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

[D. Rex]

"Well maybe there is vacant lot above us or something." He quipped. "If this place can offer no immediate advantage to your cause, it may be best to return here. Fir every passing day is another day your people suffer."

"That said, if this was a Solar castle, its armory may still be intact, for what it used for its guards and soldiers. While the mortals among us may find it difficult to wield artifact weapons and armor... it is possible that there could be armaments worthy of a mortal army under a Solars command."

"Dear spectre," he said to the late Solar. "Can you confirm or deny this?"

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera nods in agreement with the doctor. "If there is a hidden arsenal down here, Ryan's men may be able to use some of these weapons to increase their combat effectiveness. Assuming that there is anything that a mortal can use, that is. If the shade doesn't object, we may wish to take a few minutes and at least look around at what might be here."

 

[jaydude]

Calarel listens to Zedradon and Ailera, and then looks at Quill. "I crafted many weapons and armors for the soldiers under my brother's command here. I could have created golems or automation soldiers for him, but he always preferred to fight alongside mortals. That said, he was very good at training them; he could turn a disorganized rabble into an elite army in a matter of months." she says in Old Realm.

"There were armories here, each for a different part of the castle. I fear they have all long since been looted by now, but there is a storeroom connected to the factory-cathedral, which I used to store unused weapons. If the seal leading to this area has been undisturbed until now, I imagine they will all still be there."

She looks at the rest of the group, before addressing them in her crude Riverspeak. "You. Follow."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill thanks Calarel, and then turns to his fellows "This is Calarel, and she is gonna be our guide here. She says there are storerooms of excellent weapons and armor, so maybe we can outfit our troops. Let's follow her and find out." And if the storeroom is connected to the factory-cathedral, then maybe he'll get a glimpse of that as well... for research purposes...

 

[jaydude]

Calarel will lead the group down one of the corridors and into the factory-cathedral. It is a vast room, about 10,000 square feet large and several stories high, and filled with all manner of conventional and exotic tools. Some of these are familiar to Quill only, and there are many that predate the Shogunate.

Of special note is what appears to be a large, tower-shaped blacksmith's forge which, in addition to a traditional firepit, also has roughly a dozen huge and occult-looking mirrors mounted above it, as well as what appear to be a number of knobs and handles on a metal table off to the side.

"That's a Sunforge." Calarel explains to Quill. "The mirrors are magical; they concentrate the sun's light into pure heat, for forging daiklaves and other things from the magical materials. It can also be used for more mundane craftsmanship, and also to distill orichalcum from gold."

Continuing on, Calarel leads the group into a room off to the side. This room is only about a quarter of the main factory-cathedral's size, with the ceiling a mere single storey high off the ground, but it contains a huge number of weapon racks, display tables and armor stands, as well as all manner of weapons and armor; chopping swords, straight swords, short swords, greatswords, spears, polearms, shields, reinforced buff jackets, lamellar armor and even one or two suits of platemail. In total, there's just enough equipment for Ryan to outfit all of his and Ganzin's men.

"They won't cut or protect much better than those crafted by mortals." says Calarel. "But they also won't dull easily, and my brother's men all agreed that there was something to be said for the morale boost that comes from wielding weapons of such quality."

Indeed, all of the group will notice that the weapons and armor are all somewhat cleaner and shinier than those used by the mortals under Ryan's command. And while all of them remain quite clearly functional, many sport hints of gold ornamentation about them, typically in the form of a sun motif.

 

[Psychie]

Axtis slowly examines some of the gear with a appreciative nod. "This is very good equipment. I am impressed. Ryan, taking some time to make sure that everyone has good equipment will be worth the time. Especially when you consider that many of Ganzin's bandit crew probably have little on them of worth. This will also be a good morale boost to all the men."

 

[D. Rex]

"And may possibly make the enemy think twice at the sight of an army outfitted to the degree of the victorious armies of legend." Zedradon added.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill could appreciate the craftsmanship of the weapons, but his eyes kept turning back to the Sunforge. Using such a thing, even for normal crafting would do wonders, and even more mind-blowing is Calarel's simple comment about using the mirrors to turn gold into Orichalcum, as if it was a matter of fact, and not a serious issue in this day and age. He moved closer to Ysandre and spoke to her in Old Realm "These weapons are great, but we have something much better at our disposal now, since this place can produce Orichalcum, allowing us to produce artifacts far easier than i could even envision. But it would require me improving my crafting skills."

Esbilon

 

[Esbilon]

"From what I understand," she answers in the same tongue, "you would also require quite some time. And worthy hands to wield them."

 

[jaydude]

"Not just skill and time. In addition to the seal, I took another precaution." Calarel decides to add. "What you speak to now is just an afterimage of me. An intangible, sorcerous construct with my memories, knowledge and personality, that I left behind with my sorcery when I set off to rescue my brother. I feared that I might not make it back here, and wanted to be able to pass on my knowledge to the next Twilight to come across this castle."

