Colette vs. Sonnia NBR

[LoboStele]

Sorry for how long this is. Hope you enjoy it though. I like writing and just end up getting carried away.

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

Damn Victor, Colette mused to herself. Why couldn't he have come picked up this stuff himself?

A Mannequin shuffled by carrying crates that would have been entirely too heavy for Colette’s girls to carry on their own. Well, at least I'm not having to do the heavy lifting myself, she smiled. Smuggling things through the sewers was one thing. But those were mostly hidden, away from public eyes. It had been nearly impossible for her crew to get into this building without being seen. Getting out would certainly be interesting, even under the cover of night.

Still, Colette enjoyed Ramos' company, when he came into town to visit the Star Theater, often bringing extra Soulstones or artifacts that needed to be smuggled out through the Breach. Today though, he had only sent a messenger, with instructions to go retrieve some paperwork and equipment from a secret lab, hidden within the city limits, and then bring it to him at the Hollow Marsh Pumping Station. Colette didn't like being an errand runner, but knew that if Ramos had requested her to do it, then it must have been truly valuable information, and that he needed her special skills to make sure it arrived safely. She blushed at that thought and then quickly tried to hide the reaction and went back to busying herself with searching for the last couple items they needed to gather.

"Ah, I know what's goin' through your mind." Cassandra's sultry voice carried a hint of tease with it, and Colette turned to give her a steely look.

"If he doesn't give you the time of day, Cassie, I'm not sure why I would bother," she fired back without missing a beat, tacking a slight smile to the end of it.

Two Coryphees moved behind them carrying some lab equipment with Ramos' messenger - who had insisted on coming along - following behind with an armful of papers. Cassandra found it adorable that the messenger and come fully armed as well, trying to show that he was there to protect Colette and her crew. She momentarily ignored her conversation with Colette to give the Gunsmith a teasing smile and a wink just to get a rise out of him. He stared back at her, a wide grin breaking across his face - and then stumbled over a cable running across the floor.

"As if we need the help," Cassandra half-whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Colette asked, looking over her shoulder to see papers flying through the air.

Cassandra giggled. "Nothing." She turned back to help Colette examine the arcane apparatus that Ramos had sent them to find. "Well, he certainly notices you. If I were you, I'd start doing something about it before he," she paused to give Colette a playful shove on the shoulder, "changes his mind about me and - "

An explosion rocked the far side of the facility. Colette and Cassandra stood up from their work and glanced around, immediately on full alert. A Soulstone appeared in Colette's hand, seemingly out of nowhere, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Cassandra swung her blade out into it's fully extended form. The Coryphees stopped right in the middle of stacking the crates they were carrying, and one of Colette's other girls came rushing back into the main laboratory room, with the Mannequin at her side. The messenger drew a set of fancy pistols and took up a defensive position near the door. Cassandra noticed the intricate details on the pistols now, and realized that this was no mere messenger, but one of Ramos’ famous hired Gunsmiths. They were supposedly excellent bodyguards, and now she was suddenly thankful that he had come along. Again, not that she needed the protection, but perhaps it would help keep her from ruining her nice dress. She had hoped to wear this one for the show tonight after all.

A woman's voice boomed from the far side of the facility, echoing down the hallways. "Arcanists! By order of the Guild, you are under arrest! Surrender yourselves and come quietly. Any resistance will be met with equal force!"

Colette quickly motioned to the Showgirl and told her and the Gunsmith to move cautiously across the central hallway and into the next room. "We've got to get these papers and equipment to Dr. Ramos. Protect it, and protect yourselves. We're all going to get out of here."

The Gunsmith had been sternly instructed by Dr. Ramos to keep Colette safe at all costs, so he not only listened to her instructions, but went first as they moved into the adjacent room. As they crossed the hallway, which ran the length of the facility, two small shadows went darting across the far end. Hooded figures with short swords tied to their backs. "Witchling Stalkers," he called back to the rest of the group.

"Blast it," Colette responded. "Criid. Move carefully girls"

------------------------------------------------

Sonnia Criid enjoyed this part of the job. She had signaled to her three Witchling Stalkers to begin searching the building as soon as the doors had been blown off their hinges. A Watcher came darting past her head and into the facility, searching out Sonnia's enemies. Samael followed into the building behind Sonnia and nodded toward a small bit of fire in one corner of the entryway.

