Into the Ruins - Exalted 3e IC

[Psychie]

After spending a few quiet moments in prayer, Fat Cat can feel his Essence flow into the links of metal, and it slowly changes from being cold and lifeless to bring warm to the touch, almost as if it were alive. The length of chain then curls around your left forearm, but not tight enough to cause any discomfort. Spellbreaker gives you the feeling that it is a coiled serpent, ready to strike at any hostile magic that threatens you.

Leaving Mor'du's tomb is easy enough, just requiring you to work in reverse order of how you got into the place to begin with, and once the doors are shut and the Key retrieved from the lock, the deadly blades accelerate up to full speed once more and miss striking the key bearer by mere inches.

It is not until you are all out of the danger zone around the tomb that you notice something disturbing: the Celestial Lion that escorted you here lies dead, its head severed by what looks to be a single blow from a massive weapon, and it's blood is pouring out of the severed stump. It could not have been felled by the barbarians here; this kind of damage can only be the result of Exalted action.

At the moment, there is no signs of life around you. What do you do now?

 

[Purr]

O Mighty Fat Cat delights at the feeling of Spellbreaker attuning to him - for the Lunar, it is as if Spellbreaker is giving him its own blessing in accepting his prayer. A large smile crosses his large lips...

... but it vanishes into a shocked gasp when the Circle comes across the headless form of the Celestial Lion.

"What in Luna's name?!"

Without moving, O Mighty Fat Cat immediately shifts into his Spirit-Animal form - the huge wide-eyed hunting cat with the ornate howdah on his back. Here, he looks and sniffs about for any clue to who could have done this... and what might have happened to the other celestial lion - for there were two.

The first thought in his mind goes to the only weapon he knew that could perform such a cut - a great daiklaive. Such as the one Filial Wisdom bore.

 

[jaydude]

"We're clearly not the only Chosen with designs on the treasures of this place," Grey Stone remarked as he looked at the Celestial Lion's corpse. He turned to the others. "We should return to Antonia's manse, now that we have Spellbreaker. We can always come back here to investigate at a later date.

Spoiler: Grey Stone Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 32/40
Anima: Dim
Committed Essence: 5

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

Attacks
Faith's Pillar (10 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 18, Overwhelming 5, Bashing, Melee, Reaching, Smashing, Two-Handed)
Unarmed (13 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 15, Overwhelming 1, Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural)

Actions
Rush: 6
Disengage: 6

Evasion 4, Parry 4
Soak/Hardness: 4/0

Effects:
Spirit-Detecting Glance (The Solar can look through the pall of reality to glimpse the realm of spirits beneath. With this Charm, the Solar can see (but not touch) immaterial spirits.)

 

[Chowlett]

"We may not have that choice, Grey Stone, if someone wishes violence before we leave. Be on your guard". So saying, Glade draws Root and Branch, holding them lightly but at the ready; he also looks about for possible cover.

 

[jaydude]

Grey Stone nodded, hefting Faith's Pillar in readiness to swing, while also looking around for any signs of potential foes.

Spoiler: Group Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 32/40
Anima: Dim
Committed Essence: 5

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

Attacks
Faith's Pillar (10 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 18, Overwhelming 5, Bashing, Melee, Reaching, Smashing, Two-Handed)
Unarmed (13 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 15, Overwhelming 1, Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural)

Actions
Rush: 6
Disengage: 6

Evasion 4, Parry 4
Soak/Hardness: 4/0

Effects:
Spirit-Detecting Glance (The Solar can look through the pall of reality to glimpse the realm of spirits beneath. With this Charm, the Solar can see (but not touch) immaterial spirits.)

 

[Eonivar]

Mercy looks down on the broken Celestial Lion and shakes her head.

"It was a matter of time I suppose...he could not get what we were able to...he is probably waiting for us and going to spring an ambush..."

Her eyes seemed to glow with fire reflecting off her bronzed skin.

"That will be his undoing..."

