“Ahh, now the thing you have to remember is, this place can do many things… Bigger on the inside you see. It was like a labyrinth in there, lots of machines, weapons, control panels, tubes – all that movie stuff. Sure, I heard screams, but I didn’t see no prisoners. Listen… good luck to you, but take my advice, stay away.”
Johnny thanked the man, but before he could discuss the information with MacKeever loud shouts came from back down the road

Charles [1] and John [2] were both headed the same way, Janette and Tom followed some way behind, unsure of their next moves. John approached the middle aged man who sat huddled up in his coat against a dirty brick wall.
“Excuse me… ahem…. Excuse… hello?...Hell-“The man did not move, his eyes stared between John’s feet unfocused. “I’d like to ask you about a paper you might have in your possession?” The mans eyes shot up, straight into John’s own.
“No paper here… get along.”
“I was told you had a paper, one that would really help me.”
“Who told you? What business is it of yours?” Charles diverted his attention and attempted to calm the man down.
“Perhaps you could just let my friend look at it? Then we can leave you in peace.”
“What is this? A robbery? No paper here… why don’t you move along? Tears began to drip from the mans cheeks.
“I’m sorry; we didn’t mean to upset you.”
Suddenly 3 of the stationary figures nearby jerked into life, their eyes burning with anger, “Hey, why don’t you leave him alone?” The man was now openly weeping into his hands.

Spoiler: