Into the Ruins - Exalted 3e IC

[Purr]

O Mighty Fat Cat's old armor provided a fine howdah from which travelers of the Lucky Fat Cat Express could ride in relative comfort and ease, but with his new silken armor - the Brilliant Manifold - the amount of comfort and style has improved noticeably. As O Mighty Fat Roc listens to the Circle's conversation. Unable to speak, thrice, he turns his gargantuan feathered head to eye the Circle with something akin to a grin from his massive beak and a slow and sure nod of agreement.

The first to Amara's statement:

I say we rest up a short distance from the city until morning, then advance during the day into the tomb itself to avoid any angry ghosts.

The second to Grey Stone's:

"Still, it is generally wiser to avoid a fight if at all possible."

And lastly to his longest friend among the Circle, Aredin:

"Once again, I'd like to remind everyone that any ghosts, spirits, and the like that cross us in our expedition here can't really threaten us if we keep to our diplomatic manners while we're here. We can negotiate for this relic if we must, as it is for a noble cause. Otherwise, our priest and arsenal should be more than sufficient that the dead keep to the rest they've earned in life." Aredin adds. "Besides, it might be more dangerous to linger here in the open overnight than it would to merely see to our business and leave. We don't know what else has taken shelter here after all."

 

[jaydude]

"Once again, I'd like to remind everyone that any ghosts, spirits, and the like that cross us in our expedition here can't really threaten us if we keep to our diplomatic manners while we're here. We can negotiate for this relic if we must, as it is for a noble cause. Otherwise, our priest and arsenal should be more than sufficient that the dead keep to the rest they've earned in life." Aredin adds. "Besides, it might be more dangerous to linger here in the open overnight than it would to merely see to our business and leave. We don't know what else has taken shelter here after all."

Grey Stone looked towards Aredin, while mentally cursing himself for forgetting such a game-changing fact.

"It would seem the people who claim that old age makes it harder to learn speak the truth," he admitted, his tone taking on an edge of self-deprecation. "Very well. Assuming that none of us are too tired or have any other misgivings, I say we begin exploring now, under the protection of our Eclipse."

 

[Chowlett]

(Ooh, I misread my own stat - the specialty is not "Shamanic interests of the East", that's the whole stat. No matter, the last die was a non-success anyway)

Glade waits for the others to conclude their discussion, and nods at Aredin and Grey Stone. "We should still spend as little time in there as possible. The stories say that Rathess was once a noble city, built by the Dragon Kings; and birthplace of mankind. It is told that the young mortals would hold a race across the disc of the city every Calibration. Only the very best athletes would complete the crossing within 2 hours.

"The city was arranged in segments, like a citrus fruit. The humans - and thus Exalts - lived, died and were buried just south of the eastern spoke. Their tombs are the subject of many legends and songs. It is agreed that they are close to the outer wall. We should land on the easternmost edge, and start our search from that city gate. But we should take care - it is said that great celestial lions guard the tombs; I know not if they would be subject to Aredin's divine diplomacy."

 

[Rykon]

"I would think heavenly entities would by definition be subject to heaven's authority which enforces this power." Aredin replies with a nod and a smirk. His hand resting on Adorei's pommel. "If that's somehow not the case and they attempt to strike without warning, I will try not to enjoy reminding them of their place... much."

 

[Psychie]

The early morning rays of sunlight are just starting to creep over the horizon as you approach the general whereabouts of the ancient city. While you basically know where to look, none of you have ever gone to Rathess before to have its location locked in. You just know that it is out there, somewhere, in this general area.

As the Fat Cat Airborne Express flies higher, a series of three low hills catches your eye. A closer look reveals that they are not just hills, but three massive pyramids built in a row inside a great circle of a city next to a large lake. Also, rising up from the greenery of the jungle in the overgrown city are three huge towers rising up easily three thousand feet high, measuring about three hundred feet square at the top. A fourth tower is there, broken in half, with the rubble of the fallen piece having crushed a large chunk of the city around the base of that tower. Looking down at the city from the air shows that there is a section that at first glance appears to be flooded, but it is clear that the city is built to be filled with dozens of small pools of water. The savants of the group would know that one of the breeds of Dragon Kings were amphibious in nature, so they were at home in the water.

Welcome to Rathess.

With all the keen eyes looking down, you can spot that there is a eighth of the city that has a different style of construction to it, with the buildings looking a little less 'alien' to your human eyes. It is probably the human section of the city, where the necropolis and the associated First Age tombs are located. Silent Glade's knowledge of the city's layout tells him that the tombs were on the outer edge of the city, along the outer wall. With that in mind, it is not hard to spot the ornate buildings that make up the graveyard. There is a fairly large park that is not far from the wall that roomy enough to accommodate the oh so large Fat Cat in his roc form if you wish to land there. Or you can pick some other landing point, perhaps on top of one of the larger buildings either inside or nearby the graveyard.

