Exalted Third Edition: An-Teng

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream





Halcyon pales slightly as she listens to the Sorcerer's explanation and glances at the piece of parchment she's been handed. "I have no idea what this means, but I'm glad you're here to make sense of it," she says, slightly bewildered. "Prince Craig, I assume you've procured cold iron for us?"

 

[Sherwood]

Kiera frowns at the thought of going up against other Exalts. Who else could it be, but some other Chosen? She idly plays with her chakram on her arm as she listens to the others. "So long as we work together, I'm sure we can find the answers we seek."

 

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream


Halcyon smiles warmly at the new arrival, "Hello Kiera. So much optimism from everyone. I expected the stereotypical dour mercenary types. Shame on me. Shall we set out, then?"

 

[JayTee]

"One moment." Said Kyros, and clapping his hands once. Before the sound had finished echoing, knotted muscles and tendons appeared from the air, warping and distorting and becoming covered in mattered red fur. A Blood Ape.


He then snapped his fingers once, and with a shimmer of iridescent colors and a flash of light, a man-sized, twisted vision of a wasp appeared beside Kyros. An Agata.


"Follow us by air, keep out of sight. Should you see anything approaching, inform me immediately." He said to the Agata, before turing the Blood Ape. "Scout ahead of us, keeping an eye out for unusual activity, particularly anything sorcerous or smelling of the Wyld. If you come across anything of note, return and inform me." He said.


Both demons gave a grunt or a buzz of acknowledgment of their orders, before fading back in to their immaterial state. While he could not see them, he Kyros knew that the demons were following his orders to the best of their ability.


Satisfied he had done what he could to maximize their chances of avoiding an ambush, he turned back to his fellows. "There, I am all set for our departure." He said.

 

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream


Halcyon nearly topples from her perch as the demons materialize, her daiklaves leaping into her outstretched hands. She suppresses the reflex to strike when Kyros addresses them, instead gagging on the terrible stench wafting from the collection of knotted muscle, tendon, and fur rapidly assembling itself into a Blood Ape. "That's putrid! That thing makes week old corpses seem a fragrant bouquet." Relief washes over her face as it vanishes, but moments later she again looks like she's struggling not to throw up. "The smell isn't going away!" She groans, "You can still smell them when they're immaterial, and we're downwind. Couldn't you have summoned something less disgusting?" She glowers at Kyros as she concentrates momentarily, creating a buffeting wind to sustain a bubble of fresh air from above around herself and keep out the stench. Straw bedding from inside the cart she's perched on is caught up in the small maelstrom and swirls around her as she breathes deeply and sighs in relief.

 

[Sherwood]

Kiera had her own bad feelings about demons, but she keeps her opinions to herself. Instead, she goes to her horse and swings up into the saddle. "I am ready to ride, woe to my backside for my new set of saddle sores. Just so we all have an idea of what to expect when we run into trouble, what does everyone bring to the fight? I am hardly the front line fighter type, but I do manage to throw a mean chakram or two, and I am remarkably hard to spot when I want to vanish from sight. What can the rest of you do when it comes to facing trouble?"

 

[JayTee]

Kyros couldn't hep but smile at the reaction his demons provoked from Halcyon. "I do apologize. Normally I keep them downwind to prevent the oder from being noticeable, but this was not one of those times."


"While I am not defenseless, my skills primarily lie in the realm of sagely wisdom and occult manipulations." He continued, answering Kiera's question. "The demons will have to suffice, for now." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the complete truth either.

 

[Rykon]

Craig grumbles slightly as he continues loading the wagons, "Aye, I brought me some cold iron weapons." He said as he pulled on two articulated gauntlets. "If any one you need your own cold iron gear, we keep a small cache within the city. Speak now if you feel like you'll need it. Otherwise, I'm pulling this caravan out of the town."


