Exalted III: Poorly-Named Game

Ukkoya


She grins. "First light tomorrow.


"I have to tell you, Master Kyros, I'm proud of Lorikeet, but she's a fair small vessel. Our accommodations may be a bit rough." She hopes the sorcerer's not planning for a full entourage.
 
"I'll manage." Kyros said reassuringly. It wouldn't be the first time he had roughed it, and unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be the last.
 
Ukkoya


"Heh."


After they clear the first plates, Ukkoya points at the documents. "Looks as you've more cards to put on the table than me, Master Kyros," she says cheerfully.
 
Later that evening, when the hour was right for the ritual, Kyros drew out the circle and lined it with the appropriate reagents for the summoning.


Starting a low chant, he spoke the demon's name three times in Old Realm. With each invocation, the light given by candle slowly faded from it's orange-red glow in to a sickly green.


With the third speaking of the demon's name, silver-white cracks began to appear in the air above the circle, like those of a spider's web. Soon after, the demon came scuttling forth from the depths of hell, and Kyros lashed out with his will, binding it to his own.


It was a brief struggle, the demon's mind was overwhelmed by Kyro's own, such that it never stood an honest chance. Once the contest was over, it was pliable and respondent to his commands.


"Vlirvakh, here my words and obey. On this island there is a woman by the name of Red Wire. Go to her and obey her as you would me, 'till such time as I give you orders anew." He said, giving the demon directions to Red Wire's location, as well as instructions on how to properly introduce itself so it wouldn't be accidentally murdered by the Red Wire or her crew.
 
Alright, that'll do.


There's no need to send the demon off, incidentally, since Red Wire is coming to pick it up. But you can if you want to.


Are you bringing any demons aboard the ship? If so, some of the sailors might take offense.
The Lorikeet sets off at first light, as planned. The seas are calm near the island. But once you've moved away from land, the waves become wild and strange. As you pass over the edge of the world, the sea twists beneath you and winds strike from every direction.

If you're activating Chaos-Cutting Galley or any other Charms, let me know. The sea here is difficulty 2 to cross. Should be easy for you.


I notice you still haven't updated to the altered Charmset. Do you need help with that?
After an hour or so in the chaotic seas of the Wyld, the lookout catches sight of a sail. Out in the distance, heading your way, is a ship of folded paper. It glistens in the light, half-transparent, as it approaches.


The men grow nervous. None would presume to tell you what to do here, but it's clear that they hope you'll avoid the ship and its mysterious crew.
 
Kyros watched the paper ship in the distance, amused at the novelty of the phenomena. Leave it to a denizen of the Wyld to apply a children's toy in such a literal way. His curiosity getting the better of him, Kyros reached in to his coat and pulled out the Scrying stone. He was about to begin his investigations, when a thought occurred to him. "Captain, Ukkoya. I have in my possession an item that will allow me to remotely view the contents of that ship on the horizon. There is little chance of detection, but courtesy compels me to ask you thoughts before doing so. You are the captain, after all."

I'll be bringing my demons, yeah. They'll be immaterial unless there is an absolute need for them.
 
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All of your demons?


Are you telling the crew that you're bringing them?
 
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Ukkoya - Chaos-Cutting Galley


The dawn light seems catch on Lorikeet, rosy gold spilling across the decks and racing down the mast to suffuse the ship. Ukkoya grins fiercely.


The laugh lines around her eyes soon fade. She bares her fangs at the roiling sea. Lorikeet soars and dips but avoids the worst of the waves. She dismisses the other ship as a mirage upon first sighting, but her eyes sharpen as Lorikeet crests and the strange ship's translucent form reappears. Definitely on intercept.


"Let's have a look, Master Kyros." She turns and motions Third Cloud and Koarr to join them.

Personal: 3/13
 
The paper ship is small, smaller even than Lorikeet. The squat, tattooed, purple-skinned creatures that crew it don't have much room to move, and either they're close to port or they neither eat nor sleep because they don't have hammocks or provisions aboard. The ship has no weapons, but its crew is well-armed.


