108- Uppances Come

James: [Author] I apologize for this post being so long. I couldn't find a good place to cut the pacing of it so I decided to just pile it all in.

Kyle: [OOC] Well fine. Let's just let inevitability take its course, shall we?
Joe: [OOC] Which inevitability? That all systems will eventually fall into disorder or that I will eventually kill every character?
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] Bailey runs down the hallway, both pistols drawn and ready to gun down the first thing he sees.
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali follows along. "Well, he's suddenly in an ambitious mood."
Ian: [Mari Shasho] "We've got healing potions, I'm willing to take some of this in lieu of grumbling cowboy stuff."
Joe: [GR-210] GR just bobs along and thinks about the meaning of life or something.
Dane: [GM] As Bailey gets toward the light at the end of the tunnel, you hear a loud gunshot. It didn't seem to be aimed at you but it was up ahead.
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] Bailey slides to a stop, his longcoat billowing all cool-like. He begins to creep forward with more caution.
Kyle: [OOC] Assume I stop if I see someone Dane.
Ian: [Mari Shasho] Mari creeps up behind Bailey, peeking under his arm. "See something?" she whispers.
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] Bailey shakes his head quietly. "Ya 'eard that shot. Som'un's packin' heat up there."
Dane: [GM] As Bailey gets closer to the light,you realize there's a small room in the tunnel, more lit than the rest of it. You see a man's hand on the ground from the corner of the door frame and a pool of blood beneath it. Someone's dead in there.
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali slinks up ahead to the door frame and tries to listen carefully.
Joe: [GR-210] GR-210 flies over her and peeks too.
Joe: [OOC] Ian, Kyle, peer in too. I want to do that Scooby-Doo thing.
Dane: [GM] Kali hears a sound like a child crying.
Ian: [Mari Shasho] Mari nods. "I'm going to jump in and fireball the first thing I see. If they have hostage we're going to need to be fast about this."
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] Bailey nods. "Right behind ya."
Joe: [OOC] When has letting our wizard take point ever worked out?
Ian: [Mari Shasho] Mari hops into the room, fireball primed and ready!
Dane: [GM] The only person in the room in young boy, sitting on the floor crying. There's two men in fancy robes on the ground beside him, dead in pools of presumably their own blood.
Joe: [OOC] Yes! Let it burn Ian! BUUUUURN.
Ian: [OOC] It's just a kid.
Joe: [OOC] You said 'the first thing I see' therefore you MUST toast that kid.
Ian: [OOC] That's not how a readied action works in any game and Mari was speaking, not me declaring an action.
Ian: [Mari Shasho] Mari stumbles a bit, caught off-guard by the lack of a target. "It's just a kid everyone."
Dane: [GM] As the rest of the group mulls in at their own pace, you realize that this isn't just a kid, it's the Prophet!
Soo: [OOC] I kind of assumed so. I figure the odds of two children existing in this game is fairly low. Time to work the ol' charisma.
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali walks over to the child, a warm smile on her face. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you."
Dane: [GM] The boy looks up at Kali with big, puffy red eyes. "You... you know I'm the Prophet right? Bernard Weiss. You're the ones who came here to kill me, aren't you?"
Joe: [GR-210] GR buzzes out of the room. "This one tunnel is hardly an escape route. I'm going to scout out another. Maybe I can find some loot to make this worthwhile."
Dane: [GM] Go to a private chat with me Joe, we'll do your events there.
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali sits down next to Bernard. "Well, yes. We were sent here to find you, but we're not going to hurt you."
Ian: [Mari Shasho] Mari looks at the corpses. "What happened here?"
Dane: [GM] The boy looks at the ground, hugging his knees. "The high priests. They argued about what to do. One of them wanted to escape with me through the service tunnel. The other one thought they should kill me so that I couldn't be used by the enemies of our faith. They fought and shot each other..."
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] "So yer really a prophet then? Iffin' they're that serious."