If the party chooses to stop by the cache, a large variety of weapons are available, but only 3 or so of each type would be kept in stock. Up to this point, fae haven't historically been much of an issue for An-Teng as a province. Afterwards, the caravan moves on past the giant steel gates and through the rolling hills of and dense forests of fairly tropical country side. The caravan eventually settles down after about 40 miles of travel outside of town, Craig and the drivers begin to unload some camping equipment and fold out some shelters from the sides of the wagons, as another prepares a fire ring.


Those wanting to survey the campsite and it's surroundings give me either a Perception + Awareness, or Perception + Investigation roll. The ability used will determine what sort of details are applicable to the rolls.

 

[Esbilon]

Rising Tide





A swordswoman without a sword is not an impressive figure, so Rising Tide does make sure they passe the cache and collect a weapon for her use. The weapon she finds that suits her best is quite at odds with the elegant, flowing form of Crashing Wave. It is a fierce and jagged thing of blackened iron, but the blade is sharp and the balance deadly, even if it looks out of place in the young woman's hand.


She sits a horse comfortably, though hardly expertly and keeps a watchful eye on the horizon as they move through An-Teng. When they arrive at the camp site, she quickly dismounts, however, preferring to take a look around the camp on her own two feet.

Spoiler

Spending 11m from my personal pool to add 6 dice to my per+awa roll and activate Sensory Acuity Prana for the scene.


Personal: 2/8 (13)


Peripheral: 28/28 (33)


7 successes!


[dice]16724[/dice]

 

[JayTee]

Walking in a steady circle around the campsite, Kyros examined the location for anything of interest, keeping an eye on the horizon for any potential ambush as well.

Spoiler

Investigation check, spending 4m on an excellency


[dice]16726[/dice]

 

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream


Halcyon spends the journey pestering the caravan staff for local folktales and traditional songs, and generally making as many friends as she can while enjoying the scenery. Well used to the martially inclined taking care of camp setup and security she reclines by the fire with her sanxian in her lap and launches into a soulful rendition of one of the songs she's learned, the story of a famous heroine on a long and lonely pilgrimage to see the Golden Lord lamenting the long absence of her lover. When she brings that song to a close she instead switches to something more uplifting to lighten the mood, a ribald riverboat shanty recounting all the humorous ways the crew will spend the vast riches earned at the end of a particularly long and dangerous trade voyage down the River of Queens. Her voice is high and clear, and where the ever present susurrus of the jungle does not stop entirely as if craning to listen it serves as a counterpoint and perfect accompaniment to her performance.


She has long since learned that any situation in which a fire is permitted is not one where stealth is a goal, and thus sees no reason she shouldn't enjoy herself thoroughly this evening.

 

[Rykon]

Rising Tide notices the density of wildlife grow more and more sparse the further the caravan gets from town, despite the vibrant landscape. The campsite itself seems fairly secure from the threat of any wandering predators, but their absence leaves you feeling odd.


Kyros notices old animal tracks leading away from the direction you are heading, looks like maybe a couple of days old. Perhaps a survivalist could give more specifics than what you can tell, but at least one of the fleeing tracks includes a large reptile, likely a Tyrant Lizard.

 

[Esbilon]

Rising Tide


Confident that there is no immediate threat to the small company, Rising Tide returns to where the more experienced travelers have gathered around Halcyon Dream and her sanxian. Once there, she carefully unstraps the swords of iron and jade from her back, and sits down in a kneeling position. Once the Paragonese emissary picks up another tune, she rises to dance along with the melody.

 

[Sherwood]

Kiera smiles and clasps along with the song that is being played.

 

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream


As Rising Tide begins to dance, Halcyon watches at first casually, then with mounting curiosity, and finally with a single minded focus that eclipses her surroundings. By the end of the song, Halcyon is playing purely to see Rising Tide dance, eyes shining with enthusiasm, the rest of her audience long since forgotten.