 

[Sherwood]

Amara let's out a few choice swear words as she looks over at the dead Lion. She looks around for any signs of who might be responsible for this, saying, "I would hazard a guess that if we make our way out by means of the gate, we'll run into the person that did this. Probably that Solar Filial Wisdom. But our other option is to see if we can exit by another direction. It won't end any threat posed by the perpetrator, but we may be able to avoid a fight if that is the desire of the Circle."

 

[Psychie]

As you try and decide what route to take, be it out the gate or out on Fat Cat's back flying through the air, you can hear the sounds of combat close by in the form of angry roars from what must be the other Celestial Lion in a pitched battle with some nasty foe clashing with several opponents.

You are still able to fly off of that is your choice, but you are rapidly running out of time to make that decision for yourselves. What do you do?

 

[Purr]

O Mighty Fat Cat turns towards the danger with a look of combined anxiety and wrath. "Luna's eyes! If we don' defend Rathess against whatever dat is, dere won't be no tombs to return Spellbreaka to!"

He looks towards his Circle for their feelings.

 

[Sherwood]

Amara flashes a grin at the big Lunar. She was willing to leave the fighting for another day, but in her heart she really wants to go deal some damage to whomever it was they did this to one of Yu-Shan's beautiful protectors.

With a nod, the Dawn caste Solar says, "I would be a poor friend if I let you go into harm's way and not stand at your side. Let's go."

 

[jaydude]

“Very well. I shall assist you as well,” Grey Stone declared.

 

[Eonivar]

Mercy pulls Black Wind out of its special sheath on her back, the red and black soulsteel sky cutter gleamed in the torch light of the tomb hallway, one could almost hear the souls in the metal moan if one looked at it long enough. Being drawn Mercy could feel the blade's desire for the blood of murderers.

Mercy tilts her hijab covered head towards her Lunar circle mate showing the yellow fiery gleam in her eyes in the dim light of the corridor.

"I agree dear Fat Cat, despite my feelings on tombs...I do not like the see such a sacred place ruined, even worse if it is done by a fellow solar who should know better, if it is indeed him. Woe to him or anyone that dares cross us, let us all deal with this situation together."

 

[Chowlett]

Glade says nothing, but hefts a heavy dart in his right hand. He moves to the side of the group nearest the buildings of the city, ready to keep an eye for cover as they approach the sounds of battle.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin's eyes narrowed, drawing Adorei. "Can't say I was fond of the new locals since we arrived. Let's get this done so we can be on our way." The eclipse stepped forward a scowl on his face. Were he to guess, the overly possessive leader they had met earlier was showing his true colors about now. Still, Aredin proceeded confident in his assessment from earlier. Should this fight proceed as he expected, he was one exalt against many, rabble or no. Unless he had a handful of similarly powerful allies at hand, the numbers were not in his favor.

 

[Psychie]

Moving quickly, the Circle heads off towards the sound of the fighting. Just inside the gates to the necropolis there is a pitched battle going on between the one remaining Celestial Lion and that Solar Filial Wisdom and what looks to be a group of a hundred of the barbarian force, all armed with various crude weapons that have encircled the the large Exalt and the Lion, with the more daring members of the crowd darting in close to stab at the Lion. While their weapons are crude, there is a lot of them and the great cat is bleeding from a handful of small wounds as it is keeping its full attention on that Solar with the grand daiklave in his hand.

Filial Wisdom is laughing as he fights, clearly toying with the Lion. The Solar does not appear to be wounded, even though he's covered in blood. Probably he was sprayed with the blood when he beheaded the other Lion's

All eyes are on the fighting, so it is easier to close in on the crowd around the dueling pair without calling attention to yourselves, assuming that is your goal.

What do you do now?

 

[Sherwood]

Amara can feel a growing well of anger building up in her. How dare he? To strike down a Celestial Lion is an unspeakable act! This calls for direct action.

She draws Destiny from its sheath and breaks into a sprint towards the horde and the two beings at the center. Ignoring the rabble, Amara spends some Essence to help propel her leap up and over the crowd, aiming to land between the Lion and the Solar, her daiklave raised to defend herself and the Lion from Filial's attacks.

