LoF: Lockesville

[dplax]

Vindson

His feet weren't as fast carrying him as in his golden days. With every step pain shot through his knee, but still he went on and eventually reached the warehouse, just as Sever was entering a building.

For a moment in his heart Vindson ran after him, but his mind knew that he was getting old, and would hinder the rescue effort more than helping it.

He stood there, feeling helpless. He heard a man shout after Oley, but had no time to consider that now. He realized that although his legs were of no use his arms were already strong and stood in one of the chains passing water towards the building.

[Larry_OHF]

OOC>>>Looks like this one is all yours, Sever.

Sever opened the door and rushed in with no concern for his own life. The men that had been standing there at the ready with water rushed in behind him and flooded the exit with water so that there would be a way back out for the stranger, hopefully along with the kid that had been heard from within.

More water buckets stood at the ready, knowing that they'd need to use it on the man and the child once they came out of the building if their clothes were on fire.

Simon stood at the doorway, not letting anyone else go in. One man putting his life on the line was dangerous enough, and there was no room for more would-be heroes today. He felt that the guy that had just rushed in knew what he was doing well enough to trust him to do the right thing.

The fire raged on.

************************************************

Inside the warehouse, the smoke was heavy enough to conceal nearly everything, the heat was extraordinary, and the beams were beginning to fall from the ceiling. Pretty soon, the whole structure would crumble on top of Sever's head.

Sever looked about, doing what he could to stay low and away from the flames and falling debri.

************************************************

Jason saw the light from the outside as the large door swung open. He tried to call out to whoever was out there, but his throat hurt too much. He wanted to run for the exit, but could not. A massive pile of rubble from above had collapsed in front of him, blocking his escape. It burned with fire, so there was no crawling past it. There were huge stocades of wares around him, burning too, and he was trapped in this small, confined space between it all.

That's all he remembered anyway. He was already dizzy from lack of oxygen and could not stand up any longer. He fell to his knees in the fiery inferno that was killing him, ready to give in and let go.

[ 01-06-2006, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Kazilan]

Pandaros

Pandaros watched the man rush into the burning building and shook his head in amazement. "Another hero rushing to die in a blaze of glory," he muttered.

As lines formed to pass water towards the building he moved forward and took a spot in the middle of one, close enough to feel the heat from the flames but far enough away to be in no danger.

[Sever]

Acrid fumes, the smoke from dozens of different burning substances, stung Sever's eyes and throat. Keeping low to the ground, he could still see well enough to plot his course through the maze of the warehouse.

As a child in the big city, Sever and his friends had always played in the warehouses. So big and full of potential, the stacks of produce made excellent forts and strongholds for a young imagination. Sever always had a knack for finding the best locations within any given warehouse. The most hidden and defensible positions with which to make a hideout. He didn't realise it, but it was those same childhood skills that he was now relying on to find the missing child.

Lockesville's warehouse followed the same basic floorplan as any other he'd seen. Around the walls, stacks of crates and sacks piled almost to the roof, with narrow, evenly spaced passages to allow access to the stock. In the middle of the building, more crate towers were positioned but it was the passages around the walls that he was searching first - the secret sanctums within which a child could hide from their make-believe enemies. Or a raging inferno.

Several such passages were already totally blocked and engulfed by flames. Sever fervently hoped that the child hadn't already succumbed to the fire within one of those dead ends. His lap around the floor eventually reached the far side of the building which was now on the verge of collapse. Cursing silently, he back tracked to the entrance and to the left path that he hadn't yet taken.

It was there that he saw it. A perfect cul-de-sac formation of boxes in the corner of the building not far from the entrance. It was burning on all sides but, as yet, sound in its centre. The entrance was partially blocked by burning material that had collapsed from the sides. The passage within obscured by smoke. Wrapping his now steaming cloak tighter around his face and body, he crawled through the fiery gap and into the smokey darkness.

The form was quiet and motionless when he stumbled over it. Boy, girl, kobold? There was no way of knowing. Sever's eyes stung so badly that all he could see now was the dim highlight of flames through the smoke. His throat was so parched that he couldn't talk to ask anything of the small body. All dampness had now gone from his cloak but he clung the burden to his chest, wrapped the cloak around them both and crawled back through the burning blockage.

