Summer Vacation! [Dreams and Nightmares]

Alexandria awakens with a startle as the earie feeling rushes through her. Just as she is about to ask anyone else if they felt it the ship suddenly begins it's jearing and shifting about. As the ship learches and sways she says, "Okay everyone are you ready for some action, cause I have a sneaking suspision that something bad is about to happen?"
 
Rufus extends his flute into its staff form, stretching it long. He steadies himself on one of the couch that's bolted to the ground.


"I'm as ready as I ever am for a fight. Let me see what's out there..." Rufus looks closest window, and breathes in as his silvery essence make his eyes begin to glow with a faint light. He's hoping whatever is out there maybe left a trail that he could follow or least point his friends in the right direction.


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I'm going to spend six motes to activate All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight.
 
As you look out the window, you are surprised to see the unmistakable sight of large scale, ground-based Essence weapons firing on the airship! There are signs of some damage from the first blast, but the pilot is doing a incredible job of dodging the bolts as they are fired up at you from the ground. It is difficult to see just what is directing the attack, since it is so far away and the airship is weaving through the air like a fighter jet instead of a large passenger liner.


Up ahead you see some beautiful snow-capped mountians. It appears that you have reached the vacation spot that Kentaru has been talking about. You'll get to see it - just before you die in a firey crash.
 
ooc note to self, in future make sure button says 'submit'; I can only guess my post from earlier was 'preview' only, sigh. well I'll just add on stuff I had to ask sherwood about...


IC



Killing Frost tilted her head to one side as she thought, "I don't think Voice of Thundar is still among the living, girl, I haven't heard that name in a long time. I never had the honor of meeting that particular Chosen of Luna, I must admit, but one still hears stories." She started to open her mouth to discuss the matter further when the wave of energy passed them, "Here, girl, if you can drink this," she went on, absentmindedly, half listening to her companions, half dragging up memories of stories in old books about dealing with ghosts. She picked the quickest method she could think of, pouring the remainder of the tea dregs and soggy leaves onto the cup's saucer, symbolically destroying them as some of the old books said was necessary for ghosts to take possession of things.



The jerking of the ship would have spilled the dregs but for the motes of her Essence she called on to feed Graceful Crane, she set the saucer down on a table, turning away toward her companions, "I hope to speak more with you later, girl, if this trouble destroys the ship without releasing you come find me, and I'll see what I can do."



The flash of Essence weapons flicker in the cabin and Killing Frost swears softly, swinging the strap of her violin case over her shoulder and tucking her book safely away while wishing they had more actual combat experience together, sparring just wasn’t the same as when the shit hit the fan. “I can cast God-forged Champion of War,†she informed the group, “which would let me and anyone willing to hitch a ride get down separate from the airship. If I drop before kicking in the flight systems whoever is targeting us might believe we are just blast damage and we could sneak up on them, find out what is going on.†Killing Frost let the group consider that, some might even be able to get down on their own.



“I do need to be outside,†she muttered, then called out, “Girl,†she glanced around for the server from earlier, and not instantly seeing her adding, “Kala,†in the hopes one or the other would respond quickly, “I need to know if there is roof access ports and where they are…†Failing that she’d have to hope someone could blast through to the outside without tearing the airship apart in the process. “Someone ask the pilots, if they think they can get down safely, if they are staying they need to be kept up on the plan as its going to change the way this flying rock handles when I open the port,†more so if someone had to slice through to the outside.



“Any other plans? Riding the ship down will tell our attackers just where to find us, personally I’d rather confuse the by leaving early…â€



 
"Thank you for your offer Frost but I can take care of myself. Keep the space for someone who needs it." Just then you see Alexandria transform into a beautiful hawk. "I'm ready when everyone else is."


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spending 8 motes personal plus 1 willpower to activate instictive dex focus.
 
