[Content warning: This episode contains scenes of graphic violence and gore]
[Note: Frost has spent XP for an asset, which will be revealed later in this episode.]
The Journals of Ashton Frost, Part Four
I was not proud of what I was about to do. I am not a murderer, I always told myself. Yet here we were, here I was, ready to kill an entire camp of people in cold blood. In their sleep. I thought myself above the heinous acts of the Institute. So how did I descend to their level? How am I different than them?
It was an honest question... because these people were not being duped, that's how. They weren't selling this stuff to feed and house refugees. They weren't doing whatever it takes to save innocents from atrocities. Their work was the foundation of those atrocities. The blood was already on their hands. Every person that Whiz had tried to save, that became just another "Subject Delta"... that all started right here. I was going to end it, even if I was damned for doing so.
* * *
I whispered to Breaker, "Don't let anyone go into or come out of that cave but me." He was armed with a hunting rifle, he was not equipped for what I was about to do. "You'll know when it's time to act. If I don't see you sooner, I'll see you in Hell."
[Challenge: Defeat the Trip Miners. Formidable]
I crouched and padded slowly toward the cave, cloaked in the unnatural shadows that were the legacy of my captivity at the Institute. The sentry gazed absently at the glow of the heater, rather than into the darkness around him.
[Face Danger: +Shadow, SHADE. 6+4 vs 4 and 5. Strong Hit. +1 Momentum (+6)]
I crept up behind the sentry, my knife ready. If I did this, there was no turning back. I was committed.
[Battle: +Iron, 1+2 vs 1 and 6. Weak Hit. Mark progress (1). Pay the Price.]
I thrust my knife into the sentry's back. He slumped to the ground, mortally wounded. He gurgled a warning as he died. I hoped the sleeping miners in the cave had not heard.
[Ask the Oracle: Was the warning heard? 50/50. 16 (Yes)]
I heard a stirring in the cave. "Arnav, you OK out there? Arnav?" someone called out quietly. I pressed my back to the wall near the mouth of the cave, ready to strike any lone figure that wandered out.
A moment later, a head peeked out. The figure looked to either side, for a moment looking directly at where I stood. Then her head turned toward the small, glowing heater and she saw the dark shape of Arnav's body, now still. If she called out, all of the others would wake. I had to act quickly.
[Battle: +Iron, 4+2 vs 4 and 9. Weak Hit. Mark progress (2). Pay the Price]
[Ask the Oracle: Do the other miners wake? Sure thing. 26 (Yes)]
When it came to stealth, I was like a wraith. But I had no experience at hand-to-hand combat. I grabbed her and plunged my blade into her side. But I had not been able to cover her mouth. She cried out as she fell.
I heard a commotion in the cave. There were more than a few occupants in there. Being outnumbered by three to one (or more) was not the best strategy, but we would have to make do with the situation at hand. My plan would work best if we could avoid the "vulgar display of power" option that was Plan B.
The cave was still dark as I stepped inside. Being able to summon darkness didn't significantly improve my ability to see in it. I could get off one, maybe two silenced shots before they armed themselves and turned on some light.
[Enter the Fray: +Heart, 3+3 vs 5 and 7. Weak Hit. In Control]
[Strike: +Edge, 3+3 vs 3 and 4. Strong Hit. Mark Progress twice (4). In Control]
My pistol coughed once, twice in the darkness. I heard two more bodies fall. I was either very lucky, or there were more people in this cave than I had expected.
Someone turned on a lantern. Frak. There were more people than I expected.
Now was not the time for literal 'cloak and dagger'. As long as no one left the cave, Plan B would do just fine. My scalp began to tingle. I fired a shot, not at any of the miners, but at the lantern.
[Gain Ground: +Shadow, 1+4 vs 8 and 10. Miss. In a Bad Spot. Pay the Price]
[Endure Harm: -1 Health (+4). Embrace the Pain: +Health, 6+4 vs 6 and 8. +1 Momentum (+7)]
A miner fired at me. A shot struck me. I had never been shot before. Gorram, that hurt. A lot. I was growing angry. My skin felt hot. I had to escape this cave before I was overrun. I had heard no shots from outside, so there were no enemies were behind me. I backed toward the mouth of the cave.