The captain of the ship is very different from his crew. He's tall, tanned, and devilishly handsome. His clothes are paper, like his ship, and so is the scabbard of his sword. The sword itself appears to be some kind of crystal.


The hull of the ship, the clothes of its captain, and the skin of its crew are all covered with Old Realm text. You don't really have time to read it, but it looks like a story about the glory of the Paper Court and the greatness of its treasures.


The sail catches the wind, but clearly has nothing to do with moving the ship because it's pushing in the wrong direction.


The crew looks tough, and ready to fight, but they're not psyching themselves up for a battle or anything. You're pretty confident that they won't just attack out of the blue.
 
"Fair Folk from the paper court. Non-aggressive, by the looks of them, but fairies being fairies, we may want to steer clear for now." Reported Kyros.
 
Ukkoya


Ukkoya nods once. Turning, she calls out, "Adjust heading, two points off the port bow!" Seeing Koarr's expression, she says to him, "And let's gear up for negotiations, just in case."


"Jade or blade, Captain?"


"Jade. " She sizes Third Cloud up. "Black coral 'n mother-of-pearl for our director 'ere. And spread out the armoury, but tell 'em not to go brandishing 'em around the deck."


Koarr heads off, clapping two other fellows by the shoulder to help him distribute the goods.


"Any change in their heading, Master Kyros?"
 
The paper boat changes tack to meet your new direction, its body twisting like a living thing as it moves. The sail appears to have no effect on anything.

Opposed Sail rolls, here. You win, you avoid them. They win, they get within shouting distance. They roll 11 dice for a total of




[dice]24508[/dice]
 
Ukkoya - Chaos-Cutting Galley


She clicks her tongue. Ridiculous sail craft. The winds were not in Lorikeet's favour either. "Watch the keel!" she barks.

Personal: 1/13


Using (2m) Immortal Mariner's Advantage for disappearing 1s and 2s. Salty Dog Method gives disappearing 6s.


7 successes.


[dice]24525[/dice][dice]24526[/dice]
 
Kyros frowned at the approaching ship, and slowly began gathering Essence in case of an assault. "You are more experienced at sea than I, captain. Does their approach appear hostile?" He asked.

Int + Occult Shape Sorcery action, Flight of the Brilliant Raptor. 11 dice nets me 1 success
 
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The paper ship tries to pursue you, and for a while it's almost able to keep pace. But soon you come to a place where the water bounces up and down like a spring. The Lorikeet handles it beautifully, while the paper ship loses speed and is left behind.


The journey's pretty eventful, all things considered. Bouncing water is soon replaced by pillars of water and holes in the sea, which soon gives way to a sea which spits giant bubbles of water into the sky to burst with terrible booming sounds. But it's nothing Ukkoya and the Lorikeet can't handle, and both ship and crew remain blessedly unwarped.


As the sun sets, you come within sight of the Islands of Glass. It's actually quite beautiful, the way the setting sun shines through the central mountain of the first island. Third Cloud says that his friends are on that island, and points to the natural harbour where you should be able to find them.


As you approach the island, a storm becomes visible on the horizon to your north-east. Should be easy to ride out if you dock, but not so easy to handle on the open ocean.

Difficulty 2 Wits + Sail roll to handle all that weird Wyld-sea stuff. Should be easy for you. Remember, you're allowed to give yourself a 1-point stunt bonus.


Difficulty 3 with Perception + Occult to notice something weird going on here.


The storm is no threat if you go to the island. Stay on the sea, though, and you'll need to roll against difficulty 4 or be caught in it.
 
Kyros watched the island and the storm as they made their way towards the Island of Glass, keeping an eye out for any strange occurrences.

Perception 3 + Int 5 + Excelency 4 = 12 dice for 7 successes
 
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You get a strange sense of intent from the storm. This is the Wyld, so a storm with emotions is not too shocking, but...it seems to be deliberately cutting off your path away from the island. Moving to trap you there, just as Third Cloud's crew was trapped.
 
Ukkoya


"May well be, Master Kyros."


Cheers ripple through Lorikeet as they bounce ahead of their pursuers. She eases her grip on the railing--and the water columns come into view.

