Exalted 2.5 - Sidereals IC

[Sherwood]

Whatever the cause of the missing members of the Fellowship is, the five of you know that there is a Gateway between Yu-Shan and Creation located a few miles away from the city of Abalone in Wavecrest, which is near where this dig is supposedly located (assuming that whatever it is has not left the area by now). The next closest Gateway is about 1,650-ish miles to the north on one of the other islands of the chain that makes up the Wavecrest Archipelago. It is up to you to make the choice of which Gateway you use to get to Creation.

 

[Sherwood]

 

[Sherwood]

Just to give you some idea of scale, each square is 800 miles across. The point on the map marked 43 is the Gateway nearest to Abalone, while the next closest one is 42, near the Isle of Shadows.

 

[jaydude]

Insight snaps her fan shut. "Ah, Abyssals. Finally something we can all agree should be left to rot in a big Jade box for all eternity. Since when do fucking angry ghosts get Celestial Exaltations? Did I miss the Incarna of Angry Ghosts the last time I swung through the Dome? Handing them out like fucking candy to anyone who wants them this Age, I swear. This used to be an exclusive club. Now they're letting in any old pleb whose greatest achievement in life was dying."

She sighs and sprawls backwards over the chest, pleasantly spent after a good cathartic rant. "Part of me hopes it is a Deathlord. At least those fuckers probably have the good grace to cease existing when you destroy them. I hate fighting Celestials. Sure, it's fun the first time, but you kill them and a few years later they're back for another round. It just never ends. This must be how the Primordials felt. Thank Jupiter they never invented big Jade boxes. Autochthon got all the brains in that family."

"Technically Abyssals aren't 'angry ghosts', but mortals who got given another chance by one of the Deathlords, in the form of a corrupted Celestial Exaltation." replied Shi-vash, giving Insight a little grin. "And it's not like locking up all the Exaltations did much good for us in the end. Sure, the Jade Prison worked, but then someone figured out how to find and crack it, and now all the Exaltations are back, and half of them have been - to use a parlance with which you're familiar - fucked up."

"To say nothing of how the Usurpation and Jade Prison meant that the Solars weren't around when the Great Contagion and Balorian Crusade hit." she then added, her tone of voice becoming a bit more serious, though still friendly towards Insight. "Regarding what you said to me in the tea house earlier, I didn't change my mind on the Solars for my own benefit. I did so because I genuinely want Creation to survive, flourish, and be a place worth living in. And I believe working with the Solars is the best way for us to achieve that."

She then sighed and looked around. "Where's Xun? Plotting our course or something?"

 

[Random Word]

Insight's fingertips brush the tips of the yellow blades of grass as she observes the garden beside the path to the gangway and listens quietly. "Probably polishing every metal surface until he can see his reflection. That man has an unhealthy fascination with this ship."

Her left arm rises up and snaps the fan to point unerringly at Shi-Vash over the chest despite being unable to see her. "Alright, if you're gonna get serious, Vash, and we're gonna have a genuine moment here, and Xun's going to leave us sitting here all afternoon, then draw up a chair and hear me out. 'But the Balorean Crusade! The Great Contagion!'; 'but at least there was a Creation to have a Balorean Crusade!'; 'But what if there was another way?'; 'But what if there wasn't?' has been rehashed so many times over the last few thousand years it's about as intellectually stimulating as one of Kejak's interminable tea ceremonies. Personally, I don't believe it matters anymore. Neither of us was alive to make those decisions. Our past incarnations undoubtedly made mistakes, like putting the Jade Prison on the bottom of the fucking ocean and checking up on it every few years instead of in a heavily fortified monastery on the Blessed Isle watched over day and night by the full might of the Realm. Secrets don't defend things. Armies do. But I digress. I'll grant you that if you put all of the Abyssals back in the box, and we finish what the Usurpation started by putting down their angry ghosts, your new Solar Deliberative will improve Creation for a good thousand years or so. Not a bad run by any means, but it will be a Creation without you and I, and I fear for the future of that world. I don't for a second believe they're foolish enough to risk the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads again, and I don't fucking blame them. They will kill us. All of us. And unlike them, we can't run and hide. They'll know who our next incarnations are long before they Exalt, and they'll never let it happen ever again. Sure, the Maidens will be pissed, but if I were a betting woman - and I am - I'd wager they won't do any more than the Unconquered Sun."