"Those mountains are gorgeous, Kentaru... Its shame we won't get a chance to relax there." Rufus sighs, and forms his staff back into flute before slipping it into a pocket. "The weapons are based from the ground. They'll see and shoot anyone who drops. Something big is going on down there...." ..... Rufus thinks it for a split second, before also transforming into his hawk shape, dark black feathers peppered with bright orange down its sides.


"Alexandria, perhaps we should... distract the guns? No doubt they'll try to take out anything that flies away. It would give Frost and company a chance to counter attack and maybe let the flight crew get this thing down in one piece..."
 

"If so many of our group can fend for themselves, perhaps we should abandon the airship, ride down behind its bulk for protection and shielding from view. Perhaps even make it look like one of their near misses actually hit something important, blowing up the ship. If the from the ship they can't target it all, Rufus, and I can create weapons and such as well. It does have a heavy cost though, and an hour duration unless I feed more Essence to it."



The Chosen of Luna probably all had flying forms of one size or another, so it was only a matter of Kentaru, Ghost and Lor possibly. Even the addition of the airship crew shouldn't stress the Str 12 Warstrider. She had only the basics when it came to small unit warfare, her previous experience had be more solo, and she took a deep breath and send her thoughts back to what training she had...






OOC ... not sure what attribute would go with 'war' to decide the method most likely to get as many of them safely on the ground (including 'their' crew as they have some responsibility to them as well) safely and prepared to fight (or escape to safety of the skii lodge in case of the crew if they aren't combat trained) everyone seems to have only one dot so depending on what it attribute it combines with it looks like no one stands out in 'war', feel free to roll any dice needed, Sherwood. at this point she'd be more insterested in moving along quickly as time is of the essence, so they can't overdiscuss it. She wants to look like wreckage from the airsip, either by ripping a loose piece off or (if everyone is exiting the ship) blowing chunks of wreckage off as cover.
 
Lor pulled out her bow and shouted "I'm going with Frost"


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spend 8 motes to invoke inexhaustable bolts of solar fire
 
Kala stumbles over to one side of the lounge. "M'lady, there is an exit over here that you can use to escape. Don't worry about me, after all, it's not like I can die again."


Kentaru runs to the front of the ship, and quickly returns. "Frost, quit talking to yourself and get that door open!" He turns to look at the Lunars. "Once that door is open, get out and get clear. Check our landing site; we'll have our hands full carrying the crew. I can handle the flight crew if you catch our Solars and the last of the stewards." He turns and races to the front of the airship as the whole craft shudders under the impact of a Essence blast that had found its mark.


The emergency exit hatch is easy to find now you know where it is. A simple twist of the handle and a firm shove and the door is flung open by a rush of bone-chilling air. The ship is still fairly high off the ground, giving Frost plenty of time to cast her spell and catch falling survivors, assuming that the various Exalts don't have some means of breaking their own landing.
 

Killing Frost nods to both the Dawn Caste and the ghost, Moving toward the exit she calls the bits of flickering flame in the eyes of the skulls making up the looping belt, as well as the larger skulls clips in her hair, the Virtuous Guardian Flame dances beside her, ready to protect her as always, "Lor, I need to be in the open, as the Warstrider will form around me, we are high enough I can change, and scoop you up before we reach the ground." She glances at the remaining Solars, "Anyone else want to take the ride of a lifetime?" She twists the handle on the door, shoving it open, and shifting her weight at the last moment to keep from being swept out on the wind and a second impact from the essence weapons on the ground.



With a final check of the straps on her violin and book cases, she takes a running step and leaps into the jetstream in order to put some distance between herself and the rear structure of the airship. Frost weaves the lattice of Essence about her, creating the the Warstrider, the flight suite and weapons, a Daiklaive to parry impacts, (and if it would have any effect on the ground based weaons, either a warstrider mounted medimum essence cannon or fire lance fan) and done in the proper magic material since the fools made the mistake of attacking a Solar in daylight.



