On the Run [Dude, where's my daiklave?]

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant finished his cooking as the group spread out, and took the opportunity to join Slip and the Dragonblood. The others had been ever-so-prickly as of late. Especially Knaff and Rowan; their little altercation this afternoon had thoroughly confused him.


Smiling and bearing bowls of various stews, the merchant seated himself with aplomb upon the grass. "Well, take your pick, rabbit, venison, or potato. Not the most fancy cuisine in the land, but its better than going hungry."


Mordant leaned back and regarded the three 'hills' of the valley, "To answer your question Dove, the best we have been able to say is that it contains a number of First Age relics. Couldn't say for sure what." Mordant casually points over his shoulder at the resting pirate on the other side of the camp, "Some think it is weapons. Others, perhaps some ancient skyship or other transportation relic. Whatever it is, the hope is that it we will be able to stop running from the wyld hunt temporarily, one way or another." Mordant trailed off momentarily, observing that the rest of his companions seemed to be setting up their respective nests, "I guess we'll be starting exploring in the morning." Mordant shrugged as he ate a spoonful of soup, and then set the bowl down.


Mordant leaned back into the grass, and observed the stars beginning to spread themselves across the sky. He plucked idly and softly at the strings of his samisen, "It is too bad this country is so open; it would be wonderful weather for music."

 

[Feantari]

Slip


Slip takes up a bowl of stew and cautiously gives it a go. Thankfully stew is not hard to make and Mordant managed just fine. "Better to be listening to the natural music just now. I want to be able to hear if we are being approached."


Slip eats for a bit contemplating Dove's question. "In short I expect to find power and knowledge. This place was built long ago when many things we would find wonderous were common place. I don't know if any of those to carry my exaltation before me were involved in it, but I do expect that a stash such as this would be focused on more than just rearming exalts. At least I hope. Much has been lost, some of it with good reason I imagine, but if we can recover the secrets of old we can help teach creation to move past it's current.. diversions."

 

[Sherwood]

Dawn comes with no incident during the night. With the rays of the morning sun, the hidden shape of the pyramid can be seen a bit easier. Anticipation of what you may find starts to swell up inside of you. After all, if Hax can come out of here with the folding switchklave, what other wonders lay in wait for you?


The opening up in the side of the pyramid calls to you.

 

[Feantari]

Slip


Slip finishes going over his gear and walks up to the opening. Examining it in the morning light he extends his perception to things unseen letting the essence flow into his caste mark to provide further illumintation once they are inside.

Spoiler

6m peripheral on Eye of the Cat


Personal: 14/14


Peripheral: 30/36


Anima: 4m-7m level (6m)

 

[Blackadder]

Rowan


Rowan made sure, as usual that his knives were all in place and ready. When the group began to advance onto the pyramid, his caste mark lightly glittered with the enhancement of ears and hands.

Spoiler

3m peripheral on Keen Sense (Hearing and Touch)


Personal: 14/14


Peripheral: 20/23 (6 attuned to Switchklave)


Anima: 1m-3m level (3m)

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant sighed. Of course no one else was taking a lantern. Mordant quickly threw his attache case into the harness on his back, with the papers inside. He picked up his lantern and quickly secured his climbing gear.


He signed again; they were probably right. The traps could very well be keyed off of caste marks. Still, doesn't hurt to be prepared, he lit his lantern, and handed a second lantern to the dragon blood woman. "Hopefully it won't be necessary, Dove, but since you don't have a caste mark to see by, can't hurt to be prepared. You are very welcome to come with us on our little exploration, if you'd like."


After giving a smile and nod to the dragon blood and a wave to Slip, Mordant followed Rowan up the hill, walking carefully with his cane.


-----------------------------------


Might as well spend some motes to light up the mark... umm....


Judge's Ear!


Personal: 18 | 18


Peripheral: 36 | 39


Anima: 1-3 level.


WP: 9 | 9

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Coming down from his perch on the tree, Knaff watches as the others get ready. As they move towards the pyramid, he changes into his spirit shape, and scuttles along. Unlike the others he keeps his Exalted nature secret, though he spends some of his essence to feel sentient entities. You can never be sure what might be down there...

