ic Vault Construction 101 (IC)

[Gizmo]

The cannons protruding from the Night Cycle's sides retracted back into the vehicle's body, leaving no trace as Redbird reconfigured her Furion created technology to increase their speed, harrying their target with tight circles and sudden banking. Steering almost casually with one hand, Midnight drew another bola from his belt and whirled it about with a flick of his wrist. Accelerating directly at the armored foe with a cool determination that forced the jabbering thug to flinch first, he loosed the weapon, easily hitting his unbalanced target. Although the cable was easily snapped by the orange villain's strength, it succeeded in keeping his attention and preventing him from interfering in the rest of the fight.

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

The unknown man struck by Cobalt Templar's blow was shoved back a few feet, and his eyes were rather obviously unfocused as he wavered, barely staying standing up. His arms moved erratically, as if to keep his balance. It was clear his threat was quelled for the moment.

Meanwhile, the other warrior in ever-shifting energy armor snarled at the display Midnight and Redbird put on, even as he shook off the actual attack. Still, the snarl had a definite quaver to its quality. The man in orange was unnerved by the stoic duo, which left him less capable. All according to Midnight's plan, it could be imagined.

It seemed as if the heroes were starting to turn the tide of this fight.

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

The unrelenting, even confusing, efforts of Midnight and Redbird left their target off guard and open for an attack. But while he was shaken, he still had his wits about him.

"I'm going to crush you like a bug! And bend your precious motorcycle around your body!"

The energy around his body surged along his arms, and he fired a blast not at Midnight, but at Redbird, hoping to slow their overall progress. Despite the rapid movements the dark duo were undergoing, and the shakiness in their attacker's limbs, he scored a hit upon the advanced motorcycle's side. His face smiled slightly as he lifted his arms in the air and crowed his victory (such as it was).

"Ha! I'll melt you both to slag yet!"

[trollthumper]

Nick ground his hand against his temple. "You know, you guys were annoying to start off with," he said, "but it was something I could live with. Like a migraine, or telemarketing. But you just don't know when to quit, do you?"

He drew the hand away from his temple, and raised it above his head. The stray ectoplasm left in the area streamed towards in, wrapping around both hands. "I've met Tourette's-afflicted parakeets who didn't jabber as much as you jokers have," he said, "and I think maybe it's time you watched your tongues." He charged at the goon on the ground, who was still shaking off the last barrage, and swung at him with a wide uppercut, aided by the boxing glove made of ectoplasm hard as concrete.

"I hear a broken jaw helps with that. Immensely."

[KnightDisciple]

The one Nick had targeted didn't seem to be shaken much by what the necromancer said. But Nick's blow still struck him, albeit only slightly. Still, it clearly affected him a bit.

"Hey, Orange Bowl, over here."

Just as the man started to turn, confusion painting his face, the glowing hammer that Cobalt Templar had used just moments ago struck him again. This time, it hit the mysterious attacker right in the side of the head; for a moment, he seemed like he might have been felled then and there. But while he stayed on his feet, he was clearly barely holding on to consciousness.

Meanwhile, the large blunt weapon was resting on the ground as CT gazed cautiously at his enemy.

"Nice hit, Nick. Good set up for a one-two punch there. Hey, Midnight, you done going easy on your guy?"

CT's stance was wide open, but he seemed fearless as he stood there in front of his foe, fire construct casually grasped in one hand.

[Gizmo]

Midnight grunted at Cobalt Templar as Redbird spun into a series of disorienting maneuvers at his prompting, setting up an unexpected strike. As they did so, however, their target loosed a lucky shot, the energy blast streaming though the autonomic intelligence's systems. With an all-too-human shout of pain, Redbird went silent, the Night Cycle shifting beneath Trevor into its more Earthly configuration as the Furion influence retreated.

Grating his teeth behind his mask, he brought the motorcycle to a screeching halt as part of a one-two combination of furious escrima stick strikes that cracked open his opponent's orange armor and sent the thug reeling back. Dismounting, Midnight strode forward, radiating malice. "Never. Touch. My bike."

[trollthumper]

"These guys really do need to learn a few lessons about personal space," said Nick. "And personal property. And personality disorders." Phantom flame gathered in his hands again, swelling and contracting like a living thing. It leaped from his hands and sped towards one of the stunned energy controllers. It seemed to just miss the man's head, and Nick was about to curse his luck... when the flame lashed back around, contrails wrapping around the goon's head before colliding full on, seeding his head with rending thoughts. "Maybe a little headache will help convince them of that."

