Run! The Gauntlet! (IC)

[GranspearZX]

The thoughts that were going through Marcus's head were rather profane, and best left to the imagination. He didn't dare turn and run, lest he get skewered in the back, and took a stance vaguely reminiscent of a martial artist, managing to dodge the worst of the attack. One nicked the shirt he was wearing, only barely missing flesh, reminding him that this was, in fact, real.

"Oh, that's it." Marcus narrowed his eyes, tensing up as he prepared himself... and then nothing. The Beast Rune was outright dead, and suddenly he realized that its magic had been somehow negated. It was something that happened often when he wasn't on the physical plane--he knew about it and why it occasionally happened, but that didn't make it any easier to accept. Especially not now.

Yeah, I think I've seen enough. Marcus continued to backpedal, trying to focus less on the sharp and pointy things aimed at him and more on getting back to reality...

[Supercape]

GM

The surroundings started to fade, becoming less real and more like a painting with every moment. The aztecs, the Spaniards, and even the rolling sea and the wind on the leaves all slowed.

As he swam back to the Parkhurst hotel, Marcus could hear one phrase above all, roared defiantly by the Spaniards, their armour wet from the sea, glistening in relief. Armour that he was now sure was the same metal that had been used to forge Gauntlet. The armour of warriors, seeped in blood.

"¡Para el oro! ¡Oro sobretodo!

¡Para el oro! ¡Oro sobretodo!"

For the Gold! Gold above All!

At Parkhurst Hotel...

Marcus hopped from the canvas that was now mist and fog, back into the hotel. At his feet was Rene, unconscious, drained from the ritual.

[GranspearZX]

Oh no.

Though he was a little disoriented from the trip, seeing the armor in person was confirmation enough of what materials went into Gauntlet's creation. Before he could really wrap his mind around that, though, he spotted Rene, knocked out cold. He knelt down and gently nudged him, hoping that he hadn't hurt himself. Marcus checked to make sure he was still breathing at least...

I never would've let him do this if I'd known this would happen... but he probably knew that. Stubborn old geezer... The tear in his shirt sleeve hadn't even registered yet; he could have been bleeding and not have noticed with Rene in the state he was in.

[Supercape]

GM

Clang...clang...clang...

Marcus had no idea how "long" he had actually been in the painting, it felt like seconds. But it could have been hours. And now, at the deg of his hearing, he heard a familiar sound.

The ghosts of Parkhurst drifted towards him, vexed.

"We couldn't stop it! he feels no fear, no love...he has entered!"

There was no mistaking the noise now.

Clang...clang...clang...

[GranspearZX]

It was a wonder that the ghosts didn't disturb him anymore. Marcus had spent so much of his summer in Parkhurst that their incorporeal natures didn't even register. The fact that they couldn't stop it, though, made his frown deepen.

He knew exactly what 'it' was.

Marcus stood up slowly, fists tightening as he listened to the familiar, inhumanly heavy clang of Gauntlet's footsteps. As if responding to his irritation, his own magic began to surge, flowing from the Beast Rune on his back to the rest of his body. "Make sure he's alright," he said calmly, giving Rene one last glance before removing his shirt--no sense in ruining it for what was about to happen--and heading off to meet his 'house guest'.

[Supercape]

GM

Gauntlet was in the main hall of Parkhurst, his metal fists beating a hole through the walls to get to Marcus. His huge frame would not fit through doors, and barely fitted into the rooms - it was only the fact that the HOtel was such an old building with high ceilings that had stopped him having to wreck the architecture of the building still further.

"There you are..." came the steel geared voice, grating as always.

"...There is no escape. I will always find you. The runes of the beast will be chained for the cult, my brother. "

Gauntlet was not fast, but he was relentless. Those tireless fists would smash every brick and every timber to get to Marcus - or indeed any other beast rune.

[GranspearZX]

Marcus was pissed.

It wasn't the normal, uncontrolled and unfocused rage either. This felt entirely different, with a specific focus. The Beast Rune responded to his natural aggression by amplifying it, and the rune itself glowed with a fiery crimson color against his dark skin. Runes he hadn't even used swirled around him as the Beast Rune's magic washed over him, shifting him instantly into his bear form.

"I'm NOT your brother."

Teeth bared, Arcturus shifted his stance lower, claws twitching noticeably as the Beast Rune's battle lust started to fill him. Even without it speaking its intentions directly into his head, he cosigned it all. "Let me show you what happens to trespassers."

[Supercape]

GM

Gauntlet looked up, slowly, timber and masonry falling off him.

A long iron limb creaked and groaned as it rose, and pointed straight at Arcturus.

"Let me show you what happens to flesh and bone..." groaned the voice "...against iron and steel. We both carry the power of the beast rune. But, you, brother, are the past. Obsolete. "

Gauntlet flexed its armoured fists that creaked and cracked.

"I am the future..."

[GranspearZX]

"The future, huh?"

Arcturus's right hand balled into a fist, and then snapped open again. There was a light blue flash against the back of his furry palm, and he catapulted himself forward at the iron beast. His claws scraped at Gauntlet's breastplate, leaving a frozen white streak in the air from the elemental magic wrapped around his hand and wrist.