"I think you may have overdone it a bit," he said, referring to the spell she had used to blow the doors off the facility. The explosion had caused a small corner of the room to catch on fire, and looked like it was likely to spread.

Sonnia made a slight sniffing noise. "It'll just force them out of here faster. Now spread out. Find them."

Two of the Stalkers headed out along the south side of the building, with the Watcher flying ahead of them. The third Stalker and Samael started with the west corridor, avoiding the fire that was already starting to spread toward the center of the facility. Samael had insisted on bringing an Austringer along as well, and although Sonnia initially thought the idea of using a bird to attack while indoors was quite silly, she was quickly proved otherwise as the raptor struck out from the Austringer’s arm and the screeching sounds of the raptor’s attack were heard from the room at the end of the corridor.

That was all Sonnia needed to know as it told her exactly where the Arcanists were. She rushed the end of the hallway, anxious to bring these conspirators to justice. She appeared in the doorway to the room and saw inside a woman in a fancy dress and an older man, his outfit bristling with pistols of all types and sizes. She didn’t wait for an explanation and lashed out with a burst of flame to attack the Performer. She recognized the girl from the Star Theater, but wasn’t going to be fooled by her irresistible beauty. Sonnia had already heard rumors that the theater had an Arcanist connection, and now this girl’s presence here gave her a solid lead. She made a mental note to check out the theater when she was done mopping up here.

------------------------------------------------

Colette heard the sound of the second explosion, and immediately feared for the life of her Performer, Selina. Cassandra immediately darted to the next room to provide assistance for the young girl. She realized that her limited magic would be no match for the infamous Witch Hunter, and decided instead that matching steel would be a better option. But she herself was too far away to do that. No matter, Colette wasn’t the only one with tricks up her sleeve. Cassandra hadn’t learned all of Colette’s tricks yet, but she certainly knew more than she showcased each evening at the Theater. Cassandra whirled in a tight circle, and when the motion stopped, what Sonnia saw instead was not one woman with a blade, but two Constructs with four blades.

The Coryphees then did exactly as Ramos had programmed them to do for Colette, and threw themselves at the enemy, without caution, trying to clear a path for the group. Four razor-sharpened blades came flying at Sonnia, which she was not prepared for. If not for hastily crushing a Soulstone, the severity of the first assault would have nearly killed her. But luckily for Sonnia, she was no easy mark. The Coryphees tried valiantly, but ultimately failed to bring Sonnia down in the initial strike.

The Mannequin shuffled up to Colette, and she spoke calmly to it, “Come on. Time to put on a show.” An additional Soulstone appeared in Colette’s hand seemingly from nowhere, and then she disappeared in a flash of smoke and light, switching places with Selina in the next room. She quickly assessed the situation, and with some sleight of hand, a Mechanical Dove appeared, although its attempt at dueling with Sonnia was ultimately futile and ended up little more than a simple distraction. Colette then disappeared in another flash, leaving the Mannequin behind, and Cassandra appearing in her place instead. The Gunsmith stood with his mouth agape, having seen Colette perform on stage, but never this close. Colette started pulling more Soulstones out of her pockets, and then rushed back to the arcane apparatus, feverishly looking for one last item.

Sonnia had one last chance to save herself, but the Coryphees saw an opening, took the initiative, and landed a blow that knocked Sonnia unconscious. Their whirling blades of death continued to spin, and the Coryphees backed into the room to take shelter with the others.

Samael cried out as he saw Sonnia fall, bringing his pistols to bear upon the showgirls. Bullets erupted from the barrel of his gun, moving so fast they seemed to light on fire. He fired at the first target he could see, which was some form of Construct, standing stock still in the middle of the room. The bullets landed solidly in the Mannequin’s torso, but in the end they barely left a dent. The Gunsmith took this as his chance to show his skills, and loosed a volley of fire in Samael’s direction. But the expert hunter and trapper was just as good at not getting hit as he was at hitting things himself.

