[Mysterious Cities of Jade] Chapter 3 - Getting Paid

Amaya:


As you advance, you notice the colours of his clothing, cape and turban. This man isn't just a noble, he's a Noble; As in related to the Tri-khan, de facto ruler of Chiaroscuro and the Delzhan Horde. This guy may well be protected by law to do what he just did. Whether he dies here or you let him go, things could become complicated either way.
 
Shadow had watched everybody else leave. He had no heart to go do his usual things at the moment nor much else for that matter, but spying Amaya not wearing her trademark red piqued his interest. He followed her from the rooftops. Not because he necessarily wanted to hide from her, but because he liked the breeze especially when he jumped from roof to roof. Shadow remembered why he still stole things, not because he needed to anymore, not because they were pretty or what have you, but because it was fun. Pure and simple.


He was starting to feel a little more like himself and considered leaving her be to go and find something to steal when she suddenly burst into motion. He didn't need to see what exactly was going on to know what she was doing. At least she knows who she is this time. He jumped to one of the roofs overlooking the alley, everything would probably be over by the time he got in a position to see anything, but there was a small chance, very small chance, that she had just gotten in over her head.
 
I won't bother making you roll Dex+Athletics, they're quite high, and Chiaroscuro were almost built for this sort of thing.


It feels good to roam the Thieves' Highway again, it's a kind of freedom few people down on the streets will ever know. It takes a little while to catch up with Amaya, especially after she breaks into a sprint. Looking down into the alley 5 stories below, you see three bodies (Two guards, one commoner, by the looks of it), a wailing child, and Amaya advancing towards what looks like a terrified noble in that silent way she does when she's furious.
 
Amaya stares down at the fallen noble, a vicious gleam in her eyes. A deep toned laugh escapes from her lips, so rough that it is almost a growl. She pauses for a second, as if to appraise the man, and it is in that moment that a drastic transformation seems to take place. This transformation is not a physical one, for not a single one of Amaya's features change; no, it is a spiritual one, a metaphysical growth that all present can ascertain. Amaya's posture seems to straighten, her height seems to grow, her features harden and shape into a perfect expression of self-righteousness. She projects an aura of surety so strong that her strength of belief is palpable. Before this transformation Amaya looked as if she was a simple, if well muscled, woman. But after, she seems a goddess; one whose beauty is not her appearance, but in her bearing.


A feral grin creeps onto Amaya's face as her chuckles continue. "I know who you are little man. Oh, I don't know your name, but I know your station, and I know everything I need to about men of your disposition. You hold no surprises for me. But I wonder, can the same be said for the reverse?" Amaya asks in a voice that would be sweet in any other circumstance, but here sounded as threatening as shouted profanity. Amaya advances as she says this, her arms held up high as if she was inviting a response and her gait slow and natural. She only smiles more as the noble seems to shrink away from her, pushing himself even further into the element that so perfectly represented his nature.


Amaya pauses in front of the man, standing tall over him with a smile as broad as her face could hold. "So I think you deserve a lesson, just so that you understand. The first part of this lesson is about a single maxim, one that I am sure you already know: that it is natural for the strong to dominate the weak. Now, I'm sure you understand that power comes from many sources, some of more use than others, and which all apply in different circumstances." Amaya continues her speech and bends down, reaching for the man's collar. She indifferently bats away his hand when he tries to stop her, as if his efforts were that of an unruly child.


Her fingers twist around the expensive cloth of the man's attire, flexing her well-defined muscles as she starts to lift the man out of the grime. Amaya does this roughly, sliding the noble against the wall while she lifts him, treating him to a burned back. The nobleman struggles to break her hold on his clothes, bashing away at her arms, but his feeble efforts have no effect. "For example, the only power that matters right now is strength of arms. You are weak, your bodyguards were weak, and so you are completely unable to resist me." Amaya continues her monologue cheerfully, as if she was explaining something to a small child.


"Power is relative of course. Your bodyguards were stronger than that poorly bred woman, and she couldn't fight back for fear of defying a person of your status. For her, the rules of society mattered just as much as her inability to fight against two well armed guards. But to me, not so much. Your high position stops me not, for it is only a construct of society, and falls in the face of this physical reality." Amaya intones in a chirpy voice, even as she slides the man into his final position. Interestingly, this is with his back pressed against the wall above Amaya, her arm holding him in place at an angle, allowing him to look down upon her.


