The Rail-Blazers of Karad'Gor

[KittKat chunky~]

The world was bright white, so bright in fact that Kat couldn't make out anything through the barrage of light... She squinted and tried to hold up a hand against the brightness, but that didn't seem to make a difference and her arm felt as heavy as lead. Her ears were filled with a high pitched ringing and muffled sounds, like voices in a different room... The others, what had happened to the others? Last she'd seen they were fighting, tooth and nail, and then...!

Kat sat up with a groan, blinking desperately as her vision came swimming back into blurry focus. Someone was treating her she realised, for as she sat up they pushed her back down and there was a painful pressure around her thigh... It barely masked the dull throbbing pain in her leg which felt like a snarling wolf circling, though the pain still felt numb and detached.

"I'm alive... I'm ok..." She muttered, though her voice sounded unsure even to her own ears. Kat looked up, slightly surprised to see it was Zachary leaning over her, and a little way away was Laina. Well she was glad to know they had survived at least. Gritting her teeth against the pain Kat slowly pushed herself up on one arm again in time to see Kaz burst out of the undergrowth. Just like the rest of them the portly 'coon looked rather worse for wares... But also importantly, alive...

[Xavier Akafur]

"Shit!" The marten hissed, reloading a single shot as quickly as she could and pulling the rifle up for bear once more. She had lost where the pair went, however, and by the time she found them again in the brush they were in a tussle and she could not get a shot. She almost fired her single round at the rat that emerged from the bush, but eased up on the taut trigger when he fell over dead, and then fully lowered the weapon when Kaz came stumbling out of the weeds.


The mercenary was silent as she surveyed the scene around her, rat bodies strewn about the field. The vicious creatures hadn't even attempted a retreat, and had been slaughtered to the last. No doubt that hinted something about their intelligence, or perhaps their desperation. Either way, Laina was glad that the pack of rat-men had not been better armed. If they ran into another group like that, she wasn't quite sure they would make it through.

With an air of exhaustion she pulled herself back up to her feet, hanging her rifle at a low angle in the crook of her arm, and looked to the north to where Nihlus had flown off. She no longer heard and screams or gunfire, but neither did she see any sings of the Natavathi returning. Her face registered concern for a long moment before she turned to regard Zach and Kat, who sat only a dozen paces or so to the south of her. "Is anyone seriously injured?" She inquired, and the usual snarky edge to her voice had faded to a gentle sort of worry. The marten realized now that this trip was not like anything she had dealt with before. They had faced death and they were still on the border of the province, not a day into what was likely to be a week long journey. They would need to rely on each other to survive this job. "Nihlus is missing, somewhere north of us. If we can move we need to go try and find him, he could need our help." She added, started to reload Jerry with more than just the single round she had added.

[Drakeyboy]

Zach lightly chuckled when he heard Kat say she was alive. He then heard Laina asked if anyone one was seriously injured. "Well Kat here has a pretty serious cut on her leg. I've pretty much stopped the bleeding but there is still the risk infection. As for me i'm still sore from my fall earlier but besides that I'm fine." He then gave the bandage a tug and said to the whole group with a idea. "Actually does anyone have some strong alcohol?" If one of them did he could soak the bandage with it or pour dome of it on the wound and it could help with most of the infection. It's not perfect but it's better than nothing. As for nihlus he wasn't worried about him. He was a crystalline dragon from what he has seen, not like weak or common weapons could injure him.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

 Leaned over a corpse, the canine's ears twitched at the sounds of shots fired off in the distance. The noise was enough to disturb his meal – some bandits that had been mowed down by a few of his “brethren” days ago. Something was amiss. Something big, he assumed by the amount of gunfire that he could hear piercing the almost eerie lull. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for things to go awry given where he was, though now Jude tilted his head to sniff the air. Gunshots at the very least meant food. Food and whatever else was left behind in the victor's wake – more things to scavenge so far as he was concerned! His nose quivered inquisitively at its peak, picking up various scents – more notably rat and gunpowder. He gave a sneeze, shaking his head. Something was different. There were other things here aside from the usual suspects. Something aside from the rats and rancid magic that loomed over the area with such an imposing shadow.

 
Curious as to what this was, the creature took to all fours and began to wander toward the flashing lights and loud noises until something large swooped overhead. He dropped flat to the ground, peering over his shoulder. That was definitely something new. Very slowly, he began to lift up. It didn't take him long to spot the suspects, all gathered around one another... Around bodies. So much dead flesh! He continued to rise from four legs to two, still sniffing at the air to get a better handle on the situation until he noticed the marten, fumbling with a gun. Rather than rush at her or any of the party, he stood where he was, dropping his muzzle to get a better look at them.

