Trial by Fire - IC Thread

[Psychie]

Spider smiles at Rory's enthusiasm. "What we need is more Exalted on our side. There must be other Lunars and Solars out here that we can get in touch with. Hell, even Dragon Blooded would be a welcome addition to the cause. Does anyone know if there are claimed territories of the Lunar Exalted out here that we can try to recruit? It might be faster to do that than to try and call for the whole Silver Pact to assemble."

 

[jaydude]

The big Solar gives her a toothy grin. "Aye, lass. There isn't a foe that we can't handle! Especially with the likes of us at the lead! And I hazard a guess that from the way that Kuaidao is talking, he has more than a few tricks up his sleeves for making the clans an even stronger fighting force."

Kuaidao grinned. "Well, I am one of the Solars who are particularly disposed to the arts of war." he replied.

Spider smiles at Rory's enthusiasm. "What we need is more Exalted on our side. There must be other Lunars and Solars out here that we can get in touch with. Hell, even Dragon Blooded would be a welcome addition to the cause. Does anyone know if there are claimed territories of the Lunar Exalted out here that we can try to recruit? It might be faster to do that than to try and call for the whole Silver Pact to assemble."

At Spider's question, Kuaidao turned to Melinda as he recalled what he knew of the Scarlet Empire's past dealings in this area.

"Aren't Iscomay and the Shadow Fangs Vanguard situated somewhere to the east of here?" he asked the Sidereal. "Those are Lunar factions, as far as I remember."

Spoiler: OOC

Not entirely sure where exactly we are in the northeast.

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Psychie]

"Aren't Iscomay and the Shadow Fangs Vanguard situated somewhere to the east of here?" he asked the Sidereal. "Those are Lunar factions, as far as I remember."

Spider shrugs, having no personal idea of where these Lunars are. "I don't know; I'm from far to the south and have no idea about these northern territories. Still, some things are standard even up here in this frozen hell you people call home. If I find some of the signs of these other Lunars, I can make contact with them."

 

[Sherwood]

Rory frowns, deep in thought. "Well, according to legend, there is a shapeshifter that has laid claim to a mountain not all that far from here. The stories go that this one may not be very friendly, as those that travel to the mountain do not return. I doubt that this would be a problem for such a robust group of Exalts as us, though. It wouldn't take us long to get there, especially if we use that fancy folding ship that we recovered from the Invisible Fortress. We can travel there and see if this Lunar would be willing to come to our aid."

 

[Psychie]

Spider perks up a bit, interested in hearing more of this 'shapeshifter'. "You are sure that it's a Lunar? Might be some other kind of being out there that doesn't like company. But even so, I think we should go say hello and see what comes of it. Anyone have any objections to this idea? If so, lets hear them."

 

[jaydude]

Kuaidao gave a shake of his head. "I've no objection. If nothing else, it surely wouldn't hurt to investigate this lead."

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Random Word]

Maja is almost vibrating with barely contained enthusiasm at this point. A flying fortress? The invisible fortress was like something from her dreams, but a flying fortress was even better. She'd only been allowed on a skyship twice, and only for short trips.

"Oh, who cares about the cranky hermit, there's a flying fortress to find! We should go there. Right now. I'm packed." She looks at Kuaidao beseechingly, "You can train them on the way. They need to learn to... uh... march, right? Yeah. And... make camp. And forage. And since they'll be tired we can just fly back. Because it's a flying fortress. And I bet that hermit will be really impressed when we show up beside their cave with a fortress. It'll be perfect. We're going now, right?"

 

[Sherwood]

Rory chuckles at Maja's enthusiasm. "You are not shy on sharing how you feel now, are ye, lass? Well, we have a few options that we need to decide upon. Do we go to the mountain to try and recruit this possible Lunar to our side, go find this flying fortress and see if we can find a way to make it work, or something else entirely?" He turns to look at Spider, saying, "What say you? What do you think we should do?"

Psychie

 

[jaydude]

Maja is almost vibrating with barely contained enthusiasm at this point. A flying fortress? The invisible fortress was like something from her dreams, but a flying fortress was even better. She'd only been allowed on a skyship twice, and only for short trips.

"Oh, who cares about the cranky hermit, there's a flying fortress to find! We should go there. Right now. I'm packed." She looks at Kuaidao beseechingly, "You can train them on the way. They need to learn to... uh... march, right? Yeah. And... make camp. And forage. And since they'll be tired we can just fly back. Because it's a flying fortress. And I bet that hermit will be really impressed when we show up beside their cave with a fortress. It'll be perfect. We're going now, right?"

