Trial By Fire - Exalted 2e IC Thread

[Sherwood]

Annika removes her hand from Darian's shoulder, and begins checking the other fallen bodies to see how many of them are still alive.

Of the remaining five Exalts, two are still alive but are in need of medical attention if you want to keep them that way: Wrackstaff and Chakram. The others have already succumbed to their injuries.

Darian slips her arm around Aredin and gives him a tight squeeze. Then, she says, "Don't we have more of those manacles? We can use another pair to secure this one, too."

You have a total of four pairs of the manacles. One is currently being used to secure the wounded Dynast, so you have three more pairs to use.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin returns the gesture and holds Darian close and kissing her as he swipes another set from his coat. "I only have this last one on me, I think Ram and Viktor have the last two." With that he'd toss the manacles to Aysik. "Well, since he's here I hope he doesn't mind sharing the other side of the story. Though I can't abide murder of innocents lightly."

 

[Psychie]

Darian leans over to whisper quietly into Aredin's ear as she kisses him in return. "Once I have recovered some Essence, I may be able to change their memories enough to recruit the survivors to our side. It will take some serious work, and we would have to watch them for a time to make sure that they don't shake off the changed memories, but I think it is worth a chance."

 

[jaydude]

Having finished her check, Annika turns to look at Aredin and Darian. "As much as I hate to interrupt the smoochy times..." she says sarcastically, "...what about these other two? Do we try and take them prisoner as well, or just put them out of their misery?" She asks, indicating the pair of incapacitated Dragon-bloods.

 

[Sherwood]

Aysik catches the heavy manacles easily and moves quickly to secure his fellow Sidereal. The man doesn't resist, just gives you all a poisonous glare as his hands and feet are locked up. "There. Now that we have these two taken care of, lets give Ram a call and have him take them into custody. Looks like the wounded will need a doctor quickly or they will not survive. I know enough about treating wounds that I can stabilize them, if that is what you want."

 

[jaydude]

Annika remains silent, allowing Aredin and Darian to answer Aysik's question, while at the same time meeting the death glare of the enemy Sidereal with a wave and a teasing smile.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin returns the whisper. "I believe in you. Just let me know how I can help." Then turns to Annika, "We're going to do what we can. Viktor, you remember where the physician is yes? Can you take this and bring him here quickly?" Aredin pulls yet another item from his near bottomless pockets and tosses it to Viktor. It's an orb of transport with a hearthstone still inside the socket. It's a dragon king relic capable of carrying people up to 150 miles per hour in a sealed orb of light. "Yes do what you can to stabilize them, we'll get the other manacles ready and a dedicated physician to keep watch on them."

 

[Psychie]

Darian frowns. "We have two more of the special manacles in our possession, but keeping all four of these Exalts under control will be difficult." She lets out a sigh. "But, I do feel that we have to try to sway them to our side. Aysik, please do what you can for them."

 

[Sherwood]

The old Sidereal nods. "Done. I will do what I can, but I make no promises." He walks over and pulls some cloth bandages out of his pocket and tries to bind up the wounds of the two injured Dynasts before they bleed out. It takes him several minutes, but when he is done, he sits back on his heels. "Woooof. There. They should last until your local healer can work on them. Their scars will be a wonder to behold, and assuming that they live through the night, they will have some stories to tell their loved ones."

 

[jaydude]

Annika then indicates the uninjured Dynast. "What about him? You want me to take him to wherever you keep your prisoners and start questioning him? Or should we start doing that right here and now?" She asks.

 

[MasterDAF]

Viktor reaches out and catches the tossed orb. Turning it over in his hands a few times, he gives it a quick once-over. "Transport through an orb of light, eh? Fancy." He nods at Aredin. "Let me just send a message to Ram, then I'll grab the physician and bring him back here."

Viktor smoothly makes the requisite hand gestures and calls forth a tiny messenger cherub. With a burst of essence it appears and he directs it to Ram while relaying information concerning the Sidereal-directed attack. He also describes where he has stored his soulsteel manacle, and requests the Terrestrial bring both to the King's Tower, then sends the cherub away.

"I'll be back soon." If nobody else stops him, Viktor scoops up the empty Essence Pulse Grenade and races out to find the city physician. The golden glow of his expended Essence shines about him, with the shining anima of an elephant rumbling along clumsily behind him.

[Essence/WP Costs: (Infallible Messenger) 10m]

 

[Rykon]

Aredin turns to Annika, "Keep him in isolation under watch, I want word at the first whiff of trouble. I will be present before we question anyone. We will start with Mellar here, particularly with why the Bronze Faction wants us dead. I want to hear it in his own words."

 

[jaydude]

Annika nods at Aredin. "You got it. Where do you want him locked up?" She asks, grabbing the Dynast around the armpit and hauling him to his feet.

 

[LowRollLyfe]

Durke straightens himself and looks at Aredin. "If you don't need me right now, I'm gonna talk to my men about the whole situation...after I stop glowin'." Even though his anima banner has receded, his symbol is still lit proudly upon his forehead.

