Chronicle of the Scavenger Lands (Exalted 3E) - IC

[Esbilon]

"As I said," Ysandre retorts, her face showing her displeasure at the young man's doubting her, "I can do my part."

 

[Rykon]

Ryan takes a ponderous posture, then decides to leave further inquiry aside. He gives a courtly bow, and defers to her plan on this. "Very well, such a feat in itself is exceedingly rare. I just find it odd to meet another who can, given our circumstances. I'll save my idle curiosity for a more appropriate time."

 

[Esbilon]

Ysandre archs a single blond eyebrow as she considers the man before her. "The ability to swing a sword is hardly rare. But perhaps that was not in fact what you were referring to?"

 

[Rykon]

"Daiklaves are not mere swords for most of humanity. Everyday people cannot use them effectively, even in basic combat. Generally only the children or chosen of gods can use them. That is what I mean. Certainly, none of my soldiers have been able to do better with mine than they would with a small tree."

 

[Esbilon]

"I never said my sword is a Daiklave," Ysandre responds with a slight puzzlement, "it is, and I'm glad to hear it isn't the only one."

 

[Rykon]

Ryan likewise seemed puzzled, "That's bizarre, I must've misheard you. No idea why I had that impression. Either way, let's get moving. I'm sure we all have better things to do than linger here."

Spoiler: ooc

I must have misread what was going on amidst the chaos this weekend. Sorry for the goof. Courtesy tags for ithinkcat and Weissplus to chime in.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill steps between Ysandre and Ryan, speaking to them in turn. "We are to work together, if we want to get out of here, and this bickering isn't helping." And then he bows to Ysandre, and says "If what you want is the crown, I would help you achieve it, though, not to boast, I do believe I can make you a better one, if you ever decide." But as he said it he'd snack a glance at Opal Child, hoping she didn't speak up about his Exalted nature, and how he repaired a Hearthsone Amulet.

 

[Rykon]

Ryan turned to the door, not hearing any opposition to Ysandre's bribe other than his own reservations. "As you can see, we'll play fair and we can handle the Ettins well enough. Open the door and we'll be on our way." Ryan added, hoping to get this sickening experience behind him in a hurry.

 

[jaydude]

The bandit guard narrows his eyes at Ryan, no doubt still stinging from the Dawn's earlier insults, before he takes another look up and down the corridor and then turns to look at Ysandre.

"I'll open this door, and if you come back here once you've all got your weapons, I'll shut you back in, and then send word to the boss that you're all up. He wanted to speak to the lot of you once you were awake anyway, so I don't see why he and his bodyguards won't come down here."

He then shrugs. "Or you can just head off once you've got your weapons, and try to fight your way through the rest of the bandits camped out in this abandoned fortress. It doesn't really matter to me, as long as the boss and the other ettins all end up dead."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

"Or, we can kill your boss, and his guards, and then you can convince the rest of your group to stand back, and we go off on our way, while you take control of them." Quill suggests.

 

[jaydude]

He shakes his head. "There are dozens of us in this group. Even if you manage to kill the ettins, the rest of us will still think they can take you down with sheer numbers. And I doubt that I could convince them otherwise."

 

[Rykon]

Ryan nods toward the guard as he looks at Quill, "Either way, we go through with this ambush, yes? Seems simple enough either way. Want to decide after we've dealt with the boss?"

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill nods. "Seems only fair."

In his head, He hoped that he can find his Artifact before they find theirs, just in case, either one turns out to be Dragon-Blooded. He knew not to trust those with the thought of him being a Solar.

 

[jaydude]

Spoiler: OOC

Since ithinkcat has left, and I haven't heard anything from Weissplus for a while, I'll be taking control of their characters.

At this point, the two other prisoners decide to add their voices to the discussion.

"I won't complain if he decides to let us out of here." says Opal Child, gesturing over to the bandit guard.

"Likewise." says Zen'th. "And I think it prudent for all of us to work together, if only to escape this place."

The bandit gives a nod, and after taking one last look down the corridor, he takes a set of keys from his belt and unlocks the door, allowing the lot of you to step out into the corridor.

The corridor's walls, floor and ceiling are made from the same materials as those in the cell. The corridor itself is long, with your cell located roughly in the middle of it. There are no windows; the only light here comes from several metal torches placed periodically along the walls. Turning left from your cell, you see that the corridor ends in a t-junction, whereas to the right, it ends in a set of large wooden double doors.

What do you all do?

 

[Esbilon]

Walking confidently with her head held high, Ysandre gives the bandit a nod before leading the others along the route he mentioned - going left, and turning right at the T-junction.

 

[Rykon]

Ryan follows in silence, making no effort to conceal his efforts to scan the area for any notable details or potentially dangerous surprises.

 

[jaydude]

Ryan sees nothing of interest or suspicion.