With Sonnia down, the nearby Witchling Stalker initially thought he might make a run for it, with the idea that he might finally be free from his bondage. But then something much worse occurred to him. With a magic user as strong as Sonnia, she very likely would even haunt him from his grave. So he decided to continue to carry out his master’s orders, and lunged forward, bringing his pistol to bear against the two Coryphees. The shots were fired, but the Coryphees’ seemed to move at a blinding speed, and not only were they not hurt, they almost seemed to dodge the bullets.

While Cassandra lunged at the Witchling, anxious to show off her own skills, Colette finished fishing around in the inner workings of the machinery in the back room. She finally stood up, holding a tome in her hand and a smile on her face. This was the most important thing Ramos had sent her to retrieve, but it would also help her escape the building which would no doubt be coming down around them shortly. She immediately snapped her fingers and once again switched places with the Mannequin in the adjoining room. She knew that if they were to escape, Samael would be the major thing standing in their way. She crushed one of the many Soulstones she was carrying, and spoke a series of commands, gleaned from studying several tomes, in order to conjure one of the most powerful spells she knew. However, this was not her home turf, her Theater, and so she miscalculated how far away Samael was. The spell burst forth, but then dissipated just short of Samael.

“No!” Colette cried out! She had likely just doomed her girls to imprisonment and likely death. The Watcher began pestering Colette and the Austringer’s raptor returned to the room once again with squawks and screeches as it clawed at Colette. Samael clearly did not want to get caught in whatever spell that had been, and made a point to fire directly back at Colette. Bullets whizzed by, and tore through Colette. Blood began to soak the left side of her jacket. Her breath became ragged. A bullet hole through the left pocket caused several Soulstones to spill out onto the floor and Colette hastily grabbed one as it fell. As she collapsed to her hands and knees, fighting off the call of death, she crushed the stone between her palm and the floor. Energy began coursing through her arm and into her upper body. Her breathing began to become regular again, and she slowly rose back to her feet. She wasn’t willing to give up quite yet.

Cassandra was bolstered by her friend’s injuries, and violently lashed out. She wanted to get Samael, but the Witchling Stalker stood in her way. So she charged at the Stalker, ignoring the consequences she’d heard about, and gasped in pain as it exploded in her face when her blade cleaved through the minion. Cassandra staggered backwards, nearly exhausted as well, and placed a hand on the nearest Coryphee to steady herself.

Colette finished standing up, and glared at Samael. The seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, as Colette stared at the hunter. A smile slowly formed across her stoic face, as she took a step forward and stretched out her hand toward Samael, a brilliant Soulstone pinched between her fingers. Ancient words flowed from her tongue like silk blowing in the wind.

She finished her enchantment with a wink. “Abracadabra, hunter boy.”

The Soulstone shattered effortlessly in Colette’s fingers. The flash of magic - fueled by the very essence of Malifaux - surrounded Samael. He screamed as his body was torn from its current location in space. Colette had no idea where the spell would actually send Samael, but she used the last bit of magic to focus on her Theater across town, and bring some reinforcements to the fight. The billowing cloud of magic where Samael had previously been standing slowly expanded a little further, and then abruptly shrunk to the size of a pin-head, and then disappeared entirely. In Samael’s place, a beautifully polished Mannequin stood, its hands calmly at its side.

Colette exhaled, knowing that the hardest part of the fight was now over. She signaled to the Coryphees who nearly launched themselves out of the room, and out into the west hallway, seeking to clear the rest of the path. Their blinding speed led them to engage the Austringer first, keeping his raptor busy and unable to seek out Colette or Cassandra again. The headliner of the Star Theater and her best friend supported each other as they staggered out into the hallway. The Gunsmith came directly along side them, supporting Colette’s other arm.

The Coryphees made quick work of the Austringer, and then moved toward the front door, ready to intercept the Witchling Stalkers that had made their way back to there. The Gunsmith showed his prowess with his pistols, and Cassandra moved away from Colette – who was standing better on her own now – to assist with clearing the last of their enemies.

