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Into the Ruins - Exalted 3e IC

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Sherwood Sherwood

Del’s trip through Creation to the nearest Celestial Gateway is uneventful, almost as if the various traveling brigands and wandering creatures know better than to trifle with you when you are in such a mood. When she finally gets to the Gateway, Del can see that security is increased with the addition of more of the Celestial Lions along with several Brass Legionaries. Your identity is inspected with vigor before you are finally allowed to pass into the city. A fine example of closing the barn door after the herd has run away.


Eonivar Eonivar

Od has a similar experience as you enter Yu-Shan with the heightened tensions all around you. You can see off in the distance a plume of dark smoke still rising from the devastated building housing the Bureau of Destiny. It is a stark reminder of what has happened is not a bad dream.


When you both reach the building, you can see that the upper level of the structure has been blasted out and a large part of the building has been ravaged by fire. Pools of blood are evident on the ground outside the building but there are no more bodies left in the open. There are scores of armed security guards standing nearby, along with airships keeping watch from above while crews battle to get the raging fire under control. The two of you more find yourselves standing near one another with a protective ring of Dragon Blood Exalted around each of you.

An officer approaches and gives each of you a respectful bow. “Sir. Ma’am. It is good to see you both alive and well, especially with what has happened. Of those that were in the Grand Hall, there was only one survivor. He is badly wounded and is being healed as we speak to prepare him for the interrogation he’s about to have. Would you like to see him?”
 
The red cloaked Odeal, or "Od" the Crimson Archer and General stepped forward, his red eyes gazing back and forth amongst the carnage, analyzing the destruction, trying to deduce what had happened. Od much to his nickname was a contradiction. A man of common appearance, but with a strong mind, charisma, and keen reflexes. He had a reputation to be a generally pleasant fellow despite being a dynast in his born life, he was kept too busy in his lower ranking duties in the strict hierarchy of the Bureau of the Maiden of Battles to really be concerned with the constant controversies between Bronze or Gold factions. He was known to be an excellent archer, a starmetal bow was slung on his back, along with a quiver of arrows that hung on his belt.

The dark haired man with the crimson cloak that stood in the cadre of Dragonblooded protectors was a dark shadow of the normally charming and happy fellow that would offer a bow or a smile to any and all of his brothers and sisters, regardless of which Maiden or Faction they served. The man here, usually cleanly dressed, was unshaven and his clothes dusty from long travel, and his normal jovial visage had been replaced with a grim and melancholy look.

His red eyes gazed out at the destruction and then looked over at Delilah, their eyes meeting and recognizing each other. "Well met sister Delilah, it is good to see you alive..but I...I..."

His voice trailed off...catching...taking a deep pained sigh..he shook his head in sorrow and anger...his hands ball into fists, for a moment his anima flickered in rage, there was a brief a flash of red...and one could almost hear the sound of an army of bows being drawn before it faded into the winds of Yu-Shan.

"but...I.cannot find the words..." A tear fell down his cheek.
 
Del looks on the tragedy of the ruined Bureau of Destiny and the armed guards all around and can feel the emotion well up inside her. Without saying a word, she goes over to Od and pulls him into a hug, not just for his needs, but also for her own.

After a moment like this, she lets her fellow Exalt go and takes a step back to be able to look Od in the face without having to crane her neck up. She says, “This is not the reunion I had hoped for, but it is good to see you.”

She looks at the Dragon Blooded officer that told them of a survivor of the attack and says, “Yes, we will need to speak with the survivor as soon as possible. I want to hear first hand at what went on here.”
 
After such a long journey without the contact of any others, Od found comfort in the long hug. It gave him hope that there may be others still alive although with the information of what he had been told and what he could see with his own eyes, he suspected that there were not many left. He gazed at Delilah recalling what he knew of the Chosen of Serenity. He knew she had been in the order longer than he had but they had been in different conventions and maybe had crossed paths but a few times. He knew she was of the Gold faction but that never mattered much to him, there were only five score of them, and every one was family to Od.

