[Mysterious Cities of Jade] Chapter 4: A Wyld Hunt appears!

Shinji looks back wide-eyed at her, shrugs. You're the expert!


His mind reels. Scenarios drop through his mind's eye, none of them good. He palms a hash of real salt onto his hammer. It'd be good for a single dusting, nothing more, and he has a recipient in mind. "Kim," he whispers, turning to the boy, "she and I cause a hellish ruckus and distract them, you think you can get Jiro out?"
 
Kim looks thoughtful, but nods, moving silently to a vantage point closer to the highly distressed Jiro, knives in hand, waiting.

Well, you have a surprise round, which eliminates any DV these boys have. But for completeness I'll pop up the stats so you have a rough idea what you're getting into:


Herald of Nothing:


Join battle: 11


Claws: Spd 4, Acc 13, Dam 6L, Def 14, Rate 3


Kick: Spd 5, Acc 12, Dam 9B, Def 10, Rate 2


Daiklave: Spd 4, Acc 15, Dam 12L, Def 13, Rate 2


Soak: 11L/15B (Stamina 6, Patchy soulsteel plate 8L/9B


Dodge DV: 8


Parry DV: 6


Minions (Currently 4):


Join battle 6


Claws: Spd 5, Acc 9, Dam 8L, Def 8, Rate 2


Soak: 6L/8B


DV 5
 
'Shinji.'


'...'


'Shinji! Boy! Attend!'


'Ow! Ow! Shit--ow! Grandpa, I'm paying attention!'


'Don't use such a tongue with me, boy. You'll be glad I don't cane you here in front of your cousins.'


'...'


'Better. What is the optimal way of playing Hunt the Anathema?'


'From a position of blind, overwhelming numbers to surprise and confuse Loony the Moon-Touched before it can unleash its powers.'


'Indeed. And when lacking said numbers?'


"Valor and hope for Grace from the Five. Failing that, a swift death.'


Strange how the words of childhood still held sway over him in the moments before bloodletting. Even as the final words rang through his soul, he was around the column, already rushing the leader, this strange cultic ghost, the Selial cracking the air with sounds of oceanic, mountain-eroding force. Cthonic met tectonic in a glittering spray of brilliant white geometry, pulping the chalk bricks into ashen flumes sputtering from the earth. Shattering the earth beneath their feet.

Channeling a Valor, Willpower spent. Spending 3m on First Melee, 2m on Dragon-Graced Weapon, and 4m on Mountain Toppling Method to top Shinji's Strength out at 9.






Essence: 4 Willpower: 8 (1 spent) Essence Pool: 15/30 (35)


Personal spent: 5


Peripheral spent: 0


The Selial Column (white jade goremaul):


Speed 4, Accuracy 10, Damage 14B/2, Defense +0, Rate 2


Soak: 4B/2L/0A (Buff Jacket: )


Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/I


Dodge DV: 4 Parry DV: 6
 
Elegy had no stern-faced paternal grandfather to teach her -- her own having died of a skooma overdose some years before her death, almost impressive for a Dragon Blood -- but the murderous teachings of the Dead had more than compensated? What had Eye and Seven Despairs taught her? Ah, yes. Everything is permitted in the pursuit of death.


Elegy raised her palm. Necromantic forces crackled around it, the voice-energies crackling around her palm as she focused her gaze levelly on her foes. The bolt gathered in her palm, a black sphere roiling with red lightning that she lazily juggles between both hands. "Now," she murmurs, softly. "Perish for eternity."


The bolt erupts from her hand, arcing over the salt lines. They are born from a more perfect Child of Death, they rage and curse and scatter the petty ghosts who whimper at the Neverborn's heels,

Attack the Herald of Nothing. Spending 4m to activate Crypt Bolt Attack. Spending 4m to activate Fang of the Gentle Elegy, doubling her successes over the target's DV. Finally spending a willpower to channel Conviction. 10m on the First Thrown Excellency.