She gently lays her sanxian aside before leaping to her feet and rushing forward to clasp Rising Tide's hand, her enthusiasm bubbling forth in a torrent of words, "That was simply magnificent! And all improv! Never have I seen anyone dance with such grace and skill. I would love to perform with you. We could give An-Teng a show the likes of which it has never seen before! I promise I'm good. Who did you study under, and are they accepting new students?"

 

[Esbilon]

Rising Tide


The younger woman is visibly flustered at Halcyon's manner, and when her mind catches up, she all but blurts out: "Mnemon Faujin. I... I think he is probably accepting students, but he's far away. In Arjuf."


A moment passes somewhat awkwardly before she adds, "I would love to dance with you another time. This was just for fun, and to come down after the ride. Performing is something else entirely," she finishes with a nervous smile.

 

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream


"Hmmm, Arjuf," she shakes her head with mock disappointment, then smiles mischievously, "No, I agree, too far. You'll simply have to teach me instead." She pulls back, keeping a gentle grasp on Rising Tide's fingers with one hand as she twirls underneath before pulling back again, "When we win this great battle, you must promise me you will let me see you perform. I will play and you will dance. I declined payment, so instead my reward will be witnessing a performance as spectacular as the victory." She squeezes Rising Tide's fingers, eyes entreating, "You will do this for me, yes?"

 

[Esbilon]

Rising Tide


A blush rises on the young woman's cheeks, Halcyon Dream has quite the presence about her, and made quite the first impression the previous morning. "Yes... Yes, of course," she replies quickly, her eyes averted to look at their joined hands. "But I'm not sure I'm much of a teacher," she demurs, "dancing... dancing just came naturally to me. I don't actually know very much about it."


"Also," she adds after a moment, now looking more somberly at the other woman's face, "I don't think this will just be a great battle. Finding a foe in the dessert that doesn't want to be found can't be easy."

 

[Sherwood]

Kiera nods in agreement. "True. But, we all bring a different set of skills to the table. Between all of us, we should be more than able to solve this mystery."

 

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream


Halcyon squeezes Rising Tide's hand once more for good measure, her smile widening, before releasing it and stepping back. "Easy? Perhaps not. Yet Kiera has the right of it - how could we fail having secured the aid of a mighty Sorcerer who knows the nature of our enemy better than they know themselves and a cunning explorer for whom the wilderness may as well be a second home?" She pauses and looks at Kiera. "Incidentally, is the wilderness your second home?"

 

[JayTee]

"If the wilderness is your forte, I could use your opinion on something." Kyros said. "I've recently come across the tracks of a Tyrant Lizard. I wonder if we might be within their hunting ground, or if we have simply stumbled across them by chance." He asked.

 

[Sherwood]

Kiera laughs as she rubs Whiskers' back. "Not quite. Usually, I'm a city girl. But, my skills for acquiring rare and special items have led me out to the fringes of civilization on more than one occasion."

 

[Random Word]

Halcyon Dream





Halcyon's eyes go wide as she turns to regard Kyros' approach. "A Tyrant Lizard?" She asks, incredulous. "Is it... nearby?" She looks askance at her daiklaves. "I don't know if these are big enough... I hope it's frightened of fire."

 

[JayTee]

"They are a few days old, and heading away from us, but I'd rather not take chances." He replied. "I'll send one of my demons to do a quick check if we don't have access to immediate answers." He said, getting ready to send an effort of will to another of his Blood-Apes to have it hurry along and check.

 

[Esbilon]

Rising Tide





The young Dawn Caste lingers for a moment after Halcyon Dream has let go of her hand, but at Kyros's mention of the great beast, her eyes widen and she resolutely walks to strap her swords back on. "The trouble with a foe like that," she says, taking another careful look around to make sure one isn't encroaching on them right now, "is not in defeating it, it is in ensuring that it does not do irreparable harm in the meanwhile. It is big, strong and tough, but a thousand cuts will leave it bleeding to death, but if all the while it is free to ravage the camp and those who cannot protect themselves from it, what good does its death do?"