He gave a bow of his head at her response. "No, definitely not the reunion wanted, but a timely and needed reunion nonetheless."

He turned to the Dragon Blooded Officer Delilah addressed. "Yes, let's speak to the survivor." As they turned and moved in Od continued in his questions.

"Are the Maidens with us still? Any of the other gods? Anyone else?"
 
The Dragon Blooded officer motions for the two of you to walk with him as he talks. “Yes, the Maidens are still with us, along with all the Celestial Incarne. The attack caused general havoc and fear across the city as the terrorists raced out of the building and killed anyone that they came across. Fortunately, most of the attackers have already been hunted down and dealt with.” He heads over to a waiting airship, and once you are onboard with your escorts, the ship takes to the sky.

As the ship travels along, the officer continues talking. "We don't know how the demons and their allies made it past the guards at the Gateways. We suspect that there were collaborators that were killed when the attack took place. What we do know is that once the bulk of the Order had been gathered, Chejop Keyjak took eight Exalts with him and left for Creation. After that, a series of explosives went off in the chamber that the rest of the Sidereals were in, killing many outright and wounding many others. Then the rest of the attack took place with the sudden appearance of ten Second Circle Demons along with a number of unknown Exalts. They systematically went through the room and executed everyone except our one survivor, and we found him pinned to the wall with a spear, critially wounded and barely alive. I suspect that he was left as a witness to the carnage, a message to the rest of Yu-Shan."

The skiff settles down and the hatch opens up, and the escort force of Exalts forms a protective cordon around the two of you as you are led into a healer's hall with even more guards positioined around to keep the one witness protected. You are ushered into the building and led to a private room with a pair of doctors working their trade on the wounded man. He is horribly scarred, so bad you don't even recognize him, with the shaft of the spear still sticking oiut of his chest.

The lead doctor looks over at the newly arrived group and says, "You don't have long. We have to get him into surgery soon or there won't be any chance for him at all."
 
After the explanations of the Dragonblooded officer on the airship, Od turned and looked out over the city, lots of questions which he voiced out to the skyline.

"Why would one of our own betray us? Did Chejop betray us? Was it one of the terrorists? Who did not notice explosives set in the Great Hall? Who would have set them up? "

Upon entering the healers hall, Od glances at Delilah. "Sister of Serenity, I would let you do the talking here."
 
Del moves over to stand next to the wounded man and looks down at him. "Dear brother, what can you tell us about what happened? You must know something that can help us to deal with our enemies." She wants to reach out and touch him, to show some sign of comfort, but with his severe wounds she is afraid that it would only hurt him more.
 
Sherwood Sherwood and Eonivar Eonivar

The wounded man manages to cough out a startling tale of how Chejop was in a rage when he came to the meeting, saying that Mnemon, the daughter of the Empress and head of that Great House gave proof that the Empress was now the willing thrall of the Ebon Dragon and was now actively working to bring the ancient evil back into Creation once more. He gathered eight other Sidereal Exalts to join him in an effort to kill the Demon Queen once and for all. Once they left, the hidden explosives went off, killing many and wounding more. Then the rest of the slaughter began with the help of two members of the Order!

With all but the two traitors dead, the remaining demons turned on them and killed them, then they left to wreck havoc in the building and the rest of Yu-Shan. He doesn’t remember much else and is whisked into surgery to try and save his life.

The Dragon Blooded officer takes the report to heart, but doesn’t discount the possibility that what the wounded man was telling you is all planted information. He finishes up his discussions with you by saying that there are some that are actively questioning the fact that the two of you were conveniently not here during this meeting, and if you were to remain in the Celestial City, you might very well find yourselves in custody undergoing harsh questioning. With that said, he leaves you to make your decisions on what to do.

Rykon Rykon jaydude jaydude Chowlett Chowlett .