Amaya's lips press together for a second, as if she is considering something. "Ah." she states, as if a revelation had come onto her. "I must offer my apologies, for I have lied to you. It was inadvertent, I do hope you accept my contrition." Amaya shakes her head as she says this in a bashful voice. After a moment Amaya looks back into the nobleman's eyes, locking her steely gaze with his widened orbs. "I said that strength of arms is the only power that matters here. That was wrong. It was only the most apparent power; the obvious and easy answer for why I am strong and you are weak." Amaya's rumbles as if in a purr.


"Because the thing is... my muscles are the least of me, and matter little in the face of what else I can do." Amaya confides in the man, as if she was inviting him into a conspiracy. Amaya waits for a moment as these words sink in and then she performs a simple, natural action: stepping forward. The unnatural part of this action is that Amaya keeps her arm out straight, held at the same distance from her body where it pushes the man against the wall; yet, Amaya is still able to walk forward, even though there is no room for the man to go. It is a confusing sight, but Amaya's next step reveals the truth of the situation.


The noble is sinking into the rock wall. The stone around him seems to bubble as he is impossibly pressed into it, rioting in protest of this violation of natural law. Amaya laughs at his subsequent look of horror, and then steps forward once again, pushing him further into the wall. The man starts struggling wildly, but it is to no avail. He is only able to keep his head and one of his arms away from the rock; his other extremities had been trapped behind a solid curtain before he realized what had happened. Amaya's next step would bring the noble's head into the rock, sealing him into an impromptu tomb.


Mercifully however, she stops. Her hand withdraws, rock flowing to fill the gap and preventing even that small discrepancy from ruining the noble's casing. Amaya backs away from the man, pleasantly inspecting her handiwork. The man is lodged into the rock; no purely mortal effort could dislodge him. However, he is placed so high that he is able to look down on the tallest of humans, placed above them all. "I think you deserve some time to think about what I've said. I hope you like my parting gift, for height is another form of power. A tall man often gets deference where a short man wouldn't." Amaya says happily as she starts to turn away from the man and walk towards the beaten woman.


Halfway there Amaya stops and turns, a furious expression adorns her face and the voice that comes out of her mouth is anything but sweet. "Do not make me teach you a remedial lesson." With that said, Amaya strides up to the fallen woman and her daughter. Her face is now graced with a caring expression and her voice rings with sincere compassion. "Don't worry. You are safe now. Is there anything I can do to help you?" She asks, ignoring the frightened looks on both of their faces.

Boom. Amaya activates Personified Mask of Conviction out of peripheral motes, muting it with 1 personal. This makes her appearance 5 and adds 3 successes to actions in support of her intimacies, which this certainly qualifies as. She then makes a social attack against the man, spending 10m peripheral, 1wp, and 1 mote personal to mute it to add 5 successes with her Charisma excellency.


Edit: If necessary, I'll roll for the grapple attacks, but I don't think Amaya could really fail at that.


As a finishing touch, she does a chisel fluctuation in order to sink the man into the rock. She spends one more personal in order to reveal this fluctuation to anyone witnessing what she is doing. I forgot that she could do this, but it means that everyone knows she is the person responsible for sinking him into the rock. At the end of the scene he will fall out of it, but he's stuck there for a while.


Social Attack: 0 Successes + 8 Successes = 8 Successes


Fluctuation: 6 Successes +3 Successes = 9 Successes - This is probably an average fluctuation, so I think I did it.
 
I think that's a 3 dice bonus. No difference to the huge pool of successes, but there's always the XP...


The noble gibbers and weeps helplessly as you embed him into the stone wall. He can just about breathe, encased as he is, so his cries of "help" and "demon!" are weak as a mewling kitten.


The young girl is too busy shaking her mother's body to pay much attention to the impossible feat you just pulled off. The poor thing can't be more than 7 or 8 years old. The older woman isn't moving. A sticky pool of blood around her face suggests the beating had been going on some time before you arrived.


"Mama! She won't wake up!" she blurts out between sobs. "She's dead! He killed my mama!"
 
Amaya kneels down and gathers the girl in her arms, pulling the child tightly against her breast. Amaya starts patting her on the head, trying to assuage her fright. She remains silently, unable to think of what to say as she stares at the woman's body, trying to ascertain if she is dead or not. Dammit. Where is Shadow when you need him?" Amaya despairs to herself.

Trying a perception roll to see if the woman is really dead. OOCly, I know Shadow is right here, but Amaya doesn't.


1 Success. I think this qualifies in her intimacies, so 4 successes total.
 
She doesn't appear to be breathing, and although you're not exactly an expert you've seen enough combat to know where to find a pulse, but you can't one here. On top of the serious damage (shattered eye socket, broken leg, significant blood loss), you're fairly certain this woman has passed on to her next life.