Essence: 3 Willpower: 10 (1 Spent) Essence Pool: 19/41


Personal Spent: 14


Peripheral Spent 0


Ballistic Lancets


Exceptional Throwing Knife: Speed 4, Accuracy +11, Damage 3L, Rate 3, Range 15


Crypt Bolt Attack: Speed 5, Accuracy +10, Damage 6L, Rate 2, Range 50


Soak: 1B/1L/0A


Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/I


Dodge DV: 7 Parry DV: 6
 
Over the next week the council chambers of Chiaroscuro above were filled mostly with debate over the desire of some to hire of a team of geomancers to predict and protect against sudden unexplained earthquakes, and counter arguments that such things were not possible here, that it must have been the destruction of a First Age device and the money should be spent on an investigative quango that would hire teams to descend into the Undercity and compile reports.


Time seems to slow as several things happen at once.


Shinji leaps down upon the unsuspecting nephwrack, his tetsubo striking the creature so hard it creates a shockwave, knocking several of the smaller undead clean across the room and smacking hard into the walls.


Then Gentle Elegy releases the full force of her power in the form of a blazing bolt of black lightning that leaves strange dancing shadows at the edge of vision. The few high windows are blown out by the combined power of the two Exalted attacks, and dust and loose bricks and beams of millennia-old wooden support beams rain down upon the gathering, causing mayhem.

Assuming Shinji doesn't manage to destroy him, the nephwrack is going to use Yielding Spirit Form to augment his soak against Elegy's attack, adding his successes on Dex+Craft[moliation] to his damage soak.


10 sux, means his soak is 21L against Elegy. So 9 raw damage + 2 stunt dice.
 
The bolt gnaws into his shield, devouring it. What is a ghost before the children of the Neverborn?


Ignore this roll -- herped when I should have derped.
 
There is nothing more satisfying that shattering mountains and men. He thought, smiling wide as a child receiving his first taste of injan.

Using stunt bonus to recover 4m.
 
Shinji hits the Herald so hard the wretched ghost is bounced clean off the ground, giving Elegy the perfect line of sight- The Herald takes the bolt of necrotic force right in the chest, smashing his armour to pieces and hurling him back into the shadowland smacking against the standing stone so hard it shifts 20 or so degrees from vertical. It coughs up a gout of putrid black ichor, and goes still.


The other creatures (the ones not crushed under fallen masonry, anyway) regain what passes for composure and begin a counter-assault; 1 attacks Shinji, 2 clamber up the supports and ladders with inhuman speed to claw at Elegy.


Despite a blur of speed and a hail of gangly bony talons, Shinji manages to hold off his assailant with some deft blocking sweeps of his tetsubo.


Elegy, on a walkway and pressed by two of the things, is afforded slightly less manoeuvrability, but she could put a professional dancer to shame, avoiding the last attack by the slimmest of margins...
 
Stunt: Elegy coils sideways, letting the hit glance from her shoulder as she bent backwards. Her movement carries her into a backwards flip; her hand grabs a low-hanging bar and vaults overhead. She lands a short distance back, stance wide, one hand balancing her on the floor. "Sloppy," she breathes, eyes malign.
 
The ghosts merely shriek wordlessly at you in response, and prepare to pile in again.

Yeah, that's plenty to up the DV by one.


Minions go on tick 1, 6, 11.
 
"Heh, nothing but dust and echoes."


Nothing for it. Freshening jog, striding up a pile of shattered masonry, passing the dazed Nephwrack, spitting in its glowing eye. A single beam juts skyward, taking that as his base, he then launches himself through falling skirts of dust at the nearest of the ghost-king's little puppets. Came down like a ten ton meteorite, with all the anger and hatred only the living can hold for the dead. Every blow a principle, a lesson. Every shout a prayer.


"Pasiap! PASIAP!" He cried.

Activating First Melee Excellency for le 3m. Gonna kill one of these jive suckas.7 t0 hit!