Clad in her protection, her sword at ready she looks for Lor of Copperwood and anyone else brave, or fool, enough to jump out of the airship on her word she'd catch them... which she would do her best to do. of course.



 
Rufus wastes no time in exiting the ship, diving down low. He hopes he's out of their line of fire as he glides just above the water heading towards the potentate landing site.
 
Alexandria quickly follows Rufus out of the airship figuring there is safety in numbers and if we don't all find each other then at least she and Rufus can work together to find everyone, afterall Rufus seems like a standup kind of guy. She hopes.
 
The side hatch opens with a bang and a loud woosh of air rushing past. The first out the door is Frost, and as soon as she is clear of the aircraft, she begins casting her spell. Right on her heels, she is followed by the two Lunars in bird forms and Lor with her bow in hand.


Speaking several of the Five Hundrerd Words of War, a latticework of Essence begins to form around Frost. Sparks of sunfire swirl down from the sky to join the lattice, infusing the magic with the glory of the Unconqured Sun. Hundreds of lesser gods leave their objects and fly towards the Essence-lattice of the spell, where the light of the Incarnae forges them into thick plates of armor and crafts a mighty Warstrider of light and Orchalcum. Wings open on its back and spread wide while jet pods begin blasting out superheated air.


Now that you are out of the airship and have a wider field of view, you see where the blasts of Essence are comming from. A rocky mound at the shoreline has cracked open to reveal a fixed weapon emplacement of a design that you easily recognize as a typical defensive battery, many of which have been built from as long ago as the great Primoridal War. As you watch, the cannon keeps tracking the airship, firing over and over as the wounded vehicle rolls over and crashes into the side of the mountains in a mighty explosion.


The Essence Cannon turns its focus away fromt the burning wreckage and seems to sniff around, looking for more targets. For what seems to be an eternity its massive barrel points at the falling Exalts, but then it moves on, until it finally retracts back into the rocky outcropping and vanishes.
 
Killing Frost scoops up the Dawn Archer, settling her in the crook of her off arm, since the flight wings and super heated air made perching on the Warstrider's back - and using the eighteen foot mass of Orchalcum as a shield as normally she would have suggested. "Since your bow is not the best at effecting ground emplacements, why don't you see if Kentaru or our thief pair need catching, and I'll keep an eye on the cannon." She was puzzled when the canon's actions, and keeping an eye on the jutting rock where it appeared from she followed the airship's path, swirling past the columns of smoke, checking to see if there is the possibility of surviviors, though not too worried; she didn't believe in the useless waste of those serving the Chosen of the Unconquered Sun, but if any of the crew of the aircraft had died it was in their service and they were promised far better lives in their next turn at the wheel. Frost also examined the area from the air for any sign their belongings - other than what was in their Cache eggs - had come through unscatched, and scanned for any signs that this was an attempt to ambush them when the airship crashed, or they came looking for the wreckage. She would look puzzled as she met up with the rest of the companions, had someone bad been on the ship and they not know about him or her somehow? had there been something dangerous put on their airship, without their knowledge? She suspected someone was trying to make them look the fool and while she wasn't the most aggressive in the group she quite likely was the one who held a grudge the longest. Someone was going to pay for thier little game or trick or whatever it was...


After flying by the crash site, and assuming the Essence Cannon remained passive, Frost would head down to meet up with the Lunar pair near their landing site, perhaps there would some locals to explain why they were attacked with no justification.
 

Killing Frost sat back, taking a long drag off her pipe, her cobalt eyes glittering with amusement, then growing serious as she turned to the pair she had not sat down near by accident, “I wanted to talk to you two about something for after this fun in the snow trip of Kentaru’s. How familiar are you with tomb traps? According to *this* book, the book I want is in a tomb long abandoned and off the beaten path…â€



JOINT POST GHOST & KITTIE


Ghost had looked at Kittie when Frost mentioned raiding tombs. He imperceptibly shook his head not wanting Kittie to say anything out loud at the moment. Kittie reached her toe out and tapped Frosts foot and gave a wink. Hoping that Frost got the idea that both would find her and talk to her later when everyone else was gone, kittie and Ghost sat quietly not making a sound.


