Yeah, I had some free time so I figured I'd try to get up to date on Rose's blog. You know, since she's making a comeback and all. Anyway, I found a song by her on youtube and felt like tabbing it out. So I did. Here it is:
A first draft of a tab for the song in this YouTube video (skip to about 1:50 to hear the song)
e|-------------------------------|
b|0-3-3-7-5p3-5-0-3p0h3h5-5-0-0-0|
g|0---------------0--------------|
d|------7-------------------4----|
a|-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------|
b|0-0-3-3-7-5p3-5-0-3-0-5-5------|
g|0-----------------0------4-4---|
d|----4---7-------------4--5-----|
a|-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------|
pp
e|-------------------------------|
b|0-0-3-0-7-5p3-5-0-0-3-0--------|
g|0---2-----------0-------2-4----|
d|--------7-----------------5----|
a|-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------|
b|0-3-3-7-5-3-5-0-3-0-0----------|
g|0-------4-------0-----2-4-4----|
d|------7-----------------5------|
a|-------------------------------|
e|-------------------------------|
Tab by pHIL McDonald, Song by Spyre (sorry for confusion)
Baseline is very much a WIP. Will work more when I have more time, most likely after my meeting with the cold ones.
28/07/2013
27/07/2013
ALERT
Twitch is out on the streets, and absolutely insane. He has at least two knives, and is entirely capable of using them. Don't get near him, runner or proxy, 'cause there's no guarantee that he'll check his targets. Don't bother using tazers and other electrical methods, won't do squat. Just keep the fuck out of the way. That goes for proxies, runners, and cold ones (especially because even if you do get him, that'll piss off Veigar and he has access to white phosphorus. Fair warning)
So, yeah. To the cold ones I was going to meet with, due to this security risk it'll have to wait. I'll contact you when another meeting is possible.
So, yeah. To the cold ones I was going to meet with, due to this security risk it'll have to wait. I'll contact you when another meeting is possible.
25/07/2013
Another meeting
Gone to another meeting. After all, we need to get our shit together for when you people (excluding any proxies who read this) come along to try to kill us all. So we got together; a load of leaders, from the likes of Dresden to Deimos to me. Felt a little intimidated, but it's good to have people like that on our side. Speaking of which, thanks for keeping an eye on things while I was gone, Veigar. I had to leave in a bit of a rush, meant to be some sort of security thing. Smells of bullshit to me, but no matter.
So, I'll give youse the shortlist on what happened during the meeting. I've got the job of broadcasting the information to proxies who weren't there, using the standard code for this month, so some will be encoded, being classified (for lack of a better, or less pretentious, word), but the harmless stuff will be in plaintext.
The ceasefire between me and Deimos is more permanent now. Probably won't become a full-blown war. There's far, far too much to deal with right now.
Speaking of Deimos, [CODES REMOVED FOR SECURITY]. Expect further instruction on the matter to come direct from him.
There's a strong movement to just nip the problem in the bud. Kill any runners who look like they're organising before they become a problem. Luckily, a bunch of us managed to convince the majority that the situation is salvageable. Maybe if they score some attacks that deal real damage to us, it'll be different.
We've found the safehouse matvei attacked. Had to burn it, get rid of any evidence, which wasn't anything to do with me except for contributing some cash to pay bribes. Everyone had to.
[CODES REMOVED FOR SECURITY]
[CODES REMOVED FOR SECURITY]
For further information, track down Dresden or Deimos, depending on the job.
And don't blame me if someone cracks the code, Krill swears it's good enough.
So, I'll give youse the shortlist on what happened during the meeting. I've got the job of broadcasting the information to proxies who weren't there, using the standard code for this month, so some will be encoded, being classified (for lack of a better, or less pretentious, word), but the harmless stuff will be in plaintext.
The ceasefire between me and Deimos is more permanent now. Probably won't become a full-blown war. There's far, far too much to deal with right now.
Speaking of Deimos, [CODES REMOVED FOR SECURITY]. Expect further instruction on the matter to come direct from him.
There's a strong movement to just nip the problem in the bud. Kill any runners who look like they're organising before they become a problem. Luckily, a bunch of us managed to convince the majority that the situation is salvageable. Maybe if they score some attacks that deal real damage to us, it'll be different.
We've found the safehouse matvei attacked. Had to burn it, get rid of any evidence, which wasn't anything to do with me except for contributing some cash to pay bribes. Everyone had to.
[CODES REMOVED FOR SECURITY]
[CODES REMOVED FOR SECURITY]
For further information, track down Dresden or Deimos, depending on the job.
And don't blame me if someone cracks the code, Krill swears it's good enough.
23/07/2013
Phil Lovett the friendly proxy's seven step guide to Playing the first bar or so of 'the load'.
Right, guitar lesson time. This is gonna be pretty bad, as guides go, but hopefully you'll be able to work things out yourself using this guide as a framework.