[Gizmo]

With his opponent still reeling, Midnight tossed one escrima stick into the air, letting it flip end over end before catching it in a reversed grip. Leaping forward, he brought the weapon crashing down into the cracked portion of the orange armor driving it deep into the energy construct and sending cracks radiating outward from the impact like a broken windshield. The other stick of the matched pair swiftly followed is a sweeping blow that sent the thug's head twisting from one side to the other with enough force to seriously injure a less armored target. The black clad vigilante had taken the full measure of his foe, however, and gauged the ferocity of his attacks precisely. The repulsive aggressor went down in a heap.

[trollthumper]

Nick faced the remaining thug head on. He wasn't looking too good, and seemed open from every angle. So that was how he decided to take him - from every angle. With a wave of his hand, the disparate ectoplasm reassembled into a mass of grasping arms. They swarmed the goon, tossing him from one arm to another like a rag doll. Once Nick was sure the greedy attacker was left wide open, he brought the guy to the ground, and swarmed all the arms on top of him in one giant dog pile. He walked right up to the downed goon and knelt down to look him in the eyes.

"Next time you want something so badly," he said, "think about saying 'please' first, why don't you."

[KnightDisciple]

As the two men fell unconscious, the energy around them faded. Cobalt Templar himself stood in a ready stance for several long seconds, waiting to see if any of the three would stand back up. None of them rose, and he relaxed his posture, though not his overall caution. He went over to the first thug they'd downed, carried him over to the other two unconscious men, and dropped him on the ground, a confused frown on his face.

"It doesn't make sense. They exhibited power very similar to mine, but none of them bear a ring, and their power faded when we knocked them out. Which is bad, I think I know where it came from."

He looked at the other two, noting everyone's condition.

"They seemed to be wielding a weakened form of the power of the Orange Ring of the Builder. Unfortunately, it seems Protectiveness has decayed to Greed. Or worse, the current user has always embodied greed. Either way, we're looking at a potent opponent. From what I understand, the Orange Ring tends to focus on attacking many people at once, creating barriers, that sort of thing. A bit more defensive-minded than my ring, or the Red Ring for that matter. On the plus side, when we beat him, that's 2 of the 6 "missing" rings that we know the location for."

He tried, and failed, to give a smile at that remark; his eyes were flitting back and forth across the tree line, trying to find the mastermind of this little attack.

"Whoever this is, they're not stupid, but they are greedy. Stay alert, the Orange Ring's user can't be that far..."

[trollthumper]

Nick started to scan the woods, staying on high alert for some form of movement in the woods. "Is this something that's been known to happen before?" he asked. "One of the ring's virtues turning into a vice?" His mind started tripping over occult possibilites, like the idea of the Sephirot inverting into the Qlippoth, and how there might be something there... but then he decided to keep his tongue firmly locked between his teeth, as now likely wasn't the time for guesswork.

He turned his eyes back towards the mountain briefly, trying to find another topic for discussion. "You know," he said, "I can probably carve out some tunnels and pit traps in this thing. Just a matter of sending the rock off to the land of dust and shadows."

[Gizmo]

"'Weakened'? Encouraging," Midnight grumbled flatly through his featureless black mask, leaving the Night Cycle where it was for the time being to allow Redbird time to recuperate. While they hadn't been overly canny opponents, the goons in the glowing armor had taken a significant amount of punishment before going down and hadn't failed in handing out their fair share of blows either. That didn't bode well with regard to their master and the undiluted source of their power, but the vigilante was looking for a little payback regardless, petty though it may have been. "Avarice by way of safeguarding... Expecting a horde? Would explain reliance of agents."

[KnightDisciple]

"The Rings are tools. Nothing in the Blue Ring would stop me from flying off to some third world country, deciding I know better than everyone there because I'm totally awesome, and setting myself up as a tinpot dictator. Willpower can become overconfidence which becomes Pride. Someone picks up the ring who's already pretty greedy, the Orange Ring won't help matters. It's an unfortunate side effect of how they were made, it seems; they can...resonate...with these polar emotions.

As for digging out the tunnels, that's not a bad idea. But probably one to save for later."

Cobalt Templar turned toward Midnight, and couldn't help but wince.

"Sorry again about the bike and Redbird getting hurt. Uh...I guess let me know if I can help or something.