What do you wish to do?

 

[Chowlett]

Glade points out the park to The Circle. "See there - that is close to the tombs. Unless any of you see a reason why not, I suggest we land there. Make our stay here as short as possible."

 

[Purr]

Glade points out the park to The Circle. "See there - that is close to the tombs. Unless any of you see a reason why not, I suggest we land there. Make our stay here as short as possible."

Drifting lazily through the sky on majestic wings that rise and fall softly yet greatly, O Mighty Fat Cat nods to this assessment as well.

 

[Psychie]

As the giant Lunar soars closer to the indicated landing spot, it is clear to all that there are signs of recent habitation by something in the city. Small, skittering creatures, roughly humanoid, can be seen running away and hiding from you. Not that it is a bad idea to hide from a Roc that decided to land in their midst.

From somewhere not far away, the relative silence of the morning is disturbed by the sound of a drum being pounded, followed by other drums that take up the alarm across the city. It is clear that you have been noticed and something is here that is now alert and looking for you.

 

[Sherwood]

Amara doesn't draw her blade yet; she wants to keep her hand free in case she needs it for something. Jumping down from Da Chonk's back, she points off toward the graveyard and the tombs of the old Exalted. "That way. Quickly!"

 

[Eonivar]

Over the journey to Rathless, Mercy kept herself busy asking her Circle on better ways to observe and notice things, and practicing what they recommended as they flew.

She also was thinking about much she had read back at the manse and had observed. She wrote quite a bit while flying until she was able to put together the technique on how Solars of the past could destroy spirits. She kept what she was studying to herself as she figured everyone else was busy doing their own thing. So this kept the normally quiet Mercy, very quiet for the last part of their journey.

She listened to the conversation as to where to go and went with whatever was decided. The closer to their goal the better in her opinion.

Mercy in preparation to go out as Da Chonk was circling and preparing to land, goes through a now familiar routine of casting her daily protective spells, her skin turning to that familiar hard bronze tint with her Invulnerable Skin of Bronze, and then her pulling the flaming sword from her heart to summon her Virtuous Guardian of Flame. The floating flaming sword turning into a small ball of light that follows along with her. She then instinctively activated her Spirit Detecting Glance.

She then made sure her gear was arranged adequately to be able to move easily and quickly, and that Black Wind was easily available for her use if need be. She then jumped down off of Fat Cat and followed Amara while glancing around.

 

[jaydude]

Deciding to follow Amara and Mercy's lead, Grey Stone took hold of the haft of Faith's Pillar, before jumping off the back of the Lunar. He winced internally as his feet hit the ground - with his build, it was only natural that he'd have a much louder landing than the two women - and followed his companions, activating his own spirit-detecting Charm as he did so.

[OOC: Spending 3m Peripheral Essence on Spirit-Detecting Glance.]

Spoiler: Grey Stone Stats

Essence: 1
Personal Essence: 13/13
Peripheral Essence: 25/33
Anima: Dim

Willpower: 7/7
Join Battle: 5
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1,-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 1

Attacks
Faith's Pillar (10 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 18, Overwhelming 5, Bashing, Melee, Reaching, Smashing, Two-Handed)
Unarmed (13 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 15, Overwhelming 1, Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural)

Actions
Rush: 6
Disengage: 6

Evasion 4, Parry 4
Soak/Hardness: 4/0

Effects:
Spirit-Detecting Glance (The Solar can look through the pall of reality to glimpse the realm of spirits beneath. With this Charm, the Solar can see (but not touch) immaterial spirits.)

 

[Rykon]

Aredin trusts Mercy and Grey Stone to address or call out any spiritual interference for the time being. For now though was a very material, very real shuffle of various beings responding to their approach and he will focus his senses toward tracking them as they are. [Activating Sensory Acuity Prana]

With senses heightened in a foreign albeit studied domain, Aredin filters the beat of the drum through his memory. Who are they, and how will they treat us? What can he recall of the latest tales of Rathess? [Just making a mundane Lore roll in case it helps. 3 successes. 4 if Harmonious Academic Methodology applies given Aredin's specialty in Ruins and historical encounters with various supernatural entities.]

 

[Purr]

O Mighty Fat Cat glides softly down, his unfurled majestic roc wings catching the air until the last of his Circle has disembarked. With them away, he smiles in tremendous satisfaction - another delivery done! He had gotten the Circle to Rathess as promised! This makes his heart as a Deliverer swell with pride. O Mighty Fat Cat had asked for a price, the Circle had paid it handsomely, and he has kept his part of the bargain. For the trip back, he is likely to do the same - once they are outside of Rathess's territory, that is.