The tuning for this is standard, EADGBe, and the first thing to do is find the fourth position (that is, when your index finger is at the fourth fret). You should put your index finger on the fourth fret of the G string, and your middle finger on the fifth fret of the B string. On a guitar tab (where the row shows the sting, and the number shows the fret) it should look like so;
E||---
B||-5-
G||-4-
D||---
A||---
E||---
Not terribly difficult, eh? The next step is what gives that fluency to the intro. After strumming the B and G strings (I pluck using my index and middle finger, but it's really whatever method you're comfortable with as far as I know) you need to hammer on to the sixth fret of the B string using your third finger, so the sound is changed without strumming the string again. Now the tab looks more like this;
E||----
B||-5--
G||-4h6
D||----
A||----
E||----
Then, without changing the position, just strum your B and E strings.
E||----0
B||-5--5
G||-4h5-
D||-----
A||-----
E||-----
Now it gets a wee bit more complex. You'll need to barre the fifth fret in the E and B string, that is, hold down both strings with one finger, then hammer on to the seventh fret on the B string. This might be marked out on your guitar's fretboard. Afterwards, play the E sting again, without changing the position.
E||----0-5--5
B||-5--5-5h7-
G||-4h5------
D||----------
A||----------
E||----------
Now you go back to the position you first played, and pluck that, except hammering onto the seventh fret of the B string rather than the sixth fret of the G string, comme ca;
E||----0-5--5----
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7
G||-4h5-------4--
D||--------------
A||--------------
E||--------------
Then play the 5 4 position again, twice, the second time hammering to the sixth fret on the G string, same as before (note: I almost missed the second repeat of the chord, thank you to Taylor for tabbing this out far better than I did);
E||----0-5--5----------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5--
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6
D||--------------------
A||--------------------
E||--------------------
Now play the 5 4 position again, before sliding down, while holding the position, so that you're playing the third fret on the B string and the second fret on the G string. Hammer on to the fourth fret on the G string (this position is the same as the original, just transposed downwards). Repeat this twice, missing the hammer on on the final repeat, like so;
E||----0-5--5----------------------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2
D||--------------------------------
A||--------------------------------
E||--------------------------------
You're coming to the end of the intro now. Wait a few beats, then play the second fret on the G and D strings, hammering onto the fourth fret of the D string. I find the best way to do this is to play the second frets on the G and D with the middle and index fingers, respectively, as opposed to using a barre, then hammer on with your pinky. The tab now looks like this;
E||----0-5--5-----------------------------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3-------
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2----2--
D||------------------------------------2h4
A||---------------------------------------
E||---------------------------------------
Hold the position, and pluck the G and D strings, consecutively in that order;
E||----0-5--5--------------------------------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3----------
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2----2---2-
D||------------------------------------2h4--4
A||------------------------------------------
E||------------------------------------------
The final chord is a simple barre over the second fret of the strings from E to D. If necessary, mute the E string by touching it (but not holding a fret down) with one of your free fingers. Strum downwards from the A string. The final Tab looks like this;
E||----0-5--5----------------------------------||
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3-----------2||
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2----2---2--2||
D||------------------------------------2h4--4-2||
A||-------------------------------------------0||
E||--------------------------------------------||
With practice, hopefully that'll sound right good. Best of luck to you, and sorry to Veigar and everyone else in the safehouse, who had to put up with me going over the intro over and over again.
*EDIT* You may need to use a larger screen to read the tab, on smaller things like smartphones it wraps around. Fixed font changing partway through.
The tuning for this is standard, EADGBe, and the first thing to do is find the fourth position (that is, when your index finger is at the fourth fret). You should put your index finger on the fourth fret of the G string, and your middle finger on the fifth fret of the B string. On a guitar tab (where the row shows the sting, and the number shows the fret) it should look like so;
E||---
B||-5-
G||-4-
D||---
A||---
E||---
Not terribly difficult, eh? The next step is what gives that fluency to the intro. After strumming the B and G strings (I pluck using my index and middle finger, but it's really whatever method you're comfortable with as far as I know) you need to hammer on to the sixth fret of the B string using your third finger, so the sound is changed without strumming the string again. Now the tab looks more like this;
E||----
B||-5--
G||-4h6
D||----
A||----
E||----
Then, without changing the position, just strum your B and E strings.
E||----0
B||-5--5
G||-4h5-
D||-----
A||-----
E||-----
Now it gets a wee bit more complex. You'll need to barre the fifth fret in the E and B string, that is, hold down both strings with one finger, then hammer on to the seventh fret on the B string. This might be marked out on your guitar's fretboard. Afterwards, play the E sting again, without changing the position.
