Emergency at the Last Stop [Day 5, ME]

[Honorordeath]

With the long days sun finally setting on Noventa most of the town at The Last Stop has come in for their evening meals before taking the journey back home to sleep and prepare for a new day tomorrow. Laughter and joy can be heard from inside the tavern as a human male exits through the back door of the tavern, carrying with him a large sack of trash. Looking off to the empty, open spaces the town might very well call it's streets around him he shudders with the chill creeping up his spine. Shaking his head from the thought he just had to toss the garbage and be right back inside. Hoisting the sack over his shoulder once more he struggled with the weight of it till he reached the bin, letting the load off once more by his foot.

Placing one hand underneath the lid he pulled up to lift it with the usual pressure but it didn't budge. There was a weight to the lid that he hadn't expected. Narrowing his eyes at it he searched the edges for anything keeping it down, only seeing in front of himself what looked like gaseous fumes just above the bin. Peculiar, as it was, but there wasn't any scent or smell he could detect at the distance. Trying once more, having to know what was inside, he lifted with some effort and got an inch of lift before the lid went flying upward and smacked up against the back wall. Falling backwards in surprise the young man stumbled quickly to his feet and looked around. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just the smell of trash.

Hefting the bag into the bin the man kept a watch over his shoulder, that inescapable feeling persisted and he just wanted nothing more than to get inside and look back on this like some weird, creepy story. Five steps was what it took before he heard the impossibly light thud behind him, from by the bin. They'd received some break from the storm for a few moments, and it was just enough that he knew it was sweat that he now felt chilling his back side. Swallowing hard he turned around slowly to see what was behind him, but there was nothing. All except for some disturbance in the dirt where he had just been.

Against his better judgement curiosity got the better of him and he stepped closer, kneeling down beside the imprint he had noticed in the dirt and took a better look at it. There were four of the imprints in the dirt separated by only a bit of space. From what he could tell these looks like the prints of some kind of cat. His family owned a small house cat sort of creature for a few years and these reminded him of something like that. What was strange though was that the back two seemed to shift right before his very eyes. Noticing the same, familiar, shifting of the air just in front of him, like a gaseous fume rising from the dirt in front of him.

Hearing the growl nearly stopped his heart as the creature became revealed to him before his very eyes. From the snout to the tail a sleek, cat-like creature stood nose to nose with him. Pouncing on him, there had barely been enough time to let out a blood curdling scream before the jaw of the predator had closed around his throat.

[Honorordeath]

From an old transmitter located in The Last Stop tavern, Aislea Griche has begun sending out a call that both warns outsiders away from The Last Stop but also begs assistance of those who are able to deal with a dangerous threat. As she describes, something has been killing off townsfolk that wander off alone in the town since the earthquakes. These disappearances weren't thought much of until the attack just recently at dusk when the attacks on people had become far more bold and more numerous.

Most of the townsfolk have been barricaded inside of the tavern but there are still many that are left unaccounted for. Any able bodied individuals are asked to make their way to the Tavern to talk with Aislea so that they might work out the finer details of how each individual might be of assistance.

[Soren Lom]

A young woman with pink eyes walked quietly into the bar looking to find any signs of the woman who had initiated the beacon.

[Honorordeath]

Farmers, frontiersmen, and all sorts of other individuals who were coming through the town held faces of panic. There were a few that could be seen laying on the floor with injuries that seemed to threaten their lives. Others cowered, some sobbed, and when Aily entered at least one of them screamed.

Turning her attention from the group of folks Aislea was tending to, a cloth wrapped around her forehead to keep the sweat out of her eyes and a gun slung so that it held at her waist, she approached the woman who entered. "You come to help or just wander into town at the worst time possible?" she asked.

[Soren Lom]

"Come to help of course." She replied. "What needs doing?"

[Aislea Griche]

"What doesn't need doing?" she asked, shook her head and waved someone off. "What can you handle?"

[Quinn Largo]

Quinn came in not long after. She was damn near a regular here now. After the last couple of days, there was no way she could just stay back and not help. She had a debt to pay.

[Soren Lom]

"I mean... I can do lots of things... You just gotta tell me what is going on and how to go about fixing it." She replied.

[Aislea Griche]

Aislea sizes the woman up real quick, waves Quinn over and then turns and walks through the tavern with the intention for both women to follow. "Something came out of the forest. People have been picked off all around town and no ones seen a thing. Whatever it is seems to attack whenever someone is alone and it kills them fast. Drags the bodies off into the forest when it's certain the area is clear again."

"Simply put," Aislea continues as she checks in on different groups of people while they talk, "there is no shortage of things that need to be done. If something got in here.. it'd be a disaster so we need some folks on reinforcing this position. We've a few people who got injuries that need tending to, some more serious than others."

"No one knows what's out there, but it attacks when people are alone or in small groups. That said, we need someone to check in on the houses around town. There are still people out there and they're in danger, some might be able to take care of themselves but anyone who's not should be brought back here for safety."