Both had spent the time on board the ship checking out passenger lists, and casing the offices for a safe on board and spent time watching for any rich passengers who might be the type to get drunk and lose things or leave them out where they might "walk away". When the wave passed through and then the ship shuddered both looked startled. Kittie turned to Ghost and whispered, "That did NOT sound or feel good. We need to head for the life boats just in case. If the ship goes down, how are we going to get out of this?"


Ghost grabbed Kittie and pulled her out into a hallway. "Quickly, now that things are disrupted, let's hit that safe." Kittie smiled and laughed, "That sounds wonderful." Running through the corridors and hallways, Ghost and Kittie stopped and glanced around a corner. The Captain and the crew members were out of the office and it was wide open, well true there was the one lock on the door but that was of no significance. (Kittie ROLLED 5 SUCCESSES OUT OF 9 DICE). They slipped inside and went directly to a large safe. (Kittie 7 successes out of 9 dice Ghost 4 Successes out of 9 dice). Grabbing as much loot as they could quickly, the two slipped out of the office and ran to where the life boats were located. They were quickly being filled.

Sherwood said:
Now that you are out of the airship and have a wider field of view, you see where the blasts of Essence are comming from. A rocky mound at the shoreline has cracked open to reveal a fixed weapon emplacement of a design that you easily recognize as a typical defensive battery, many of which have been built from as long ago as the great Primoridal War. As you watch, the cannon keeps tracking the airship, firing over and over as the wounded vehicle rolls over and crashes into the side of the mountains in a mighty explosion.
The Essence Cannon turns its focus away fromt the burning wreckage and seems to sniff around, looking for more targets. For what seems to be an eternity its massive barrel points at the falling Exalts, but then it moves on, until it finally retracts back into the rocky outcropping and vanishes.
Pieces were falling off the ship as it was being hit. The little life boat dropped and fell with the debris, much of which were larger than the small ship. Ghost laughed at Kittie who was hanging out over the side, yelling "Whee!! This is fun. Better than an E Ticket!!" He shook his head and pulled her back into the ship. At least the explosion would cover any sign of the theft. They rode the ship down and when it was close to the ground they grabbed hands and jumped over the side.
 
Kentaru runs up to where everyone is standing with three people in tow; two flight attendents and a pilot. The pilot is bleedig from a nasty gash in his forehead and there are sores and abrasions on the attendents, leavint Kentaru without a scratch. He reaches deep into his pockets and comes out with a small handfull of finely crafted Jade pieces that look like a small fickering candle flame. "I had grabbed a handful of these, just in case someone forgot that our trip is far to the snowy north. It looks like they are going to need these more than others of our group." He takes three of the trinkets and cups them in his hands and breathes deeply on them. "Here, they will last quite a while. Tuck them under your shirt and let them rest against your bare skin. When they start to cool down, let us know and we can recharge them with ease."


The mortals follow his instructions like they were automations. Getting shot down and somehow survivng the crash is still sinking in.


Now, Kentaru turns to Frost and the two Lunars. "You guys jumped while I was rounding up these three. Did you spot something, anything, that is responsible for this?" He waves over his shoulder at the burning wreckage. "I want to know what the Malfias has just happened!"
 
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btw, Edge, please post the amount of Essence you have spent on that spell and the added artifact weapons and ancillary systems.
 
Sad news for Ghost and Kitty. There is little of value in the lockbox on the airship. It is a high-end luxury liner, and its primary cargo is the uber-wealthy mortals or typical Exalts that are not using a personal vehicle to get around.
 