E||----0-5--5
B||-5--5-5h7-
G||-4h5------
D||----------
A||----------
E||----------
Now you go back to the position you first played, and pluck that, except hammering onto the seventh fret of the B string rather than the sixth fret of the G string, comme ca;
E||----0-5--5----
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7
G||-4h5-------4--
D||--------------
A||--------------
E||--------------
Then play the 5 4 position again, twice, the second time hammering to the sixth fret on the G string, same as before (note: I almost missed the second repeat of the chord, thank you to Taylor for tabbing this out far better than I did);
E||----0-5--5----------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5--
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6
D||--------------------
A||--------------------
E||--------------------
Now play the 5 4 position again, before sliding down, while holding the position, so that you're playing the third fret on the B string and the second fret on the G string. Hammer on to the fourth fret on the G string (this position is the same as the original, just transposed downwards). Repeat this twice, missing the hammer on on the final repeat, like so;
E||----0-5--5----------------------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2
D||--------------------------------
A||--------------------------------
E||--------------------------------
You're coming to the end of the intro now. Wait a few beats, then play the second fret on the G and D strings, hammering onto the fourth fret of the D string. I find the best way to do this is to play the second frets on the G and D with the middle and index fingers, respectively, as opposed to using a barre, then hammer on with your pinky. The tab now looks like this;
E||----0-5--5-----------------------------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3-------
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2----2--
D||------------------------------------2h4
A||---------------------------------------
E||---------------------------------------
Hold the position, and pluck the G and D strings, consecutively in that order;
E||----0-5--5--------------------------------
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3----------
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2----2---2-
D||------------------------------------2h4--4
A||------------------------------------------
E||------------------------------------------
The final chord is a simple barre over the second fret of the strings from E to D. If necessary, mute the E string by touching it (but not holding a fret down) with one of your free fingers. Strum downwards from the A string. The final Tab looks like this;
E||----0-5--5----------------------------------||
B||-5--5-5h7--5h7-5-5---5-3---3---3-----------2||
G||-4h5-------4---4-4h6-4-2h4-2h4-2----2---2--2||
D||------------------------------------2h4--4-2||
A||-------------------------------------------0||
E||--------------------------------------------||
With practice, hopefully that'll sound right good. Best of luck to you, and sorry to Veigar and everyone else in the safehouse, who had to put up with me going over the intro over and over again.
*EDIT* You may need to use a larger screen to read the tab, on smaller things like smartphones it wraps around. Fixed font changing partway through.
22/07/2013
A report on Fred
Things
have quieted down here quite a lot, now. That's good, because we were
running low on the essentials. Food, toilet paper, white phosphorus,
gin, pencils. All the essentials.
So
I've been doing some shopping and networking. Jeff got around a lot.
Damn fine medic, worked with several different groups. So there are
several people willing to help me. Also several people who blame me
for his death, but I'd be a hypocrite if I complained about that.
Anyway,
I have a spare couple of hours, and figured I'd try something. See, a
comment on Marconi's blog got me thinking. He publishes articles
about 100 words long, around once a month. It has been said he's
really cranking them out, so I figured I'd try to get an approximate
timeframe for how long he takes on them.
So,
here goes nothing. A Brief Biography of Fred, of A Stupid Summer
Assignment [http://astupidsummerassignment.blogspot.co.uk/] fame
(gotta love that sibilance), and, more recently, The Path to
Redemption is Paved in Blood
[http://tocorrectawarriorssins.blogspot.co.uk/]
(speaking of which, it's spelt Assault. 'A' followed by 'U', not the
other way around).
Fred
first got involved in the machinations of the Slenderman back in June
2012, when he (Slenderman, not Fred) began to take an interest in his
younger brother. The story progressed in
the usual way. Somewhat sad that there is a 'usual' way, but oh well.
Fred began to see more and more of the Slenderman, which drove him to
research him. A vicious cycle. His brother, Tim, began to speak with
the Slenderman, fall under His influence. Now, for most people that
would be the cue to start Running, but Fred wouldn't leave his
brother alone. Noble. Didn't end well, with Fred succumbing to
Slendersickness, which affects different people differently. There's
no concrete proof of what Slendersickness is, but the best theory so
far, as posited by Med, is that it's caused by a buildup of Azoth,
caused by contact with or proximity to the Slenderman. Most of you
are runners, who will be all to familiar with the coughing fits
caused by this sickness. That is your body trying to reject the
azoth, prevent it covering your insides. On the other hand, there's
the rest of us. Those who don't have a reaction to it. On the plus
side, we don't have to worry about runner's cough, or any of the
other issues you have. On the negative side, spending time around
quantities of Azoth, such as the Path, or Slenderman, leads to Azoth
buildup. No real way to remove it without brain damage, for us. And
the more azoth is in you, the less control you have, the closer you
become to a puppet. Power, at the cost of free will.
But
I digress. The important thing is that Fred is/was a natural proxy.
Doesn't/didn't reject the azoth, it built inside him. Started to skew
his perceptions, drive him a little insane. He fought pretty hard,
tried to keep himself, but all that means, all that ever means is
that when you break you shatter. Fred went insane eventually, ended
up a zealot. Mad as a hatter with a flamethrower. Shit like that is
the reason I serve willingly. Well, 'willingly'.
Naturally,
one of his friends, Kyle, got involved, read his blog. He's still
alive and running now, and somewhat screwed, judging by precedence of
other Heralds in his position. Horror
stories, and not even particularly well known ones. Took a lot of
digging to uncover. Nonetheless, he got wrapped up in this shitstorm,
and pretty soon Fred got involved. Took the name of 'the Warrior',
got together a group of zealots, and killed everyone in his town.