So far, their being spotted by unknown forces here was to be expected, but who could have known there were so many people among these sacred tombs? Tombs where Lunars held history?

Had this been a jungle jaunt or a forest adventure, O Mighty Fat Cat's first intention would be to become one with the woods in some form easily hidden. But here? Where they have been spotted by many? Company was likely to come and soon! O Mighty Fat Cat decides to focus on his Luna-given powers to transform from one of the mightiest birds upon Creation to certainly one of the most unusual cats of the day - his Fat Cat animal form!

"Urrr-r-r-owr!" he exclaims excitedly as he becomes a humongous furry cat. His pointy ears turn this way and that as he listens to the sounds of the drums and the tombs. Where would the Circle travel next in the tombs of Rathess? Where would their promises to the spirit of Solar-Wizard, Dunbar Kirk, and Wood elemental, Antonia, take them now that they had reached the fabled tombs of Rathess?

 

[Chowlett]

Speaking quietly, so that the only the circle can hear, Silent Glade says "Carry on. I am following, but I will be unseen." He then darts down a side street and follows the rest of the circle, Night's anima encompassing him so thoroughly that no-one sees him pass.

OOC:
Activating Easily-Overlooked Presence Method for 3 motes - Glade is perfectly unnoticeable so long as he does not take "overt action".

I'd like to get up high, if there are any scalable buildings around and if there are traversable routes across the roofs (and doing so won't break EOPM). Psychie - what time of day is it; what's the light like?

Spoiler: Glade stats

Essence Rating: 1
Personal Essence Pool: 13/13
Peripheral Essence Pool: 20/23 (/33 total)
Attuned Essence: 10
Willpower: 5/5
Free Willpower from Cult (Recharges once per story): 1/1
Health Levels
-0
-1
-1
-2
-2
-4
Incapacitated

Natural Soak: 5

 

[Psychie]

Both Mercy and Grey Stone's Spirit Detecting Glance can see that the area has a number of different spirits in the area, all of which are normal for a city. None of them do anything to try and interact with the group as the Circle moves through the wide streets.

Here and there the road is a bit choked with the rubble of collapsed buildings, but it is clear that there is something that uses the road you are on because there are clear paths that are easily visible, along with may tracks of small and some larger clawed feet.

Listening to the drums, Aredin seems to recall hearing that there are reports from various explorers that have traveled to Rathess in the past that says that the city had an infestation of cannibalistic humans and some Wyld twisted mutants in it that made research difficult. Hard to do an excavation when you are being hounded by savages trying to eat you. If these reports are correct, getting caught would be a very bad thing.

As the Circle moves, Fat Cat can catch the occasional whiff of something dank and unpleasant; the scent of cooked and decomposing human meat. But in addition to that nasty smell you get a trace of something not human, something reptilian. You have never come across anything like it before.

Silent Glade breaks off from the others and starts to head for a brewery alleyway. The buildings along this street are all of similar construction of hard stone. They range in size from smaller three story structures too much larger eight and ten story tall towers that can provide a good view of the city around you.

Chowlett how high up do you want to go? If you stick to the smaller three and four story buildings, you can easily make your way parallel to the Circle towards the graveyard. Going to a higher building will take you out of the path and put you behind the others.

From her position in the front of the party, Amara can see that the signs of habitation by whatever people that live here fade out quite suddenly as you get closer to the necropolis, as if the residents of the city don't want to get too close to the tombs at the edge of the city. The walls of the graveyard were at one point several stories tall, but there are many places where the wall has crumbled and you can see pathways between tombstones that stick up in between larger mausoleums. The pathways are not overgrown with plants and coveted with scattered rubble in the same way that the city streets are; it is clear that something is at work maintaining the paths and keeping them clear. But there is one thing you do not feel as you get near the wall: there is no taint of the underworld like what you could feel in Aldurtown. There is energy here, but it is alive and peaceful, not dark, dead and filled with despair.

Looking around, the Circle on the street do not see an actual entrance to the graveyard other than the breaks in the wall.

From his vantage point on the rooftop, Silent Glade can see a swarm of several hundred ragged looking people with dirty furs rushing in the direction of the others, all of which appear to be armed with swords and clubs. Not a welcoming sight.

What do you guys wish to do?

 

[Chowlett]

Chowlett how high up do you want to go? If you stick to the smaller three and four story buildings, you can easily make your way parallel to The Circle towards the graveyard. Going to a higher building will take you out of the path and put you behind the others.

(Three storeys will be fine. I want to keep up, but be an unseen extra person that any attackers aren't expecting.)