Back at the glade things are quiet and both the ghost of Dunbar and the wood spirit Antonia act as exemplary hosts to you, allowing you all plenty of good time to rest and explore the manse. Dunbar instructs all three of you how to bypass the defenses and wards of the place, giving you the ability to travel freely around the area.

Purr Purr .

At the tomb of Mor’du, the goddess Luna makes sure that Fat Cat is ready to travel once more, charging him with the important duty of watching over the Solar Exalts that he is traveling with, saying that they show some promise, but they need the guidance of the Chosen of Luna to get the job done. She then bids you safe travels and disappears herself. You know that there are other artifacts interred with the body here; do you take any or leave them?
 
Delilah lets out a deep breath and waits for privacy before turning to look at Od. “It would appear that we were betrayed by members of our own order, and because we did not die in the attack, we are under suspicion. I think . . . there is an enterprising band of Exalts that Korran wanted me to aid that might be a valuable asset in proving our innocence and stopping the Demon Queen from her plans to bring her unholy husband through to Creation. We should leave here in short order and go to these Exalts. I have been given valuable information by Korran; activation codes to one of the remaining two Directional Titans that still exist in Creation. It can be a valuable weapon in our arsenal that we desperately need right now.”

Eonivar Eonivar
 
It did not take long for Od to see the writing on the wall just as Delilah was explaining to him. He sighed...and shook his head in resignation, it all hurt...his own brothers and sisters betraying them and destroying the place he had grown to love and have a lot of pride in, only now for the same place and people to be suspicious of him.

"Well I do not have any resources or leads to any armies to fight....just myself and my skills...so I am more than willing to assist you in whatever you have. Lead the way."
 
At the manse, Glade spends his days usually out in the close environs: meditating under the trees, training, or conversing with the birds for any news they might carry.

At night, around a campfire in the manse's grounds, he sits and eagerly exchanges tales with Dunbar and Antonia; carefully listening to the ancient ones' reminiscences and mentally cataloguing them among his rich trove of oral history.

I really ought to actually train - that is, spend some of my XP...
 
Purr Purr Rykon Rykon Chowlett Chowlett jaydude jaydude Sherwood Sherwood Eonivar Eonivar

It takes several days for Fat Cat to make the journey back to Antonia’s glade where you find Aredin, Grey Stone, Silent Glade, Antonia and the ghost Dunbar seated in the grass outside in the early dusk of the setting sun enjoying the view of the light dancing on the clouds as evening draws near. Seated with the group that you know are two strangers, a man and a woman that are not immediately familiar to you.

These two strangers are, of course, the two Sidereal Exalts Odeal and Delilah. They both arrived at the glade a few short hours ago and Del was able to remind everyone of who she is and introduced Od to the others.

They sight of Fat Cat coming down into the glade brings a smile to Antonia’s face as she rises up to greet you.

The party is now all together. What’s do you do now?
 
Del stands back from the newly arrived Lunar to avoid any misunderstandings between him and the unknown pair of Exalts standing here until he can remember her and get to know Od enough to not forget them right away. She offers up a pleasant smile and keeps her hands off of her weapons as she waits for the others to introduce them to Fat Cat.
 
Aredin nods as Fat Cat returns after the long trip, though he gives his friend a tired smile. "Welcome back friend. I hope things went well. Unfortunately, it looks like we may need to be traveling again soon. So we won't have too much time to rest."

He turns to their company to remind him of all the newer faces. "If you'll recall Filial Wisdom is still among our number, as is Delilah and one of her associates who survived miraculously. Do you two mind introducing yourselves and your respective talents?"
 
With a smile for Aredin, saying, “As you wish.” Del then steps forward and offers up a respectful bow. “I am Delilah Kanto, a Sidereal Exalt and Chosen of Venus. We are . . . weavers of fate, using our talents and knowledge to correct flaws from forming in the Loom of Fate. My caste’s focus is on relationships. That can be between two people, a group of businesses, or even nations. And this little guy,” she nods down at the crystal spider hiding behind her leg, “is Cid, my friend and helper. I would be lost without his guidance.”