Including his family. Ironic, really, that trying to stay strong and
protect his brother ended up with that. Reality has a twisted sense
of humour. Nonetheless, thanks to some very unwise deals with another
abomination, the Dead One, not to mention getting several police
officers killed (my idea. Damn good one too) Kyle managed to kill the
militia, and got said abomination to tinker with Fred's mind, stop
him from being mind-raped into killing runners by having him
mind-raped into helping runners. By killing proxies. The 'two wrongs
make a right' method of conflict resolution. So now he's cast off his
violent past, and turned over a new leaf, killing people in the name
of good. Because, you know, there's no way those proxies have been
mind raped into helping Slendy, when has that ever happened?
Once
again, I digress. He's trying his utmost to tear his way through the
proxies in the US, at a far less efficient rate than that other
stalwart defender of good, justice and everything that a Runner
stands for, Kelevra. Funny how, without changing his behaviour, he
went from a sick necrophiliac fucker to a damnably nice guy, by the
simple expedient of killing acceptable targets. But we're talking
about Freddy boy, here.
And
he has been busy, using his connections within the organisation to
kill several key members. Not sure if they're actual key members, but
to be honest it doesn't really concern me until he comes here or I go
there, and that's unlikely. To be honest, posting the identity of his
mole on the internet is a bit of a shitty thing to do. I give it a
month before the guy gets offed, tops.
This
is Lovett, signing off at 1215, after about an hour of writing. Given
that this is a first draft, it's a bit shoddy, but oh well. Got other
things to worry about.
PS; The name Lovett comes from a song by the guy.
18/07/2013
Truce
Got back from the meeting in one piece. Thanks for clearing the path, Veigar. Came in handy, even if I didn't realise it'd happened at first. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
When I got the message, that Deimos wanted a meeting, I almost didn't go. Seemed like an unnecessary risk, until I realised I could, for lack of a better word, cheat. Turn the risk to my favour. So I went out, but not alone. One of mine, who prefers to go unnamed, followed on. He's a damned good sneak. So I went on the path, sprinted to the next building along and got out into the cellar. Not sure where the people who own the place are, but they're lucky not to be there. Although I have been looking to try something... Nonetheless, the place is empty, So I made it out and went to the graveyard. Felt kind of like when I was a runner, to be honest. Keeping to alleys and side-streets, causing distractions. All those useful little tricks to avoid getting tailed. Didn't get attacked, so it must've done some good. And there was someone trying to follow me; painfully obvious, I gave him the slip on the path. Half of my guys are better than that at following people, it's downright insulting that the guy assigned to me would do such a half arsed job of it. There's such a thing as professional standards, you know?
/rant
Anywho, I'm not going to complain about that. Made it to the meeting unmolested, so it's all good. Would've used the path if I'd known it was clear, but I didn't actually read your comment until, like, five minutes ago Veigar. Thought there were still his guys on the path, and carving a path through somebody's subordinates often offends (and people say I have no grasp of diplomacy!). Played it safe, didn't get anyone killed (although at least one's been arrested).
It may seem odd, but I've never seen Deimos before. Apparently he was big even when delta was in charge, but I've never dealt directly with that particular group. Ran some guns for them, back when I was first starting and my only real assets were paranoia and survival on the path, but that was through a middleman. So I only met them by proxy. Dude stands out. Not necessarily because he's a big guy, because he isn't. I mean, I'm pretty tall, but nothing major, and I have a good few inches on him. But he has a presence, like he's been superimposed over whatever's behind him. And he was wearing a suit. It fit with the image he was trying to make, but I've done my homework. There's a reason he's in charge of his group, and it isn't luck. The suit does not a businessman make.
He didn't seem like he was going to speak, so I started.
"You called. Or Emailed. What was it about?"
"One of your scouts. The German, Sigurd. I had some interesting words with him, and now I'm reconsidering this particular conflict. I'll accept your terms of surrender."
"Yeah. Real fucking charitable. But from where I'm standing, we're doing pretty well. How many of your did I get with the carbomb, anyway? I know five died with the sniper, but our bookkeeping is a little scant. Either way, it would appear we're doing better than you out of this, and I'm just getting started."
Thank God for the masks. I don't think I would've got away with that particular line of bullshit unless I had my face covered. 'Course, it wasn't complete bullshit; I did have a plan in the works, and it's going swimmingly. But I didn't know that then.
Deimos wasn't wearing a mask. So I could see something had him riled.
"I'm assuming you meant the trick you played with the Path? I lost a lot of good men to that. You should be thankful that I'm giving you a chance to get out of this."
"Unless you want what happened on the Path every time one of yours try to use it, I'd drop that line of thinking. After all, it happened before, and none of mine were at risk."
Which is all true. That line of thinking could lead to him attacking and absolutely crushing us. Which would lead to the belief that the Path is safe, and since it was nothing to do with us that could have led to the same thing happening again. Twisting logic is fun!
"So here's my counter-offer. Give up, disband your group. Spread them across the other organisations, across other countries. Give up, because otherwise I intend to kill them all."