"I'm gonna bury you here and now, tin grin."

[Supercape]

GM

This time, Gauntlet actually took a few steps back, although the sheer mass and size of the armour would not be keeled over. The claws left their mark, of frozen splintered steel over his breastplate.

The glowing eyes flared - with rage or pain it was not clear.

"This Iron has seen more war and blood than your fragile bones could ever imagine" grated the impassive helm, slowly and coldly.

"And I have been buried before - only to rise stronger, and full of the power of the rune!"

[GranspearZX]

"What do you want? A medal?" Arcturus glowered right back at the metal beast. The rune on the back of his hands faded and flared red with a different one, engulfing both in a rather intense-looking flame. He launched himself again at Gauntlet, his entire stance changing as he swiped at Gauntlet's breastplate.

"Here, let me pin it on ya!"

He wasn't sure HOW he was going to get Gauntlet out of the hotel. He was too heavy to lift, and he didn't have the time to craft a rune that would do it. He could feel the Beast Rune tugging at him, as if an answer was right at the edge of his mind, but there was no time to stop and think. If nothing else, he had to lure the golem outside, in an attempt to lessen the collateral damage.

[Supercape]

GM

Despite the mortar and wood of the Parkhurst Hotel in his way, Gauntlets might arms just swatted through them. His silent form reached out to grab his flesh and blood brother.

"I will crush the breath from you..." he whispered in oily tones... as his mighty limbs sought to encircle the bear in, ironically, a bear hug.

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus swayed backward, avoiding the grab. Flames still swirling about his hand, he took another hefty swing at Gauntlet, before taking several steps backward, moving towards the splintered front door. Unfazed by Gauntlet's threat, he laughed and motioned him forward.

"You're gonna hafta catch me first, tin grin. Bigger and badder have tried. If you think I'm scared of some scrapyard reject..."

That, of course, was only half true; there wasn't anything he could think of bigger than Gauntlet, and Arcturus knew he'd have a serious problem on his hands if Gauntlet got his mitts on him. He wasn't sure how well taunting something so huge would work out, but hey, Push seemed to make it work the last few times they'd met... It was definitely worth a shot.

[Supercape]

GM

Once again, Gauntlet staggered, the impassive armour dented and crushed from the beasts claws.

"You...see....the...power...of....the...beast..." its oily, geared voice groaned.

The more Marcus lashed out at Gauntlet, denting the armoured container, the happier Gauntlet seemed to get. What was its true intentions? Its actions seemed to indicate its proposed intent - to capture and / or crush Marcus. But something about its voice, its demeanour, seemed to indicate it got vexed and angry when Marcus was passive, and enjoyed seeing the bear at its full might.

"...thats...the...spirit...the...power...." it said, its flared eyes looking right at Marcus, unreadable.

[GranspearZX]

Something's not right.

Normally, Arcturus would've been perfectly fine tearing into Gauntlet. He was tough, but slow, and Arc had a great deal more mobility. Gauntlet, however, was plotting something. He couldn't tell what, but there was definitely something off. It seemed like the more aggressive he was, the less Gauntlet was actively fighting back. Arc couldn't be sure, but instinct told him that meant something.

"...you're not even worth my time."

Arcturus moved backward toward the door, trying to lure Gauntlet outside. He wasn't about to give Gauntlet the satisfaction of luring him into some sort of trap, even as he was trying to concoct one of his own. Despite the Beast Rune's nature, Marcus was still very much in control--a good hunter was just as adept at trapping his prey as anything else.

[Supercape]

GM

"Hrrrrmph...." came the clanky, geared voiced of Gauntlet as Marcus ran off.

For once, Gauntlet actually sounded vexed.

He followed, with large, powerful strides. Gauntlet was hardly agile, but the huge armour could actually run if needed to, and run it did, like a battering ram, splintering asunder yet more of the Parkhurst hotel as it ripped through the doorway and hall and into the open, following its prey.

"Pathetic bone, pathetic blood..." it called. "....unfit for the rune!!!!"

[Supercape]

GM

With a start, Gauntlet came to a halt before Marcus, its limbs creaking as it did so. Its glowing red eyes flared, with a slightly different hue for a moment.

Its head turned left, and then right.

"You...may be unfit...brother..." it said, slowly, like the inevitable grinding of ancient gears.

"But...something has been drawn...something that has...kept unseen..."

He turned again, looking towards the trees of Wharton forest in the distance.

"Something...more...worthy? a....sister?"

The horrible metallic noise could almost be laughter.

"Perhaps a more fitting host for the rune...yes! younger! more...malleable! like soft bronze...to be...hammered....into the right...tool!

Turning, Gauntlet started off towards Wharton forest with its lumbering run.

[GranspearZX]

"...wait, what?!"

It didn't take Marcus long to work out what was going on. More than just the magic of the Beast Rune, Gauntlet was being spurred on by aggression. Marcus, however, had learned to control it rather than let it control him. It wasn't quite so easy to simply let him be consumed by his own rage--certainly not impossible, but how could a golem pull off something like that? In turn, it was seeking another host... another victim.

