Van Helsing RP: Watch that first step...
 

The worn down path underneath their feet spoke of the incredible age of the path, and the place it lead to. As they followed the cracked and battered stone path with their eyes, it lead up to the massive stone gate of the castle before them, flanked by trees stripped bare by a fast hitting winter. Popular in medieval times for how defendable they were, even in modern times castles were often selected for that purpose. The man who had hidden himself away here, a Doctor Gunterbacht, probably did so for the same reason due to the "delicate" nature of his experiments, and the fact that the neighboring towns took offense to them...

You review the mission information one more time. The doctor was a genius engineer in college, and tried many times to publish books on a project he was working on, a "Mechanical Man". Everyone laughed and called him a lunatic, but from the reports you have been hearing he might have actually succeeded. Many nearby towns have been struck recently by "Iron Men" who are supposedly suited from head to toe in armor, and have steam coming out of units on their backs. Locals have been unable to harm these "Men" with their local hunting rifles however, and they act very oddly has been the reports. They normally show up, set fire to a few buildings, then leave again, killing anyone that tries to stop them. Their attacks have been becoming more and more sophisticated with time however, which speaks that the good doctor must be improving. Luckily you are here to keep those experiments from getting any better...

The Hunter's Guild has given you some experimental bullets for this mission, straight out from prototype testing. Their dual charge should give them the punch needed to cut through the "Metal Men's" thick armor, but even still if they aren't human but instead machines, it will still take a good bit of damage before they go down.

You assess the situation. The castle gate is currently closed, and the drawbridge is up, but there is no moat. The trees are tall, but only half the heigt of the castle walls. You need to find a way into the castle, make your way to the doctor's lab, and "Put a stop to" his experiments. However, try to keep the lab intact, or if nothing else save his lab notes, because we could gather vital information from his experiments that could help us in the future.

The earth shook slightly with every step Briareus took, but barring that, the reanimated was utterly silent as he lumbered into position in front of the castle. It would have been more accurate to refer to Briareus as "it", but the many personalities that arose from the bodies that composed the monstrosity had a dominant, controlling persona - and it called itself Briareus.

A belt of ammunition jingled gently as he unlimbered the portable cannon from the storage hook on his back. Briareus' eyes narrowed as he scanned the walls and you could hear the gears in his head whirring* as he started to think of a plan. A basso profundo rumbling filled the air, then cut off quickly as Briareus raised a hand to his chin to crush an annoying insect.

"Hmm... I wonder if blasting a tree down with a cannon and using is as a makeshift bridge for the quicker guys to climb up and open the bridge from inside would work..."

The soft voice of Jecint answered the giant as the vampire moved up beside him. "It is almost a good plan... but that would make far too much noise, and the tree would not reach, however..." The vampire looked at a tree and then at the giant undead monstrosity, carefully measuring the size of each before continuing, "If you could uproot a tree with your hands and hold it above you, I could climb your combined height and make it over the walls."

Leon looked over the assembly, and then turned his attention back to his gun. He finished loading it with the special bullets, and holstered it.

The trees seemed to be the most viable option, that or just blowing their way in. Almost cautiously, he unlimbered his whip, and tested the tension on it.

"I'm almost tempted to try to think of a way to attach this to a tree and the other end so we could just shimmy on it..."

He dismissed the notion, and lashed the whip back into a curled position almost supernaturally.

"The bridge idea seems to be the best idea that we've gotten thus far."

Jude loaded up Redemption, his main blessed gun, and the loaner he had with the new bullets. A stake would be useless in this mission, unless this newest mad scientist was using vampiric principles in his work.

"I could probably grapple from the trees...or we could bust through the bridge...I'm open to suggestions." Jude said, sliding the guns down into his sleeve.

Briareus looked down at Jecint.

"I believe you vampires can fly, no? Perhaps you could carry one of the others and open the bridge from the inside... Alternately, I could throw you over the wall..."

Valant squinted at the complex as he fingered the runes that rested in the compartments under his left sleeve. His long spiked chain lay wrapped around his right arm, somehow not piercing his skin hundreds of time over. He finished his surveillance, and spoke.

"If this doctor's been making multiples of these golems, he probably has them running all over the castle. I don't think sneaking inside would prove to be as useful as you think, but it could work - though uprooting the tree is probably noisy anyway. If you could uproot this tree.. why not use it as a battering ram?"

"We still have to reach the bridge, and it is across the moat..."

THe basso profundo hgumming started again as Briareus struggled tot hink fo a plan.

(OOC: GOing for church now, fon't know when I'll be back.)

(OOC: No moat.)

Jecint sighed a bit. "I do not wish to transform before it is necessary... that form is... unappealing. You may throw me, just attempt not to hit the wall."

He then turned to the large man with the spiked chain. "Whether or not it will keep us from fighting completely, there is no need to draw all of the iron men down upon us as soon as we enter."

"Just blow down the gate." Dramusa told Briareus as he approached the gate. The large wooden gate was to much for the vampire to bust down, but a Reanimated with a cannon could.