"Maybe they'll discover they need us. That even with their genius they can't fix the snarls in the Loom - though I doubt it. Then perhaps they'll let each of us live for a hundred years or so on a tight leash before they put us down like an old warhorse, but never again will they allow us to accumulate the power to check them. Then what happens after a thousand years? Two? Three? Will there be a Creation left? We will be long gone, but your design must endure. Today, here and now, I think both of us unquestioningly believe the Fucked Up Solars and their angry Solar ghosts have no place in our respective visions for the future of Creation, and nothing is more important than introducing them to their beloved Oblivion. Some day you may present me with a plan to ensure Creation will be a better place, even in our absence. You're brilliant. If anyone can, it's you. On that day, should you convince me, I will hang up my sword, open a coliseum in Gem, and wait for them to kill me. Until then I will prevent them from accumulating power in the hope that a Creation that burns a tenth as bright burns a million times as long, but I understand I'm merely playing for time. This isn't a game my side can win without changing the rules."

Insight vanishes and reappears sitting cross legged on top of the chest, fan still pointed at Vash, staring at her with an unnerving intensity, "When that day comes, you let me know. No matter how bad things have become, I swear to Mars I will hear you out in good faith, and then think on it real hard."

 

[jaydude]

Shi-vash listened calmly to Insight's little speech, even if she'd been slightly taken aback by it. It occurred to her that she might have been wrong to assume that all Bronze Faction supporters were like Chejop.

"I get your point about the Solars having reason to not be too happy with us. I won't try and argue with you about whether or not they're justified in doing so, because it's like you said; those lines of discussion were exhausted long ago." she replied, looking at the other woman. "And I promise you, we are taking what you've said into account, including the possibility that the Solars may have the means to threaten Yu-Shan one day. I mean, it's not like we'd let them know about our nature, or our role in the Usurpation, if we think they won't take the news well. That was how we dealt with the Shogunate and the Realm, after all."

Then a tiny smile and faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "I must say, I'm incredibly flattered that you believe I can make Creation a place that doesn't need our guidance to run smoothly." she said, before looking away, now a little sad and uncertain. "I only hope that I can prove myself worthy of your expectations..."

 

[Random Word]

Insight smiles, slides down off the chest, takes a few steps towards Shi-vash and embraces her fiercely. "You had fucking better," she whispers affectionately into her ear. She puts her hands on Shi-vash's shoulders and extends her to arms length, starting into her eyes with a twinkle of laughter in her own, "The fate of all Creation rests on these shoulders. That's my fate, too, so don't fuck it up."

She pauses, examining Shi-vash's face in detail. She smiles bittersweetly, having lost something precious but gained something more valuable still, "I'm glad you're on the other side. Battles aren't just swords and standards and mud. Ideas are made better through the crucible of battle, but the process is only as effective as those who take the field. I've been at war almost without pause for nearly three centuries and it's made me a cynic in a faction full of cynics, but it brings hope to even my jaded old heart to see you with them."

She pulls Shi-vash in close again and says softly, "You can't have renewal without a few endings, and I'm not afraid of mine. I just want it to be for a good cause. That's more than most can ask for, but I'm a selfish bitch."

 

[jaydude]

Shi-vash's eyes widened a little when Insight hugged her, having not expected such a display of affection. Still, she wouldn't complain about it.

"I wouldn't say I'm as much an idealist as I am a realist." she replied, stroking the back of the other Sidereal. "The Dragon-blooded might be far easier to handle than the Solars, but there's only so much they can do to keep Creation burning, as you put it. And it's not like we chose to bring back the Solars. Someone else did, and now we're trying to work with what we've got..."

 

[Sherwood]

D. Rex Holding on a post from you, since it is your airship that the group is going to be using.

 

[D. Rex]

When Xun finally came, he came baring several sealed tubes under his arms, and was cloaked in the Resplendence of one Captain Bayle Domon. A low born dragon blood, that has been known to dabble in trade of exotic goods, as well as passengers and messages. A boastful man, who claims to be able to sail anything, despite saying he is a "humble" trader and explorer, it is known he doesnt easily turn down a job for coin.

"My pardons, sisters! You won't believe the lengths I have to go to coax the Spiders to do anything for me." The chosen of journeys gave a rueful and knowing grin."If I didnt know any better, I'd say they didnt like me."