"You know by now that the seal I made was designed to be unlocked by the anima of another Twilight. But I also feared that the Dragon-blooded and Sidereals might find a way to break it, with or without the power of a Twilight." she continues. "So I put another seal, this one on the whole castle and much of what was in it. Right now, even if you were as skilled a sorcerer-engineer as me, you would never be able to operate the Sunforge, or anything else in the factory-cathedral or the castle as a whole. I effectively made it inoperable, and the only way to reverse this process would be to find a very specific stone."

"A Keystone, I called it. An enchanted stone created in the process of me sealing the castle, that has the power to restore functionality to the structure. But I cannot say where it is now. I took it with me when I left, and while my killers won't necessarily know its purpose, they would most likely have taken it from my corpse."

 

[D. Rex]

(Which tongue is she speaking in?)

 

[jaydude]

(Which tongue is she speaking in?)

Old Realm, sorry.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill's good spirits suffer a bit of a blow, but it is soon replaced with determination "I have not heard your name in my studies, but granted, the lore from that time period has been eradicated, subverted, and mostly destroyed, but I will turn my quest to such remaining lore, and I will figure out where this keystone lies, and will bring it back so that the Sunforge be restored, and a new era of golden knowledge rise from it. This I swear"

Spoiler: New Intimacy

Quill takes on a new intimacy: Restore the Sunforge to operation

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera is looking back and forth between Quill and the spirit, wondering what is going on. She finally says in a plaintive tone of voice, "Can somebody please tell me what is going on? I don't understand any of this when everyone is speaking in whatever language that is."

 

[jaydude]

Calarel looks at Ailera upon hearing her, and has the grace to appear slightly apologetic. "Is language my time. He want restore powerful forge in factory-cathedral. Only way enchanted stone called Keystone. Next to no chance of finding, though." she explains in her version of Riverspeak, indicating Quill when relevant.

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera asks, "Can you describe for us this Keystone, in case we are able to find it? At least we will know what we are looking for. Is it some kind of Hearthstone, or is it something else?

 

[jaydude]

"No, not Hearthstone." replies Calarel in Riverspeak. "Octagon-shaped tablet, size of small plate, looks made of Orichalcum, has sun image on both sides."

 

[D. Rex]

"And where did you have it last?" The doctor asked.

 

[jaydude]

"Was planning to travel west, towards Blessed Isle. Heard brother stuck there following massacre, but don't know if made it." she replies.

 

[Rykon]

Ryan nods along pondering the spirit's words as she explained the situation. He replies in Old Realm. "Since you seemed worried enough to keep the stone with you when you had departed, did you make anyway to track it upon it's creation? Perhaps a compass of a sort could be crafted? Surely you'd consider the danger if it was lost to you in a time of dire need. I can't imagine the stone itself would be memorable enough to be traceable after the countless wars, calamities, and more wars that have taken place in the last thousand or so years."

 

[jaydude]

"I'm afraid I didn't think quite that far ahead. I was hopeful that whatever Solars came to this place after me would be able to find it, with, or without my help." Calarel admits in Old Realm. "I did however put some of my Essence into the Keystone when I created it; you might be able to use that to trace it. Alternatively, the Keystone's nature might be inconspicuous, but the object itself is not. It may well have turned up somewhere in the world above, and you need only try to seek it. I cannot say where it might be though, knowing as little as I do about this new world."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Bowing to Calrel, Quill speaks to the assembled, and will then repeat it in old Realm. "Once we have secured the city, I will return here to sort out some device to let us know the direction to this Keystone, so that, if the place above is free, we can restore this place to the surface, and renew the Sunforge."

 

[jaydude]

Calarel nods, and then looks to the rest of the group, before addressing them in Riverspeak.

"I sense you all come here for reason besides this place. Go attend to your matters. If other Solars, not right to delay you. You all have important destinies alongside responsibilities." she says with a kind smile. "Also, good fortune to you."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

With a twinkle in his eyes, Quill says in Old Realm "The location of this place is far from common, and even what knowledge I've gleaned did not even mention it as a solar fortress, or there being a Factory-Cathedral here. Much has been lost, but in this case, it might be for the best, for others didn't know to try and loot this place. But as i said, we'll find a way to restore this place to greatness."

 

[jaydude]

"I'm sure you will." replies Calarel, smiling at him.

With nothing else to be done in the ruins of Nelmanor, the Circle and their troops move through the Catacombs, soon finding a staircase leading up into a small, chapel-like building. The building is currently empty, and peering through the doors of it, the Circle see the streets of Elua before them, lit up partially by candle lanterns spaced out along the way. In the faint candlelight, the streets look not too dissimilar to those of Bayonne.

With it being so late in the night, you can expect the streets to be completely deserted, aside from any criminal types and the nighttime patrols of the city watch. One such patrol comes by, consisting of five men in reinforced buff jackets, kettle hats, leather gauntlets and leather boots. The man at the head of the patrol holds a lit lantern aloft, while the four men behind him carry spears, the hafts resting against their shoulders. All five men have cudgels and straight swords on their belts.

The five watchmen carry on past the Catacombs entrance and continue their patrol. What do you wish to do now?