Trial By Fire - Exalted 2e IC Thread

[Sherwood]

When Aredin reaches down for the fallen Daiklave, you can see that it has three hearthstones locked into the handle. It is probable that these stones are the ones to the various manses around the city. Other than that, unless you take some time to strip the body, you won't know what else might be on him.

As everyone is looking around, you can see in the direction that the Deathknight walked off to is a large opening into the heart of the pyramid. You would guess that he went into the structure there.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin looked to the large opening as he was catching his breath. With a gesture, he called over some of the awakened Dragon Kings and proceeded to give orders in their native tongue. "I have his Daiklave, I need a watch out here on the body while we inspect the interior of the pyramid. Don't let it out of your sight, and if a dark looking individual comes running out of here without us, do not engage unless they seem hostile to you first." Once he had some soldiers on guard, he'd turn to enter the pyramid and investigate the inside of the old manse.

 

[MasterDAF]

The battle over, at least for the moment, Viktor stopped and took a few deep breaths. He listened absentmindedly as his allies spoke, focusing more on the large bladed weapon in his hand. He felt as though it spoke to him, like a worn and comfortable presence. Every facet of it's creation functioned as an arcane link riveted to his reincarnated soul. And yet, when he struck at the Goblin King with this auspicious wonder, his blow faltered and rang hollow. It feels like a piece of my own soul, but to fail at such a crucial moment? I cannot fight like this and win... He looked at the blade. Not in this condition. Visions filtered through his mind, images of a long blunted sledge he had toyed with designing but had not completed. The daiklave would need to be dismantled in order for his vision to be made real. Soon.

The crafter craned his neck around for any sign of the deathknight that had run off when the fight drew to a close, before deciding the pyramid made the most sense. Pulling the shield from his back and strapping it to his left arm, Viktor looked to his liege. "After you, Lord."

 

[jaydude]

Annika would draw one of her daiklaves and follow Aredin and Viktor into the pyramid, wary of the possibility that the Abyssal was indeed hiding there, but also curious to explore the pyramid and see what there was to find inside.

 

[Sherwood]

The Great Pyramid of the Sun truly lives up to its name. Its base is 800 yards square, and it rises nearly 700 yards up into the sky. Looking at it, you can all tell that it is the focus of a fairly sizable manse, one of several in the city. With the length of time that Filial Wisdom has spent in control of the city, it is most likely that the hearthstone from this manse is in the Grand Daiklave that Aredin now carries in his pocket.

The main entrance to the pyramid is large enough for Warstriders to walk into it without having to duck their heads. There is a large central hall that is 60 feet wide and tall, and it runs about 400 yards long; it is hard to see exactly in the dim light of a handful of torches and a scattering of glowing stones. Several antechambers and corridors branch off from the central hall that will take you days to search the pyramid for what secrets it may hold.

Sadly, the once grand hall is filled with garbage and broken stones from some of the many statues that once stood along the walls.

If the Deathknight went in here, it will take you some time before you'll be able to find him.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Sirocco flies above the Solars, keeping her eyes ooen for the Deathknight or Han-Tha.

 

[jaydude]

"It's certainly great in size." said Annika as they entered the hall of the pyramid. "I imagine we'd need our Dragon King allies around in order to search it effectively."

Staying close to the others, she looked around for anything of interest or value.

 

[Psychie]

Darian looks around, then says, "Allow me to try and hear something of interest. For a moment, I will need all of you to be as quiet as possible." She closes her eyes and focuses on her hearing, using her Essence to magnify her already excellent ability to hear to inhuman levels.

Spoiler

Using my two Hearing Perception Charms, with another five dice added in from the First Awareness Excellency. I am hoping to be able to hear the sounds of someone inside the pyramid.

Total of 12 successes

 

[MasterDAF]

Viktor followed the group inside the pyramid, shield raised and sword at the ready. He looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the deathknight, and stood nearby to help guard Darian when she closed her eyes to listen.

 

[Sherwood]

As silence falls over the group, Darian focuses on what minute sounds that she can hear. After a few moments, from off to your left, you can hear a male voice that seems to be talking to someone, but you don't hear the second person in the conversation. "It is a large group of Solars and at least one Lunar. By the time I had walked away, the old fool was nearly defeated without drawing blood from any of them. I fear that we will have a longer wait for the Key. As always, I am your humble servant, and I await your next command, my Lord."