 

[Rykon]

"There's a lockup beneath this tower, once he's been questioned Ram will make the call." In response to Durke's comment, Aredin nods. "Aye, let's get cleaned up." Aredin looks to Darian, whispering again. "This is going to be a long night... Can I get you anything love?" I'm honestly not sure if I want coffee or wine at this point... How sober do I really want to be confronting one of the architects of the age of misery...

 

[jaydude]

Annika gives Aredin another nod, and leads the captured Dynast down into the tower lockup. She watches as the Dynast is stripped of his armor and the rest of his panopoly, before he gets thrown into a small cell with nothing but a wooden bunk and a bucket inside.

"I know it's not a palace in one of the satrapies, but just wait there for a bit, would you? Someone should be along shortly." Annika says sweetly once the Dynast has been locked away.

 

[Psychie]

Darian keeps her guard up until the various prisoners are taken away, then she grabs a seat that had been knocked over and flops down. "Whew! I don't know about the rest of you, but I damn well need a stiff drink! That was . . . unpleasant . . . to say the least. I am just thankful for all of you, and that no one got seriously hurt."

 

[Rykon]

"Agreed..." Aredin used his daiklave to shave the top off a large ice formation from the grenade and took a seat on the now flat surface. Upon depositing the weapon into the magicked pockets generated by his amulet, he'd withdraw a large flask and chilled it momentarily with another melting chunk of ice. Aredin smirked as the situation set in and a bad joke crossed his mind. He'd thought better of it though and just passed the flask around. "I've probably stored a caravan's worth of provisions in this amulet's pockets. Don't feel like you need to hold back for risk of running out of liquor."

 

[jaydude]

Before Ram shows up, Annika also grabs one of the seats, giving a small chuckle at Darian's words. "You've clearly never been in a bar brawl in South Landing before." She says with a fond expression, clearly remembering her old life. "They usually turn out the same way as this."

She then looks at Aredin. "Can I have some of that?"

 

[Sherwood]

Once Ram arrives, he comes racing in with several guards on his heels. "M'Lord and Lady! I came as fast as I could." He looks down in disgust at the bodies lying in the entranceway of the dining room. "Lets get this mess cleaned up. Strip the bodies and the prisoners; take all that you find and bring it to me here. They may have some important clues for us to look at." He turns to the prisoners and fires off a nasty glare. "I will return once we have this pile of trash properly locked up and secure." He helps to cart off the surviving members of the Wyld Hunt's team of killers.

Aysik stretches and you can hear the sound of joints popping. "Oh, my. I have not had such a workout in a long time. That was getting ugly, but I'm glad that none of you were seriously hurt. But I do see that Viktor did take a hard hit. Hmmm." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pair of large flasks and sets them on the table. "I was going to save this for tomorrow, but I feel that there is a greater need for this tonight to help out. If we can scare up some glasses? I think that all of you will want to enjoy a drink of this. It is heavenly Quintessence, the kind of drink that only the highest of the Celestial Hierarchy enjoy. Rumor has it that this can also boost an Exalt's Essence. I hope you all enjoy this gift."

Spoiler

I am going to go ahead and give you a bonus that everyone should enjoy. Once you have had the drink, you Permanent Essence goes up to 4 without having to spend any of your banked xp on it. There is no waiting time on this; it is an effect of the drink. I will also give you an xp bonus of 3 points on top of that. Happy wedding, everyone!

 

[jaydude]

Forgetting about Aredin's alcohol, Annika passes glasses around, and then takes a drink of the Quintessance. "Wow, what is this stuff?" She asks. "I feel a lot more powerful...oh right. Essence boost."

She then clears her throat. "Thank you very much for this, Aysik."

 

[Psychie]

Darian turns her head to face the Sidereal. "Aysik! This is truly a princely gift! You shouldn't have! I can hardly find the right words to properly thank you for this!" She takes the offered glass and drinks it down, her eyes going wide. "Oh, my! That is . . . most spectacular! Between this and Aredin's hidden stash, we will be feeling no pain by the end of the night!"

 

[Rykon]

Aredin took the drink from Aysik, and downed it almost hastily from the taste. Shit... now I'm going to be craving this stuff for years... "This is amazing... I'm kinda sad we might never get another taste of it. Ah well, start with the best as they say." Aredin rolled his sword arm, his shoulder making a loud pop. His muscles seemed to tense, then ease as strength surged through each limb. The presence of his memories seemed to draw closer in, a name just at the edge of awareness, but also beyond his grasp. Another step forward into training hell is it? Fine... "Hm... I'm still a bit hungry, especially after the fight. If we're going to raid the pocket liquor stash, may as well get something to soak up the booze. Let's head into town once we're done with disaster handling, the staff needs a chance to recover from the attack too after all."

 

[jaydude]

Annika perks up a bit when she hears Aredin's plan. "Sounds like fun. Where shall we go?" She asks while looking at him.

 

[Rykon]

"Given the time, probably Mark's Pub. His steaks are about the only thing in town that could come close to matching that drink." Aredin stated.