Spoiler

Spending 4 motes to activate Uncanny Rodent Awareness. Any sentient being within 10 yards cannot surprise or ambush me. Doesn't help with traps, but hey, can't have it all.

 

[Sherwood]

The opening in the side of the hill leads into a dusty chamber thirty feet wide and sixty feet long, which would make the room larger than it should be and be able to fit inside the pyramid at this level. The chamber is dominated by a massive U-shaped table made from some sort of hardwood and stained to a deep brown with twelve massive throne-like chairs evenly spaced around. Pieces of artwork line the walls depicting scenes of the Solars in their prime, performing great acts for the Deliberative with their Lunar mates at their side. Spaced around the room are six statues of large armored figures made of marble, finely crafted. By themselves they would fetch a fortune on the market. At the open end of the U of the table is a sunken pit with a pedestal facing the U-shaped table, allowing the people at the table to tower over the figure in the sunken area. At the far end of the room is a massive statue of the Unconquered Sun, with a set of balance scales held out in one of his massive hands. Below the statue in Old Realm is the inscription “Only those judged righteous may rise.†Behind the statue is a open portal and a spiral staircase can be seen through it.


Walking into the room reveals more details about it. First you spot a pile of bodies in the far corner in a state of advanced decay, and the smell fills the room with the stench of corruption. Spatters of dried blood are scattered about the room, with a trail where the bodies have been dragged over to the pile. Also, with the sight of the bloodstains on the floor, you now spot that several of the statues around the room have in their hands bloody weapons, giving the impression that the statues themselves cut down the dead in the corner.


Finally, and perhaps most disturbingly, as you enter the room, symbols in Old Realm appear above the heads of any of you with a Charm or Knack active, giving the name of the Charm or Knack in use. So, anyone with the ability to read Old Realm can tell exactly what Essence powers you are using.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Interesting. Seems like this manse, and it must be a manse, has some nifty abilities. Unable to understand what's written, Knaff makes his way towards the statue of the Unconquered Sun.

 

[Feantari]

Slip


Slip looks around. "Huh, well, that's a neat trick. So I guess we get to find out if we are worthy... I wonder if it judges that purely on one's statue fighting abilities."


Slip starts examining the room careful not to get too close to the section with the stairway.

Spoiler

Perc+inv?


10d10.hits(7) → [9,6,6,1,2,1,5,3,2,10] = (2)


3 hits

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant puts a cloth to his face; breathing in the stench of the dead can be very hazardous. He found it very odd that the pair of Lunars had not do so as well; they must be acclimated to the smell of rotting humans.


Mordant ties the cloth about his nose, so that he doesn't have to waste a hand holding it. His voice slightly muffled, he speaks as he walks over to the table, "Well, I guess we'll be finding out shortly Slip. Wise to take a look around here before we move on though."


Mordant takes a moment to examine the chair at the head of the table, and presuming he finds nothing odd, takes a seat and begins to examine the table itself. Perhaps there was a control or switch to be found, or failing that, something left behind by the last people to sit at this table.


Mordant does take a moment to chuckle at the rat with the glowing symbol over its head. "I wouldn't go nosing around that statue just yet Knaff; there is a rather interesting inscription upon it. 'Only those judged righteous may rise.' Seems like it might be not coincidentally connected to those statues which seem to have made rather a mess of the good doctor's expedition."


-------------------


Per+Investigation + 2nd Investigation EX


- 1d10=6, 1d10=10, 1d10=8, 1d10=7 = 4 success + 2 from 2nd EX = 6 successes.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

'Only those judged righteous may rise' Interesting. But then again, we're Exalts, doesn't it mean we've been judged righteous enough? Better make sure then that the Manse recognizes my status as I approach. The rat continues to approach the statue, his Caste mark now visible, if only in glitters, as he moves faster across the intervening space.

Spoiler

Spending 4 peripheral motes on Instinct Driven Beast Movement to double his movement speed, as he dashes towards the statue.