He only paused for a second, but there were multiple things going through his mind.

"Make sure Rene's okay... and if you could somehow fix this mess..." He directed his speech at the ghosts caring for Parkhurst. He regretted not being able to help, but times were especially desperate. He didn't have a sister, but if a fellow mage was in danger...

[Supercape]

As Gauntlet stormed off like a cannonball with the thud thud of a ton of wrought Iron hitting pavement and then the undergrowth of foilage, Rene struggled to the shattered remains of the door of Parkhurst.

"Sacre Bleu!" came the words, half mumbled and half shouted as he saw both the splintered wood of Parkhurst and the receding sight of Gauntlet.

"So thats the Gauntlet. Quite a sight...if I only had my paintbrush..."

He collapsed to one knee.

"I'm too old for this. And you wont catch me running through the forest at that speed, my friend. What has happened? What did the ritual tell you?"

[GranspearZX]

"Not nearly enough," Marcus admitted, giving Rene a concerned once-over. He pitched forward to catch the elder artist, his mind still reeling as he tried to figure out what to do next.

"Something to do with Spanish conquistadors. I was too busy ducking bullets and spears to get much else." He stood up, shifting back into his bear form. "I've got to go after him. I think he's gonna try to go after some other source... can't let that happen."

He wasn't even certain WHERE Gauntlet was going, but he was going to be ridiculously easy to track. Arcturus realized he really was going to have to fight--with all the aggression and rage the Beast Rune afforded him and then some.

[Supercape]

"Conquestidors?" mumbled Rene, still dazed.

"Damn, I am too old for this..." he conceded, still feeling drained. Although even at full strength he would not be able to keep pace with Gauntlet, or indeed Marcus.

"If that's what he was forged from, he is steeped in blood and greed, my friend. No wonder, perhaps. The perfect iron to contain ze Beast."

He staggered to the bench outside Parkhurst and sat down.

"I cannot follow you" he said to Marcus "but where I cannot go, perhaps some eyes can..." he added, pulling off his Beret. With a wave of his hand, he reached in, impossibly, to the old hat and pulled out a small dog by the scruff of his neck. The dog promptly licked Rene's face excitedly.

"He can run as fast as you can, and come back to me if needed..." he explained, setting down the little pooch by Marcus feet.

"Now, you best follow Gauntlet, and find out what he is up to. And if necessary, stop him. But remember my friend, that ze beast rune is dangerous. It causes conflict in ze soul, even in ze Iron Gauntlet!"

[GranspearZX]

"Nothing's perfect..."

Arcturus had been devising a way to disable Gauntlet; it would have to be permanent if he were to go after the cult. His entire train of thought was derailed as he watched Rene pull a small dog from his beret. He paused and just stared at Rene for a moment; who knew the old man had a dimensional pocket in his hat? He was certainly full of surprises.

"I'll be as careful as I can," Arc said with a nod, glancing at the dog for a brief moment before turning and taking off out the door, his new canine companion in tow. He headed in the same direction that Gauntlet had gone, unsure if he'd be able to catch up. That wasn't his main concern, however.

[Supercape]

GM

The little dog, who looked like a mongrol hybrid of every breed of dog rolled into one, could keep pace. Gauntlet was not hard to track - he made no attempt to conceal his tracks, and it was doubtful he could if he had the inclination to do so.

He did, however, move at a surprising pace, and tirelessly. Marcus could keep up, just about, but the Iron cage had a head start.

He was heading towards Wharton forest, in an apparently straight line.

"Where are you?" said Gauntlet, as it collided into the Forest, loose branches snapping and roots cracking as the metal creature collided into the forest without pause. The wood and bracken splintered like paper mache against the unstoppable force of Gauntlet.

[GranspearZX]

Unbelievable.

Gauntlet was tearing a very literal path of destruction across the forest, and there was little he could really do to stop him. That was hardly going to stop him from trying, though. For his size, he was moving at a pretty impressive speed, though even he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep it up. As he ran, he caught a scent on the wind--not exactly a wild animal, but close. He paused only for a second, sniffing at the air... It was downwind, directly where Gauntlet was headed. There was no way he'd cut Gauntlet off... the best he could think of was to keep up the chase until he got closer.

[Supercape]

GM

Gauntlet crashed through the forest like a tank. As he got in deeper, he stopped briefly, as if sniffing the air, and carried on proceeding at a slightly slower pace, at a slightly different angle.

"I can sense you..." it grinded.

It turned back to look at Marcus following him.

"Can you feel it too?" he asked "So, your puny little show of power has brought out the greater prize. Something trulywild. Something that deserves the Rune and can use it. Something to be chained!!!"

A rustle in some undergrowth caught his attention. Briefly the scruffy head and filthy face of a girl, maybe 13 or so, and scrawny as anything, popped out.

Her jaw opened a bit, and just for a second her eyes flared red.

Then...she hissed, and sprang away.