Now, the graveyard isn't at home to violence. Just isn't done, proxy will not hurt proxy there, or suffer dire consequences. Still, it was amusing to watch Deimos try to convince himself not to kill me for my insolence. He turned away, didn't let me see his face.
That's when it all went to hell; someone fired a shot. Handgun, I think. Not a big gun, but plenty big enough to kill me dead. Possibly, not actually certain about that. I mean, I doubt I'd bleed out, but I probably wouldn't get on so well with getting shot in the face. My eye shows that there are some things I won't heal from. I pulled my knives, and Deimos gets out a goddamn shotgun. Like, an actual sawn-off shotgun under his suit. And I thought I was prepared for a fight.
Needless to say, he didn't shoot me. You can tell because I'm sitting here typing this rather than slowly decomposing. He looked surprised, almost as much as I was. Like he wasn't expecting an attack.
"This is neutral ground, what the fuck do you think you're doing!"
I was somewhat pissed. Some things you just don't do.
But he hadn't. Somehow a runner had got hold of the location, decided to kill some proxies when they weren't expecting it. Fucking cowards. I pathed out, sprinted to the gunshot. Not much cover there, not like a regular graveyard. We don't go in so much for headstones and flowers and the like. The memorials are more personal; a knife here, because he would fight with one. Jeff was a medic, so there was a roll of bandages marking his grave. There was one cross, made of sticks. Guess he was religious.
But on the path, it's something else. Guess there's some sort of resonance, because it was a stereotypical graveyard there. Headstones, statues, mausoleums. I ignored them, sprinted past it all, through rows of graves, covering some 400 metres in half the distance, and jumped back to meatworld. Hard to explain how I knew to jump. Guess it's just intuition, that little voice telling you what to do. Maybe azoth. Either way, it guided me right once again. I landed right behind the runner; a girl, maybe twenty. Odd that I think of her as a 'girl' when she was older than me. Now, I like to think I'm well mannered. Chivalrous towards women. But once you cross the line, it doesn't matter. I didn't give her a chance to take a shot at me, jammed a knife into her side. It stuck. She fired, but I'd moved too quickly for her to aim, caught her off-guard. Guess she thought I'd just run. Not my style any more, so I went on the offensive, jabbing at her with the remaining knife. She stepped back quickly, tossing the gun aside and pulling her own kitchen knife. I gave her a slash on the wrist, she caught me on the stomach. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty good fighter, but she had a better reach, and I was somewhat winded from my sprint. She managed to keep at a distance, and backed away. Which was when Deimos blew her legs out from under her. Quite literally, he blew her leg off.
Now, that would normally be the point where I would go in for the kill. But going through her jacket pockets, I found something interesting. It would appear she didn't just get lucky. Or unlucky. Someone had noted down the way to get there, and when. Signed with an initial, -P. And another place and time. Deimos took the girl to get more information from her. And I'm not going to use euphemisms, that does most likely mean torture and rape. So for now there's a truce. Wouldn't say we're friends, but for now we're going to hold off on the explosions and mayhem, so Veigar, if you want to stay we can get some of the supplies we've had on the periphery in now, so feel free to come along with your organisation and make yourselves at home.
When I got the message, that Deimos wanted a meeting, I almost didn't go. Seemed like an unnecessary risk, until I realised I could, for lack of a better word, cheat. Turn the risk to my favour. So I went out, but not alone. One of mine, who prefers to go unnamed, followed on. He's a damned good sneak. So I went on the path, sprinted to the next building along and got out into the cellar. Not sure where the people who own the place are, but they're lucky not to be there. Although I have been looking to try something... Nonetheless, the place is empty, So I made it out and went to the graveyard. Felt kind of like when I was a runner, to be honest. Keeping to alleys and side-streets, causing distractions. All those useful little tricks to avoid getting tailed. Didn't get attacked, so it must've done some good. And there was someone trying to follow me; painfully obvious, I gave him the slip on the path. Half of my guys are better than that at following people, it's downright insulting that the guy assigned to me would do such a half arsed job of it. There's such a thing as professional standards, you know?
/rant
Anywho, I'm not going to complain about that. Made it to the meeting unmolested, so it's all good. Would've used the path if I'd known it was clear, but I didn't actually read your comment until, like, five minutes ago Veigar. Thought there were still his guys on the path, and carving a path through somebody's subordinates often offends (and people say I have no grasp of diplomacy!). Played it safe, didn't get anyone killed (although at least one's been arrested).
It may seem odd, but I've never seen Deimos before. Apparently he was big even when delta was in charge, but I've never dealt directly with that particular group. Ran some guns for them, back when I was first starting and my only real assets were paranoia and survival on the path, but that was through a middleman. So I only met them by proxy. Dude stands out. Not necessarily because he's a big guy, because he isn't. I mean, I'm pretty tall, but nothing major, and I have a good few inches on him. But he has a presence, like he's been superimposed over whatever's behind him. And he was wearing a suit. It fit with the image he was trying to make, but I've done my homework. There's a reason he's in charge of his group, and it isn't luck. The suit does not a businessman make.
He didn't seem like he was going to speak, so I started.
