Digiphant
August 21st, 2014, 01:01 PM
Threw this together this morning. Ravage away!
With a barely perceptible whirring and a tinkle like someone screwing up gold leaf, the mecharachnid scuttled along the ceiling. When it neared the gas lamp that hung down over a cluttered work bench, it stopped and focused its single telescopic eye on the mess below.
In the alley behind the workshop, Laverna peered intently through the scope attached to the box which hung around her neck. She deftly fiddled with the knobs on the side of the box and an image of the workbench came in to focus for her. Lying in a small cleared area was a brass cylinder, not unlike a telescope, but with odd protrusions and a large emerald mounted on a bracket at one end. A smirk lifted one corner of Laverna’s mouth as she quickly packed the box away and retrieved a small pouch from her rucksack.
Having already examined the lock on the rear door and come to the conclusion it was hideously over-complicated, Laverna produced a glass cutter and looked at the windows. Unfortunately, the only ones on the ground floor were facing the street and, even given the time of night, she wasn’t willing to risk that. Placing the cutter between her teeth, Laverna rooted around in her rucksack and dug out a grapnel gun. After a small pop and a brief climb, she was hanging in front of one of the upstairs windows. She carefully cut out a pane of glass, then reached in and unlatched the window before gingerly stepping in to the room.
Large objects, all covered in dust sheets, loomed in the gloom. Laverna pulled down the goggles that had been resting on her forehead and wound them up with a tiny key. After a moment, she could see as clear as day and started to move through the first floor of the building. Out on the landing there was a gas lantern turned down low beside one of the other doors. Easing past, Laverna thought she could hear faint snoring from the other side and thanked the gods she didn’t choose that window.
Her progress down the stairs was marred only by the penultimate step, which creaked like a tea clipper in a gale. Laverna froze, held her breath and strained her hearing for any sign of the sleeper stirring. After a long minute she moved again, making a mental note for her return trip.
A corridor ran the length of the building, with rooms off each side and the rear entrance at the end. Slinking along to the last door on the left, Laverna knelt to examine the lock. When she saw the cogs spinning inside the mechanism, she cursed under her breath and studied the floor for a moment, thinking.
The sound of breaking glass woke Dr Erickson with a start. Shuffling in to his slippers and nightgown, and grabbing his blunderbuss from beside the door, he made his way downstairs, retrieving the lantern on the way. There was another crash from the workshop as he reached the bottom of the stairs and he rushed to the door, fumbling his keys from around his neck. With his gun in one hand, Dr Erickson flung open the door and lost consciousness.
Laverna stepped over the recumbent form of the doctor, putting her cosh back in its holder on her belt. She quickly retrieved the device from the work bench and then went over to a set of shelves to carefully pick the mecharachnid from the wreckage of several glass jars. Returning to her hiding place in the room opposite, Laverna packed everything away carefully and headed for the stairs. The doctor was groaning his way back to consciousness as she reached the top, but by the time he had raised the alarm, Laverna was long gone.
With a barely perceptible whirring and a tinkle like someone screwing up gold leaf, the mecharachnid scuttled along the ceiling. When it neared the gas lamp that hung down over a cluttered work bench, it stopped and focused its single telescopic eye on the mess below.
In the alley behind the workshop, Laverna peered intently through the scope attached to the box which hung around her neck. She deftly fiddled with the knobs on the side of the box and an image of the workbench came in to focus for her. Lying in a small cleared area was a brass cylinder, not unlike a telescope, but with odd protrusions and a large emerald mounted on a bracket at one end. A smirk lifted one corner of Laverna’s mouth as she quickly packed the box away and retrieved a small pouch from her rucksack.
Having already examined the lock on the rear door and come to the conclusion it was hideously over-complicated, Laverna produced a glass cutter and looked at the windows. Unfortunately, the only ones on the ground floor were facing the street and, even given the time of night, she wasn’t willing to risk that. Placing the cutter between her teeth, Laverna rooted around in her rucksack and dug out a grapnel gun. After a small pop and a brief climb, she was hanging in front of one of the upstairs windows. She carefully cut out a pane of glass, then reached in and unlatched the window before gingerly stepping in to the room.
Large objects, all covered in dust sheets, loomed in the gloom. Laverna pulled down the goggles that had been resting on her forehead and wound them up with a tiny key. After a moment, she could see as clear as day and started to move through the first floor of the building. Out on the landing there was a gas lantern turned down low beside one of the other doors. Easing past, Laverna thought she could hear faint snoring from the other side and thanked the gods she didn’t choose that window.
Her progress down the stairs was marred only by the penultimate step, which creaked like a tea clipper in a gale. Laverna froze, held her breath and strained her hearing for any sign of the sleeper stirring. After a long minute she moved again, making a mental note for her return trip.
A corridor ran the length of the building, with rooms off each side and the rear entrance at the end. Slinking along to the last door on the left, Laverna knelt to examine the lock. When she saw the cogs spinning inside the mechanism, she cursed under her breath and studied the floor for a moment, thinking.
The sound of breaking glass woke Dr Erickson with a start. Shuffling in to his slippers and nightgown, and grabbing his blunderbuss from beside the door, he made his way downstairs, retrieving the lantern on the way. There was another crash from the workshop as he reached the bottom of the stairs and he rushed to the door, fumbling his keys from around his neck. With his gun in one hand, Dr Erickson flung open the door and lost consciousness.
Laverna stepped over the recumbent form of the doctor, putting her cosh back in its holder on her belt. She quickly retrieved the device from the work bench and then went over to a set of shelves to carefully pick the mecharachnid from the wreckage of several glass jars. Returning to her hiding place in the room opposite, Laverna packed everything away carefully and headed for the stairs. The doctor was groaning his way back to consciousness as she reached the top, but by the time he had raised the alarm, Laverna was long gone.