The crew stumbled from the building into the dim light of Malifaux night, backlit by the flames slowly growing within the building. Colette felt a tinge of guilt at the thought of leaving Sonnia inside to burn alive, but then heard the sounds of footsteps and yelling Guardsmen approaching from down the street. She glanced back at the growing fire, and decided they would find the Witch Hunter before she burned to death. Certainly, Colette would rather not have to deal with Sonnia again in the future, but she was not that cold hearted. So she hastily motioned to her Showgirls and the Gunsmith and they struck out into the shadows.

“Let’s go back to the Star and rest. We’ll deliver these things to Dr. Ramos in the morning.”

Cassandra nodded and Colette wrapped her arms around Cassandra and Selina’s shoulders giving them a tight hug. They hadn’t managed to get everything that Ramos wanted, but they had brought out a few artifacts. In the end though, they had survived, and escaped from Sonnia’s wrath, and that was more important to Colette than anything else in the world.

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

So, we were playing in the Arcanist’s Lab, and pulled Arcane Aparatus AND Growing Fire for the special features (thank you Black Joker flip, lol). Strategy was SHARED Escape and Survive, and I chose Bodyguard and Breakthrough for my Schemes.

First turn he decided to use his Student of Conflict to buff Sonnia and charge her straight down one side of the map and unload on me. I responded by dropping the Coryphee’s on her, who promptly flipped a Red Joker and another Severe on the first damage flip. He did a Damage Prevention and flipped a Red Joker as well, hahaha. Lucky for me he only flipped a weak on the additional one, but it was enough to keep Sonnia alive till the next round. Not that it mattered much.

Round 2 I killed Sonnia and did some repositioning, though Colette and Cassandra got hit decently hard here. I had Colette interact with the Arcane Apparatus, and wouldn’t you know it, I flip a :tomes, allowing me easy access to the Mannequin Replacement trigger, especially since I had a high :tomes in my hand as well. I screwed up with Colette though and ended up 9” from Sammy after an Illusionist swap, needing 8" for the spell, and had to wait till the next turn. Luckily I had two high :tomes in my control hand.

Round 3 I made Sammy disappeared, and Cassandra nearly sacrificed herself to kill the Stalker. Then the Corys went to town.

Round 4 the Corys finished off the Austringer and one of the Stalkers.

Round 5 the Watcher and other Stalker went down, which also left almost my entire crew in his starting zone.

Edited September 29, 2010 by LoboStele

[cerealkiller195]

Nice report I liked seeing both perspectives can't wait to see more

EDIT

sorry for double posting damn phone lol

Edited September 28, 2010 by cerealkiller195

[LoboStele]

Whoops. Realized I had my title wrong in order to participate in the monthly NBR contest.

Plus, gives me a chance for a shameless bump of the thread, lol.

[Alondir]

Very much enjoyed that battle report and love narratives of battles.

There is only 1 thing I picked up that you did wrong, redjoker on damage mitigation you heal to full wounds and negate the full amount oh and did you cheat you ss flip as well to get the manaquin? cos u now u cant cheat ss flips.

Thx for the report

[LoboStele]

No, pretty sure Red Joker on a Healing flip heals all Wounds, but Red Joker on Damage prevention just prevents the max + another flip. We double checked it. Also, look at the Errata, that's where the difference is. I guess the original book says you heal all whenever you flip the Red Joker, but the Errata specifies a difference between flipping the RJ on Healing vs. Damage Prevention. Pg 4 of the Errata, top right column.

And I only cheated the initial flip on the Mannequin Replacement Act.

[alemon]

I had a battle go down just like this (Colette vs Sonnia, inside with growing fire, and escape and survive), weird seeing it in story form. o_O nice job : )

what do you get if you win the monthly contest?

[LoboStele]

No clue. Not even sure if they're still doing it, but I figured what the heck, since I like writing anyways.

[The Madman]

Nicely done bro!

excellent narritive on your match...I'm almost wincing at the thought of you writing up my 3-way debacle!

:embarasse

[LoboStele]

I thought about writing up the 3 way fight, but I'm not really sure what kind of story I would put with it. I'll have to think on it some more, but more than likely, there will be a new game tonight that I'd rather write up instead. We'll see.

[mylastnerv]

Very awesome read. I look forward to any other reports you do in the future.