#baronyofthesilverwolf

"Hmm." The nocker walks around, calculating angles. She brings out a hunk of concrete to prop underneath the beam.

The crucible shifts, dust an gravel crumbling, but it doesn't move all the way. Art moves in and throws his slender shoulder under the beam, pushing. Briar, snorting - "Out of the way, wiener." She shoves as well!

Thistle notices that she can adjust the fulcrum for better leverage!

"Waiiit!"

Freeze!

Adjust, adjust!

"Try it now. Archimedes an' drek."

And she tries AGAIN

Ernie was looking out the window, but then tries to join in "Manly Piskie"

Gladiola's mighty muscles bulge - Art heaves, sweat popping on his fair forehead. Madern pushes, throwing his shoulder into it... Briar tries, but as Gladiola gives a powerful shove, she is lifted OFF the floor and her legs just dangle in air. "OI!"

But with their effort and Thistle's guidance, it's enough! The lever creaks, the crucible shifts, lifts... and falls, with a THUD, upright.

The lid, still attached by one hinge, sits loosely at the top, with a visible gap.

"I need to excercise more" Gwen fusses at herself

Gladiola can see DENTS in the steel bar where she gripped it!

"Mind the gap" Madern points out in a subway announcer voice

"Yeah, yeah, we'll need to seal that...."

"You're the one with pyretics... you blow torch I'l lshove it in place under your direction?" Gladiola asks

"We seal it AFTER the smoke is inside..."

"Get the monster in, pitch in a boatload of fireworks, and seal?"

"Preload some fireworks, get the smoke monster in, pitch in an m-80, and THEN seal like the wind."

"Should I preload now?" Ernie asks "We don't have much time"

"Load, man!"

LOADING!

Briar hoots and hollers, running to the far end of the factory floor. "Hey, you pusbucket! Over here!" Buying Thistle and Madern time to pre-load.

Even as impressions tickle their minds.

Thistle is in a mad scramble with Madern, directing layers for maximum boom!

Gwen gazes at the incoming creature seeing it... differently. She scowls and readies her spear

Forutnately, Ernie has good response time and amazingly nimble fingers! Those fireworks are being thrown in fast

Art stands between Thistle (and Ernie) and the beast, his sword drawn and shining, even in the tainted light that filters through.

"C'mon, you cuckold! You LIAR!"

Briar blows a raspberry as the snake dives in, then there is a burst of magic - quicksilver! As she zooms out of the way before it can crash upon her. Smashing into the floor, it puddles, tendrils thrashing and seeking like something out of The Thing (which is an Ancient Movie that maybe only Briar has seen) and then snaking along the floor after the Childling. Briar shrieks, "Is the goddamn pot ready?!"

"These big good strong hands hold a spear, you ass"

Gwen says with gritted wolf teeth

"Man, you ain't no Tim Curry" Madern says the last of the fireworks in that he had to put in

"Madern, be ready with this." An m-80 is shoved into his hand.

He takes it and nods "Got it"

Briar swings around and darts part Gwen, doing loops to distract the thing until Thistle gives the word.

The beast, however, turns - it has smelled Thistle. Well, not smell, not exactly, but something about the Nocker draws it in, ignoring the tempting taunting morsel before it to dive towards Thistle instead.

GWEN is within spear-thrust range as it dives past....

She bares her teeth. "Oh, yeah. You tink I don't know you?"

"You PONDSCUM!" She waves her arms - she's standing right by the crucible!

"Charlatan! Prevaricator!"

"You're as false as a ChatGPT book report!"

Gwen was going to stab, but another idea occurs to her, and she waves her spear about as she sees where thistle is going "Turn around, tell me what you see .. a nocker there, taunting your fat foggy dreaaaaam... you are born of filth and fire, drive us to our homes but here with Briar's corby, we're gonna crack your dome it's gonna be GOOOORRY..."

The tune is ripped from a movie with ..questionable lyric subsititions and only average singing but the bunk should help her with her cantrip when it is time

"Jesus CHRIST, my ears were the only thing NOT being assaulted!" Briar moans!

Gwen stabs the spear and points, bunk done she yells "Dont get knocked in! Move!" and...

The wind howls as if angry at the chimera for polluting it's sky! It pushes and shoves seeking to drag it to the cauldron like a wolf dragging a boar down to the dirt

The wind shoves and blows at the Beast, whipping away huge gouts of smoke and miasma, shoving and edging the main body of the creature towards the mouth of the Crucible rather than it's target of gulping down Thistle. It's helping, but not quite enough, such is the creature's intensity and focus...

However, there is one more obstacle in the way, and ARCTURUS holds steady even through the gale that rips his mask free and sends it flying off - swings his sword and it slices into the core of the beast!

Black ichor wells out, and for just a second, a flash of brightness beneath, that is quickly swallowed up again by the ooze. But it is DISTRACTED before it can clamp down on the Nocker, just long enough for...

BRIAR to step forward next to Gladiola, taking refuge from the gale behind the Troll and perhaps comfort in her looming presence (not that she'd admit it), and ORDERS - "HEY - FUCKWIND. GET IN THE GODDAMN POT BEFORE I RIP YOU TO SHREDS!"

The strength of the wind plus the ORDER of the Bully Browbeat force the creature into the Crucible, coils and tendrils spilling in after it. It's MUCH larger than the steel melting receptacle, or so it looked, but it pours and pours in... until it is all contained. But for how long before it shrugs off the intimidation?

"MADERN! NOW!"

"ROCKY, READY ON THAT LID!"

They must work FAST, as soon as the gale is let up, the monster will try to reemerge...