The Still Before the Storm [Team Manifest Destiny] [The Silver Apples of the Moon, the Golden Apples

Onyx Lotus


Readying his weapons to be thrown at an instant's notice, Lotus mutters softly to himself. "And here... we... go."


He steps out, preparing for battle.


Join Battle: Results for 5 dice: 0 successes [ 3 6 5 5 2 ] (TN: 7). Shit.
 
Marius nods to his two companions and tightens the grip on his sword.


"Stay behind me, and strike at their flanks."


He lets out a shout, meant more to intimidate his foe than anything else, and charges toward the enemy, his run vastly different than Coral's, all muscle and force instead of grace.


----


Join Battle roll on 7 dice, TN = 7. 4, 2, 9, 8, 9, 2, 9 -4 successes, and a curiously bimodal distribution.
 
Fight!


The blood apes are on the other side of a hastily erected barricade. You can move it with a feat of strength (misc. action at Difficulty 6) or stunt past it. The other side is a narrow, smooth-walled tunnel that gets rougher the further down one goes.


The familiar reek of the three blood apes raging on the other side of the barrier stings the nostrils. One limps, a broken-off spear protruding from its flank.


Tick 0 - Cyl


Tick 1 - CrazyIvan


Tick 2 - Hammercro, Blood Ape 1


Tick 3 - nobody


Tick 4 - Blood Ape 2, Blood Ape 3


Tick 5 - Chaka
 
Tsuki easily spotted the leader, his big horns and growl were more powerful than the other blood apes and he really was galvanizing them.


Remembering the thousand scrolls she had read about demons and their core and the means to defeat them with willpower as a sole weapon and she adopted a meditative position, straight, feet joined, her arms describing the opposed half of a circle ending in the middle with her righ fist closed against her chest above which her left hand was forming the mudra of victory over the primordials.


She focused for a moment and her essence made the whole fabric of the place shake for a moment as hundred of blue glyphs appeared on the floor and on the walls, quickly approaching the alarmed beast.


And with a voice rolling like the thunder she started to focus the rage and hatred of all that threatens man in her powerful roar "eeeeeeeeviiiiIIIIL, BEGONE !" as the magic seal was closing in on the screaming demon to send it back to Malfeas and her caste mark shone on her forehead.


***


Casting First Circle Banishment (10 personal motes + 5 personal + 5 periphereal)


Essence 3 + wp 6 9 dice


9xD10: 9 10 1 9 8 2 10 4 4 : 6suxx can't complain :D .


Demon got -2 dice on his opposed roll


Will act again on T3
 
Marius' charge reaches the barricade, but he does not break stride. He is fighting beside his men, and they have long since learned how to construct a fortification amenable to Solar combat. He possesses none of the fluid dancer's grace of his mate, but that does not mean he is entirely without some degree of dexterity. He strikes the barricade with his shoulder, wood creaking and splintering with the impact and rolls, his momentum carrying him over. Landing hard, he plants his feet firmly on the group, Gatesunder held in a high guard.


---


Plan:


Trying to stunt over the barrier and activating "The Mountain Does Not Move Technique" combo before taking a guard action.
 
Coral follows Marius into the fray, her rapid steps transforming into skips as she begins her performance. Her dance carries her up and over the barricade, her long robes not restricting her movements in any way. The soldiers catch a glimpse of her thighs as she flies over the barrier. Coral lands softly . She takes up a defensive stance alongside the Solar warrior, her fans raised to ward off attacks. Perhaps she could fight these demons but she would not rush in without taking time to gauge their strength.


---


Stunting over the barricade and full guard action.
 
Onyx Lotus


Assuming he's not attacked in the interim...


Seeing no reason to leap over the barricade when he can fight just as effectively from behind its safety, Lotus raises the typhoon wheel in his right hand, its razor edges glittering wickedly. Holding it steady, he stares at the injured blood ape, judging distance and any changes in movement.


Aim action on tick 5, assuming nothing interferes.
 
The blood ape leader shrieks in impotent rage as the sorcerous mark tightens around it like a boa constrictor, its thrashing throwing up waves of air that reek with the scent of Malfean battlegrounds. With a last wail that resembles more the cry of a young child than that of a demon, it vanishes.


As Marius and Coral leap the barricade, the two remaining blood apes take a mere moment to adapt to the loss of their leader, a moment that allows the two Exalts to plant their feet as best they can in the slippery-smooth rocky floor.


The demons recover quickly, though, and the limping one of the two remaining charges at what it perceives as the greatest threat: Marius. With a roar of frustration, it swings at him again and again, its weighted club bashing only air.


Blood Ape 1 uses Principle of Motion and attacks Marius 5 times!