It was there, back in the main passage of the warehouse, that Sever realised he was totally disoriented. Blind and delirious from the smoke, he couldn't remember the way out and couldn't discern one formation of burning crates from the other. His only hope was a beacon of light from the doorway that he knew to be close.

Gathering what air he had left in his lungs, he tried to shout above the crackling cacophony:

"Open the door! SOMEBODY PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!"

[Larry_OHF]

For Sever

The call was heard and heeded. The doorway swung wide and the four men that stood by with plenty of water for two people nervously stood at the ready if needed.

Inside, more rubble was falling all around and the heat was overwhelming. It would take a man with much determination to survive such an atmosphere. In fact, it was amazing that all around him, fires burned and rubble fell...but there was still a clear passage strait to the door from where he stood.

Pretty soon however, the whole building would give in and fall.

OOC>>>Sever, I'll calculate your damage sustained all together at the end of your rescue. I am looking for a particular sheet of instruction that I want to use for that. Feel free to RP as far as becoming safe outside and the men throwing water on the two of you once you're out.

[Sever]

The daylight cast its ray through the dense smoke in the building and shone upon the very spot where the thief crouched with the child in his arms. Sever was closer than he would've thought. He did not delay his escape. Without pausing for one last breath, he stood and made a bolt for the door and the cool, clean air outside the inferno of the warehouse.

As soon as he was out, men with buckets doused his smouldering form with water. He fell to the ground and sucked in as much clean air as his burning lungs would allow - all the while struggling to unwrap the smouldering cloak from himself and the child.

Sever's last conscious thought before yet another bucket of water poured over him, was of someone removing the child from his arms.

[Larry_OHF]

For Sever (and the others):

Sever lost consciousness. The child was taken by capable people and tended to. Sever was also tended to for his burns and smoke inhalation. The building collapsed only a few seconds after Sever had run out of there, and many people shook their heads at the tremendous luck that the man and boy had just had. Most attributed it to the holy power of Demeter who oversaw the welfare of the town, and raised praises in Her name.

Both were taken to the medic building where they'd be attended to with all the available medical supplies they would require to treat the burns and other problems. The cleanup had already begun, and the fire was now almost out after the collapse. Several people continued to do their work on it, while a few others returned home. The mother of Jason was of course with her son as he was carried to the medical building by the town guard and medical staff.

Simon was with them. He followed close by, hoping to see the little boy wake up, and also to thank the brave stranger for the work he'd done in saving the child. It was the boy who awoke first. His mother began sobbing in joy, but then began questioning him as to why he'd gone in the building anyway, and had he been the one to set the fire. Simon was particularly interested in these answers and stood by quietly to listen.

Jason: "No, mom. It wasn't me! Honest! I just wanted to see what was going on in there after the man left. He didn't lock the door, and seemed to be trying to sneak out without being noticed. I just wanted to see what he was hiding. I went in and found the place on fire in the back, but when I tried to run out, a thing fell in front of me, and I ran the other way...and...well...got lost. I could not see anymore with all the smoke and stuff. I'm sorry, momma. Please don't be mad!"

But then Simon jumped into the conversation with urgency.

"Did you say, a man came out of there? Did you recognize him?"

"No, no I didn't know him Mr. Locke. I have seen him in town before, coming out of the smith shop carrying something wrapped in a cloth. That's all I know."

Simon was now worried. What was going on? Who had this man been and why did he set the warehouse on fire? What had he bought from Vindson? He looked at a guard that stood by. "You, go tell my brother everything you've heard here. Tell him I am going to go ask Vindson about any newcomers to the town. Alert him to secure the gates. We might be able to catch this suspect if we're not too late. Go now!"

Simon then decided it was time to visit Vindson for some questions. He also had to wonder at the crazy mage that lived outside of town. Why had he come, only to turn around and run off again? He'd have to be questioned as well. He left another man in charge of overseeing the hero of the day, and left on his assignments.