After landing Alexandria would tell to Kentaru,"As we flew down there where Ground based artilery weapons shooting at us. After the airship we were riding in crashed the weapons disappeared into the rocks. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone. these weapons haven't been used in centuries, we need to find out who or what has activated it." As she sits there talking to rufus and kentaru Alexandria notices over the mountains a greenish black cloud of smoke. (sherwood told me i saw this) "What is that smoke from? Does anyone know, I didn't see it before and it isn't the ship?" Alexandria askes with a bit of concern.
 
Kentaru focuses his gaze in the direction that Alexandria pointed. With a expression mixing shock and disgust, he mutters, "A fire that big, there is only one thing around here that could be burning. It has to be the town. Something attacked it, and that set off the automated defenses that attacked the ship we were on." He starts running towards the fire, and yells out, "Well, come on! Whatever it is that attacked the place may still be there! At the very least, there may be survivors!"
 
Sherwood said:
He starts running towards the fire, and yells out, "Well, come on! Whatever it is that attacked the place may still be there! At the very least, there may be survivors!"

Killing Frost would settle Lor safely back in the crook of her off arm, take a few giant Warstrider sized strides, stop after passing Kentaru and turn, "And one want to get there faster? Kicking a bit of power through the flight jets, "or if stealth isn't a problem, fastest?"



Frost would let the 18 foot Warstrider settle back to the ground and wait a moment to see if there are any takers, warning anyone climbing on the armor to beware of the red jade nozzles, those a the flight jets and get *very* hot, they need to stick to the buttery gold Orichalcum sections.






Running norm rate x 10 = 40 (whether its a sprint or long distance the stats come out the same lol)


Flight rating x 30 = 90 MPH


Lifting STR 12 = 1600 lbs
 
Frost scoops up a Solar or two and starts making tracks to the town, leaving the Lunars to keep up on their own power. Kentaru is able to keep up with the large war machine without too much trouble; you suspect that he's using some artifact to boost his speed.


After a few minutes of travel, the group comes out of a small valley trail and is able to look out at the city - or rather, what's left of it.


Many of the buildings have been knocked down by some tremendous force. The ones still standing are burning with a sickly green flame that is spreading quickly. The casualties are going to be in the thousands with ease.


-------


Make three Perception + Awareness rolls, please.
 
Sherwood said:
Sad news for Ghost and Kitty. There is little of value in the lockbox on the airship. It is a high-end luxury liner, and its primary cargo is the uber-wealthy mortals or typical Exalts that are not using a personal vehicle to get around.
brideofsherwood said:
After landing Alexandria would tell to Kentaru,"As we flew down there where Ground based artilery weapons shooting at us. After the airship we were riding in crashed the weapons disappeared into the rocks. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone. these weapons haven't been used in centuries, we need to find out who or what has activated it." As she sits there talking to Rufus and kentaru Alexandria notices over the mountains a greenish black cloud of smoke. (sherwood told me i saw this) "What is that smoke from? Does anyone know, I didn't see it before and it isn't the ship?" Alexandria asks with a bit of concern.
Joint Kittie and Ghost Joint Post


Ghost and Kittie landed and rolled and took off on a run. A ways away, Kittie saw Kentaru, Alexandria and Rufus standing in a group. They headed that way to see what was up with the others, not to mention put distance away from the small life boat. The whole area was littered with debris, some rather huge pieces. Kittie grimaced and shook the snow off one of her shoes, "OK so this is our vacation! Wonderful!" She looked at the debris on the ground and then up in the air to make sure nothing was going to fall on them. "I am SOOOO glad you talked me into coming with you. I left this crap back when I was a kid and have no real desire to play in the snow again. Looking out a window with a hot mug of cider is the closest I want to get to snow."


Ghost sighed, "Yeah things are not exactly quiet but then you would be bored if it was too quiet." He glanced behind them and said, "Let's get to the others and mingle."


They took off on a jog and came up to where the others were just starting to take off toward the smoke. Kittie raised one eyebrow and yelled to Kentaru, "So, is this where the fun begins? You have any idea where that smoke is coming from?"
 

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