8xD10: 1 9 1 10 3 5 9 7, 5 sux


8xD10: 1 8 1 5 3 9 9 8, 4 sux


8xD10: 9 7 8 2 3 1 10 2, 5 sux


8xD10: 6 8 1 9 8 8 7 1, 5 sux


8xD10: 5 9 7 5 10 2 2 1, 4 sux


With Marius' combo, that means he whiffed all five times...and invited 5 counterattacks.


The other ape is perhaps slightly more wise: instead of attacking the big armored man, it goes for the wispy-looking Coral with a flurry of claws.


7xD10: 7 10 7 8 9 9 6, 7 sux!


6xD10: 2 8 2 4 9 3, 2 sux!


He beats her PDV once! (Stunts or charms may, of course, change this.)


Cyl, you need to re-roll Join Battle after spellcasting.
 
***


Not sure if I need to make a roll, but here it is :)


New JB:


7xD10: 4 4 7 7 1 7 8 : 4 suxx
 
Tsuki is now going on Tick 5. I'd really like it if OOC mechanics and questions were in italics so as to preserve the flow of the story. Thanks!
 
Marius moves to meet the demon as it advances, a roar of rage and defiance matching the creatures own as the two collide, the crude and brutal club of the Malfean meeting shining Orichalcum with a crash. The warriors blade is everywhere at once, the massive sword and his armored body a single mass of impenetrable metal.


The club comes down high and to his right, the blow meant to cripple his shoulder and deprive him of his grip on Gatesunder. Instead be brings the sword up to meet it at an impossibly steep angle, the club deflecting harmlessly off and the shining golden weapon thrusting powerfully toward the demon a moment later. A second blow comes at his waist, a wide, powerful swing met midway by the Solar's own stroke, the club's direction forced high and wide while the path of the sword continues toward the core of the creatures thick, putrid body.


Frustrated and pained, the creatures blows become more frantic, less aimed, an eternity of training and war giving way to the rare fear of facing a Lawgiver in direct combat. Another high swing is met with a flawless parry directly out of a Dynast training book, the Exalts form flawless before the onslaught, the ensuing counterstroke being delivered with an equal measure of skill and speed. The following blow is met head on with the flat of the blade, the demon trying for a moment to simply power through the parry, only to have the weapons pommel - and the Solar's armored fist - driven into its teeth. With a final roar of frustration and rage, the creature lunges forward even as Marius steps to the side to deliver a backhanded stroke, the blade sliding across the club's surface toward the creature's arm. The Solar puts his muscle behind the stroke, caste mark glowing a powerful golden shining even through his helmet, his form surrounded by a searingly bright image of a perfect, armored champion of the Unconquered Sun.


----


5 Delicious Counter-attacks, all vs. Blood Ape 1


CA 1: Using 1st Melee Excellency, 1 mote. 8, success. Roll (Melee 4 + Dexterity 4 + 1 Excellency +2 Daiklaive Specialty) 11d10: 6, 6, 8, 9,5,4,5,8,7,2,5: 4 successes


CA2: Using 1st Melee Excellency, 3 motes. 7,7,6, 2 success. Roll = 12d10: 6, 8, 3, 5, 7, 1, 9, 0, 5, 8, 6, 7: 7 successes


CA 3: Using 1st Melee Excellency, 2 motes. 9, 4, success. Roll 11d10: 8, 6, 4, 3, 9, 0, 8, 7,7,7,5: 8 successes


CA 4: Using 1st Melee Excellency, 2 motes. 0, 5, 2 success. Roll 12d10: 3, 8, 8, 0, 0, 4, 2, 9, 3, 9, 2, 9: 9 successes


CA 5: Using 1st Melee Excellency, 2 motes. 2, 6. No success. Roll 10d10: 6, 4, 7, 1, 8, 5, 7, 6, 4, 0: 5 successes


Cost: 19 motes of essence between Ready in Eight Directions Stance, Heavenly Guardian Defense and Excellencies, 1 WP to activate combo. Currently at -5 DV until my next action - we'll call this a calculated risk, mostly I just wanted to take the combo and character out for a spin and see what they can do. Fluff is an attempt to stunt, don't know how you handle that, but its remarkably hard to narrate five counter-attacks
 
At Marius's totally unexpected volley of counterattacks, the second blood ape shrieks in sudden horror as its ichor sprays across the narrow tunnel. The blows knock it against the wall and, with a last desperate gurgle, it slides down to the floor.


The second ape's claws score a long slash on Coral's flesh. Ignoring the fate of its second companion, the beast howls in anticipation at the scent of fresh blood.