"I have to admit, possession of a flying fortress would be a good statement of power when the time comes to talk with this Lunar." Kuaidao admitted in response to Maja's words. "I don't think I'll need to teach the locals how to survive up here, given how long they've been doing that before our arrival, but I can certainly give them some pointers when it comes to battle."

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Psychie]

Spider looks back and forth between the others with a smile on her face. "Well, it certainly couldn't hurt to take a look at this fortress to see what is in store for us. If it is in such a state of disrepair, we can always come back to it later on when we get a skilled repair crew. It will certainly prove to be a powerful tool to recruit more allies for a war, don't you think?"

"So, when do we leave?"

 

[Sherwood]

Rory lets out a bark of laughter at this, then looks over at Melinda. "So, lass. Where exactly is this wondrous floating castle? What do we need to pack for the trip?"

Melinda gives a tired smile. "It is far to the East, just to the north of Greyfalls. If we take the most direct route through Creation, it will take several weeks of sailing with the Folding Landship. But I may be able to speed things along a bit, and get us there faster. It does have a bit of risk to it, though."

The large Solar laughs. "Risk? I laugh at risk! It makes living so much more exciting than the dull hum-drum of a boring ol' life. Tell us about this speedy way, why don't ye, and we'll see how risky it is."

"It would be a short cut using the Celestial Pathways of Yu-Shan. As Celestial Exalts, you shouldn't have any trouble getting through with me, but the Celestial Lions can be a bit prickly, and if there is any reason for them to try and detain you, they just might. They are fierce guardians of the Gateways, and it would not do well for any of us if you were to get into a pitched fight with them."

Rory looks at her with a questioning expression and says, "Yu-Shan with it's streets paved of gold? Isn't that place a myth? Some storybook place that you tell children about?"

"No, Yu-Shan is quite real. It is where I live and work for the Celestial Bureaucracy. There are many pathways that Exalts of my Order use to be able to cross Creation very rapidly. So long as we can get past the Lions at the Gateway, we can use the paths to shave weeks of travel time off our journey."

He says, "It sounds perfect for us. We go through these pathways, get to the flying castle, and claim it in the name of the Unconquered Sun, and use it to sally forth a mighty army against our enemies!" He looks at Maja and Spider and hastily adds, "Oh, and in the name of Luna, too. But the point is, we get it and save Creation. A complete win. When do we leave?"

Melinda looks to the others and says, "If that is acceptable to all, we can leave within the hour. It will take us a day or so to get to the nearest Gateway here in Creation to get to the Celestial City. Easy as pie."

 

[Psychie]

Spider stretches back in her seat with a yawn, then says, "Sounds fine to me. I travel light; don't need much in the way of supplies that I can't get off of the land. But having some supplies on hand couldn't hurt. Where's the Folding Landship? Whomever has it needs to pull it out and unfold the damn thing so we can pack and get moving soon."

 

[Sherwood]

Is there anything that you guys wish to do before we move forward?

 

[jaydude]

Can't think of anything.

 

[Psychie]

Spider is good to go.

 

[Sherwood]

Ok. Unless Random Word has anything, I'll have an IC post up in a bit.

 

[Sherwood]

Keeping in mind that the supplies you pack on the landship will not fold up with it if you need to put the vessel away, you do put some foodstuffs on the ship to keep you fed for the trip to the Gateway. Melinda is traveling with you, since she is the only one of the group that knows the location of the Gate. Rory is excited, looking forward to seeing the Celestial City and then an actual flying fortress. He's quite the sight, trying to get everyone and everything ready to go sooner rather than later.

Finally, everything is set, and the five of you start out. It will take several hours of travel time before you get to the Gate, and then you'll need to fold the ship up once more in order to make it fit through the portal.

It is roughly an hour and a half into your journey that you can see that there is a bit of smoke rising up in the distance in front of you. As you get closer, you can see that the smoke is coming from a small walled city, most likely from fireplaces and not from the place burning to the ground. That's the good news, at least. The bad news? Melinda is standing at the front of the folding ship, looking at the city walls in confusion. Rory walks up to her, and says, "What is wrong, lass? You seem out of sorts."

She nods. "Yes. It's that small city. I've been through here many times before, and I cannot ever remember it being here before."

Rory frowns, rubbing at his scruffy chin. "Ngh. I can't say that I've ever heard of a city out here, either. I'm sure it would have been something that I would know about, having lived in these parts for my whole life. What do you think it means?"

