ic Vault Construction 101 (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

Large Hill, Wharton State Forest, A Few Miles Outside Freedom City
March 2, 2012, Early Afternoon

Corbin stood at the foot of the hill, currently wearing a rather rugged hiking outfit, hauling around a decent-sized backpack that had a few snacks and a lot of drawing materials. One might think he was out simply to try and capture the beauty of the wilderness; the fact that he had several topographical maps, geological surveys, and other such materials stuffed in the bag would bear witness to a more solemn purpose. Currently, the bag was sitting on the ground, and he was standing there, concentrating on sketching out the hill's outline, occasionally adding some numbers to various points on it.

He took a break to sip some water, wolf down a granola bar, and glance at his watch, raising an eyebrow.

'I know it's out of the way, but I figure Trevor would have been here 35 minutes before me, or at least before the meeting time. Hard to say with Nick, don't know him as well.'

He just hoped they didn't take too long. He had a date with Quo-Dis planned tonight, and while this planning would be important, he didn't want to spend the whole rest of the day on it.

[Gizmo]

"Needs adjustment," a gravelly voice noted quietly just behind Corbin's shoulder as a black gloved finger poked into a set of jotted down measurements on the young historian's sketch. "Sizable pit in rock, hidden by brush."

It was hard to say just how long the black clad tactician known as Midnight had been standing there, so close. Corbin was sure he hadn't seen the distinctive black motorcycle parked to his left when he arrived but he also hadn't heard it pull up or spotted the relatively new dark crimson detailing while he'd been waiting, either. Regardless, the Claremont alumni had evidently had time to make a thorough examination of the area.

[trollthumper]

About a minute later, the Pale Horse pulled up to the foot of the hill and parked in an isolated corner. Nick worked his way up the hill, a jug of water in one hand and a coffee carrier in the other. Daytime wasn't exactly his forte, but he'd dealt with enough Pine Barrens dump cases to know his way around a forest. Or at least, how to find his way out of a forest.

His approach was nowhere near as stealthy as Midnight, especially given the number of twigs he snapped on the way up the hill. But then again, he wasn't aiming for stealth. "Hey, Corbin," he said. "Brought whatever refreshments we might need. So, where's the --" He brought his eyes up to the hill, and it clicked. "All right. There's our project."

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin tensed and grit his teeth as Trevor offered his advice. It wasn't the helpful tip he minded; it was the sudden appearance.

"One of these days I'm going to put a bell on you. Or something."

He quickly made note of the indicated pit on his drawing, nodding slightly.

"Thanks for the tip, though. I wonder...maybe I can use that pit. I want to wait for-"

And then the Pale Horse rumbled up, which made Corbin glance up and around, which let him note the slightly modified coloring of his friend's motorcycle.

"Nice detailing, by the way."

He turned and waved at Nick, gesturing for him to join the two teenagers. He waited until the rockabilly necromancer barista had joined the younger heroes to continue.

"Right, so, I want to give you a better idea of what's going on with this.

You should understand that my ring is only somewhat unique. There's not another one exactly like it, but there are, according to my research, translations, and somewhat recent experience, several others built along similar lines, just with different themes. Right now I've got one locked away in the best place I could cobble together, but it's not nearly what I'd like it to be.

Which brings us to why we're out here in the boonies: Building a better vault. Well, not just a vault. I figure it's time I start looking into the whole "secret lair" trend, you know? It would be nice to have a secure place to fall back to once in a while, have a trophy room, that sort of thing.

But it can't just be a hole in a big chunk of granite, which this hill is. I want it to be secure. And considering the nature of both my ring, and the world we live in, I'm taking no chances. You're both here as my security consultants. I'm going to go over some general plans for what I want to make out of this, and then you guys help me figure out what works, what doesn't, and how we can get this place locked up tighter than Fort Knox. I want to make sure that, no matter what tricks they pull out, no one can get in here if I don't want them in.

You two up for the challenge?"

