[A Time Apart] (Current IC) What once was

Grant:


The captain offers you a sword, which you wave off and pull your shield from your back. The captain shrugs and leads you out back, to a dusty training area. "Alright, I'll let you begin. We'll go to disarm, no drawing blood. Let's see how well you use that shield as a weapon, if you're going to turn down a blade."
 
“Yes, sir.”


Here it comes, moans Grant. This is where I make a fool of myself. She can feel her stomach dropping.


Hush, now, thinks the Sentinel sternly. His eyes crinkle slightly around the edges as he regards the captain.


Between one moment and the next, he has slipped his shield loose from his arm and sent it sailing unerringly towards the captain’s sword. It strikes, not with a clang but with a sweet ringing sound, like the pealing of a golden bell. The sword goes flying, end over end, to land point-first in the ground as the shield flies past the captain, ricochets off a wall and comes soaring back to the waiting hand of the Sentinel, who slides it quickly onto his arm again. All in the space it takes a man to draw breath three times…
 
Grant:

You do realize disarm with a ranged weapon normally carries a -4 external penalty?

:P
Caught by complete surprise, the captain's grip on his sword is not nearly strong enough to hold against the heavy thrown shield, and he looks askance at both Grant and his shield after a long moment, before chuckling and grabbing the sword, running up and slashing down against the shield itself, to test the strength of its bearer.


Three strong strikes prove fruitless to even mar it's surface, and Grant can grin a bit about the strength he feels behind the blows. His own strength is more than the captain's.


Everyone else:


Ilusia shakes her head, though it's easy to tell a great deal of the animosity has drained from her. "What help? Why do we need it?"
 
The Sentinel deflects the captain’s blows easily, barely shifting position. A swing of the shield at the sword, its great weight aimed as precisely as an arrow, but with all the impact of a battering ram.
 
"You said it yourself. There's a fae ready to invade the city. I told Rose that I had received special training in combating the effects of the supernatural and magical. The thing is," He looks around at his friends that were still in the building. "We all have. In our own way. If a fair folk wants to start trouble, its gonna have to get through us."
 
"And we haven't had nearly this much trouble with the fae until you all showed up. Whatever." Ilusia sighs, and then sinks into a chair near Rose.


Rose, still awake, pats Ilusia's hand lightly and shifts herself to a more upright sitting position. "I'm...ok."


Ilusia shakes her head. "No, you went overboard again. Quit doing that, especially for strangers, and even more when they're not even going to be able to pay you well."
 
Grant:


The blows go back and forth for several long minutes, before the Captain holds his free hand up calling a halt to the practice. "Damn. You're definately a very good fighter with that shield. Can't even break your guard."
 
"Hey now." Dylan gives Ilusia his best hurt look. "You know full well I'm planning on payment. I just need half a day off from this insanity."
 
Satisfied that there wasn't going to be any further drama, Jake slipped out of his ready-stance and quietly exited the area, letting Dylan handle things here while he went to work on the plan they had worked out.


Considering his lack of any real social graces, he figured that the most effective way for him to gather information was with the Fly-on-the-wall approach. Simply drifting from place to place, eavesdropping on conversations that looked important under the veil of his natural stealth skills, he slowly gathered up as much information as he could.

Perception 3 + Stealth 5 = 8 dice = 6 Successes
 
“Thank you.” The Sentinel bows acknowledgement, taking the opportunity to get his breath back. “You’re mighty quick with that sword yourself.”
 
Grant:


"No where near enough to break your defense though. I think I'm going to be putting you out on the east trail tomorrow. You've probably got the best chance at figuring out what the hell's going on out there."


Jake:


Most of the conversation in the town consists of nothing much at all, though you do manage to uncover evidence of an unfaithful wife. The talk of the raiders is fairly high on discussion topics, but beyond hearing that they mainly raid from the eastern parts of the forest you don't uncover anything new.


Everyone else:


Ilusia shrugs. "So what are you going to do next then?"
 
Displeased with his lack of success at finding anything new but happy that there was nothing devious going on, Jake decided to rectify his previous mistakes regarding the runner. Heading towards the edge of the city, he stopped before truly leaving, mindful of what had been said about rampaging Fair Folk.


If he was going to find the runner, he needed two things above all: the location of the runner, and the guile to smuggle him back in to Black Branches. Thankfully as a Night, he had both. Moving to the highest he could while not drawing suspicion and still have a view, he gazed out among the first and tilted his head to listen for the sounds of humanity among the trees.