"Anyhow! Let us board the Moonrunner. Isn't she a beauty? Haha, I was able to get us some maps of the area, of various ages. Will give us a good idea of where they went looking through them."

 

[jaydude]

"Good to see you again." replied Shi-vash, giving the Chosen of Journeys a friendly wave. "And yes, I'd like to see if this vessel's still the same as I remember it."

Grinning at both Insight and then Xun, the now redheaded Chosen of Secrets would turn and make to board.

 

[Psychie]

Amara comes running up. "Sorry I'm late. Just had to finish up a few things. But I'm ready to go now. So! What is our approach strategy? Go in nice and sneaky, or something more open and brazen? If I recall correctly, there is a Gateway between Yu-Shan and Creation on the island near Abalone, and another one, what? 1,500 miles to the north? Which one are we going to go with?"

 

[D. Rex]

"Abalone." Xun said. "More there to search. And we can ask around if any archeologists were in the area. I'll pour over the maps, to see if I can find any areas of interest that arent on the newer maps. A bit of cross referencing can go a long way."

"If that fails... a simple spiral search pattern centering on one of the gates. Moonrunner can cover a lot of ground, so its only a matter of time and diligence." He suggested.

"I'm okay with brazen. Time is of the essence, and they will likely forget us soon anyway. But we can't waste time if we hope to recover our brethren before they too meet an ill fate."

 

[Random Word]

Insight waves her fan dismissively at Amara as she heads up the gangplank, gesturing with her other hand for her godly servants to begin moving her chests onto the ship, "Oh honey, the Crimson Panoply of Victory only does brazen. Cunning? Sure. Manipulative? Certainly. Subtle? Never. If they wanted subtle, they called the wrong division."

 

[Sherwood]

The interior of the ship is as spacious and comfortable as you all remember it; having enough room for twenty people leaves plenty of space for you and your luggage. With Xun heading for the cockpit, the rest of you settle into your seats and get ready for the short flight through Yu-Shan's airspace to the Gateway to Abalone. A bit of research tells you that the Creation side of the Gate is hidden in some ruins out in the middle of nowhere, allowing you to be able to fly through without being spotted by throngs of people.

Xun makes the last few checks needed to take off, and soon you are airborne. The Celestial City is a magnificent sight as you gain altitude and race to the proper Gateway, one that never gets old. As you approach the Gate, the six Celestial Lions that are the guardians of this side of the passage are already waiting for your arrival, having been notified of your approach. With a nod, they step aside to allow Xun's ship to slowly fly through. On the Creation side of the Gateway, the other three Lions are standing by and silently watch as the ship slides out and is once more free to navigate.

At this point, the options are varied for you. Do you land somewhere nearby and walk up to the city? Or do you continue with the brazen approach and simply fly the ship and land somewhere in Abalone, and let the whole city see the arrival of the 'Dynasts' that have come to town? Or do you do something completely different?

 

[jaydude]

Shi-vash/Madaki would enter the cockpit as the airship approached Abalone, looking ahead and placing a hand on Xun's shoulder as she did so. A little flirty teasing wouldn't hurt him.

"As much as I prefer the sneaky approach, I'd be more inclined to land within the city, assuming we can find such a place. It might not make sense to an outsider if we go to the trouble of landing outside and walking into the city, especially since half of us are Dynasts, and Wavecrest is a satrapy of the Realm..." she said.

 

[Random Word]

Insight's eyes burn with fury, the air rippling around her such is the intensity of her elemental aura, "Agreed. Subtlety will cost time we don't have. We didn't build a Creation spanning empire so we could do our own legwork. One of our Sworn Kin has died in a ruin somewhere in Wavecrest, and every House spy, All Seeing Eye agent, and Peleps ship will be mobilized to find whatever Anathema had the temerity to strike down a Prince of the Earth at once. We are here to wreak a vengeance as righteous as it is terrible and the entire archipelago will be bent to this holy purpose."

 

[jaydude]

Insight's eyes burn with fury, the air rippling around her such is the intensity of her elemental aura, "Agreed. Subtlety will cost time we don't have. We didn't build a Creation spanning empire so we could do our own legwork. One of our Sworn Kin has died in a ruin somewhere in Wavecrest, and every House spy, All Seeing Eye agent, and Peleps ship will be mobilized to find whatever Anathema had the temerity to strike down a Prince of the Earth at once. We are here to wreak a vengeance as righteous as it is terrible and the entire archipelago will be bent to this holy purpose."