[trollthumper]

Nick studied the hill, stroking his chin. He wasn't exactly sure how much of the mountain Corbin wanted to carve out, but it couldn't have been larger than the Parkhurst. Then again, there was a lot to work with in the Parkhurst, given all the spiritual resonance that had built up over the years. This cave might - theoretically - have less to use within it as a base. Then again, while necromancy was his forte, he knew his way around the magical basics - scrying, wards, booby traps, and so forth. And there were a lot of ways you could tie the two together for defenses...

"Count me in," he said. "Now, these rings. What's the source on them, exactly? Just wanna know if I need to whip up something that can cut sympathetic ties, in case any of the owners are sorcerers who desperately want to catch 'em all."

[Gizmo]

"Thank you, ringbearer," a feminine alto voice replied from the direction of the Night Cycle when Corbin made mention of the motorcycle's subtle crimson wing pattern. The autonomic machine intelligence inhabiting the vehicle seemed quietly pleased as though complimented on a hew hairstyle.

"Redbird," Midnight clarified shortly for his fellow humans' sake. Cobalt Templar at least had met the Furion AI before, though not since she had finished the imprinting process. "Hnh. Technological and mystic precautions. Wise." The Claremont alumni was glad to see his former classmate growing steadily into a more confident, competent hero. "Suggest high sonics. Disrupt concentration, hamper formation of energy constructs."

[KnightDisciple]

"Oh! Redbird! Nifty. Can your motorcycle fly yet?"

There was a tiny hint of teasing in his voice before he answered Nick's question.

"Well, so far as I can tell, the Seven Rings were created by a group of Kabbalah practitioners in a huge ritual that took a long time to set up, and ended up killing the top guys with strain. And the ritual's exact steps weren't recorded.

Anyways, it seems to tap into a self-perpetuating source of magical energy. I've been told my ring's energy fells "good" or "right", but...I've theorized that's only because I try to do the whole hero thing and have some success. Someone with less pure intentions might well twist that signature.

Also, they each are tied to different...well, themes for lack of a better word. Mine's a sort of "jack of all trades", but generally geared for being good in a straight-up fight while still being able to shape the battlefield a bit. One's really good at that. The red one...all it does is make you an absolute beast in a fight."

He directed his next statement more at Trevor.

"So sonics are a good start, but we might want to think about restraining measures, or about being able to up the ante with the sonics so they cna straight-up take down an opponent.

The problem is I can only infer and guess at what the other 5 can do. Ironclad gave me a decent idea of what powers the red one gave the person using it. And obviously I have an idea of what mine can do. But after that, it's a tough call...

Still! Good ideas for sure."

He walked forward a bit, crouching by where Trevor had indicated a dip in the landscape.

"I'm probably going to try digging some of this out with my ring, and then maybe see if I can make some calls, or call in a favor, or something, and get some other help to get this thing turned into more than just a rocky hole in the ground. I'm sure between some discrete contracting companies and a few heroes out there, something can be done."

[Gizmo]

The Night Cycle's front wheel turned slightly to point directly in Corbin's direction, clearly an affectation on Redbird's part since the headlight and handlebars were no more her 'face' than any other part of the vehicle. "Flight capabilities are child's play," the machine intelligence assured him matter-of-factly, the barest hint of a scoff in her level voice at the suggestion something so rudimentary would be beyond her capabilities. "I have learned that the majority of your world's criminal element remain on the ground, however."

Midnight made a low noise that might have been a snort from behind his featureless black mask. "More extreme measures implementable," he agreed when Cobalt Templar questioned whether distracting sonics would be enough against any malevolent ring-wielders. "Question the wisdom of putting them in your own base, however." While the adept tactician was well skilled at determining the most efficient and devastating response to any number of metahuman powersets, he generally viewed leaving the means to disabling any of his allies lying around to be a risky gambit.

[trollthumper]

Nick started going through the possibilities of a ring created through a Qabbalah ritual. Hmm.. perhaps representations of the Sephirot? No, no, there's only seven rings, and CT needs to know for a fact there are seven. So, unless some white, gray, and black ones show up, they probably represent something else. But what? Well, that's something to look at another day...