"You called. Or Emailed. What was it about?"
"One of your scouts. The German, Sigurd. I had some interesting words with him, and now I'm reconsidering this particular conflict. I'll accept your terms of surrender."
"Yeah. Real fucking charitable. But from where I'm standing, we're doing pretty well. How many of your did I get with the carbomb, anyway? I know five died with the sniper, but our bookkeeping is a little scant. Either way, it would appear we're doing better than you out of this, and I'm just getting started."
Thank God for the masks. I don't think I would've got away with that particular line of bullshit unless I had my face covered. 'Course, it wasn't complete bullshit; I did have a plan in the works, and it's going swimmingly. But I didn't know that then.
Deimos wasn't wearing a mask. So I could see something had him riled.
"I'm assuming you meant the trick you played with the Path? I lost a lot of good men to that. You should be thankful that I'm giving you a chance to get out of this."
"Unless you want what happened on the Path every time one of yours try to use it, I'd drop that line of thinking. After all, it happened before, and none of mine were at risk."
Which is all true. That line of thinking could lead to him attacking and absolutely crushing us. Which would lead to the belief that the Path is safe, and since it was nothing to do with us that could have led to the same thing happening again. Twisting logic is fun!
"So here's my counter-offer. Give up, disband your group. Spread them across the other organisations, across other countries. Give up, because otherwise I intend to kill them all."
Now, the graveyard isn't at home to violence. Just isn't done, proxy will not hurt proxy there, or suffer dire consequences. Still, it was amusing to watch Deimos try to convince himself not to kill me for my insolence. He turned away, didn't let me see his face.
That's when it all went to hell; someone fired a shot. Handgun, I think. Not a big gun, but plenty big enough to kill me dead. Possibly, not actually certain about that. I mean, I doubt I'd bleed out, but I probably wouldn't get on so well with getting shot in the face. My eye shows that there are some things I won't heal from. I pulled my knives, and Deimos gets out a goddamn shotgun. Like, an actual sawn-off shotgun under his suit. And I thought I was prepared for a fight.
Needless to say, he didn't shoot me. You can tell because I'm sitting here typing this rather than slowly decomposing. He looked surprised, almost as much as I was. Like he wasn't expecting an attack.
"This is neutral ground, what the fuck do you think you're doing!"
I was somewhat pissed. Some things you just don't do.
But he hadn't. Somehow a runner had got hold of the location, decided to kill some proxies when they weren't expecting it. Fucking cowards. I pathed out, sprinted to the gunshot. Not much cover there, not like a regular graveyard. We don't go in so much for headstones and flowers and the like. The memorials are more personal; a knife here, because he would fight with one. Jeff was a medic, so there was a roll of bandages marking his grave. There was one cross, made of sticks. Guess he was religious.
But on the path, it's something else. Guess there's some sort of resonance, because it was a stereotypical graveyard there. Headstones, statues, mausoleums. I ignored them, sprinted past it all, through rows of graves, covering some 400 metres in half the distance, and jumped back to meatworld. Hard to explain how I knew to jump. Guess it's just intuition, that little voice telling you what to do. Maybe azoth. Either way, it guided me right once again. I landed right behind the runner; a girl, maybe twenty. Odd that I think of her as a 'girl' when she was older than me. Now, I like to think I'm well mannered. Chivalrous towards women. But once you cross the line, it doesn't matter. I didn't give her a chance to take a shot at me, jammed a knife into her side. It stuck. She fired, but I'd moved too quickly for her to aim, caught her off-guard. Guess she thought I'd just run. Not my style any more, so I went on the offensive, jabbing at her with the remaining knife. She stepped back quickly, tossing the gun aside and pulling her own kitchen knife. I gave her a slash on the wrist, she caught me on the stomach. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty good fighter, but she had a better reach, and I was somewhat winded from my sprint. She managed to keep at a distance, and backed away. Which was when Deimos blew her legs out from under her. Quite literally, he blew her leg off.
Now, that would normally be the point where I would go in for the kill. But going through her jacket pockets, I found something interesting. It would appear she didn't just get lucky. Or unlucky. Someone had noted down the way to get there, and when. Signed with an initial, -P. And another place and time. Deimos took the girl to get more information from her. And I'm not going to use euphemisms, that does most likely mean torture and rape. So for now there's a truce. Wouldn't say we're friends, but for now we're going to hold off on the explosions and mayhem, so Veigar, if you want to stay we can get some of the supplies we've had on the periphery in now, so feel free to come along with your organisation and make yourselves at home.
17/07/2013
Meeting
Right, confession time. I got another
one of mine killed. I fucked up again, and now Sigurd is dead.