 

[Sherwood]

The room appears to be some sort of ceremonial chamber. The person being judged, for whatever reason, stands in the center with the outer ring of people in chairs looking down upon them. The display above your heads of what Charms are being used would help to gaurantee that if the person being judged is a Essence user, they won't be able to use their powers to conceal the truth from those sitting in judgement.


Examining the desk, it looks like it has been rifled through quite thoroughly. Nothing has survived the passage of time that has not been taken already, probably by Hax and his people.


Knaff bolts past the statue of the Unconquered Sun with no ill effect. On the other side, you get a better look at the small room with the spiral staircase extending both up and down. On the stairs at the top of this floor you do see a blackened film of ash that has the distinctive odor of burnt flesh. It would appear that there is some ward preventing travel up to the higher floor. From where you are, you do not see anything of note either up or down besides the charr on the stairs above you.


I did forget to mention that the building is sitting on a fairly powerful manse. It will take several hours of meditation with a Int + Lore roll, difficulty 1, to attune yourselves to the manse and take part of the Essence it provides. You do not as yet know where the hearthroom is.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Grumbling to himself, Knaff makes his way back into the hall. Going up, without knowing what caused that person to die so horribly would probably not be a good idea. And despite what others thought, he DID still have his wits.


Changing back to his human form, Knaff joins the rest of them, mainly so he can communicate with them. "There seems to be a burned body up the stairs. Anybody got any idea how to proceed?" Maybe send the Dragon-Blood ahead?

 

[CrazyIvan]

Crimson Dove


The Dragon Blooded woman takes the lantern, nodding in acknowledgement. "Thank you - though if events turn to where the light of your companion's caste marks are not enough, I suspect I may very well be providing enough illumination on my own. And that your lantern will not survive the experience."


Once they enter the main chamber, Crimson Dove reads the inscriptions, and paces slowly around the room, taking in the frescos. Something Slip said the previous night comes to the surface of her mind. 'This place was built long ago when many things we would find wonderous were common place.' Running her fingers along the edge of one of the artwork, she is overtaken by an almost overwhelming feeling of sadness.


Did we not serve you well, Lords of Creation, when you built these halls? Do we not bear mention? She shook her head, chastising herself in a half spoken voice. Of course not, no more than you honored the apprentice carpenter who helped build the Emerald Dragon's Repose.


The sadness has not left her voice when she speaks. "I was not meant to be here. I...should go."

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Of course he would take 'be careful' to mean 'run at it faster', and *then* ask if anyone had ideas on how to proceed.


The merchant turned partially in his seat as the dragon blooded woman examined the works behind him. He nodded when the woman suggested she leave, "It is your decision if you want to go, but you are quite welcome to stay and explore with us if you wish. Those that built this place are quite dead and gone; even if they never appreciated the dragon blooded, I'd like to think that particular myopia is long gone."


He rose from the seat he had taken and sighed, best to move on, even if he'd have preferred to spend a bit longer investigating the current chamber. As the merchant approached the stairs, he shrugged, "If there weren't a body at the top of the stairs, I'd suggest up first. The three buildings are likely connected underground. Best to search top to bottom. But.... I'd say lets head down first, perhaps we'll find something that can disable this little 'feature' of this ever-so-homey place."


With that, Mordant begins to head down the stairs, watching his steps carefully, and tapping his cane on the ground in front of him as he descends, his caste mark and lantern illuminating the way.

 

[Arion Wind]

Jenai Orlais


Walking around the dark area, Jenai considers several times accepting Mordant's offer of a lantern. On top of providing illumination that may not be keyed to first age deathtraps, it would also be just about the only thing that worked if they ran into something that interfered with their essence. If anyone else had offered, he wouldn't have hesitated to take one. Instead he opens his eyes and lets his power sharpen his vision to unparalleled acuity. At the moment, his pride is more important than essence-free lighting.


When Dove expresses her concern, Jenai lightly puts an arm on her shoulder, "It's very tragic, I know. Not just the loss, but the mistakes that led to it as well. But we have chance to do better this time. I won't force you to stay, but it would be easier if we had your help." He takes a few steps after Mordant before turning and holding out a hand in polite invitation. And not (entirely) because he wanted a screen between him and the leading solar.