"Odds are those rings are pumped through with some aspect of the divine," he said, "given the circumstances of the creation. Should be easy to put up a ward that blocks the detection of divine power - the sort of thing that would make the Shroud of Turin look like a beach towel. I'd suggest wards to actually repulse divine power, but if these rings operate on similar enough frequencies, that could be a problem for you when you need to make use of it. But... if there's enough variation in the frequencies, we could set up some sort of magical relay that detects whenever another one of the bearers is within... hmm... five miles?"

[KnightDisciple]

"Yeah, most muggers don't have jetpacks, thankfully. Still, maybe we'll have to race sometime, eh?"

He gave the bike/AI a quick thumbs-up as he addressed Trevor.

"That's a good point. Hm. Maybe install some way to restrain them? I think my ring and the red ring are the only ones that give a big boost to strength, from what I have deciphered. The others are pretty dangerous, but are more focused on constructs or less tangible methods of combat.

Of course, I'd want to have a second layer of defenses around the vault itself, I think. Or at least some really thick walls. Hm."

He taps his chin in thought.

"Yeah, I'm going to need some professional construction help, there's no way around it. Maybe some folks at the Lab can help provide us some of the stuff like power supply and so forth? Like, in return for donations."

He gives everyone there a sheepish look.

"I'm not in business yet, and I can't just throw money around, but my folks know about this, and I do have a couple of investment account set up where I've put some of the proceeds from the digs I've taken part of. Not endless money, but it might help out a bit. Masada in particular gave me a nice seed amount. Then I just let mom and dad play around with it for a while."

He claps his hands and turns to answer Nick.

"Well. Something like that. I get the feeling the frequency might 'flip polarities' if someone nasty used one, but the 'base frequency' would probably be the same. They were made at the same time, apparently even in the same ritual. So if you could...scan, I guess?...my ring, and filter out the fire aspect, I bet that would give you a big lead-up. I get the idea they attached elements and emotions, ideas, concepts, roles, whatever, to the rings to help make them. Gave them a goal beyond 'power', you know? They managed to pack a lot on the walls of that room, so I've been studying what I can.

I do like five miles. Not a huge amount of warning, but less likely to need a bunch of power input."

He glanced between the two young experts.

"Don't suppose we could figure out a way to merge the two systems? Or would it be better to keep them distinct, in case someone tries to use an EMP, or anti-magic bomb, or some such, against this place?"

[Gizmo]

"Hnn," Midnight grunted noncommittally at the thought of combining his suggested security measures with the mystical defense systems Cimitiere had described. Though he had made some minor study of the weakness inherent in the more common supernatural threats - vampires, ghouls, werebeast and the like - and he was certainly familiar with the potential potency of practitioners as both allies and opponents, the vigilante had dealt very little with magic himself. "Potential benefits. Said 'frequency'," he noted, addressing the necromancer directly. "Analogy or quantifiable measurement?"

[trollthumper]

"I'd say it might be best to keep the two separate," Nick said, "or if you wed them, keep them on alternating frequencies. Magical technology is possible - I've seen some writings from mages who used clockwork as a spell focus - but you don't want it to be a perfect marriage in case someone uses one of those two knock-out techniques. Throw up some firewalls, just in case."

He took a step closer to the mountain, looking it up and down. "Lead will help. I know how that sounds, but it works for a reason. Not only have you got the 'shielding' imagery you can work into the spell, you've got the alchemical associations - the base metal, represented by the vanquished king of the gods, Saturn. 'Course, that means you'll need some latent mojo to get a cloaking spell to stick on it, but if you can overcome that, it should stay up for a good century."

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin gave Nick a thoughtful nod.

"No, that makes sense. Maybe let them "talk", but run them off of separate power systems or whatever. Having one of them go down would be a red flag for the other system. And me.

As for lead, I guess. It just seems a little-"

Corbin paused, frowning. He looked around the forest, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Did you guys hear-"

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

Suddenly, a thick beam of orange light slammed into Corbin's back. The tower of a young man was sent tumbling across the ground, dirt flying all around him.