The child clutches on to you hard, burying her head in your shoulder, as more tears and sobs wrack her little body.
 
Shadow was awed by Amaya's display. Well, there certainly is more to women than mere looks. Guess I'll manage after all. I'll have to do something to thank Amaya for this evening's revelations later, but first. Shadow stepped onto the edge of the roof and then his world turned onto it's side. At first glance it looked as though he had jumped, but this was no the case. No, Shadow was sprinting down the wall.


He came to stop kneeling next to the woman, his medical bag was already open and lying next to her and his hands were moving before his feet had stopped.

Using Wall Climbing Technique, 1 mote personal, to dash down the side of the building. And using bandages heal everything and spending a will power to buy 1 success because a life is on the line and Shadow refuses to fail. So that's a total of 18 personal motes spent, leaving me with 4.
 
Shadow:


The woman suffered traumatic damage to the head from kicks, stamps and punches, which would have been enough to kill most young healthy people. This woman was not so young or healthy, however. You can see stains on her lips from heavy smoking, and her one intact eye showed signs of blindness. She was probably dead several minutes before Amaya stopped the men beating her.
 
Shadow closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then closed the woman's. "She died several minutes ago." He looked at the man in the wall. It wasn't often that Shadow got angry, he was usually fairly calm, for good or for ill he still was. "Take the child away from here. I'll follow in a few minutes after checking on the two guards." Shadow closed his bag after putting everything away, almost everything, there was a scalpel in his hand. He was clearly not going to be checking on the two guards.
 
Amaya starts, surprised by Shadow's appearance. Was he following me? Amaya wonders with a slight amount of irritation, but quickly lets the feeling fade. Amaya then nods to Shadow's words. She scoops the child up, supporting the girl on her shoulder, letting the child cry into the fabric of her shirt. She rubs the girls back, trying to soothe her. She draws in a breath and then speaks to Shadow in a level tone. "I'll take the girl back to the ship, but I would like you to consider something." Amaya points at the dead woman and then at one of the guards with her left hand. "A death for a death." Mimicking her previous action, Amaya points at the woman's crushed eye and bruised face and then draws a line towards the nobleman. "An eye for an eye and a face for a face." Amaya doesn't wait for a response as she strides away, heading back to the Lusty Maiden.
 
Shadow flips the scalpel in his hand as Amaya walks away. He walked over to the noble. "She's right. There has already been enough killing today, and unlike both you and a close associate of mine I don't enjoy hurting much less killing people, but if not for her counsel." He jumped up suddenly and struck him in the throat to keep him from making any noises. "I'm a physician, a healer, you see. I know the human body very well. Although, most days I spend more time with corpses than the living. Don't worry, someone with your position can probably get anything short of death fixed, and like I said there's already been enough killing today. But what she doesn't grasp is that this is hardly the first of your murders, so maybe I should do a bit more to balance the scales. After all, you've taken parents from their children. Have you ever given anything to the outcastes asides from death? Would you like to spend a day in our, well I'd say shoes, but not all of us can afford to wear them. Let's get started, don't look at me like that, I'm not a sadist, I'll be using anesthetic." Shadow does knock him out before he begins to disfigure him, destroying an eye and his face like Amaya suggested, but he also made certain he would not be having any children. And he also took anything that he might use to try and identify himself or pay to get transportation to wherever it is his home might be.


When he was finished Shadow followed after Amaya, walking quickly he arrived shortly after her. "Against my better judgment, he should live. We need to find someone to take care of her. Do you have any thoughts on the matter?"
 
'That fucker' indeed. Elegy leaned back into her slave's arms, just to be held. She keeps an eye on Shinji's new enemy -- men who skulk away cursing are either louts who will hide their heads or a vengeful type. Best keep an eye on the situation, make sure Shinji does not get stabbed mid-coitus. Although the Neverborn would doubly appreciate such an end! Elegy splits her time between exploring her slave's body and making sure the frustrated gambler does not do anything rash.
 
"I... don't know." Amaya says in an uncertain voice. The girl had stopped sobbing recently, exhausted by the days events, though tears still stained her face. Amaya looks down at the girl's crown and sighs. "Do you think there is an orphanage? Would it even be safe to take her there? We will have hunters after us regardless of what happens, but I don't know if the nobleman's spite will be large enough to chase the girl. In any case, I think we should take her back to the ship, and see what the others think. Maybe Ayo will have a better idea." Amaya ponders as she walks alongside Shadow.
 