Dane: [GM] "I don't know!" the boy says, tears in his eyes. "I have strange dreams. The priests said they were visions! I don't know but people really seemed to need me! I just get so afraid!" Weiss starts to cry.
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali pulls the boy into her lap with her one arm and tries to comfort him. "There, there. It's going to be alright. We need to get you off this island though. Another religion is here and they won't stop until they've driven off competition."
Dane: [GM] The little kid nods, her face buried in Kali's arm.
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] "So that's the plan? We git 'im offa the island? 'Pose that'd please Trant."
Ian: [Mari Shasho] Mari smiles. "You're good with kids Kali."
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali nods back. "I like children. I was the oldest of five so I've raised quite a few, you know."
Soo: [OOC] What? It's on my character sheet.
Dane: [GM] Bernard stands up, hugging Kali again. "I will leave the island like you asked. But I cannot leave these people. They believe in me. They build their lives around me."
Joe: [OOC] And in the case of the ones we've met so far, they've died around him too.
Kyle: [OOC] Shut up! You're not even in the room. Now back to your hole solo-quester. 
Joe: [OOC] HISS!
Dane: [GM] "I will tell my followers that a vision is leading us elsewhere. It's a lie but it will get everyone to relocate. I wish you go in peace."
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali pats Bernard on the head. "You're a brave kid. You'll be a great man some day. I can feel it."
Dane: [GM] Bernard smiles and walks out of the room.
Soo: [OOC] Hooray! Diplomatic solution.
Ian: [OOC] Gonna go ahead and say Soo MVPed this one.
Joe: [GR-210] GR buzzes back in the room. "The only other exit to this room leads to some supply rooms and the center of town. We should go the way we came."
Ian: [Mari Shasho] "I think that kid will make sure we don't get shot. Let's just head back to Grandmaster Trant's pad."
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] Bailey strolls out of the tunnel. "Sur'prised you didn't loot the place GR. Yer usual mindset an' all."
Joe: [GR-210] "Sometimes Bailey, it's not what you take. It's what you give."
Dane: [GM] The sun is shining as you exit the tunnel. The fires seem to have been put out and you feel oddly peaceful as you walk back along the road to the Order's camp.
Ian: [Mari Shasho] Mari keeps playfully poking Kali. "I'm so impressed by you."
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali nods and blushes a little. "Like GR said. Sometimes it's what you give. That kid needed someone to treat him like a child, not a religious icon."
Joe: [GR-210] "When I said that, I didn't mean giving something like confidence. I meant something well..."
Joe: [OOC] Now Dane?
Dane: [GM] I was going to let you pretend you didn't do it.
Joe: [OOC] You know I wouldn't accept that.
Dane: [GM] Fine.
Dane: [GM] As you're about three hundred yards from town, the sky itself seems to shudder and darken as a MASSIVE explosion erupts behind you! The town is completely blasted off the face of the earth in a huge fireball of wood and stone. The ground quakes and the air surging from the blast nearly knocks you over even this far away.
Joe: [GR-210] "I meant something like finding the cult's store of weapons and explosives and giving them some fire."
Joe: [OOC] Timed demolition success without even the relevant skills. I'm pretty awesome.
Kyle: [Bailey Hunt] "Mother'a god..."
Ian: [Mari Sasho] Mari bites her lip.
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali just seems to be completely numb.
Joe: [GR-210] "What you plebs? You think an evil cult leader is going to accept us showing mercy? I let you all be nice and I actually handled the mission. Now let's go home."
Ian: [Mari Shasho] "Kali..."
Soo: [Kali dVostog] "I'm... going to kill you..."
Joe: [OOC] You had you're IC tag on. I think you meant to be OOC.
Soo: [OOC] No... no I didn't.
Soo: [Kali dVostog] Kali runs screaming at GR and tackles him to the ground.
Joe: [OOC] I demand an attack roll!
Dane: [GM] She's getting a bonus for just how much you deserve it.