Perception 3 + Awareness 3 = Six Dice. Paying Six Motes for 3 Auto Successes brings me to a total of 9 Successes


2nd Awareness Excellency = 6 Motes


Keen Sight and Keen Hearing and Touch Technique = 6 Motes


Personal Pool at 8


Peripheral Motes at 39
 
"What should you do?" Dylan says, asking himself more then anyone else. He almost turns to Grant, before realizing that the shieldbearer had left. We really need to stop running around until we have a concrete plan.


"Well, it's getting late. You, Ja- Walker, and Ryuuka are gonna need a place to stay. There's that Green Dragon place, so the hard part is gonna be finding a way to pay. Sentinel probably has a bunk with the guards. And I can't go outside glowing like this. Besides, I should probably stay with Barbara." He looks to Ilusia. "If that's alright, of course."
 
"What about the leadership of the village? Shouldn't they be informed?"


"Miss Ilusia, how is the village governed?"
 
Jake:


With the power of a Solar Exaltation and the Night Caste charms, there is little that goes on in the miles around that escapes the sight and hearing of Jake. The fae has apparently moved more north now, and Jake can hear some sort of whimpering from that direction as well. There are entirely too many trees and too great a height difference to pierce the shroud. To the east, the rustle of leaves are heard unnaturally as someone is fairly good at stealth themselves, approaching as quiet as they can be. In that direction, sight is less impeded and Jake can see the runner trying to quietly make his way back towards Black Branches.


Others:


"There are two nobles currently in town right now, though only one actually governs here." Ilusia mentions.


Rose nods to Dylan. "You may all stay tonight, though I expect you to all be out at sunrise."
 
Dylan gives a thankful nod, one problem out of the way. There's a gleam of an idea in his eyes however. He wanted to talk to the two about making a more permanent arrangement. But it would be better to ait 'till the next day. Let Rose time to recover, and Barbara some actual rest.
 
Bria winced a bit at Rose's comment, but knew she should be appreciative. "Thank you Rose. I, I'm sorry about what happened in the jungle."


"Dylan, I think I should see if I can learn anything more about what happened here. Maybe there will be someone who can remember, or.. records, or something." I have no idea what to do, but I have to do something...
 
"If you're not going to talk to the noble, then find one of the louder taverns. People who're drunk tend to be a bit more willing to talk." Dylan grins, speaking through experience. "Less likely to remember odd questions, too."
 
Bria nodded and slipped out the door. Ok, you can do this. Just have to find the right person... She walked between Rose's building and the next and hunkered down and shifted into a dragonfly. Newly equipped with mobility and social invisibility she flew through the town taking it all in. She tried to imagine it up in the trees like it apparently had been. Eventually she had relaxed a bit and started listening in on anyone older or important looking, sizing up her targets and trying to soak up all the general information she had been so thoroughly lacking the first time she tried to talk her way in.

Per + Socialize I'm guessing, let me know if there should be anything else rolled. She's trying to find a good place to start, and she will definitely try to get into the place where the nobles are if she can.
 
"Take this." Dylan calls before she leaves. He removes a small, blood-red stone from his bracers and tosses it to her before cracking a joke. "The last thing we need is you getting drunk the first night in town."

Dylan's lending Bria his Bloodstone. It gives the wearer immunity to all poisons and diseases, which includes the effects of alcohol.

:P
 
She tosses it back deftly, "You worry too much." Sticking her tongue out at him briefly she ducks out the door.
 
"One of us has to." He responds automatically, then rushing to the door before it closes and calls after her. "And how come that's me?"


He walks back over to the ladies and plops unceremoniously down in a chair, pocketing the hearthstone. "Speaking of drinks, I know I could use one."
 
I'm fairly certain hearthstones only work for those attuned to their manses anyways.


Also, JayTee. The runner is closer, only about a half mile out. The Fae and whoever is whimpering is a little over a mile out.


Bria:


Much like the information that Jake found earlier, Bria's compound eyes spy out many things with regards to Black Branches. She catches the woman sending her beau out the back door just minutes before her husband stumbles in the front, drunk from the bar she was on the way to visiting. She waits a moment, but apparently the wife is good enough dealing with the drunk husband that he doesn't suspect anything.


Heading out again, she finds herself buzzing through both of the inns that were mentioned earlier. Here, she is able to spy on any number of patrons, slipping in between them but staying far enough away that she doesn't get swatted. It'd be horrible for a dragonfly to hit back a person harder than they hit.


She isn't finding much of interest with any of the current residents of the inns and taverns, until she almost literally flies into one man. Dodging up at the last second, she manuevers fast around a hand trying to brush her away. Much more difficult than expected, until Bria sees a clear shot out of his range. The man, bald shaved head and gray eyes watches Bria's bug body, before he chuckles. "Apparently I am out of practice, little bug, if I cannot swat you. It is no wonder I have but one breath."
 
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