Eonivar Eonivar
 
Od stepped up and took his best "Speech of a General" pose.

"I am Odeal, friends call me Od, I am a Sidereal Exalted like Delilah here, except I am a Chosen of Mars, the Maiden of Battles. We oversee conflicts of all sorts to make sure they align with the Weave of Fate. I am very familiar with all aspects of war including armies, technology, logistics, training, strategy and tactics. I like to think I am a somewhat personable soul, and I am also pretty good with a bow. No matter what, the Empress must be stopped at all costs or all of Creation will suffer."
 
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"I agree with the assessment that the Empress must be stopped," Grey Stone said, before remembering his manners and bowing to the pair. " Forgive me. I am Grey Stone, a Zenith Caste Solar."

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 11/16
Peripheral Essence: 40/40
Anima: Dim
Committed Essence: 5 (Faith's Pillar)

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
 
Glade looks as if he is about to half-bow to Del and Od, opening his mouth as if to introduce himself; then he catches himself, straightens, and walks over to Fat Cat. He murmurs into the big Lunar's ear:

"There is something... slippery about those two. I don't mean I don't trust them - they seem true enough, and are eager to join us. It's just... you know that feeling when a word is on the tip of your tongue but you can't quite recall it? It's like that with those two. Don't let it catch you off guard"
 
Filial offers up a shrug, then says, "I have no problem with taking on the Empress. I just wonder on what the best way to do it is. I know that there are a lot of secrets hidden in Rathess, secrets that I only scratched the surface of. But the idea of a floating fortress that has been hidden away in plain sight for years has its appeal, especially if this one," he looks over at Delilah, "actually does have the secret operating codes she has promised."
 
Del tries to control her irritation at the implication that she may not have the codes that she has said she does. "Yes, I do have the command codes needed to activate the station. All we need to do is get to the throne room and the Titan is ours. Of course, getting up to it will take the ability to fly, which should not be a problem for our illustrious Fat Cat, taking on a flying form large enough to carry all of us at once."
 
Psychie Psychie Sherwood Sherwood

O Mighty Fat Cat returns by way of flight, not as a humungous and magnificent Roc, but as his own spirit-self, howdah and all - except now... now he has four great feathery wings! These he glides in on and upon landing, he gives Antonia an affectionate rub with his large head. It is the least he can do, he feels, for the kind of friend the wood elemental has been to him and his Circle.
Rykon said:
Aredin nods as Fat Cat returns after the long trip, though he gives his friend a tired smile. "Welcome back friend. I hope things went well. Unfortunately, it looks like we may need to be traveling again soon. So we won't have too much time to rest."

He turns to their company to remind him of all the newer faces. "If you'll recall Filial Wisdom is still among our number, as is Delilah and one of her associates who survived miraculously. Do you two mind introducing yourselves and your respective talents?"
Click to expand...
"Aworooowr!" Da Chonk in all of his plumpness holds his head up high and grins with great pride, his toothy smile displaying his happiness to all. He head-bumps Aredin too and nods at his friend's words. Turning, he listens to both of the newcomers. To Odeal, Fat Cat simply bows and nods.

Sherwood said:
With a smile for Aredin, saying, “As you wish.” Del then steps forward and offers up a respectful bow. “I am Delilah Kanto, a Sidereal Exalt and Chosen of Venus. We are . . . weavers of fate, using our talents and knowledge to correct flaws from forming in the Loom of Fate. My caste’s focus is on relationships. That can be between two people, a group of businesses, or even nations. And this little guy,” she nods down at the crystal spider hiding behind her leg, “is Cid, my friend and helper. I would be lost without his guidance.”
Click to expand...
But to Delilah, Fat Cat can only stare. He did not know her name, but he had definitely made her acquaintance at some point in his life. How odd! thought he, that he could forget such a marvelous beauty (O.O.C. Delilah's Appearance is 5. Per Core 148, "The character’s Attribute is at the apex of human potential— it’s the stuff of legend! The character is a serious contender for world’s strongest man, a once-in-a-generation genius, or a born leader whose charisma will change the course of history.")! She was almost too beautiful to be believed! Da Chonk was stunned at his lack of memory. He remembered having known her but he had no clue as to her name?