OOC>>>Sever, you have sustained physical damage and fatigue to amount to 30% of your HP. You find yourself being cared for in the medical building with a fairly attractive nurse (lucky you) and a guard that has been placed to keep watch over you by Simon Locke (he's not so cute). You are lucky that the damage was not worse. You will be released from care once you have been verifiably cured as much as possible.

[ 01-09-2006, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Sever]

"Why is it that the only time you ever get to talk with a pretty nurse is when you're all busted up?"

A giggle. Sever knew it was a rhetorical question before he'd asked, but he was hoping for something more in her response.

He'd awoken in the town's medical building a few hours earlier and already he was bored. The nurse, cute as she was, proved herself to be very professional in her duties. Aside from answering his initial questions of importance, she had remained quiet the whole time and had showed little interest in his small talk. No big surprise. By now the whole town must know what he did for a living. If the barkeep hadn't made it obvious, every surviving item of his attire surely would have.

Sever sighed.

Perhaps i should've asked why my type of girl usually struts her stuff in places of ill repute?.. And where in the Hells is my stuff anyway?

As limited in his options as he was presently, Sever had to admit that it did give him time to ponder some issues that had been nagging him lately.

This town...

What was it about Lockesville that seemed so out of place to him? He'd travelled to towns outside the big city before but none were quite the same as this one. In his short stay, he'd already witnessed several - what was it? Inconsistencies was a bad word but he could think of no other to describe it. People in other places just did not offer work to strangers who introduced themselves as thieves. Period. But then, he supposed, it was the first time he'd ever tried the (half) honest approach. But then again, he countered, there was also him to consider...

How does someone like that wind up in a place like this? Someone who could have gone anywhere?..

[Morgeruat]

Oley, Archmagus of Destiny

Oley had arrived at the tavern to find that it had been shut down while the owner and occupants had gone to aid in the fire situation. Old bones creaked and popped as he sat on the corner of the trough, waiting for the eventual return, going over the list of spells he had. He took a small piece of charcoal and scribbled a note on it, Yo Memorizaba Runes Explosivos Hoy, before tucking it into his belt pouch, while thouroughly dangerous that spell was useful for punching holes in things like locks, literate adventurers, dungeon floors, intelligent (but foolish) monsters, and so forth.

He pondered the fire as he waited, feeling the age settle in his bones, while he was actually much older than he appeared, his body felt alot older than it looked (which was something considering the old man looked ancient, feeble, and weak, aged prematurely by a lifestyle he'd long accepted as the norm, but there was strength, iron will, and the occasional potion or miscast spell that had slowed his aging, and reduced the physical age of his body without dulling his senses. The mind was occasionally absent, and spells ofttimes went awry, but he had work, and when sober a mind like a steel trap. Several magic items he had with him, small affairs to keep up with the vanity of todays youth, but he knew his spells would only have brought down the building, and he could feel the trembling in his bones that would have prevented his usefulness in the bucket brigade. He didn't enjoy walking off, appearing to be nothing more than a confused drunkard, but he knew that in fact, appearances often deceived, and he'd rather be viewed as an imbecile than feeble and unable to help. As he reflected upon this he heard the crash of several large beams crash, perhaps even the greater part warehouse itself. He rose then, and fished out another flask, drinking this one slowly, with a calculating eye for what was going on around him as he walked back. Perhaps he could use his magics to prevent it from spreading to other buildings, if the bucket crews hadn't already done so.

Seeming quite merry at finding another flask, Oley returned to the scene in time to see several people hauling away a stranger, and one of the lads Oley had seen about town, as well as his mother. After a casual examination revealed that the fire was under control Oley capped his drink and began looking for a friendly face.

[Kazilan]

Pandaros

Pandaros shook his head in disbelief. The man next to him in the chain bumped his arm, reawakening him to the task at hand. He took the full bucket and passed it on.

"That's one lucky guy," he mumbled as he continued to work in the chain. Somehow the rescuer had not only survived, but had found the kid, too. Pandaros shook his head again, this time remembering to pass the bucket down the line.

As the fire died out he decided his work was done and took a slow walk around the building. The image of the man bursting from the building stuck in his mind. "Quite a sight," he said aloud to no one in particular. "Quite a sight."