The Sidereal shrugs, still looking out at the walled city. "I don't know, but it is unusual." She turns to look over at Kuaidao and asks him, "We can stop and investigate, or continue on our way to the Gateway. What would you wish to do?"

 

[jaydude]

Before deciding either way, Kuaidao had a question of his own. "If that city wasn't here before, then how in Malfeas could it be here now?"

He was looking at Melinda. Things like this were the purview of her kind of Exalts, at least as far as he was aware.

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Sherwood]

Melinda looks dubious, and says, "Well, I suppose it would not be beyond the realm of possibilities for some ancient magic of the old Solars to be able to make a whole city disappear, but I certainly have not ever heard of such things before. I may be able to get some answers, though, if you give me a moment." She reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small spider that seems to be made out of starmetal. She whispers a few words to the spider, and it vanishes from her hand in a small flash of Essence. Before long, there is a second flash as the spider returns. Melinda holds it up to her ear and listens carefully,

She then looks up and says, "Well, the city is a walled fortress named Ratlarbeig, and it has been here for many thousands of years. But up until the past few hundred, it seems to have somehow dropped out of sight so to speak. There are no records of the place for centuries, almost as if it were . . . locked away in its own little world. Very strange."

As she talks, you all can feel that the geomancy of the area is very much focused upon the city, indicating that in its heart is a very powerful manse. But it is not . . . right. Something just feels off to you, even from this far out.

 

[jaydude]

"There's something that feels...unnatural about this place." Kuaidao said after a few moments of staring at Ratlarbeig. "I think we should look into it, if only for a brief moment. Maja, Spider, do you think the two of you could use your animal forms to do a quick flyover of the city?"

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Psychie]

Spider spends much of her time on the landship lounging about, staring out at the passing countryside, right up to the point where they came across the strange walled city. At this point, she stands up and goes to stand near Rory and Melinda, trying to get a better look at the place. "Huh. An unknown city in the middle of nowhere. No, that doesn't sound creepy at all. Give me a few minutes and I'll do a fly-over of the city and see if there is anything that stands out to the cursory look."

She gives the others a thumbs-up, then stretches her arms out wide and blurs her form into that of a eagle and takes to the sky.

OOC I'll use 4m on my Charm of Sense Sharpening Change to boost my Sight Perception, and 3m on my Perception Excellency to give me 10 dice on my pool.

A total of 7 successes.

 

[Sherwood]

At first glance, the city looks fairly normal. Wide streets with people walking about and kids playing some bizarre game involving lots of running around in circles and laughing. But as you look closer, there are some things that stand out as . . . unusual. There are no animals, be it a pet dog, goats, horses or any livestock at all. You don't even spot any rats. The only living thing you can see is a few birds that have flown over the walls like you just did. Also, the city has a strange smell to it. It takes you a moment before it clicks; there is no smell of cooking food. Normally in any other city or town you'll have aromas of baking bread, beef over the fire or one of any other smells of food being prepared, but here? Nothing.

Flitting about, you also notice that at the main gate, there is very little wear and tear in the roadway leading up to it, showing that there is next to no traffic that goes in and out of the city. That also strikes you as unusual. Even the most self-sufficient metropolis has some people coming and going from it, but not this one.

The final thing of note that stands out for you is the very strong feeling of power radiating from the large building at the center of the city, a gloomy structure that has many of its walls lined with soulsteel. Even Spider with her limited geomantic knowledge can tell that this city is located on the focal point of some lines of power that feed into a rather powerful manse, and that building with the soulsteel has got to be where the hearthroom is.

All in all, a very strange place. What do you do now?

 

[Psychie]

After poking her beak about for a few more minutes, Spider returns to the folding landship to relay her observations. "That place is odd. What city can you ever remember in which the occupants don't have pets? Or eat? The whole thing is just bringing up red flags for me. Something is very much out of place here."

 

[Random Word]

Maja, draped over the taffrail, arches an eyebrow at Melinda, dubiously, "We've just left an invisible fortress, we're on the way to a flying fortress, we're going to get there through a gate to heaven itself, but it's the disappearing city the ice can't hold, huh?"

"Putting those perfect powers of observation to use I see, my sun," she teases as Kuaidao declares the disappearing city unnatural. She nods at his request and pecks him on the cheek - with her lips, not the beak she sports as she takes wing with Spider moments later. She arcs high over the city before swooping down to roost with a small murder of crows perched high on the soulsteel structure, becoming indistinguishable from the crowd. She peers through any openings she can find, and if nothing prevents her, returns in time to hear Spider report her findings.

 

[Sherwood]

Random Word Go ahead and give me a Perception + Awareness roll