And she addressed him as if they were just meeting! What was going on?

Chowlett said:
Glade looks as if he is about to half-bow to Del and Od, opening his mouth as if to introduce himself; then he catches himself, straightens, and walks over to Fat Cat. He murmurs into the big Lunar's ear:

"There is something... slippery about those two. I don't mean I don't trust them - they seem true enough, and are eager to join us. It's just... you know that feeling when a word is on the tip of your tongue but you can't quite recall it? It's like that with those two. Don't let it catch you off guard"
Click to expand...
In Fat Cat's world, no one in present company knew mysteries and illusions like Silent Glade. Fat Cat stopped smiling as he digested Glade's most-appreciated warning. Something was up.

And then this happened:
Sherwood said:
Del tries to control her irritation at the implication that she may not have the codes that she has said she does. "Yes, I do have the command codes needed to activate the station. All we need to do is get to the throne room and the Titan is ours. Of course, getting up to it will take the ability to fly, which should not be a problem for our illustrious Fat Cat, taking on a flying form large enough to carry all of us at once."
Click to expand...
That she knew his name was of little consequence; anyone present could have told her that... but "our illustrious Fat Cat?" Who in Creation's name was this woman? How could she go from addressing herself to him as if they'd just met (as opposed to, "Ah! Fat Cat! Good to see you again!") to such a clear statement of outright familiarity!

And she knew he could take on flying forms to carry all present? Fat Cat was utterly convinced that there was no way in Creation that he could have performed a Delivery for this Delilah and forgotten her. Her beauty was far too great - her features far too perfect. Sure, Fat Cat was a Lunar fully committed to Blessed Luna, but he was still a man! Men did not forget such nigh-perfect living fantasies as this Delilah before him.

Silent Glade was right as usual - caution was definitely the word of the moment, for something strange was going on! Displeased, Da Chonk nods to each of his Circle-mates, making them aware of his unease in the face of such evidence.

Unable to speak in his spirit animal form, O Mighty Fat Cat shifts his shape until he is standing tall before the two newcomers dressed in the livery of the Celestial Wildlands, his jungle home. His mighty arms are crossed as he stares as suspiciously as a savage beast in the wild.

"You know me and have met me," O Mighty Fat Cat's deep voice booms, "an' I? I have certainly met you." He stares at Delilah. "Perhaps you can refresh me memory of our meeting?"
 
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Del looks at the note transformed Fat Cat and says, “It is one of the strange side effects of the Sidereal Exaltation that unless we are using one of our alternate identities known as a resplendent destiny that we are easy to fade from memory. We first meet here in this glade before you set out on your trip to Rathess to return Spellbreaker to Mor’du’s tomb. It was when you used Spellbreaker to free Cadence from his curse that we learned that most of the Sidereal Exalted were killed by the Demon Queen and her minions. You then left for Rathess and I went to Yu-Shan where I ran into Od and we came back here to join in the effort to stop her from freeing her husband from Malfias. Does that help to shake the dust off your memory?
 
Filial says, “Ok, so we all know each other. My question is, would the effort to get this Titan up and running be worth it? Are there really the weapons we need to equip an army? Just how tough is this fortress?”
 
Del looks to Filial and says, "A reasonable question. I cannot guarantee the exact contents of the Titan, but according to the records I've seen it was abandoned with much of the supplies and equipment that would be needed to form the core of a very able fighting force. Once it is uncovered, there are scores of Essence cannons on the outer hull to protect it from direct attack, and with the Eye of Judgement, it is capable of delivering a massive attack against a target on the ground below the fortress. I am confident that it will be a valuable tool to support our efforts to bring the Demon Queen to justice."
 
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