 

[Rykon]

Aredin stays silent as Darian appears to be focused on her task. in the meantime, he'd turn his head about examining the room to see if he noticed any signs of a hearthstone chamber where they could attune to the manse or any engravings he could read. After a moment he'd look to her, head slanted as if to ask, "What do you hear?"

 

[Psychie]

Darian points her hand off to the left. "There. I hear a male voice, talking to someone he refers to as 'M'Lord'. He talks of a large group of Solars defeating 'the old fool' and it will delay the search for 'The Key'. The way he spoke, it makes it sound like this Key is something of sizable import, and our arrival has thrown the search for it into chaos." She opens her eyes, looking to the others. "Now that I have heard him, I think I can guide us through these passages to him."

 

[Rykon]

Aredin nods, letting the information roll around in his head a bit in order to concoct a plan to deal with this Death Knight. "Let's go. I want to see what we're dealing with in this group." A key huh... Key to what? If it's important to a 'Death Lord' it's probably some sort of weapon or other general nastiness... If I have to bluff, what would I gamble on...

 

[Sherwood]

With Darian's Essence enhanced hearing, she is able to pick the correct passage to lead you towards the male voice she heard. It takes a few twists and turns, but soon you come to a long hall with rooms on either side. Poking your heads into one room shows that these appear to have been guest rooms for visiting dignitaries and Exalted coming to Rathess. After examining the suite of rooms through one door, you step out into the hall once more and when you do, from one of the other rooms the familiar figure of the other Deathknight. In the dim light of the hall, you can only tell that he is a tall man swathed completely in black, hiding even his face. On his hip is his blade, but he makes no move to draw it when he sees you.

He stands still at the end of the hallway, looking at you in silence. What do you do?

 

[Rykon]

Aredin steps forward, trying to set the tone of what could be negotiations Not wanting to initiate a contest of patience, the young lord simply spoke in a direct manner. "I'm rather tired of all the psychopaths we keep running into, from Sidereals to Solars and now you Abyssals. Tell me what it is you want and why so we can be done with this farce of a 'conflict'. I'm sure we all have more important things to do than hack at each other like brutes, so out with it." Aredin folded his arms and lazily leaned on one leg, communicating a general state of unimpressed boredom. Beneath the surface, various thoughts rolled around in his head.

I already know about the key and part of his communication with this master of theirs... Let's take it slow and see what direction he decides to take. Perhaps I can get more clear answers on what this key is for and where both the key and the prize are located... I doubt it, but dumber things have happened before.

 

[MasterDAF]

Viktor's eyes widened when he saw the Deathknight, and he felt his muscles tense in anticipation. Recognizing Aredin's cool demeanor however, the crafter instead forced himself to stand silently and wait to see how their foe responded.

 

[jaydude]

Regarding the Deathknight with a wary look, Annika nevertheless sheathed her daiklave. She did however look at the Abyssal with her Gemstone of Surface Thoughts.

 

[Psychie]

Darian stands ready to either attack or defend herself, even though the Deathknight in front of them is not making any hostile moves. That can change with a quickness, so either way, she is prepared.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Obviously these Solars knew each other well enough to understand Aredin's reasons, or at least suspect them, but Sirocco had to stop herself short of lunging at the deathknight, and try and cut him to pieces. He felt like an abomination upon Creation, and it did not sit well with her to talk to it.

 

[Sherwood]

You can almost feel the dark figure in front of you smile under his face mask. He raises up his hand in a surrendering gesture, and calmly says, "I have no desire to come into conflict with you, unless it is to defend myself. If it were otherwise, I would have joined in the fight with you along side of Filial Wisdom outside." He slowly lowers his hands, but keeps them away from the hilt of his blade. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Necromancer. I know that it is more a title than a name, but it is how I am known. I would hazard a guess that you have worked up a thirst from your fight with the crazy old fool out there, so I am wondering, can I offer you a cup of tea?"

Spoiler

Forgot to add the results of the Gemstone of Surface Thoughts. His mind is a whirl of thoughts, and it is difficult to get a handle on any one, but he is not harboring any immediate threat to your Circle.

