Bay 12 Games Forum

"So, when are you going to put down Grey?"
"When he's done."

Spoiler: 'Cause I've been through the desert on a horse with no name... (click to show/hide)

*Name: Jason/”Octavian” Grey
Nickname: “Commander Shepherd”
*Age: 22
*Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation(I'll just assume you are straight if you don't put anything.): leave me alone
*Physical Description(The amount of detail you want to get into here is optional, I'd suggest as much as you can, but the minimum is hair color, eye color, skin color, height, build, and discerning marks, scars, tattoos, other such unique things, if you have any.): A bit above average height, though only by an inch or two; Jason is wiry, thin (not unhealthily, though), and quite bony. His hair is a dull red-brown, and he has a scraggly beard. His eyes are a pale brown, and usually narrowed; his skin is tanned. He holds himself in a relaxed manner, though his arms are regularly crossed.
*Fears: Being expected to know what he's doing - or even to come up with a plan for everyone - when he's completely clueless
Likes: Animals, cooperation, and technology
Dislikes: Social interaction (is uncomfortable), arguments
Habits: Needs to be doing something with his hands at all times. Tends to pace. Is almost always whistling or humming.
Hobbies: Treasure hunting, whittling, hiking, listening to music
Pet Peeves: people being stupid (from his perspective), poor communication
*Hopes: Eventually, get rid of Serapis. More short-term, find somewhere to set up as a reliable base, and locate some more useful tech. Middle-length goals, become better.
*Regrets: General ineptness at any sort of organization.
*Current Clothes: Wide-brimmed cowboy hat, a long robe, and underneath it, a light t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants. All good for not getting fried in the desert, and for carrying a nice collection of knickknacks.
Favorite color: Beige
*Stats (30 points to put between)
Dexterity: 6
Wisdom: 7
Strength: 3
Intelligence: 7
Vitality: 4
Charisma: 3
*Three magic skills: Metalshaping/manipulating, item enchantment, and “cold iron skin” (magic resistance and hiding, which extends to items he is holding, wearing, or otherwise carrying)
*Three mundane skills: Knowledge of how a variety of both modern and ancient items are made, ability to live off the land, and swordsmanship
Backstory and relations are to be PMed to Tir and I, you can choose to turn over the ability to pick the location of a relation to me, in which case they will likely have a more important spot in the story, but you will not know what it is.

Keep an ablative shield of dolls in front of you while you retreat. That will work, certainly. There's nothing wrong with that plan.

You slowly walk back, keeping your eyes to the top of the stairs until you reach the point where the stairs turn around. It's at that moment that the blurry white thing jumps into the light again. Its way of moving is disturbing, it doesn't move like a normal human, it alternates between pausing for a few seconds and then suddenly 'changing' into another stance. In this case into a white blur facing you and then jumping straight at you.

You order your dolls to get between you and it as quickly as they can while you retreat further down the stairs. It smashes into one, making the doll land on its back and then grabs the other by its neck and lifts it off the air.

It flickers like an image on an old TV, one moment facing the doll, the next facing you. It's hard to make out, but you somehow know that this is the doll you left in the room with the display cases. It's not unscathed from its attack on your doll, one of its arms having been broken and hanging limply on its side. For a moment you find it strange that you can't feel it. The next you immediately regret those thoughts, as you sense it reconnecting to your hive mind, but as something more than mere sights and sounds. It flickers and turns its attention back to the struggling doll in its grip. You feel its cold alien presence spreading through your network, reaching towards you like whispers in the back of your mind. The doll in its grip stops struggling, no longer responding to your commands. It serves a new master now.

Looks like this is one problem you can't beat merely by throwing dolls at it and hoping they eventually bury it.
It's at the middle of the stairs with your two dolls. You're at the bottom with your other doll. What do you do?