"Wisdom! You are ill named to raise up weapons against a servant of Yu-Shan, and a total fool if you try and cross blades with me! Drop your weapon and live; fight me and die. The choice is yours."

OOC can I also spend the motes to activate my Form Charm, or do I need to wait for combat? And do I get any bonus stunt dice to my Join Battle roll?

Spending 2m on Monkey Leap Technique to jump over the barbarians.

Spoiler

Health Levels
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
I [ ]

Willpower: 9
Essence: 2
Personal: 16
Peripheral: 40 / 21 / 19
Committed: 19

Join Battle: 9 +3i
Form Charm Join Battle: 11

Parry: 6
Evasion: 4
Resolve: 2
Guile: 1

Natural Soak: 3
Armored Soak: +8, Hardness 7
Hearthstone Soak: 2
Total Soak: 13

Weapons
Destiny
Attunement: 5m
Type: Light (+5 ACC, +10 DMG, +0 DEF, OVW 3)
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Balanced

Evocations of Destiny
A user of Destiny may change the result of one die on an attack or damage roll, moving it up or down one digit. For example if a player rolls seven dice with the results “5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 2, 10,” they can change one of the dieʼs digits. In the above example, they might change the “6” up one digit to a “7” thus adding an additional successes. The magic of Destinyʼs evocations directly relates to the numbers rolled on dice. As such some players may also choose to decrease a number rolled.

When a player rolls their attack and it has three “7s” the user increases their weapon parry by 1 for three actions. Should they roll three “7s” again they may increase their parry by an additional 1, to a maximum of their (Melee or Martial Artist, whichever skill they use with Destiny), or extend the duration by 1 action, to a maximum of five actions.

Evocations of Fire Dancer
A user of Fire Dancer may place one of their Intimacies, which must be Defining, as their “innermost desire”. While the Intimacy is set and Fire Dancer is worn the user increases their Withering Damage by 4 when fighting for a cause related to the Intimacy.

 

[jaydude]

Grey Stone opted to follow Amara's lead in leaping over the barbarians to better reach Filial Wisdom. He didn't say anything to the other man; in his mind, the Dawn had already said all that was necessary. Instead he raised Faith's Pillar into a striking position, making it clear that he would follow Amara's lead however Filial Wisdom reacted.

Also spending 2m on Monkey Leap Technique.

Spoiler: Grey Stone Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40
Anima: Dim
Committed Essence: 5

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

Attacks
Faith's Pillar (10 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 18, Overwhelming 5, Bashing, Melee, Reaching, Smashing, Two-Handed)
Unarmed (13 dice Withering, 8 dice Decisive, Withering Damage 15, Overwhelming 1, Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural)

Actions
Rush: 6
Disengage: 6

Evasion 4, Parry 4
Soak/Hardness: 4/0

Effects:
Spirit-Detecting Glance (The Solar can look through the pall of reality to glimpse the realm of spirits beneath. With this Charm, the Solar can see (but not touch) immaterial spirits.)

 

[Eonivar]

Mercy looks at the situation, seeing Amara and Grey Stone jump into the middle of the crowd. She moves to get a better and higher vantage point of the goings on with her brother and sister and the offending Solar and his minions. She looks for a stone wall or raised stone area to stand up on to be able to see the whole situation with an angle to possibly use Death of Obsidian Butterflies to attack at least part of Filial Wisdom's human horde (and possibly Filial Wisdom) without hitting their circle mates. She also works to make sure that she is not noticed or seen in doing this.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin steps forward casually toward the crowd now that Amara and Grey Stone had successfully interrupted the farce of bloodsport on display. Given the grace scenes of his upbringing, the merchant prince saw little reason to offer any more mercy or decorum than had been offered to either of the lions. Aredin pressed his way through the crowd, shoving mortals down with his heel or battering them aside with his shoulder until he enters the encirclement, his animosity plain upon his face.

"I can't allow a gremlin like you to hold the title King or Lawgiver any longer if this is what you intend to do. You make the rest of us look just as worthless are you're being right now. So, I will extend one last chance at life. Surrender now. You're outnumbered. You lack the muscle, spirit, and certainly the intellect to survive the wrath of our full circle." The eclipse raises Adorei pointing forward toward Filial Wisdom, mounting bloodlust desperately hoping this degenerate Dawn Caste chooses to fight and die here.

