The Prologue (1941) - Part I

[Tarotdragoon]

"Woah! careful Kestral! those things are ancient" Russo cries out looking rather wide eyed and panicked he moves hastily up to John with the box and attempts to take the knife from his grasp before he can hurt the ancient thing,

"You have to treat these things with respect, these belong in a museum, you can't just wave them around like that"
[spoiler]knowledge history:30!!! for checking out the knives learning what he can from the details and intricacies as well as any symbology present and maybe how old they are even though he was told a good few pages back[/spoiler]

[BowenSilverclaw]

"If you guys think these things can help us in battle, they'd better be just as good, if not better, than a standard issue combat knife.

Historical value won't help us when facing more characters like that Muta guy, a good blade will." Kestrel explains to his namesake.


"Damnit!" John shouts as the stone dagger shatters upon impact.

"And this was supposed to help us in battle?" he asks, sarcasm clearly audible in his voice as he hands Russo the shattered remains of the dagger.

[jacemachine]

John is basically stabbing and cutting like with a normal combat knife, treating the post as if it were a normal enemy in close-combat

The stone dagger strikes the wood, but shatters in Sgt. Kestrel's hand. It seems that sacrificial dagger had never been intended for stabbing poles, and its extreme age only amplified that fact.

The group now has 3 priceless obsidian-bladed stone daggers now.


About this time Dr. Loder and Herr Eisen return from... where ever it had been that they had run off to moments earlier.

[j0lt]

Loder trots up to the group in a slight jog.  "Max, what was it you had said about the sug--"

Stopping dead in his tracks, Loder's jaw hangs open in shock as he stares at the pieces of broken dagger currently resting in Russo's hands.  "Wh-- What have you done?!"

[Neull//]

[[OOC: What about my knowledge rolls concerning the daggers?]]

[Tarotdragoon]

Russo stands there the handle in his grasp, he seems to have entered some form of shock...

"I-he- T-t-t-the... he....he broke-" he manages to splutter eyes wide, mouth agape in sheer horror from the look of him anybody would think somebody had just disemboweled a child.

[BowenSilverclaw]

"Yeah, sorry to ruin your priced archeological finding, Doc, but it doesn't seem to be quite the weapon it's cracked up to be." John shrugs.

[Nanshork]

Richard spins around and glares at John.  "You!  Never touch anything I own again!  Why would you think that a knife made out of stone would be used to stab a pole?  You don't stab poles with knives you bloody fool!"

[BowenSilverclaw]

"This one works just fine on wood, thank you very much." John snarks as he demonstrates his knife skills with his combat knife.

"You really think those stone relics are better than this basic knife if they can't even put a scratch on some old wood?" He continues as he steps away from the old post, revealing a number of deep gashes and cuts on the wood.

[Nanshork]

"You're not here to think, you're here to shoot things you bloody Yank!  Your thoughts on these knives are unimportant."

[BowenSilverclaw]

"Yeah, rational thought is obviously the specialty of you and your hoodoo experts, isn't it, limey?" John deadpans as he starts to make his way back into the Grateful Goat.

"I need a drink..." he mutters under his breath.

[j0lt]

His eyes still on the broken pieces of dagger, Loder distractedly relates his discovery at the Dunning grave.  "Oh, uh...  Earlier when I had first found the grave, I had noticed some small white grains in his satchel.  After we were all back together and Eisen mentioned sugar, it clicked, so that's where we just went.  Sure enough, they were grains of sugar!  Just what exactly is going on here?"

[jacemachine]

"Yeah, when Eisen and myself had been in chief Rhoando's place, one of the beds had been covered in a layer of sugar, and the impression of a body was in it, like someone laid down in it. It was weird to say the least" Bones interjected.

[Neull//]

[Flay Crimsonwind]

"I don't know about the villagers, but if the demon said he had plenty sugar... then we need to move. Quickly. I agree, Dietrich might have done some sort of deal, which would account for his attitude. In which case, now the demon knows, and I'd bet money Dietrich will soon if he doesn't already, where we are and whom we're traveling with..." A glance in Bones' direction got the point across to those missing out. "We can discuss it more on this Halcon, or whatever it's called, so I suggest that, if for nothing else for sake of time..." A look in John's direction now, "... we bury our literal and metaphorical dead, and get a move on. Search what you'd like, say, within an hour, and then we should move fast as possible. Remember, this is still a race, and this village, while sad and in need of help, is not our concern... We need to finish the job first..." He didn't suppose that his neglect for the villagers would go over well, especially with Bones or Pingo, but he was hired as a professional soldier, and that's what he'd at least try to do.

[j0lt]

Loder cocks his head in confusion.  "Wait, did you just say a demon?  As in hellspawn?  What the hell did I miss?!"

[Nanshork]

Richard just shakes his head and turns his back on them and the conversation.  He has found a prey worthy of hunting, and that is his new focus.

[Tarotdragoon]

muttering under his breath Russo begins to wrap the daggers back up carefully and puts them back in the box, he takes a look on the floor and begins to collect the pieces of the shattered knife, treating each piece as if he was handling the body of a loved one a look of pity on his face.

"Say these daggers do work, we only have three now and I don't suppose you want to distribute them anymore... I suggest a new house rule, if we find anything else ancient and priceless, one of us Brits keep hold of it agreed?" he breaks off disgusted "Trust a damn yank, no respect"

picking up the last piece he wraps the shards in his own aviation scarf
"Do you think I could keep hold of the broken one Richard? I think I might be able to make some use of it"

[jacemachine]

"That's right Max, you and Sgt. Kestrel were away when this tale came out..." Bones says, he begins the tale again that he had translated earlier for Russo, Eisen, Richard, and Loder.

He nodded to himself when it was done, satisfied that he had not left anything out, then he looked over at Loder. "The Doc here had translated the old gal's story about Dunning coming out of the jungle.

"Zaikara said she was here the day that he came to the village.  Dunning was quite sick or delirious.  He kept talking about a lost city and a demon wearing the clothes of a man.

"He had been seriously clawed by some sort of animal and appeared to be dying.  A missionary happened to be passing through the village at the time, and this man volunteered to look after Dunning, and was with him when he died.  The missionary performed the funeral, and then Dunning was buried here.  Dunning had written some letters and the missionary had agreed to take them so they could be delivered. The old woman said she did not trust the missionary for some reason."

[Nanshork]

Richard nods that Russo may take the shattered knife, he has no personal use for it.  He is still very angry at John, but then again how could he expect better from a Yank who's never been out in the real world.  The damn Yank is probably going to go crazy next time he sees the demon, he's useless.

Richard then listens in to Bones' story for the second time, hoping to glean a few more hints about how to deal with his prey.