Opal Child and Zen'th accompany Ysandre and Ryan as they leave the cell. Turning left, you stare down another, much shorter corridor which terminates in a dead-end.

The first door on the left after the turning is made of wood, with a strong-looking steel lock on it. After a moment's examining of the lock, Opal Child takes out a set of lockpicks that the bandits had failed to spot on her person, and gets to work on the door. It takes but a few seconds for her to pick the lock, before she stands back up and opens the door.

The room appears to be a small storeroom, which currently contains all the things that were taken from you by the bandits, including your artifact weapons; Joy and Warden have both been placed on a small wooden table, while Sun's Brush leans against the wall like a common broom. Also in the room are a pair of what appear to be Orichalcum Smashfists on the table, which Opal Child takes before anyone can argue, as well as a Firewand leaning against the table, which Zen'th picks up and examines. He also takes a small pouch from the table and takes a quick look inside, before closing it with a smile and placing it on his belt.

 

[Rykon]

Ryan takes Warden in hand, feeling the familiar surge of essence resonate with a dull pulse of golden light across the orichalcum weapon.

With his trusty blade secured, he made sure his armor and effects were in good condition and appropriately equipped. One done he would head back to the cell for the ambush, drawn Daiklave in hand.

 

[Esbilon]

Though the playing of light on its golden edge is beautiful, for now Joy is a tool more than anything. One day, though, it will be a symbol of rulership, a symbol of her rightful place in the world, and with it in her hand, Ysandre will lead her people to greatness. As this is not that day, she merely secures its scabbard and proceeds to don her armor.

"What do you think?" She asks the others, "should we attempt an ambush or simply walk out of here?"

 

[Rykon]

Ryan stopped his exit, "That would suit me just fine. I don't care for this business of dealing with brigands. Though, a small part of me wants answers for why we are here. I can't speak for any of you, but I have no idea what their motive for bringing me here alive is over anyone else. Lot of trouble to go through for such a thing."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill was cautious as he walked in the storage room, but he smiles quickly when he saw that most of the others had Orichalcum Artifacts. A part of him longed to touch them, and study them to learn their secrets, but he refrained... for now. Instead, he looks at the others, and says "Well, I, for one, thinks it strange that mere brigands could catch a capable band of Solars. " And has he said so, he spent a spark of essence, causing the naginata-shaped Sun's Brush to fly into his hands from it's resting place. The weapon called to him, and he longed to answer it's call to write a whole new chapter in Creation's history, one that shines with a golden dawn.

 

[Esbilon]

Ysandre moves her hand to the hilt of her sword and schools her expression to give away nothing at all as she turns her attention to Quill. "You have a very casual way of accusing others of being Anathema, and I for one do not appreciate it."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill's smile turns into a laugh "My lady, I wish you no harm, trust me. As a minor scholar, i have studied things, especially the Shogunate era, and that subject does bring to light info about what you just termed 'Anathema'." But as he said those works, his caste mark lit up on his forehead. "But as you can see, I am one myself, so I have some personal knowledge, not to mention that I have known Opal Child, since we've met before, and have confided in each other about our nature, so an educated guess made me say these words."

 

[Rykon]

Ryan maintains a solemn look. "I don't know about all that business, but I was just a shepherd's boy. I never asked for the draft...I never asked to be 'blessed'..." He stopped as he raised Warden before him. "...I certainly never asked to be here, and I don't care what others say I am, I just want my home back." Ryan turned to Ysandre. "So, regardless of how or why we wield these great blades, let's just get this over with. I don't want to play in this filth any longer than I have to. We all have better things to do than clean up this hole." the young man turned to the bandit guard that was surely watching and listening. "I promise won't taunt you any more sir, but I think you could do far better than a life in this squalor and scum. Alas, every man is the master of his own heart and captain of his own dreams. Just make sure yours are worth the price you pay to get there."

Spoiler: Action

Ryan is attempting to instill a sense of honor and pride and / or errode moral corruption in the guard. I wouldn't know the modifiers but I'll go ahead and make the roll just to see if any of it sinks in. 4 successes thanks to that appearance modifier.

 

[jaydude]

The bandit guard listens to Ryan's words, and the way his face twitches suggests that some of them got through. Opal Child meanwhile, goes over to the bandit.

"How do we get out of here?" she asks, sounding not entirely friendly.

"Through those doors at the other end of the corridor. They lead to some stairs that'll take you back up above ground." he answers.

Opal Child then fixes the bandit guard with a glare. "The young man here may have been nice about it, but I'm going to be blunt. I don't take kindly to those who pray on honest, hardworking people. So find another line of work, or you'd better hope we don't run into each other again."

The bandit guard just nods rapidly and nervously, and Opal Child turns to the other Solars. "So? Do we go with the ambush plan, or are we just going to fight our way out?"

Spoiler: OOC

Ryan's words instill the Minor Principle "I should try and live my life with honor." in the bandit guard.