Fucking hell, I'm a shitty shitty leader. Sent him out scouting,
trying to get a lock on Deimos' forces, see where they were, if they
were massing. We're still somewhat pinned down, waiting on the
cavalry, and if he managed to catch us off-guard it wouldn't be a
fight. It'd be, like, a fucking duck shoot, a slaughter. I needed to
know where he was, where to expect an attack. It should have been a
routine job. I had fucking Asbolus keeping an eye on him on the
rooftops. It should have been easy. Deimos has his own scouts,
though. And he already knows where we are. Christ on a bicycle, he
must have had Sigurd pegged as soon as he got out of the fucking
door, even using the Path to cover his tracks. Fucker waited until
Sigurd was clear of the safehouse, we couldn't afford to send out
help without opening ourselves to a counterattack, even if we had
known. Three of his, catch Sigurd by surprise, knives out. Asbolus
managed to ing one, for all the good it did. Which is to say, not
nearly enough. Fucking came out of nowhere, dragged Sigurd onto the
path. I only know this because Asbolus made it out, didn't follow
onto the path. Makes sense, he never really spent much time there.
Not much of a resistance to its energies, would've died because of
the exposure before he could do much to help. Not his fault, I should
have been prepared, should've thought it through. What the fuck am I
doing?
And Deimos has sent a message, as well.
Right fucking now, half nine on the sixteenth. Fucker wants a
meeting, at the graveyard tomorrow. No weapons, no backup. Just a
talk. Don't trust him as far as I can throw him, but I know he won't
try anything at the graveyard. Hallowed doesn't seem like the right
word, but still. It's sacred ground. Possibly unholy would be a
better word; after all, we work for the devil. Point is, he won't try
anything. Neither will I, even though the Azoth in me is screaming to
wreak bloody vengence. I've been reading the old blogs, the sages and
the like. Doing my homework. Dude mentioned reciting bible verses to
keep a cap on that sort of thing. I've never been religious, but a
few bars of Brauer's first are helping. I won't attack, I won't break
trust. Not to say I'm going unarmed; he didn't say I wouldn't be
attacked on the way to or from the meeting, and I don't intend to be
caught off-guard. And Deimos, I know you're reading this, so take
some friendly advice. Me being away doesn't render my people weak. It
doesn't provide you an opportunity to attack. I set up substantial
defences, with help from [Anon] and Garm. Any of your men who enter
will burn.
Internet's down
right now. I'll get someone to post it once it starts working again.
Note; Name removed
for the sake of continued anonymity.
11/07/2013
End of the line
Fuck. FUCK. It was all going so fucking well, but it's the end of the fucking line now. We're holed up in a safehouse, well supplied, but my scouts have seen Deimos hisself, and a fuckload of his supporters, all on their way here. Nowhere nearby to run to, no fucking way to fight it out. We're fucked. Pinned the fuck down; Even though there are only twenty or so left, that's still enough to crush us. shitting hell. So yeah, I fear you have me over a barrel, Veigar. What's your price for your help? Didn't want to, but there's no fucking choice, i can't see any other way out.
10/07/2013
Tired as balls
I'm tired as fuck, but things are going worryingly well. Deimos' group found another safehouse to replace the one we burned, but there was a stroke of luck; Caligori had stayed there for a while. He's a pretty sneaky bastard too. managed to nick a rifle and ammo, not to mention most of their food. Cut the supply lines. So Asbolus found a few spots with a decent line of sight, Kappa kept the police off our backs (expensive, but well worth it), and I took to the path. Killed anyone who went out for groceries, managed to keep it up for a couple of days before Asbolus ran out of ammunition. By then they were too paranoid to risk it, and they tried to break out through the path. Killed five, but there are limits to what I can do, even on the path. There was, of course, a counterattack. Invasions of two or three safehouses we use, lucky the forces were split. Managed to keep them off, no major injuries but Quasit and Jinn. Grace is taking care of them now, not as good a medic as Jeff is but she gets the job done.
06/07/2013
05/07/2013
First strike
Downside of vast amounts of people is that you have to keep a larger safehouse. It's easier to track down. Lucky for deimos, the problem is somewhat reduced for him.
Found his safehouse from Kafka, who used to do some work with Jeff. Introduced the front door with a speeding car full of fireworks (Jeff's car, I'll acquire a new one if he makes it. Looking unlikel. Fuck). Set the building on fire, not sure if it actually hit anyone (brick on the accelerator, by the time it hit I was on the Path) but it definitely gave them something to think about.
Updates maybe rather sporadic. Can't let them pin us down, so we're keeping on the move. Lucky there're a couple uninhabited safehouses, not to mention the abandoned buildings runners seem to favour so much.
Found his safehouse from Kafka, who used to do some work with Jeff. Introduced the front door with a speeding car full of fireworks (Jeff's car, I'll acquire a new one if he makes it. Looking unlikel. Fuck). Set the building on fire, not sure if it actually hit anyone (brick on the accelerator, by the time it hit I was on the Path) but it definitely gave them something to think about.
Updates maybe rather sporadic. Can't let them pin us down, so we're keeping on the move. Lucky there're a couple uninhabited safehouses, not to mention the abandoned buildings runners seem to favour so much.
04/07/2013
Return
FUCK. FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK.