 

[MasterDAF]

Viktor found it hard to trust the Necromancer, but recognized the logic in the Deathknight's words. If the dark one meant to harm them, then leaving his ally to die and engaging them alone was certainly a poor way to achieve his goal. The Twilight castemark still gleamed brightly on the blacksmith's forehead, and Viktor caught sight of its reflection on his blade. The golden glow helped remind him not to leap forward in action, and instead wait patiently. We are champions of the Sun's justice, not hammers in constant search for a nail. We've proven our might, and more may be achieved now through conversation than brute force.

Viktor slowly lowered his blade and shield, then turned to his liege. "If the Deathknight speaks truth, than we may gain more useful information by speaking than we would by spilling his blood."

 

[Rykon]

Aredin smiles, "Glad you're willing to talk... I'm sure you can see both myself and my companions are still on extreme edge, given the battle that is still concluding outside and that you stood on the side of our opponent. So, if you want me to accept this tea of yours..." The young lord said as an addition to Viktor's words, letting the palpable distrust settle in the room. Aredin stepped forward, surging essence through his words, the overflow blending with the anima flare he already invoked in his fight with the Goblin King. The lights blended with flares of the circle, helping to announce the coming of the Celestial Exalted among the ruins of their former glory. "Answer my questions honestly. What are you doing here? What are you and your master trying to accomplish? Why we should tolerate your presence in our city? Unless you can do that, our conversation ends here." Inwardly, Aredin relaxed, Big gamble spending this much essence, but let's see what secrets this rook carries for his king.

[Combo: Imperial Command 21m 1w +1w for the success
Charms: First Presence Excellency+8dice, Irrestistable Salesman Spirit, Hypnotic Tongue Technique

Rolling Manipulation+Presence for the compulsion... (before any assumed stunt bonus)
14+1 success x 2 due to charms... so 30 total success against his MDV, reminder that for every three successes over his MDV he must pay an extra will to resist up to a cap of five. This compulsion will last for manipulation days and must be resisted each day. See Scroll of Errata p.10

Cost to resist is 1 + threshold bonus
Cost to become aware of the compulsion is 4 + threshold bonus
Aredin base Manipulation is 3, but gets a roll bonus of 2 for the Gem of Grace since he is visible to the Necromancer. So probably 3 days for the duration of the compulsion]

 

[Sherwood]

When the power of your Essence enhanced voice hits, the Necromancer takes a step back as if he were hit by a physical blow. He responds, "I am searching for the Key to the Behemoth that is hidden in the bowls of the city at the command of my Master. I believe it is hidden somewhere inside the Pyramid, but as of now, I have not been able to find it. Perhaps it is in one of the many sealed rooms that I have not had access to with the Goblin King in control of the city."

He sounds almost dreamy, showing that he is under the full effect of the Charm.

As you are facing the dark figure in front of you, Darian can hear the sounds of others coming up from behind, but these are people you recognize; Dunbar and Aysik. The two of them seem to be in good spirits as they talk and joke with one another. Coming around the corner, they come up short when they see the Deathknight in front of you. Dunbar says, "Uh, is everything ok?" He seems ready to charge into a fight, but is holding back until he gets some kind of hint of what is going on.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin spreads a wide devilish grin. Visibly though, he seems somewhat pale and very fatigued, almost all of his essence spent. "Everything's fine. This one, however, has just spent most of his usefulness to me. We've learned what he and his master have been up to in Rathess. Do with him as you will. I imagine he might be of some use left in bargaining with his master, but keep in mind he has already reported the current state of affairs before we entered the room to confront him. I think Whisper is perfectly capable of delivering any details on their base of operations, so if your high spirits are an indication that Han Tha has been dispatched, then the city is ours, my friends."

Aredin smiles more warmly now and glances briefly about for a place to sit. "Relza, Leeayta... I take it you have been watching? I would hear your thoughts on dealing with this one as you two are among the newest to our band of grand conspirators. You as well, Sirocco and Heaven." The young lord reaches into a pocket, fishing for a favored whiskey to take the edge off. Bastards were here for a weapon after all. A Behemoth of all things... Guess Mask of Winters won't be the last to deploy such monstrosities. Good riddance.

[Reminder Tag for Red Shadow Claws and Kalin Scarlet just in case]

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Sirocco clears her throat, and speaks while still regarding the Necromancer. "I'd prefer to dispatch this one. It is an abomination, and seems to serve it's master willingly, even gleefully."