The source was quickly evident. Three large men floated in the air, clad head to toe in glowing orange battlesuits. Each of them had a crazed look on his face, their hands glowing with power. The middle one's arm was still raised from where he'd blasted Corbin.

"The Master demands his ring! And the other ring! ALL THE RINGS WILL BE HIS! HAHAHA!"

To his right, one of the men leered at Redbird, barely acknowledging Trevor.

"I like your bike. It's mine now!"

The other one eyed Nick's car and then his coat.

"Your car is terrible! But I'm taking your coat!"

Then all three gave that manic laugh again.

[Gizmo]

"Rude," Redbird opined flatly, giving the impression that had she had any body language to speak of she would have been bristling.

Grunting in agreement Midnight whirled into action, his form becoming a blur of black on black as he drew forth a handful of weighted bola from his belt and flung them at the aggressor who'd foolishly threatened the Night Cycle in the same fluid motion. The swift response caught the luminous foe off guard but a lucky reflex sent an armored arm snapping up to shield his face, catching the taunt cables so that they wrapped about his forearm. Impassive even so, Midnight was already making a break for his vehicle in the moment the distraction had bought.

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

Indeed, for being so large, these thugs seemed nimble enough to make this far from a cakewalk. The one with the bola on his arm just looked at it and smiled a vicious smile when he looked toward Midnight.

"Nifty! Mine now!"

Meanwhile, the thug that had originally blasted Corbin raised an eyebrow at his companion who was harassing the blue-clad team. He seemed a bit more intelligent than the other two; whatever had given them this power seemed to have dulled their wits a bit, but not as much for this one. He turned his attention to Nick, an ominous glow building up around his left hand.

"He wants your coat. He's busy; I think I'll beat you and take it. Then I keep it, or he owes me! Ha!"

With that he lashed out with a beam of force glowing with a malevolent orange light. It managed to clip the side of the heroic necromancer, a feat to which the glowing thug laughed about.

"Take that, pansy!"

[Gizmo]

"Reconfiguring," Redbird's voice announced calmly from within the Night Cycle, the autonomic machine intelligence's inflection making the word an implied threat. As she spoke, the entire vehicle seemed to come apart at the seams, panels folding and opening up along its sleek framework where moments before there had been no such panels. The motorcycle's body shifted closer to the ground, lengthening slightly amidst the sounds of whirring machinery and the hum of cosmic energies. Transforming from a piece of precision human engineering into a tool of Furion combat, a pair streamlined cannons extended out and forward on each side of the Night Cycle, deep red light pouring from new vents running along the engine's housing. "Analyzing." A holographic heads-up display of the same colour lit up in the air between the handlebars, spooling with data on the ill-mannered attackers.

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

The orange-clad attacker suddenly moved, blazing through the air as he moved directly at Midnight. As he got closer, it was clear there was a madness in his eyes, one born not just of greed. He was all but foaming at the mouth, and his eyes seemed slightly unfocused. It was almost like there was something else driving him...

"First I'm gonna kill you! Then I'm gonna take your hat! Then that pretty bike! Then, who knows! Ha, it's a nice hat, and now it's mine!"

His left fist roared forward in a punch that wasn't subtle, but was so fast Midnight couldn't quite avoid it. Hopefully he could at least roll with the punch...

[trollthumper]

Nick hadn't exactly expected to get besieged by madmen throwing orange light talking about how they wanted everything down to his pants. But then again, if he expected half the things he fought in this business, it would be a lot easier. "First of all," he said, "that car's a classic. You're not fit to suck the chrome off its tail pipe. Second of all... you want the jacket? Buy your own, find a nice little gate downstairs, then make your own hike to the River Styx. And third of all --"

There wasn't much death in this part of the woods - most of it was simple, predator and prey. But there was the essence of old, potent death, left over from the days of trappers, explorers, and mountain men. It responded to his call, coalescing into grasping, ectoplasmic hands. They reached up into the skies, clawing at the men in orange.

"--you guys really need to learn when to keep your mouths shut. Ever thought about cutting down on caffeine? Sacrilege, I know..."