No charms or attempt to stunt or anything? Hokay. Blood Ape 3 does one level of lethal damage to Coral.


Tick 4: Blood Ape 2 (dead), Blood Ape 3 (acted), CrazyIvan (your guard action ran out.)


Tick 5: Chaka, Hammercro (ditto re: guard action, but technically you could act on Tick 4 if you'd rather), cyl


Tick 6:


Tick 7:


Tick 8:


Tick 9: Blood Ape 3, if he's still around.
 
Coral winces from the demon's blow but clears her mind of the pain. Essence flares through her body as she leaps into the air, her war fans shining brightly in her hands as her essence pools in the artifact. She lands on the Blood Ape's head and kicks off. For a moment she resembles her spirit shape of the Lookshy Peafowl, her long sleeves spreading like wings, her fans opening to reveal a beautiful coloration like a peafowl's tail. Coral swipes the thin edge of the fan at the Blood Ape as she lands behind it. She lands another blow at the demon's back. Gently like a caressing wind, she flutters around the Blood Ape and strikes it soundly with two closed fans.


Flurry: War Fan 4x, Lethal Paper Fan Attack (+2 acc each)(12m from Perip)


Speed 5, 4L


12xD10: 1 7 1 2 3 7 10 1 2 6 8 10 = 7 successes


11xD10: 7 5 5 8 1 8 1 7 8 8 10 = 8 successes


10xD10: 8 9 10 1 6 3 9 6 9 4 = 6 successes
 
The blood ape's red eyes show nothing but astonishment as its weak-looking prey suddenly savages it with, of all things, fans. The trails of ichor following the fan are deceptively slender, but the ape's movements reveal the extent of its injuries.


With a 1-die stunt, Coral smacks the Blood Ape down into the -2s with 6 levels of damage.
 
Tsuki, after having bannished the Demon did not rest, after the blazing display of her power over evil, she decided it was time to give the demons a taste of their own bitter medecine.


She rushed towards the demon then around two yards from him rolled to the ground only to arrive before him, raising Rekkimaru from its scabbard as she was aiming for his guts.


The brutal shock of the blade and the exalt both rising in a circular movement lifted the foul creature in the air for a second and it was then than Tsuki could unleash a furious and vengeful spinning kick with her right leg towards its sternum, pushing it a yard backward while pushing herself against the stone wall, only to use her left leg to push herself back at the demon and dive on the creature like a hawk on its prey using her self forged blade as a lethal talon, sticking it in the devil's throat before it even could hit the ground.


That would be a flurry of 3 actions, I'm aiming for the wounded beast obviously.


Rekkimaru = 12-3


9xD10: 6 8 1 2 8 3 1 10 4 : 4 suxx vs his DV of 3 if I'm not mistaking, means 7L (ping dmg)


Kick = 8-4


4xD10: 10 4 3 3 : 2 vs his DV of 2- (if I was lucky enough to wound him furthermore, he'd have a DV of 1) 8+L (ping)


and the finishing blow


Rekkimaru = 12-5


7xD10: 3 7 9 3 6 8 2 : 3 suxx vs his DV of 1-, means 9+L (maybe more than ping)


Will act again on T10 (Kick is a speed 5 action) could've just slashed him, but wouldn't have been as stylish then :twisted:
 
Demonic ichor sprays over Tsuki as the unfortunate blood ape collapses around the sword through its throat, dead before it can even make a sound. Behind the barricade, the soldiers send up a ragged cheer, a few of them taking the anonymity of the crowd to wolf-whistle at Coral and Tsuki. A few voices add in praises for Onyx Lotus and Marius, the latter rather wistfully.


As the cheer finally dies away, the hallway goes quiet, distant noises echoing oddly in the sudden absence of battle-clamor.


And slightly less distant, the sound of a voice in a cadence all too like Tsuki's banishment spell.
 
Tsuki wiped her blade against the dead demon's fur and then swang it in the air before putting it back in its scabbard.


"Demon slain. The deed is done." she said with a deep voice.


"Half of that beast is yours" she launched at Coral smiling behind her mask "The other half I claim. Good thing about the demons is that you can scavenge their rests and make something good out of their evil bodies."


Then she turned to the others.


"We must find who let those out and stop them before they do it again."
 
Coral nods, "I'll have to ask you for help on scavenging anything useful from their remains. As for the source of the demons, I agree that we should hurry before the culprit can prepare anything else to stop us."
 
Marius scowls at those men wolf-whistling at the two Exalts, trying to instill some order and discipline back into the soldiers at the barricade.


He points his massive, bloody sword down the hallway where the noises are coming from.


"I suspect whatever started this is down that passage. Care to join me in finding the source?"
 
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