[KittKat chunky~]

With a snarl Kat pushed herself up onto one arm, her fingers sinking into the thick mire they had churned up during the fighting. The pain in her leg was bearable, though only just, and her once grey travelling clothes were stained deep red down her leg. Fresh blood had pooled into her boot and Kat wrinkled her nose at the stench. "I'll be the judge of how serious my wound is..."  She muttered with a grimace, trying to push past Zachary and stand on her own two feet.

Almost immediately the pain flared again, like a line of white hot fire diagonally across the width of her thick thigh, and she collapsed heavily back into the mud. "Fine... Argh, just fine." The lynx hissed between her teeth, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. For a moment she just lay there, large tufted ears flicking as she soaked in all the sounds of the swamp around them. She could hear the few members of their group coming together, and one strange new sound stalking close by... But the pain was just too much for her to concentrate, and as Zach tugged on the bandage Kat gave another growl of pain, opening her eyes to glare pointedly at him.

[coolcoyote]

The coyote grits his teeth. "Five minutes. I'm not gone longer than five bleedin minutes..." he shakes his head. To his marten companion Kaz says, "You go after Niles. I'll hang back here and watch over our..." the carnage of the battlefeild, very aware that not a single one of the enemies fell to his paws. Somehow the term civilian just doesnt seem to apply anymore. "Companions. Once the cat is patched up we will move into that tree line." he points to the north.

"I'll find us a spot to hole up in. But we really, really should put some distance between us and this mess, less they have freinds coming back to help...or their stence attracts something worse..."

Eyes focused on the wounded feline the coyote has yet to see the new creatures arival... "Anything I can do to help? She...she is going to be alright...right?"

[Xavier Akafur]

Laina just nodded her agreement as she finished reloading the carbine. "Aye, fair enough. I won't be gone long.... he can't be hard to find." She replied, casting the lynx a look of mild concern before she stood up and kicked some of the mud off of her boot... somewhat pointlessly, as the muck was halfway up her leg. "Keep an eye....out...." She added, trailing off as she looked up to where she was about to be heading to find the green-furred canine looking back at her. Her expression registered immediate surprise and confusion, the scene too strange for her to react quickly, but soon enough she had her gun held at the ready, if not aimed directly at the creature.

Ayllaina has some minor experience with monsters, but this creature seemed more like the undead she had heard about... even from this distance parts of it were clearly rotting. The marten gave a low hissing noise to catch everyone else's attention. "Psst. What the hell is that?" She asked no one in particular. There was an edge of fear or concern in her voice, it was difficult to tell which, really. However, it was clear that the decaying appearance of this creature was unnerving the marksman significantly more than the plague rats had. Half-feral rat men were one thing, undead monstrosities were entirely another, and something the sniper was entirely unfamiliar with. "Should I shoot it?" He questioned, though the tip of her rifle was visible quivering, the female's face pulled into a barely disguised grimace. It had not advanced towards them yet, and appeared to be more curious than hostile.... but for all she knew it may not have the ability to make any other expression. The canine's face could just be frozen like that, the muscles rotted away beneath the skin. She shuddered visibly at the thought.


"I...I think I should shoot it..." She amended, raising Jerry up a bit further.

[Drakeyboy]

Drake heard Kaz's concern and quickly looked over his shoulder to face him. "If i could get some alcohol on this cut she should be." He then heard the marten's hiss and turned to face what she was looking at. Seeing the green rotting canine. Which to be honest gave him a sick feeling to his stomach. But was it from disgust or shock of the sight he couldn't tell. After choking down on... something he decided to speak up to the creature. "Uhm... hello there."

[Goblin Cat 😸]

 The creature hardly reacted with the barrel pointed at him, not beyond his ear flicking absently, intently listening to their conversation. Had he been within reach, he would have touched the barrel of the gun, perhaps slowly redirected it to the ground, provided he didn't get a hole blown in him from doing such, but alas at his distance he merely tilted his head inquisitively – and then again in the opposite direction when the raccoon spoke at him. It was certainly another first; most others, bandits included, would rather shoot first and ask later – something that resulted in a few of his mismatched parts. Slowly, he raised one of his heavy paws and gave a wave at the raccoon before he deviated his attention to the martin, or more specifically, the barrel aimed at him. He didn't speak, rather, his tongue lolled out of his mouth bringing along with it a few maggots that squirmed in the strings of drool that dripped from his mouth. Finally, he spoke, voice low and gruff, almost mockingly at the female, “Should you?”

