Lunar Fury - Exalted 3e IC

[Sherwood]

Gwen looks at the walls of the city with curiosity, wondering what they have to guard against out here. Obviously there is something, or there wouldn't be a wall. I just wonder what it is? She looks at the guard that is addressing them and asks, "Good sir, we have no desire to break any of the laws of your city, so can you direct us to an inn where we can get ourselves some rooms? We have been traveling a long time, and could use the rest."

"What is the law supposed to protect us from, if I may ask?"

1 success on the Int + Occult roll

The guard seems to be about to say something, then glances over his shoulder at the other guard that comes walking up, and says in a clipped voice, "No you may not. Go up this center road and you'll find the Dancing Boar Inn. They should have rooms enough for you. Just make sure you are either locked in your rooms or out of the city by nightfall. You've been warned."

The good feeling is familiar to you, but it is just not enough to go on.

Hazel changed back into her "human" form. But while she was out of sight of the town, she flipped the high collar of her cloak up to help hide her face, and brought her hat further down onto her head. No need to advertise herself. So she stayed behind the others to draw less notice.

Her ears, however did perk up at the feel of something unusual. Such a pleasant rush of energy where none was before.

Successes 5
Specialty(if applicable) 1

Once inside the wall, Hazel recognizes the very distinct feel of a very powerful manse that encompasses this area, providing the feeling of well-being that you sense now. You have never felt a manse this powerful before, even compared to your Hierophant's Eye.

 

[jaydude]

Selket turned to the others. "Well, shall we go to this inn?" she asked.

She was fast becoming curious about why the guards were so insistent upon everyone either locking themselves in their rooms or staying out of the city after nightfall, but she didn't believe that this was the safest time or place to discuss it with her companions.

 

[D. Rex]

Sherwood

May I use this effect to intuit more about it?

Spoiler: Anima Effect

For three motes, she senses the location and general nature of a nearby place of power or occult significance — a demesne, manse, spirit sanctum, shadowland, Wyld zone, otherworldly gateway, sorcerous working, or similar. She adds (highest mental Attribute) non-Charm successes on rolls to navigate towards it. The Storyteller should choose not the closest place of power, but the one that’s most interesting and narratively relevant.

And navigating toward it later be another spending of this?

 

[Sherwood]

Sherwood

May I use this effect to intuit more about it?

Spoiler: Anima Effect

For three motes, she senses the location and general nature of a nearby place of power or occult significance — a demesne, manse, spirit sanctum, shadowland, Wyld zone, otherworldly gateway, sorcerous working, or similar. She adds (highest mental Attribute) non-Charm successes on rolls to navigate towards it. The Storyteller should choose not the closest place of power, but the one that’s most interesting and narratively relevant.

And navigating toward it later be another spending of this?

Yes, you can.

 

[Psychie]

Gwen nods at the guard, and gives a pleasant, "Thank you, sir. We shall be on our way."

Once out of earshot, she looks over at the others and says, "Well, was that odd, or was that just me? What is going on here?"

 

[D. Rex]

The feeling of the manse made her whiskers tingle. Its presence was unmistakable. To happen upon such a greater manse was a rare thing indeed! Perhaps it was not such a waste of time after all.

The presence of the town here could only suggest that they built the town around it. She couldn't imagine them not knowing about it. And just maybe it had something to do with their odd curfew.

When out of earshot of the guards, "Its a manse." Hazel whispered. "A powerful one."

She closed her eyes, and let out a little of her essence, to focus on the manse itself. To see if she could learn more about it. Speak to me, great manse. She thought to herself.

Using 3 motes personal essence.

 

[jaydude]

Selket gave Gwen a look that clearly said "You noticed it too, huh?", before watching as Hazel attempted to commune with the manse.

 

[Sherwood]

When Hazel uses her Anima power, you can feel that the center of the manse that you are in is towards the center of town, in the direction you are going towards this inn. It almost is enough to give you a headache from the sheer power of the manse, throbbing around her. But any discomfort is immediately wiped away by the healing effect of being in the area effect of the manse. A strange feeling. However, the closer you get, you can tell that there is something about the geomancy of this manse that is off, and the flows of Essence are twisted a bit.