Anyways, as far as a bunch of guys...I'd wager not. I don't know exactly what every other Ring can do; heck, I don't think I've tapped all that my ring can do yet. But from what I gather, the Orange Ring more typically built static structures, or attacked large groups. So, giving copies of his powers out seems like an unusual thing. Maybe a ritual of some sort. When we fight the Real Deal, I'd watch out for him tossing out stuff that hits a large area, or putting himself behind walls and the like."

[trollthumper]

"Hmm," Nick said. "You say these things resonate. Guessing they can amplify as well? Hmmm..." He began drawing a circle in the soil, with the aid of a stray branch. "Going back to that early warning system beforehand, we probably could create a radar system instead of just a tripwire. Maybe something designed to pick out the greatest source of greed within twenty miles - which I think should exclude the riskier parts of Wall Street - and quantify it. So we can tell the difference between one of these ringbearers and your standard issue Scrooge.

"As for walls... well, if I can power through rock, I think I might be able to handle those. I'll just have to watch my footing for the wide-reaching stuff."

[Gizmo]

Midnight wasn't sure about the 'radar' Cimitiere was suggesting - he'd almost have preferred that the necromancer stick to mystical jargon rather than drawing parallels with technological equivalents the engineer actually understood - but he didn't raise any objections, trusting for the time being that the expert knew what he was talking about. The prospect of a supernaturally built fortress, however, didn't phase him. "Has to be able to get out," he noted of the bulwark's creator. The logical inverse followed easily. "I can get in."

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

Suddenly, the feeling in the air shifted, and the ground beneath their feel shivered ever so slightly. A moment after that, they all heard a voice speaking up from behind them. It's surprisingly intelligent and cultured, compared to the barely-sane thugs from before. Yet there's an almost reptilian edge to it, one that doesn't settle quite right as it's heard.

"Truly, I'm scared out of my mind. After all, I've never been threatened before, oh no. Especially not by people so much younger and less experienced."

A man in a comparatively simple orange and black outfit stood there, a smirk on his unmasked face, his short-cropped hair shining oddly in the light. He seemed composed and well-mannered, but something in his eyes suggested someone who was utterly ruthless, and utterly insane.

"I've fought your ring before, flame-wielder. Last time, fire beat earth. But last time, I didn't have a few centuries of experience on my side! Just because you've got friends doesn't mean you'll win this day, Willpower! The Blue Ring will be MINE!"

Orange energy flared, and the rocks at his feet cracked a bit. It was clear battle was about to be joined.

[Gizmo]

Midnight regarded the raving madman dispassionately for a moment as he appeared, and when orange light began to flare up around him, the shadowy detective responded with a roiling cloud of light devouring mist around his own feet. A hollow, rolling sound came from him as he advanced slowly; it took a moment to recognize it as chilling laughter. "Misjudged," he reprimanded tonelessly. "Your experience... Your power... Found wanting." The mist rose up for a brief moment, obscuring his silhouette then fell to the ground, spreading lazily along the ground in the empty space left as the black clad specter vanished.

[trollthumper]

Nick stared down the man wreathed in orange flame. He'd most certainly seen scarier, though he wasn't entirely sure he'd seen crazier. "So," he said, "you've been trying for centuries, huh? And you haven't really gotten anywhere, have you?" He drew his hands together, once more willing the ectoplasm into his hands. It sublimated into blue flame, infused with the essence of bottled nightmare. "Some people would take that as a lesson. And some people... just don't learn."

The phantom flame leapt out towards the orange ringbearer, cutting through his defenses and barriers. It bored a hole in his orange flame, aimed right towards his head, and wrapped around him like a barbed wire crown.

[KnightDisciple]

Midnight's words seemed to rattle the man, though his body language tried to compensate. When the young vigilante disappeared in the middle of the day, the orange-wreathed villain cast his gaze about wildly for a few moments, until Nick began to speak. Then he was all snarls and posturing again.

"I've fought that ring to a standstill when it was on the hand of a warrior equal to myself. On the hand of a mewling child-"

And then the blue flame struck against him, and he cried out wordlessly, gripping his head as he staggered in mid-air.

Cobalt Templar seized the moment and conjured up his own bolt of blue flame, sending it from a pointed index finger.

"This "mewling child" has stared straight into the face of nightmares; you're just a color-blind chump with a ring he doesn't deserve."