Shadow:


The man has a fair amount of money on him, about 2 obols worth of jade scrip, typical of a man of means. Enough to keep a small family fed for a month. A couple of promissory notes identify him as Kadash Sul'Delakh, a cousin of the Tri-khan and owner of several brothels and gambling dens.


Shadow and Amaya:


The girl doesn't speak for most of the trip, she's exhausted from the shock and the crying and at one point you reckon she falls asleep for five minutes. The noise of the docklands stirs her, though. She looks up at both of you as you walk with reddened puffy eyes and speaks in a quiet flat voice, too weary for tone. "Mama's dead, isn't she? Are you going to sell me to slavers like the man said?"


Elegy:


For the most part the man just drinks to steady his nerves. His first glass shakes on the way to his lips. The third less so. By which time Shinji's presence can be ascertained by a lady making noises that are most unladylike. Those walls must be made of rice paper. Distasteful as it might be, it annoys the man he beat above and beyond anyone else. He has a fifth drink, and...

Perception+Awareness to notice him trying to steal your purse, -2 dice due to nubile slave distractions!
 
Amaya responds vigorously. "No we are not. No one is going to sell you into slavery. The bad man isn't going to trouble you any longer, we will take care of you, or find a good person who can do the same." She then closes her eyes and drops her voice to a softer tone. "But yes... your mother is dead. I'm so sorry." Amaya hugs the girl tighter, not really sure what else she could do.
 
The child nods in understanding. For another few minutes she says nothing, then "I have an uncle, he can take care of me. Sometimes we'd visit him and he'd make food and sing us songs. He has an inn, it's outside the city. Could we go there?"
 
"Of course. Just tell us where to go and we will take you straight to him." Amaya declares, glad to have a clear direction to her actions. "May I ask your name? I am called Amaya, and my companion is called Shadow." Amaya asks suddenly, trying to take the girl's mind off the day's events.
 
She seems glad of the distraction. "I'm Narita. Uncle's inn is outside the gate that faces the mountains. I forget where exactly, it was always dark when we visited. But there was a big picture of a bird outside, I can show you when we get there! Thank you!" She hugs Amaya again.


Facing the mountains means south gate, so you'll be crossing most of the city. That'll probably take an hour or two. Maybe more, given the time of day; markets and such will be in full swing.
 
Amaya smiles at the girl as she returns the hug. "It is nice to meet you Narita. I think I know where to go now, we'll have you to your uncle's soon." she says soothingly. The trio start their journey towards the south gate, but it soon becomes apparent that the crowds are impeding them heavily.


Amaya wrinkles her nose in thought for a moment before she turns to Shadow. "You were traveling on the roofs, right? Think we can skip past these people that way?" she then looks down at Narita and questions her as well. "Would you like that? Seeing the city from up high? You'll get to see what all these people are up to; you miss so much down here on the roads."
 
Amaya laughs and then flexes her arms for the girls amusement. Her muscles are very well defined, and she is obviously an enormously strong person. "There's no chance of that!" She states extravagantly, putting on a happy act for the girl's sake. Now that she has the girl's assent, Amaya heads off to the closest alleyway in between suitable looking buildings. Amaya jumps onto the roof of one of the buildings in a single powerful bound, one that was graceful enough that it didn't even shake the girl she carried. "See?" she asks the girl with a smile.


After this, she waits for Shadow to follow, and then heads off to the South gate.

Rolling paradox now so I don't forget.
 
Stunt: Quite coincidental, really. An unfortunate shift of the weight, combined with the man's hand passing through her pocket -- turning into a lurching feeling as the stool tipped over. "Ah--"


Too late. The fall took down all three of them, with a tremendous crash onto the (mercifully soft) floor of the pleasure house. It draws every eye in the room down on the unfortunate pickpocket who is, as they often say, caught with his hand in the pocket. Dead silence falls over the room; it's as still as the Void up in this bitch.
 
"Thought you'd never ask." He said as she bounded overhead. "Welcome to my town." Shadow said as his feet touched the roof. He was so happy to be off the streets, too much noise, too many people, not enough wind. He thought for a moment as to what would be the fastest route, and then thought better of it and chose a smoother one for the sake of the girl. "This way, it's got more level terrain than heading straight for the gate. The odd passersby might have noticed them, just like they might have noticed a bird soaring past, the only evidence of their passage were vague swift moving shadows and laughter. "You know Amaya, I have to thank you. After Ayo's master showed up I wasn't feeling too lively. But this, running and flying like this. I feel much more alive now. So, thank you. If there's anything I can get for you as thanks, just name it."
 
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