Spoiler

Activating Keen Sight Technique


=Essence=


Personal:15/15


Peripheral: 33/36


Familiar: 5/5

 

[Feantari]

Slip


Slip looked a bit saddenned by Dove's words, but he had nothing to add to her assessment. The place wasn't exactly welcoming.


He moved to cautiously follow Jenai down the stairs.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Knaff motions for the others to move ahead. "Just in case something tries to come up behind us, I'll take the rear." And waits patiently for the rest of them to move ahead.

 

[Sherwood]

Mordant takes the lead down the stairs, moving cautiously as he decends. Once you are past the statue of the Unconquered Sun, the Old Realm symbols above your heads announcing what Charms you are using disappear. It must be a effect limited to the chamber you entered in.


It is a wide spiral staircase, with enough room for several people to pass each other. No traps are set off as you move lower and lower. You decend down quite a distance before coming to another landing and once more you are confronted by the smell of burnt flesh. On the stairs leading to the next level down is the charred remains of at least one body. Hax must have gotten at least this far.


Do you attempt to go farther down, or do you exit on this level?

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

"Seems like whoever built this place had judgment on his mind in any case, so looks like we'll need to go back, and be judged, by whoever it is." Knaff says, his tone neutral.

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant steps onto the current level, "Well, I guess we'll be going through this place's little judgment eventually, but in the mean time, lets explore the current level before we go deeper. Top to bottom search, and all that. Explore each level before proceeding on, so we don't miss anything."


Mordant steps through the doorway and shines his lantern and caste mark into the room.

 

[Sherwood]

The darkness seems thick enough to cut with a knife. Without the lights from your Caste mark and the lantern, you would be completely blind. Another vast chamber that is much too large to fit inside the pyramid, it appears to be a circular chamber many hundreds of feet across and a hundred feet high. The room slopes down to create an auditorium effect, with seating facing inwards towards a raised pillar in the center. The seats are arranged in four rows; the first that is closest to the pillar in the middle has three hundred seats. The second row has only one hundred seats spread evenly across the floor. The third row once more has three hundred seats, and the final row has probably a thousand or so, being much larger and deeper than the other three.


Walking into the room, the Celestial Exalted are overwhelmed by memories of this vast chamber being filled with the Deliberative, most of the Exalts in Creation gathered together here to dedicate the activation of this great facility. Pictures float in the air, depicting all of Creation and the placement of important military units and war manses for the defense of all Creation, and messenger gods flying across the room performing their duties in support of the Exalted.


As the memories fade away, you find yourselves once more standing in a dark room, knowing that you have been here before in another life.

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant sighed. More puzzles. Always more puzzles. Well, best to just go with it. Holding his lantern high to cast a long shadow, he walked towards the central pillar. By the light of lantern and caste mark, The merchant began to examine it and the area immediately adjacent for any sign of a set of controls, or a way to get onto the pillar itself. There was probably a set of controls on top.


-------------------------------------


Let's go with perception+Investigation again. Mordant knows Old Realm, so it's worth a shot to try and find a 'do stuff' button. Or maybe a light switch. (Or if we're really lucky, a 'turn off the traps' button)


1d10=8, 1d10=1, 1d10=9, 1d10=1 = 2 + 2 from 2nd EX = 4 successes.

 

[Sherwood]

Walking around to the rear of the pillar you find a stairway to the top. Standing there, you can almost remember facing your Exalted brothers and sisters, your Sidereal advisors, your Lunar mates, and the Dragon Blooded lieutennants that serve you. Shaking your head to return to the here and now, your eyes look upon the carved relief curving before you. Once you touch the panel, a faint glow lights up the controls, followed by a soft glow from above as lights start to turn on as they tap into the power of the manse.


The panel before you is divided up into various sections that expand as you look at them with simbols for the four cardinal directions and a fifth one that represents the Blessed Isle. Large viewscreens that seem to float in the air before you give you maps that detail the defense grid for Creation, showing locations for key manses and special war machines, including locations nearby such as Mount Metagalapa, Denandsor, and many points in between.