Aislea stops and turns to them both, "Finally, if there was something that could chase these things off that would be ideal, or kill them, but I'm not seeing how we manage either of those options safely yet. Simply put there is no shortage of help needed, and every hand can be put to use."

[Quinn Largo]

"Is this... my fault? Did they follow us out, or is this something else?"

She tapped her foot, a little nervous.

"Just, tell me what I can do. I have a stick... and I can talk really well. Maybe get some people to shore up your security."

She tried to call on the force to get a sense of how many people were near... and whether or not there was anything else... but the Force was not answering her call.

Sense Creatures: 1eF 2 Dark Side

[Temra Zol]

She tried to call on the force to get a sense of how many people were near... and whether or not there was anything else... but the Force was not answering her call.

Or maybe it was. For at that moment Temra walked in with some medical supplies he had liberated from the Centre. He looked around the area and saw just how dire everything was, before looking for someone in charge.

"The Neda Ulaby Medical Centre stands with the people of Noventa. How can I help?"

Temra was a little of a walking contradiction, one hand holding a bag overburdened with stimpacks and other medical gear, the other carrying a large vibro-ax and attired in his padded armor.

[Aislea Griche]

"Not your fault," Aislea shook her head, looking to Quinn. "Creatures in there coulda come out at any time but they chose now. Been hearing all around that people got a bad feelin' heard a bit about those earthquakes too, never had one of those 'round here before. Must have spooked 'em," she said, glancing once more between those gathered.

Focusing on Temra, "Many of the wounded here are superficial but there could be others out there. Stuck in their homes and in need of help. Some might not realize how much danger they're in," she glanced then to Quinn, "and no tellin' what you'll run into right now," she settled her look on Aily.

"Three of you might be able to run to some of the surrounding houses. If you're up for it. See who you can get to come here. Convince 'em if they're stubborn, tend to them if they're wounded, or just plain force 'em if you have to save their life that way. Fact is, whatever is out there will make it's way into the homes eventually, I'm sure of it."

[Temra Zol]

Temra girds himself in preparation for the rescue effort, looking to Quinn and the other unfamiliar woman Aislea indicated.

"Ready when you are ladies." He left most of the medical supplies here, taking a few stimpacks in case of emergencies and to treat any injured that they may come across.

[Soren Lom]

"Let's go then." She said as she strapped her infrabinoculars on over her eyes.

[Korvalus Dunbri]

Kor came into the bar looking for the source of the signal, it sounded pretty bad and Kor was likely to be able to help. if it came down to a fight that is.

He walked in as people seemed to be getting ready to head out, shaking the rain off he observed the others "seems like I made it to this party just in time." His voice was dry, in sharp contrast to the wetness outside.

[Honorordeath]

[Quinn, Temra, and Aily. Please make a separate thread for your excursion outside together. Post your combat stats so we have them handy and then please make sure to declare important things for something like this: How are you moving, what are you carrying, etc. If you choose to utilize STEALTH to move, it is essentially an AVERAGE STEALTH CHECK. Otherwise we will determine what best to use as the scene progresses.]

Meanwhile, Kor was waved in by Aislea, "Got a group going out Stranger! If you can handle yourself, head with them. Otherwise, come talk with me," she said before shifting the majority of her attention to one of the others running about the tavern that have been helping her.

[Korvalus Dunbri]

Kor nodded "I reckon I can handle myself well enough I'll head out with them if they want." He wasn't sure what their plan was but if they needed some muscle he wanted to make himself available.

[Temra Zol]

exit to here

[Honorordeath]

After some time, with the party having gone, Aislea was busy tending to the wounded when two more folk entered into her tavern. An older, mature, Zabrak female with hooded traveling clothes and with her a similarly dressed young Pantoran female. They were a strange sight to be sure but Aislea waved them in just like she would any other.

"You here to help?" she asked, a little suspicious of the women.

"We are, how are your wounded?" Daen asked.

"You're a doctor?" Aislea shifted the gun strapped around herself to a more comfortable position.

"Treating a wound is an essential skill, for a traveler," Daen raised her hand over and placed it on her young companions shoulder, "we will be able to help, just point us in the proper direction."

"Alright, just over there and a few in the back. Mostly bruises from things falling over and hurting themselves from trying to rush in here so fast. Nothing serious, but they could use a good looking after.

Daen patted her companion on the shoulder and the young Pantoran dutifully shot off to help the others. "She will help you, but I must depart. Will you watch over her for me while I am gone?"

"I.. you're just going to leave your.." Aislea lost the word, but Daen interjected quickly, "student, my student may take care of herself."

"Right, alright, yea, she can stay with us while you?"

"Enter the forest."

"Whoa, no, that's where these-"

"I know, do not worry. I will not be harmed. Trust in yourself and know that what you do here is good work."

"Stranger I don-" Aislea went to object but what she was objecting to lost all of its important the moment Daen finished speaking, turning from her and exiting the building into the darkness unknown.

[Daen Exit, Mirri Enter, others may still join to help.]