 

[Psychie]

The look in the face of the large Solar is one of madness and twisted cruelty. He seems to be taking delight at the pain he and his followers are inflicting on the Lion. When he speaks, there is something very wrong about his voice.

"You think you can stop me? It's been tried before by Exalts far stronger than you. I am eternal, and even if this body is taken from me, I will return to continue feeding on this world as I have for thousands of years. I promised you free passage out of the city once, but if you dare to stand against me I will take from your broken bodies everything of value that you carry and discard the rest. Leave. Now. I will not grant you a second chance."

 

[Purr]

From the sidelines, O Mighty Fat Cat does what the hunting cats of the Celestial Wildlands do - watch and study their target prior to ambushing or fleeing.

The look in the face of the large Solar is one of madness and twisted cruelty. He seems to be taking delight at the pain he and his followers are inflicting on the Lion. When he speaks, there is something very wrong about his voice.

So study he does. Looking and listening intently at Filial Wisdom (using his Sense-sharpening Change Charm to help him see the truth of things if there appear to be enough distractions about), O Mighty Fat Cat searches for clues as to the true state of the strangely-changed Solar.

 

[Chowlett]

Silent Glade had been holding himself ready, waiting for it to become clear what course events would take; and cautiously moving around the locale looking for a place to use as cover should be needed to strike unexpectedly. Then all of a sudden Filial Wisdom's words strike him like cold water to the face. This is not how a Solar Exalt should speak! This does not sound like the Filial Wisdom they met earlier - who blustered and postured, for sure, but seemed to be doing so to maintain his position among these mortals. There was no talk of "feeding on the world" earlier.

Something is not right here, and Glade thinks hard to see if any tales of the darker beings of Creation resonate with what he is seeing in front of him.

OOC: Rolling Int + Lore - let me know if something else would be better. Would love to use an Excellency, but something tells me preserving Essence might be wise right now!
9 successes!

 

[Psychie]

As everyone is preparing for a fight, the trio of Aredin, Grey Stone and Amara hear the Celestial Lion snarl out, "Beware, young Exalts! He is not what you think he is! That is merely the vessel for a much deadlier foe that has been hunted for thousands of years, a dark spirit known as Han Tha. This is no easy opponent you face, and it's destruction of this creature was a priority of the old Deliberative before its fall."

The rest of you hear this, and Silent Glade and Mercy have a chill go down their spines. If the Lion is right, this is a spirit that has been declared a creature of darkness by the Unconquered Sun and has called for it to be destroyed back in the First Age. It is a very slippery foe.

Fat Cat can hear this, but he doesn't know the details of what Han Tha is (I rolled for you and didn't get any successes), and for Amara, Stone and Aredin need to make Int + Lore rolls to see if they know of this fiend.

 

[Chowlett]

At the words "Han Tha", Glade ever-so-perceptibly flinches. He keeps he eyes on the creature - save for the occasional glance side-to-side seeking anything he can hide behind - and murmurs to those around him, just loud enough to hear. "An evil creature; and powerful. Mercy, you must know this too. I... would not guarantee we win this fight. But as the Unconquered Sun's hands in this Creation, surely we must try."

Then, as if surprised himself at the amount he said, he lapses back into a watchful silence.

 

[Purr]

O Mighty Fat Cat watches from the shadows listening to every word spoken or murmured, including Silent Glade's own. He glares intensely at the Han Tha, eager to return Filial Wisdom to his proper state and his followers to their proper minds. A great plan forms in his cat-like brain.

"My Circle," the jungle cat of the Celestial Wildlands whispers. "If you can take on dis... Han Tha... mebbe you can leave de cannibals to me? I may be a fledgling in de White Reapa Style... but no Man of Luna can stand long opposed if Luna's blessing are upon him. I can beat de people and try to protect de Lion. You use your combined talents to... how dey say in de bars... "wreck his day?"