With everyone's guard up, as you head down the street, there is a general sense of wrongness about the place. Something is just out of place, and it takes a bit for you to decide upon what it is. There is no animal life at all in this town: no horses, goats, cows, dogs, cats, nothing. Just people, and even they don't feel quite right. They give you sad looks as you pass them by, almost as if they feel sorry for you. Some even shake their heads.

The Dancing Boar is a modest, three story tall building at the edge of one of the intersections of the city streets. You can see that it used to have a stable, but it has been long abandoned from disuse. Going inside, the common room is large, with seating enough to fit a good fifty to sixty people, and right now, it is doing a bustling business with about two-thirds of the seats filled. The raucous chatter immediately dies down when you walk in as people realize you are strangers, and all eyes turn towards you.

After a awkward moment of silence, a barmaid comes up and gives you a nervous smile. "G-good afternoon, good sirs and ladies. Can I offer you a table?"

 

[jaydude]

Selket looked around, doing her best to hide her mounting confusion at this place, before she shrugged and gave the barmaid a smile. "Thank you." she said. "We are a group of travellers come to this town, and were wondering if we could find rooms here in which to stay the night."

 

[D. Rex]

As she focused her mind on the manse she started to appear a little bit nervous. She didnt speak on it though. It could just be her slightly skittish nature, but to her the manse almost felt... sick. She wasnt aware such a thing could be possible. Perhaps there it was the manse itself causing the effect. It maybe there was some sort of blockage.

Regardless... she needed to see this manse in person. And they were getting very close. The on and off headache did her no favors. But she did stop trying to focus on it.

And maybe it was a good thing she didnt come to this town as a cat... with not a single animal in sight surely there was a reason.

Despite this, she was resolved. "Good sir!... ma'am, I mean. Good ma'am." She blurted out as she clapped her hands together dramatically (but not loudly, just for emphasis), "You must tell me of your manse. For it is ill."

Subtlty was overrated. Especially when dealing with a potentially fouled manse. To think that it might even explode! Or its splendid healing aura might go awry and twist people like it was a splinter of the Wyld. Something was awry with this field of essence. And it could only spell danger. Or mild inconvenience, bet it was better to not take that chance.

 

[Aranfan]

Two Mornings sighs, and leans in to whisper to gwen, "I don't have any money. Spot me?"

 

[Rykon]

The guard seems to be about to say something, then glances over his shoulder at the other guard that comes walking up, and says in a clipped voice, "No you may not. Go up this center road and you'll find the Dancing Boar Inn. They should have rooms enough for you. Just make sure you are either locked in your rooms or out of the city by nightfall. You've been warned."

Toun steps forward to back Gwen up, he pops his knuckles loudly. Unlike his unimposing spirit form, the Ice Walker's bulk towered over the guards of the gate. A blessing in large part thanks to One Tusk's personal training. With the imposing mass of muscles brought to bear, he glared death upon the new coming soldier. "Yes, he'd damn well better. These are my companions and they have asked you a direct question that pertains to their safety. Either inform them of the danger or I'm going to put YOU in danger pipsqueak."

[Stunting Charisma [+Strength] + Presence Intimidation to get answers. 9m +1w for scaring the truth out of these guys with an extra 9 dice a free success. A pathetic 6 successes total... yet again the dice call for blood.]

With everyone's guard up, as you head down the street, there is a general sense of wrongness about the place. Something is just out of place, and it takes a bit for you to decide upon what it is. There is no animal life at all in this town: no horses, goats, cows, dogs, cats, nothing. Just people, and even they don't feel quite right. They give you sad looks as you pass them by, almost as if they feel sorry for you. Some even shake their heads.

"This place had better serve meat if they know what's good for them." The grumpy full moon bellowed. "You don't fly for that long to eat grass and berries."

 

[Sherwood]

Toun steps forward to back Gwen up, he pops his knuckles loudly. Unlike his unimposing spirit form, the Ice Walker's bulk towered over the guards of the gate. A blessing in large part thanks to One Tusk's personal training. With the imposing mass of muscles brought to bear, he glared death upon the new coming soldier. "Yes, he'd damn well better. These are my companions and they have asked you a direct question that pertains to their safety. Either inform them of the danger or I'm going to put YOU in danger pipsqueak."