[KittKat chunky~]

Kat glanced from Zach to Kaz, clenching her teeth against the pain. She muttered darkly under her breath in reply,  "You'd need something strong to stand a chance of actually disinfecting the wound..." After a moment she looked back and sighed, "I've got alcohol, in my pack..."

It was then that the decomposing creature stood up in plain view. At first Kat couldn't help but share Laina's feelings of revulsion and she was suddenly made very acutely aware of the smell of fresh blood around her. She had never seen a creature such as this in all her life, the tales of the undead and ghouls had seemed so childish and far away in the capital. But as it remained standing there, cautious and almost curious, in a rotting blank-expressioned sort of way, she felt her fear ebb away...

For now at least the creature didnt seem too aggressive, and she was hardly able to aid her companions in a fight anyway. So with one eye on the unfolding exchange Kat extracted a large metal hip-flask from one of the many pockets on her pack... the drink inside had an eye-watering smell of strong alcohol, followed by a more subtle aroma of sweet fruit. Zach had of course turned to deal with the creature alongside Laina, leaving Kat to glance at the portly coyote out of the corners of her amber eyes. This was no time to be ashamed and so, after a brief pause, the young lynx held out the flask at arm's length to Kaz, "Seems a waste... But if you can lend a paw to help this should do the job..."

[coolcoyote]

Kaz admittedly reacts poorly when faced with a zombie appearing out of the wood work. His motto as an ex bandit was shoot first, shoot some more, shoot anything that survived the previous shooting and then shoot it again after its been shot.

A bit extreme but its kept the pudgy bandit alive this long.

Thankfully the coyote has yet to reload his weapons having discharged them all with out hitting a single target. A fact that he hopes is glossed over by his team mates.

"Bleedin heck what is that thing!" Kaz shouts. Frantically trying to reload his pistol.

[Xavier Akafur]

The marten just wrinkled her nose further when the canine spoke, her finger tightening on the trigger instinctively, though not enough to trigger the weapon to fire. There was a moment's pause, during the silence of which Kaz shouted, and Laina heard him fumble with one of his pistols. There was another tense moment, before she cracked a smile and lowered her gun slightly. Despite the danger of the situation, the absurdity of the coyote's outrage almost made her laugh. She couldn't hold back the initial chuckle, but attempted to hold her weapon steady.


"Mister rotting, gross thing...." She called out, unconcerned with the creature's sensibilities to be sure. "...I won't shoot you, just stay over there." She finished, lowering her gun. As repulsive as the creature was, it had made no hostile action towards them, nor did it seem particularly concerned with the group as a whole. "You can talk so you're not one of the mindless, flesh-eating monsters." Though that did not discredit him from being a thoughtful flesh-eating monster, something that did not escape her train of thought.

She didn't take her eyes off of him, but she relaxed slightly and stood up from her crouch. "Care to tell us what you're doing?"

[Drakeyboy]

Zachary(i keep screwing up the name...) would raise a eyebrow seeing the rotting canine wave to him before the other team members began to take charge of the situation. He'd scratch his neck and turn back to Kat to clean up the wound. "Alright well since everyone else is keeping that thing busy let's clean that wound." He said quietly to not distract the exchange. He'd hold out his hand to receive the alcohol as he said. "By the way why do you have alcohol?"

[Goblin Cat 😸]

 Jude paused a moment to listen to the martin. Her words were received with a slight scowl. “Wandering.” He started, glancing around them, more specifically, eying the carnage that surrounded them. “Scavenging.” For the most part, he obeyed, not really moving from his spot, though he seemed less than pleased about it as he squatted down with a huff. The canine licked his lips hungrily, not seeming much interested in the living parties so much as everything that littered the ground. “You?” he questioned. “Aside from shooting up everything, that is?”

 
While at first his speech seemed crude, it got better the more he continued... As if he'd been stranded without it for so long, it was almost forgotten. He reached a paw out to touch one of the bodies before them, eyes now falling to the martin and her group, expectant for answers.

[coolcoyote]

(Proving Im still alive with a post! Not sure if its my turn or not but...anyway.)

The pot bellied coyote growls as he begins to reload his weapons, first one pistol then the next, keeping a warry eye on their new undead friend all the while still able to quip, "Why wouldn't she have whisky on her?" he askes in honesty. Stepping forward towards their marten leader Kaz says, "If you want to go looking for our wayward friend I can watch over the party." and loot corpses to his greedy hearts content he thinks but does not say.

"Also, be carefull. They have some kind of exploding spear thrower...took a face full of one and barely survived!"