[dice]24593[/dice]
Breaking through the stunned silence, Reln looses a roar against the columns, and the crew rallies to face challenge after challenge. Ukkoya barks out orders, keeping their enthusiasm from spilling over into chaos. She grabs the ropes as they risk running at full sail to ride the shockwaves of the giant booming bubbles.


At last, they see the siren sparkle of the Islands of Glass. Knocking back a mix of rum and tea, Ukkoya eyes the spreading storm, a dark blot against the orange-streaked sky. Conversing with Kyros, she nods her head in the direction of the Islands. "Time to make landfall? Or do we make with preparations before we wade in?" Being captain, she'd rather face the sea-devil she knew. But there were stranded and injured sailors waiting for them.
 
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Kyros frowned at the storm, and answered Ukkoya's question as best he could. "The storm seems... alive, like it wants us to stay on the island. If we land, we may not be able to leave. How well do you trust your navigation skills to get us off an island blocked by a possessive storm?" He asked. "I you think we can make it thorough that squall on our way out, then Landfall is our best option at the moment."
 
Ukkoya


The corners of her eyes crinkle. "I put a fair bit of trust in all this." She taps her nose and lazily waves at the rest of the ship. She turns on her heel to address the crew. "We're bigger than Third Cloud's raft, but we can thread our way out just the same. Take her in, lads!"


To Third Cloud, she asks, "There a signal we can raise for your men?"
 
"Not really. They said they would wait here, or leave a sign if they had to go somewhere else...but I don't see anything."


The ship reaches the shore without incident. Most of the men aren't terribly keen to disembark, though; the island's warping power is amply-demonstrated by Third Cloud's presence, and although they don't really know the details of their captain's magic they know it keeps them safe aboard the ship. Which isn't to say that they won't go if ordered.


(Assuming you disembark...)


The sand here is odd; it crunches beneath your feet in an unfamiliar way. Looking closer, you can see that it consists of tiny glass beads rather than normal grains.


The former campsite of Third Cloud's crew is easy enough to find. Unfortunately, there's nobody there. Signs of a violent struggle abound, but there's no blood and no bodies.

Perception + Investigation is appropriate for investigating the campsite.
 
Kyros surveyed the area, taking samples of sand and water as he went before making it to the campsite. He gave it a wide birth, and all but ordered everyone else to do the same, lest it be disturbed before he could have a chance at examining it.

Perception 3 + Investigation 3 + Excellency 4 =10 dice for 3 success
 
Ukkoya


Sensing some reluctance, Ukkoya says, "We're losing light. Need some men to stay on board, patch 'er up after that bout." She nods as some hands go up."And take first watch and help out the cook. We'll be back and we'll be hungry.


Rest of you, let's get the torches." She takes the lead with Third Cloud.


The party comes to a halt outside the encampment. Some of the men whisper amongst themselves as the sorcerer investigates the scene. They keep their pikes and torches raised.
 
Reln volunteers to come along, as do First Sparrow, Janjahar, and Tepet Miran. First Sparrow is nearly fearless and an excellent fighter, while Janjahar loves to go new places and see new things. Them volunteering is no surprise. The last volunteer, you didn't expect: Tepet Miran is very quiet and generally mysterious. He's been with your crew for a long time, and you still don't know why someone with that aristocratic name is working as an ordinary sailor.


After a few minutes of searching, Kyros is able to piece together what must have happened. One man was standing watch, the rest were sleeping. Something approached, either leaving no tracks or leaving tracks indistinguishable from that of the men. The sleeping men woke up and a fight ensued. No blood was spilled, but each man was disarmed - their broken weapons are still lying around the camp. Then the men were bewitched, intimidated, or otherwise made to walk away from the beach towards the mountains in the center of the island. It's also possible they were knocked out or otherwise carried off, but the most recent-looking tracks suggest that they simply walked.


It looks as though all this happened some time ago, perhaps the night after Third Cloud left. The tracks are old, but fortunately it doesn't seem to have rained - they're probably still follow-able.

As always, you can veto crew backstories.


Following the tracks is a difficulty 1 Perception + Survival roll.
 
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