[React Under Fire: +Edge, 2+3 vs 2 and 3. Strong Hit. In Control, +1 Momentum (+8)]
I made it outside the cave and crouched, using the rock wall as cover. They'd still have to come past me to escape. I fired two more shots into the cave.
[Strike: +Iron, 1+2 vs 9 and 6. Burn Momentum (Reset to +2). Weak Hit. Mark Progress twice (6). In a Bad Spot.]
Two more miners fell. The others fired in my direction, but the shots went high. Fragments of stone flew off of the walls, nipping at my exposed face and hands.
Someone rushed me and if I didn't get out of the way, I'd be tackled to the ground. If that happened, I might not survive. I decided to try and throw him off balance. Rather than dodge out of the way, I lunged forward and yelled.
[Frost had purchased the Kinetic asset: "You wield kinetic powers. By focusing, you may remotely push, pull, lift or constrict objects and beings that are about your size or smaller. When you are in a risky situation and draw on your powers to make a move, add +2 and Lose Momentum (-2)"]
[Clash: +Iron, +2 for Kinetic. 6+2+2 vs 8 and 9. Strong Hit. -2 Momentum (0). Mark Progress twice (8). In Control]
I hadn't actually made contact with him, but he was hurled back violently against another of his comrades. Both fell, unmoving. What. the. HELL. What was happening to me?
There were far more of them inside than I had expected. It hadn't been 'somewhere between six and nine'. I had already taken down eight of them and more were rushing forward. I had no other options. Time to unleash Hell.
[Strike: Unleash Hell. Automatic Strong Hit. Mark Progress twice (10). Reset Fire (0). Stay in control.]
Flames leapt from my hands, and everything combustible began to ignite in the conflagration. Sleeping bags. Clothing. People. The cave became a literal hellstorm. How are you enjoying the weather here in Hell, you son of a gratch?
[Take Decisive Action: 10 vs 5 and 4. Strong Hit. +1 Momentum (+1). Objective achieved.]
I emerged, unopposed, from the firestorm. If what I had done was inhumane, what I was about to do was surely desecration. But the only thing that would keep miners from returning was fear. Fear of knives in the dark. Fear of every mine becoming a funeral pyre. Fear that there was someone else out there. The mythical nomads that silently stalked the dunes of Arrakoth.
I crouched by the bodies of the two miners outside. I smeared my hands in blood and painted crude figures and glyphs on the sandstone walls outside the cave. I wanted to make sure no one would ever be so brave as to mine for Trip ever again, even if it made me a monster after all.
[Mark Progress on Vow: "Uncover the Crimes of the Institute and Bring It Down", +1 tick (3)]
Breaker was crouching behind the rock as I approached. His rifle lay on the sandy ground. He was clearly appalled by what I had done, even if it might have been necessary. But there was no figurative blood on his hands, as there was literal blood on mine. I washed my hands clean with water from my canteen.
[Test Your Relationship: +Heart, 1+3 vs 2 and 5. Weak Hit. Develop Your Relationship (10 boxes)]
Breaker would not look me in the eye. "I know you did what you felt needed doing, Ash. But it was horrifying. It was disgusting. You say you are not a murderer, that you're not a monster... but after what I just witnessed, I have my doubts."
[Forge a Bond: 10 vs 1 and 10. Weak Hit. -1 Spirit (+4). Expand their influence: Add second role (Scoundrel). +2 ticks to Bonds Legacy Track]
He was clearly distraught, and doubting if his loyalty to me was well-placed. He had opposed this plan from the start, and I had gone ahead anyways, because I felt that I alone knew what was right. Once more, I had disregarded my friends in my quest for vengeance.
"Maybe you can live with that, Ash. But I can't. The only reason I didn't just walk away is because you didn't involve me in this atrocity. You need to show me that you're not a monster like the Institute. You need to let your actions speak louder than your words. And you need to listen to your friends. Me and Whiz, we're all you've got, man. You were alone in the Universe before I met you, and if you keep walking this path, you'll be alone again. I'll stand by you against the Institute, but we stand together, do you understand?'
I nodded. I didn't like myself much right now either. "I can do that, Breaker. I will. You've stood by me through all this, I promise I will stand by you too." I looked to the sky. It was growing lighter, it would be dawn soon. "Come on, brother. The sun will be up soon... and we've still got two more of these bastards to deal with."
[Ending stats: Momentum +1 Health +4 Spirit +4 Supply +5 Fire 0 Fugitive 1]