"Hmm...that approach could work." said Shi-vash/Madaki, looking at Insight/Asuna and scratching her chin thoughtfully. "I'm guessing that our sworn kin in question will be one of the Resplendent Destinies being used by Ramada, Khyros and Rory while they were at the dig? Assuming they were actually using them, of course."

 

[D. Rex]

Bayle parted Madaki's hand affectionately. Or what might pass as such. "Such is what I plan. I have been known to carry Dynasts. So it wont look all that strange. A tour of Wavecrest, perhaps. With you all curious Dynasts. Gives you a good reason to ask questions about things. Be it business or pleasure."

He shot a glance over his shoulder at Asuna. "Relax, my lady. Haste doesnt not mean to abandon cautiousness. Run down an unknown road and one might twist their ankle on a hidden root. No. I dont think we should involve the empire yet. Not until we know what we are dealing with."

Captaim Domon frowned as he steered the ship towards the city. "The last thing we need is more noses than necessary burying themselves into what we do not know. Not only do we not yet know if it is anathema... but secrets might have been discovered that we cant afford to share with creation."

 

[Sherwood]

As Xun flies towards Abalone, you know that his is not the first airship to grace the skies above the city, but you are certainly gathering a lot of attention. All eyes in the city are turning up towards you, and people are pointing and waving, running along to see if they can catch a glimpse of the Dynast that is in the ship.

At this point, you can choose to land either in the heart of the city in the first clearing large enough to fit your ship, at the palace where there is a place for ships to dock, or at the Realm embassy, which is a large wood aspect manse that is currently under the control of a Dynast from House Mnemon.

 

[Psychie]

Amara leans over and looks out the window, enjoying the spectacle that they are causing just with their presence in the air above the city. She then looks to the front of the ship and says, "I say we land at the manse-embassy and talk to the Dynast in charge there. We can then find out where the dig site is, and what, if anything, was found there."

 

[D. Rex]

"I would rather not get Dynasts involved until we know what we are dealing with, is what I'm saying." He said, and with a smile, lowered his craft just high enough above the city to not let the propulsor lifts do any damage. Giving the kids below a better view.

"If you are going to talk with the Dynasts, be vague as possible. We don't want them sniffing around yet. Not until we know what is going on. We need at least some leg to stand on."

As suggested though, he pulled the Moonrunner towards the manse to bring his ship to clearing there. "You go and see what you can find. I'm going to scour these maps and see what I can come up with. It will take me a while, though, so I'll await you."

 

[jaydude]

As Xun/Domon guided the Moonrunner down into the clearing, Shi-vash/Makadi cleared her throat and looked at him, then Amara.

"We might not have to ask the Dynasts at all." she said, before lifting up her right forearm. The other three Sidereals would see something small crawling under her sleeve, before an emerald pattern spider emerged onto the hand of the Chosen of Secrets.

Shi-vash/Makadi raised her hand to her mouth, before speaking to the pattern spider. "Where is the dig site that the Sidereal Ramada visited before his death?"

[Spending 2m Personal Essence on Efficient Secretary Technique. If the question isn't valid, please let me know Sherwood , and I'll change it.]

 

[Sherwood]

As Xun/Domon guided the Moonrunner down into the clearing, Shi-vash/Makadi cleared her throat and looked at him, then Amara.

"We might not have to ask the Dynasts at all." she said, before lifting up her right forearm. The other three Sidereals would see something small crawling under her sleeve, before an emerald pattern spider emerged onto the hand of the Chosen of Secrets.

Shi-vash/Makadi raised her hand to her mouth, before speaking to the pattern spider. "Where is the dig site that the Sidereal Ramada visited before his death?"

[Spending 2m Personal Essence on Efficient Secretary Technique. If the question isn't valid, please let me know Sherwood , and I'll change it.]

It takes a moment before you get a response, but when you do, you get directions to a location about fifteen miles out of the main city of Abalone to the west.

 

[jaydude]

Shi-vash nodded at the spider, and then turned to the other Sidereals. "Well, we know where to go. So what should we tell the people at the Embassy? That we're Dynasts doing a bit of travelling before returning to our careers on the Blessed Isle?"