The blot struck true, but the man seemed unaffected; the orange shell around his person seemed to eat Corbin's attack, glowing more brightly for just a moment.

[Gizmo]

Without any preamble the butt of an escrima stick abruptly smashed into the back of the orange ring-bearers head, a precise and merciless blow designed to disorient and damage simultaneously. Midnight slid into view again from somewhere in the shadows, as suddenly appearing as he had disappeared. The construct armor had taken most of the force of the attack but a hairline crack had appeared at the point of impact. "Disappointing," the black clad vigilante noted scornfully, sidestepping around in a wide circle while whirling his twin weapons in easy movements.

[trollthumper]

"You know," said Nick, "for someone who's got a ring of untold power on their hand and the imagination to use it, you really feel the need to flash your street cred." The ectoplasm hanging about him like mist coalesced on his hands again. "'You cannot imagine my power.' 'I am a warrior whose strength is untold.' 'Mine's bigger.'" He drove at the orange ring bearer's shield with his claws out, aiming to deliver enough force to tear apart the protective enchantment while still doing some damage to the egotistical mage. "I'm pretty sure if you had any serious flash in that thing, you'd be showing it off rather than bragging about your unlimited font of awesome."

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

The man in orange energy cried out as Nick struck him with his ectoplasmic talons. His armor was torn asunder, and he staggered back, falling to his knees for a few seconds, at which point his confused voice all but whispered out his next words.

"But I...should have won...had the power...the knowledge...surprise..."

With that, he fell backwards, sprawled on the ground. His armor started dissolving, bit by bit, and his breathing seemed to slow to that of a sleeping man...

[KnightDisciple]

Cobalt Templar gave a sigh of relief.

"Man, I'm glad that's over. Even if he was sorta stupid and crazy, he was kinda tough."

He walked over to the downed man in orange, before turning to face the others a moment.

"Give me a sec, I'm going to get this ring off him so we can take him into custody and such. Of course, it's all the more reason to get this place set up sooner rather than later..."

He crouched down and reached for the man's ring...

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

Then there was a flash of orange light and a roar of noise. Cobalt Templar was thrown back with a cry, and something like 30 spectral cavalry made of orange light suddenly charged Nick and Midnight, driving them back and worrying them a bit with their mostly-solid weapons. The attack was powerful, but clearly made to just separate them from Cobalt Templar; a few moments after the charge stopped, they were surrounded with orange stone on 3 sides and above them, with a wall of faintly orange glass let them look upon the Bearer of the Orange Ring as the walked slowly toward CT, who was just getting up from where he'd been thrown on the ground.

"You mock me, but you don't even know the true nature of my power! You think those blows were enough to fell the likes of me?"

The Man in Orange now wore ancient-style clothing and, instead of "armor", was merely sheathed in roiling orange flames. He raised a hand, and a finely-wrought two-handed sword appeared.

"Now I will kill you and take your ring."

He raised the blade before bringing it down in a brutal swing....Which was met by a matching sword of blue fire. Cobalt Templar grit his teeth as he slowly stood, his feet sinking into the earth a bit as he fought against the incredible surge of strength.

Their auras flared, and after a few moments, the sword constructs were abandoned for two ring-bearers grappling with one another, neither gaining any ground, the earth around them burning and heaving in turn. Something in their rings was reacting to each other, and soon a column of burning stones swirled 10 feet in the air above and around them.

This went on for a couple of minutes, until suddenly the blue flames flared up and consumed all the stones, and CT head-butted the orange ring bearer. He fell to the ground again, bonelessly, and the construct around Midnight and Nick dissolved in the breeze that had been kicked up.

The small clearing was basically ruined, but the fight was won.

[KnightDisciple]

"Okay, wow. That was both really exhausting, and a total rush, all at once."

CT bent down and calmly slipped the Orange Ring from the man's finger, placing it in a pocket on his armored belt. The man's orange glow faded, leaving him in severely anachronistic garb.

"Well, at least he didn't age super-fast or anything. Though...I don't really know where we should put him. He's...he was good, once. I got flashes of it while we struggled. He's centuries old. He found that thing and at first, he used it to try to protect his home. Something went wrong, and...well."

He gave a vague wave at the 4 unconscious men on the ground, and the severely damaged wilderness around them.

"This. Makes a guy wonder sometimes..."

He shook his head after a moment's contemplation.

"Right, so. Sorry our little meeting got interrupted, but on the plus side, I think I've got some good ideas on what to do, now."