When Toun does his menacing bit, the two guards pale visibly, and one reaches for his weapon, but pauses. With a quavering voice, the first guard says, "We can't say. Its not allowed. All we can do is tell you the rules about either being outside the walls at night, or locked indoors. Its for your safety, and that all I can say. Really." He seems sincere, and somewhat scared.


As Hazel asks about the manse, the serving girl gives you a blank look. "What's a manse?" She blinks a few times, looking relieved at the news that you are all looking for rooms. "Oh, good! We have space available. How many rooms did you want? And yes sir, we do have meat in the stew. Would you like a bowl?"

 

[Psychie]

Two Mornings sighs, and leans in to whisper to gwen, "I don't have any money. Spot me?"

Gwen nods, "No problem. I got ya." Her mind is still spinning from the guards' reaction to Toun's glowering. What is it that they cannot tell us? What is going on here?

She looks at the waitress and asks, "Can we all get bowls of stew, and mugs of your brew? We'll decide how many rooms that we'll need soon enough. And baths, too. Can we get hot water started for baths?"

 

[D. Rex]

Hazel thought for a moment. "Does your town have something special in its center? That thing of which that gives you vigor and vim." She said, trying to describe what she might be looking for.

"No food for me, please." She turned to the others, "I must see this manse, first. I worry." Of course her worrying was nothing new. "But I shall be back soon enough."

 

[Aranfan]

Two Mornings pats Hazel's shoulder. "I'll help you look if you want it."

 

[Sherwood]

She looks at the waitress and asks, "Can we all get bowls of stew, and mugs of your brew? We'll decide how many rooms that we'll need soon enough. And baths, too. Can we get hot water started for baths?"

The waitress nods, and escorts you towards a table. "Of course. Please, find a table and I'll bring out some beer and stew for you all, and there are the baths down the hall that you can use once you let me know how many rooms you need. Just don't take too long. Its getting late in the afternoon, and you'll want to be upstairs with the doors barred before nightfall."

Hazel thought for a moment. "Does your town have something special in its center? That thing of which that gives you vigor and vim." She said, trying to describe what she might be looking for.

She turns to look at Hazel, and with a shrug, she says, "The only thing special at the center of town is our city hall. But I don't see how that could give us what you said. Vigor and vim? It is just a building, after all, even if it is an old one." Hazel gets the impression that this waitress is not the brightest one of the bunch, so asking her questions may not work out too well.


So, Hazel and Two Mornings head for the door on their way towards the center of town. As you walk down the street, the city around you becomes quieter and quieter as more and more people begin to clear the roads and head inside. By the time you get to the center of the city, you spot the building that must be the city hall that the waitress was talking about. It is large, with two wings spreading out from a central hall with large double doors. The building looks very old, possibly several thousand years old, and it is most definitely the center of the manse that Hazel can sense. But as you look at the building, you can see that there is damage done to the building that has been attempted to have been repaired, but you can see that the geomancy of the structure is just a bit off because of the repairs.


Back at the inn, everyone is seated at a table and a pair of servers are bringing out mugs of beer and bowls of hot stew at Gwen's request for you to dive into.

 

[jaydude]

Sitting down at the table, and keeping her voice quiet to avoid being overheard by anyone from the town, Selket would speak to the others.

"So what now? I have a feeling that there's something sinister going on in this town...but do we really need to get involved beyond staying here for the night? We've got our own goals to worry about, and we don't know how long it will take to solve...whatever's happening here. Besides, at the moment it doesn't sound like our problem."

 

[D. Rex]

"Yes. Vigor and vim. It means health and energy. But never mind, never mind." She said. Hoping that the patrons found her bosom more more worthy an aspect about her to tip than intelligent conversation.

"Two mornings! Yes, please." Hazel said with a smile. "An extra body would be most nice."





At the the front of the structure, Hazel looked upon it with wonder. With such ave she could only imagine the history it might have seen! But that invites the question, was it always a city hall? Which also invites the question... how did she not know what it was if it had been here so long? Could it be that really didn't know that this was a manse? Surely someone here did. But then word have gotten around the town at least about such an incredible power that was at the heart of the city. Its certainly not hidden. Still. What was the purpose of the manse, then?