FUCKING FUCKED FUCKSTICKS
As you may have gathered, I'm pretty fucking pissed off. Some fucker shot Jeff. A fucking proxy. So I'm back in England; Jeff's alive, but he can't really do what he needs to do. Frankly, we're not even sure if he'll make it; he's pretty fucked up. Fucking Deimos (yeah, the ancient Greek personification of terror. How fucking egotistical) has taken control of most of Delta's old group. And there are a fuckload of them. Fucker decided to eliminate all the competition or something, I have no fucking idea. Maybe he's just fucked in the head. I should have fucking been there
Anyway, I'm back in England. You don't fuck with my people and get away with it. He wants a civil war? He's fucking crazy, but he can't be allowed to continue.
Congratulations, Sanna. I'm not following you right now. I'll find you later.
FUCK
OK, I've calmed down somewhat now. Still fucking pissed off, but I've just got the estimates on numbers. Sobering stuff. Twelve of us, and thirty odd of them, plus several hallowed. Royally fucked if it goes to a pitched battle. After all, we ain't that great at fighting. Well, I'm not, neither is Orbis, or Kappa, or Grace, or me. Asbolus isn't bad on the range, and Quasit knows his way around a sword. And Caligori knows a thing or two. Still, three good fighters and ten decent ones against thirty people? Slaughter. Times like this I'd be drinking, but I can't afford to. Fuck, I can't face this sober and I can't drink. I need a fuck-off brilliant plan. Any of youse got suggestions?
FUCKING FUCKED FUCKSTICKS
As you may have gathered, I'm pretty fucking pissed off. Some fucker shot Jeff. A fucking proxy. So I'm back in England; Jeff's alive, but he can't really do what he needs to do. Frankly, we're not even sure if he'll make it; he's pretty fucked up. Fucking Deimos (yeah, the ancient Greek personification of terror. How fucking egotistical) has taken control of most of Delta's old group. And there are a fuckload of them. Fucker decided to eliminate all the competition or something, I have no fucking idea. Maybe he's just fucked in the head. I should have fucking been there
Anyway, I'm back in England. You don't fuck with my people and get away with it. He wants a civil war? He's fucking crazy, but he can't be allowed to continue.
Congratulations, Sanna. I'm not following you right now. I'll find you later.
FUCK
OK, I've calmed down somewhat now. Still fucking pissed off, but I've just got the estimates on numbers. Sobering stuff. Twelve of us, and thirty odd of them, plus several hallowed. Royally fucked if it goes to a pitched battle. After all, we ain't that great at fighting. Well, I'm not, neither is Orbis, or Kappa, or Grace, or me. Asbolus isn't bad on the range, and Quasit knows his way around a sword. And Caligori knows a thing or two. Still, three good fighters and ten decent ones against thirty people? Slaughter. Times like this I'd be drinking, but I can't afford to. Fuck, I can't face this sober and I can't drink. I need a fuck-off brilliant plan. Any of youse got suggestions?
01/07/2013
I need a thesaurus for other ways to say update.
I really do. Sadly, didn't get a chance to pack much, found out Sanna was off about when she was going through customs. So I pretty much have a change of clothes, toothbrush and knives. Not terribly prepared, had to rob an art shop for most of the important supplies. French proxies less than helpful. Lot of ill will from Felix. Apparently popular; explains why so high up while being entirely incompetent. So without usual supplies, having to improvise. And avoid others. Blame me for proxy M tortured. Apparently I should have' done something'. Pricks. What do they want, me to step in whenever something goes wrong? I probably would've died if I tried anything, or got caught and let something slip about my people (note to self; false tooth with cyanide capsule. Wonder if you can get that at the dentists?). On the other hand, there are more of them than me, and they also have knives.
Had something of a run-in with the Cold Boy's followers. Children of the cold, or something along those lines. Bastards just don't die. Or even bleed. Slow down. It's like stabbing a tree. Or, like, a zombie. Probably wouldn't burn; they cooled down my tea through a thermos, so they'll be too cold to set alight. Not to mention a lighter probably wouldn't even set a regular guy alight without an accelerant. Maybe if I siphoned off a car or something. Or beheaded. Maybe if I could bum an axe or sword off the Frenchies. If they didn't just kick me out. Almost makes me wish I hadn't warned them M knew where they were.
There's some static in my headphones, pretty much constant. Guess Master's watching me. Feels odd. Wrong and right at the same time. Still, not worth worrying about. He probably won't step in unless He wants to, and you can be pretty damn sure that stopping me from dying won't be that high on His to-do list.
Had something of a run-in with the Cold Boy's followers. Children of the cold, or something along those lines. Bastards just don't die. Or even bleed. Slow down. It's like stabbing a tree. Or, like, a zombie. Probably wouldn't burn; they cooled down my tea through a thermos, so they'll be too cold to set alight. Not to mention a lighter probably wouldn't even set a regular guy alight without an accelerant. Maybe if I siphoned off a car or something. Or beheaded. Maybe if I could bum an axe or sword off the Frenchies. If they didn't just kick me out. Almost makes me wish I hadn't warned them M knew where they were.
There's some static in my headphones, pretty much constant. Guess Master's watching me. Feels odd. Wrong and right at the same time. Still, not worth worrying about. He probably won't step in unless He wants to, and you can be pretty damn sure that stopping me from dying won't be that high on His to-do list.
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