[KnightDisciple]

"I am sick and tired of people wanting my ring!"

Even as Corbin's form was shrouded in thick blue flames, the grasping hands from Nick managed to get firm grips on all three of the attackers. In fact, all three of the strange glowing thugs were rooted in place, vainly struggling in their bonds.

"Lights out, ugly."

In the blink of an eye Cobalt Templar was practically in his attacker's face; another blink, and the giant hammer in his hands was impacting said foe's head (and some of his chest, it was a big hammer). The blow gave off a ringing sound that mostly disguised the sound almost like glass shattering as the energy construct around the man faded, or the even less pleasant sound of the man's jaw breaking. The crazed man slumped unconscious in the ghostly hands holding him up. CT himself looked at the rest of the people on the field of battle, his chest heaving a bit.

"Seriously, not what I wanted to do today."

[Gizmo]

More than rolling with the punch, Midnight twisted his body to turn with the attack, then vaulted over the extended orange arm as though it were a horizontal bar, flipping in the air so that his feet pointed directly upward before coming back down on the other side already astride the Night Cycle. The twitch of his hands and knees that brought the two-wheeled vehicle around to face his attacker directly was just as fluid, so quick that there was a moment while the Furion based cannons finished charging for Redbird to offer, "You should not have mentioned the hat."

Any reply from the armored maniac was cut off by twin beams of crimson light that left black dots swimming across the vision of anyone staring directly at them. The cosmic energy cashed into its target, bound in place as he was by Cimitiere's necromancy, drilling into the glowing orange plate. It wasn't enough to even slow the mad thing down, but it did prove that it could be injured.

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

While one of his compatriots was knocked senseless, and another was growling as he was slammed head-on with blasts from Redbird and Midnight, the "leader" was concentrating on gaining his freedom. Finally, with a rather bestial roar, he flexed and managed to rip himself free of the grasping ghostly hands, his "armor" somewhat in tatters after all that abuse. He floated just above the tangle of ectoplasmit limbs and sneered at Nick.

"Pfah! Nice trick, but not good enough!"

With that stunning comeback he hefted back with his right arm and lobbed a sphere of volatile orange energy right at Nick, managing to strike the otherworldly hero once more.

[trollthumper]

Nick realized the phantom barrage wasn't going to cut it for much longer. With both his targets free, he dropped the construct, drawing the ectoplasm back within himself. "All right," he said. "You two really need to learn a lesson about when to shut the hell up." The death energy gathered in his hands, in the form of a cold blue flame that reeked of the bog. "I've got a hell of a lot more tricks up my sleeve."

The blast flared out from his hands... but went zooming past the orange nuisance, soaring off into the wilds of the woods. As it passed by, though, the goon could feel something tugging at his mind, the way a flame draws a moth. Nick's hands fell to his sides. That was only going to make all this harder.

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

The other orange-clad villain who was still conscious gave his own roar, even as Redbird's attack pounded his armor. The spectral bounds burst as his arms flailed around his body, before he regained just a slight bit of control of himself.

Unlike his comrade, he didn't give an intelligible reply to Midnight's ultimatum. Instead, he reared back one arm and let fly with a sphere-like blast of energy that fluctuated even as it flew through the air. Of course, perhaps it was that same erratic nature that meant it ended up going wide from hitting Midnight. The half-crazed attacker just gave a bestial growl as he glared at the black-clad vigilante.

[KnightDisciple]

Cobalt Templar frowned as he saw that while they were holding their own, his two allies were in a bit of a deadlock with their opponents. Each pair wasn't gaining ground one way or another. Time to change that.

Wordlessly, he accelerated across the small field they were battling in, and adjusted the grip on his hammer. He threw some caution to the wind with his plan, but he wanted to make sure he hit the son of a gun. He judged the angles as he flew in, and then, when he was close enough, he heaved the fiery weapon around and smacked the goon right in the torso. The sound of the impact echoed across the clearing.

"Come on, Nick! We'll take this loser down then help Midnight wrap this up! Then maybe we can figure out who sent them."