Upon closer inspection, Hazel tsked. "Look at this, it most certainly will not do." She said as she waffled a finger at the repairs. "Manse are such fickle things, and it might have been better if they had left it damaged. Without proper precision it risks misdirecting the flows."

She exhaled sharply,"But at least it isnt blocked, and complete ruin it is not." She pursed her lips, thinking. Maybe the repair work was done in such a way because they didnt know it was a manse. As slightly annoying as it was to see it, she couldn't entirely fault someone for trying to fix something if such splendor.

"Let us go inside, dear Two Mornings! I want to know what the grand purpose is. And who it is that this manse belongs to."


Hazel reached for the doors to try and open them.

But she also had a rather sudden thought. The manse was damaged. How the heck did it get damaged? Immaculate wouldnt have done this. They would have either destroyed it entirely or claimed it for their own. This building was ancient... and its power... could they really be scars from the first age? It could be! And if this was a first age manse, then it could be of great use to them! This made her all the more excited to go inside and learn more!

Sherwood Aranfan

 

[Aranfan]

Upon closer inspection, Hazel tsked. "Look at this, it most certainly will not do." She said as she waffled a finger at the repairs. "Manse are such fickle things, and it might have been better if they had left it damaged. Without proper precision it risks misdirecting the flows."

"I'll take your word for it." Two Mornings shrugs, "I don't know about this stuff."

She follows Hazel in.

 

[FTR]

None, even her fellow lunars were immune to her feats of stealth and elusion. Eska had broken off and gone about her business at the gate of the city. In fact, she had been the first one inside. After taking turns riding on Toun and flying on her own she could use the space.
The stock of town was humble as its Inn, where Eska met up with the rest of the circle after a mostly fruitless round through the people's properties. She should have left unnoticed and returned the same, saving herself the trouble of being questioned by and then dealing with the moralities of her teammates.
She had managed to snag a few valuables here and there but nothing of significance to them.
"Barkeep." Eska said sitting at the bar, close enough to be with everyone else but far enough away to also do her own thing. "I'll take a brandy."
She brought down her half-mask below her chin, it now acting more as a neck gaiter than anything else.
She sat quietly listening in to everyone, didnt have much to say that the particular moment.

 

[Psychie]

The waitress nods, and escorts you towards a table. "Of course. Please, find a table and I'll bring out some beer and stew for you all, and there are the baths down the hall that you can use once you let me know how many rooms you need. Just don't take too long. Its getting late in the afternoon, and you'll want to be upstairs with the doors barred before nightfall."

Sitting down at the table, and keeping her voice quiet to avoid being overheard by anyone from the town, Selket would speak to the others.

"So what now? I have a feeling that there's something sinister going on in this town...but do we really need to get involved beyond staying here for the night? We've got our own goals to worry about, and we don't know how long it will take to solve...whatever's happening here. Besides, at the moment it doesn't sound like our problem."

Feeling concerned, Gwen would thank the waitress for the food and drink, and then once she is out of earshot, she would lean forward to talk quietly to the group. "This is disturbing. Why would we need to bar our doors upstairs for our safety? What is going on in this town? But Selket, I must disagree with you that this is not our problem. Did you see how quickly Hazel lit out of here? I think she will be armpit deep in this mystery soon, and it might take all of us to pull her out of it, just to keep our friend safe."

 

[Rykon]

Toun sighs deeply, "Gwen is probably right there... From the sound of this whole, 'bar your doors' business, it's probable that it's some sort of creatures that come out at night. Worst case would be some sort of intangible affect. Spirits are troublesome like that."

Toun activates Perceiving the Hidden World to peer into the realm of spirits. With the effect active, he'd keep an eye out for Hazel. If she wasn't back before sunset, he'd have to go find her.

 

[jaydude]

"Fair enough." said Selket, conceding the point. "I'm just asking, should we dig deeper into what's going on here once we rescue Hazel and Two Mornings? Assuming that we have to rescue them, of course. I mean...we didn't come to this town to solve its problems; we've got you-know-who to meet with after all."

 

[Rykon]

"My priority is the safety of our pack and the completion of our mission. Past that, I can't say I have a strong opinion either way. If you think we should leave, I think we are more than justified in putting the safety of creation over this bizarre and secretive community that doesn't appear to even want help at a glance." Toun said with a shrug. "What are your thoughts Gwen?"