Essence: 4 Willpower: 8 (1 spent) Essence Pool: 15/30 (35)


Personal spent: 4


Peripheral spent: 0


The Selial Column (white jade goremaul):


Speed 4, Accuracy 10, Damage 14B/2, Defense +0, Rate 2


Soak: 4B/2L/0A (Buff Jacket: )


Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/I


Dodge DV: 4 Parry DV: 6
 
The Column connects with the head of the ghost, and with a sickening crunch its head is slammed 90 degrees to one side. It takes only a moment to readjust to its new sideways view of things before launching itself at Shinji with renewed hatred, if somewhat less coordination. It misses pitifully, stumbling and losing balance after a series of ineffectual swings.

Gonna make a flurry of 3. Why? Because it's _insane_. Predictably, none hit, and he botched his last. No DV for him!


The monsters facing Elegy, perhaps wary of the power she demonstrated against their master, take a more considered approach, favouring single, more savage blows. They howl in frustration however as Elegy gracefully deflects their attacks.





Each one is taking a single attack with the called shot/fierce blow quality, sacrificing 1 die to hit in exchange for +2L damage






Including 3B damage on all ghosts thanks to falling masonry:


Minion on Shinji: 5B (-2 penalty)


Minion 1 on Elegy: 3B (-1 penalty)


Minion 2 on Elegy: 3B (-1 penalty)
 
Elegy dashes toward Shinji, bounding off his shoulders. She passes overhead like a whirlwind, eyes alight with a malicious grin. "For whom does the bell toll?" As she reaches the apex of her flight the crypt bolt refocuses into the pantomime of a knife, glinting with scarlet lightning as she casts it from her hand. "For thee... you tombless scoundrel!"

Crypt Bolt against the gentleghost no DV with Fang of the Gentle Elegy to count sux over his non-DV twice + 5m on the First Thrown Excellency. Blowing a willpower to channel Conviction.
 
At an undisclosed location, Shadow's cabin, at an undisclosed time, probably now, Shadow lets out a long yawn and blinks several times. "Huh? Oh, right that was one of your memories, not present day." He says smiling as he looks down at the memory crystal in his hands. Shadow stands, stretching, "And yet, I'm still sore. How long was I out?" He holds his pocket watch and compares his own count to that of the watch for a minute before he puts it away and he sits back down on the bed in his spartan room to read over the journal he had decided to start keeping last night. Parties were all well and good, but he wasn't one to give thieves, like himself, such an inviting opening to lift his purse. Shadow smiled as he ran a hand over the cover of the journal he had purchased with the help of the generous contributions the others had "donated". As a rule, he didn't steal from his shipmates, just borrow without asking, but he simply had not been able to resist such an inviting opening.


Shadow had written down what he could remember about the vision the maiden gave them, and made notes in it about Amaya and her "condition" too, just in case she ever decided to use the memory wipe version on them, and as part of a long term study to attempt to figure out how that worked, but that would be a very long term thing, he did not want to give himself another headache trying to solve it so soon after the last. He'd let her know about the journal the next time he saw her so that she could show it to him, just in case. "I'll have to see if she'll let me sketch her in here too." He looked dubiously at one of his attempts at a drawing, "Maybe I'll hire someone." He flipped through some more of the pages and noted that while he had remembered mixing fire tongue and old realm into his journal; fire tongue had been dominant in the beginning, but as the night had worn on old realm had become more dominant. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I keep you around all the time, eh Raven?" He tightened his grip on the crystal and finally put it away stating, "I should see if Chuck knows where I can get some artillery for the ship, there's no telling what we're going to have to face and the good people of Chirarscuro are oh so generous." Shadow wraps the book in a protective cloth and stashes it in a slick beneath one of his bed's legs before leaving his room and as he places a hand on the door to the deck he stops, I should see if Ayo is looking for something in particular. He heads for the captain's cabin to seak out the man in question.
 
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