From his position on the rooftops, Glade takes in the situation; the peaceful graveyard, the nearest break into it, and the approaching rag-tag horde. He calls softly down to the rest of The Circle. "Many people run towards us. Three, maybe four hundred. Crude weapons. It would likely not be hard to beat them, but that is much blood. We could stand, or we could run for the tombs, through the wall there."

(OOC - 5 Solars and a Lunar shouldn't have any problems with a battle-group of a couple of hundred, right?)

 

[Sherwood]

At this point, Amara points to one of the holes in the wall and says, "We are here for the tomb, not to slaughter countless hundreds of savage residents of the city. Is there any reason why we shouldn't just continue forward with our quest and get out of here?"

 

[Purr]

At this point, Amara points to one of the holes in the wall and says, "We are here for the tomb, not to slaughter countless hundreds of savage residents of the city. Is there any reason why we shouldn't just continue forward with our quest and get out of here?"

O Mighty Fat Cat's fur is up, his mouth is closed, and his huge eyes and turning ears are as open as they can be as the suspense of the oncoming tidal wave of danger continues to mount. After hearing Amara's recommend, the jungle Lunar opens his feline maw and seems to echo the one-armed warrior's assessment but with an added sense of immediacy.

"Arr-owrr!"

With that said, and with the Circle outside, not taking advantage of terrain, and fighting on the cannibals' home ground (for what other human would provide the scents of cooked human flesh that Da Chonk noticed earlier?), the Fat Cat takes action.

"Rrr-awwr!" He meows again just loud enough to hopefully gain his Circle's attention. The he points with urgency up to the beautiful and comfy howdah upon his back. He quickly skitters over to Amara and with one big paw, he moves to scoop her up and place her there if she allows this.

His plan is to have everyone board him one way or the other and get out of this open ground before the Circle gets surrounded by hundreds of cannibals and who knows what else!

 

[Sherwood]

Amara looks back at the large Lunar and comes to the realization he wants them to get on his back once more. She says, "Ok, big guy. You seem to have a plan, so let's see what you have in mind. C'mon everyone! Back on the Fat Cat Express!"

With that, she leaps up into the howdah and grabs on, not knowing what he is about to do.

 

[Eonivar]

Mercy thinks about preparing a spell that may wipe all of those Cannibals off the face of creation and then thinks otherwise, figuring it would just attract more. For a moment, there is a brief flash of fire spots around her..that seemed to be in the form of butterflies...only for them to fade.

She nods at Amara and follows her sisters lead, jumping back up to the Howdah on the Fat Cats back.

 

[Psychie]

With the various Exalts back in the howdah (except for Silent Glade, who is still up on the top of the building looking down), Fat Cat is now ready to set out once more. As you leap into motion, the first group of savages burst out of the underbrush with weapons raised. The lead members of the horde skid to a stop at the sight of the huge Lunar, giving you enough time to get away from them. Getting closer to the wall, Fat Cat can see that there is a large finely worked gate that your initial glance might be made of wrought iron, but with a second glance you can see that it is actually made of shining golden metal that has been overgrown with vines and other plants.

Purr You can either head for the gate, or make your way to one of the broken spots in the wall. What do you wish to do?

Chowlett What is Silent Glade doing during all of this?

 

[Purr]

Chowlett Eonivar jaydude Psychie Rykon Sherwood

"RRRRAWWWRRR!!"

Staring at the natives with his huge ominous eyes and baring his large sharp teeth, O Mighty Fat Cat shrieks at the natives in an attempt to back them off, or even better, frighten them away. There will be no dining on Exalted flesh tonight if he has anything to say about it!

Bolting evasively into a full run like only a cat can, O Mighty Fat Cat realizes he does not know which tomb they are supposed to be going to.

Using his Glance-Oration Charm (which helps him to be better at communication when in his animal forms), and coupled with his naturally-animated expressions, O Mighty Fat Cat lets out one inquisitive "ORR-RAWRR?!" to his Circle.

He hopes it sounds in tone well-enough for him to excitedly ask, "WHICH WAY?!"

 

[Sherwood]

Amara grabs onto the seat to keep from getting flung out by accident and shouts to Fat Cat, "The gate! They're may be wards in the walls that might be why the savages don't approach! Get to the gate!"

 

[Eonivar]

Mercy leans over sitting next to Amara and holding on to not fall off in the frantic flight. She looks and peers at the gate looking for any signs or runes or a reason that the cannibals will not approach.

 

[Chowlett]

Glade's not keen on a pitched battle either. For as long as he can keep pace with Fat Cat on the roofs, he will continue to do so - but as soon as the Lunar looks to be getting out of range, he'll leap onto the howdah (let me know if I need to roll).

I'd also like to see if I can guess whether the crumbling wall or the GLOWING ORICHALCUM GATE is the safer point of ingress, in terms of where wards were likely to be placed, for which I'm going to guess at Int+Occult. 5 successes