Trial By Fire - Exalted 2e IC Thread

[Red Shadow Claws]

Noting that the only 'threat' here seems to be men laying some rudimentary traps. Sirocco flies back to the other Exalts. Seeing as there is no imminent fight, she lands down close to the other Solars, and changes into her human form, delighting in seeing the looks on the faces of these people as she reveals her nature as a Chosen of Luna.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin smiled as Darian inquired about the state of Ragnar's people. His eyes scanned their ranks attempting to get a rough estimate of their number and adjust for those he'd estimate to be in hiding for falling behind. He drew close to his wife to support her before speaking. "As you can see, we can relay those in urgent need of care back to our home swiftly. For engaging the enemy, we can try to reach the walls of Gwynnin before they catch up or we can set up a kill zone and dispatch them out here. They are your people and you know their capabilities better than we do, so you decide. Either way, this Wyld hunt will suffer greatly for their intrusion here."

 

[D. Rex]

Ragnar was not the most well traveled of men. Before his Exaltation he was quite content in his tribes territory with little care about the outside. He was not well read, and he did not know the inner working of the human mind. But even in these foreign lands, truth of character held the same patterns. And to Ragnar, the closeness and support of a man and woman to their spouse was a major tell of ones character. It spoke more about who a person was than pretty trappings and gestures. And to such end, what he was seeing so far lead him to put confidence in Aredin and Darian.

To Darians curtsy, he would respond with a half bow. He did not know of court culture, but it was at least some semblance of respect he could return. "Thank you. You know my name, but perhaps more is in order. I am a simple man of the North touched by the Dawn, now the Chieftain of whom are now my people. I speak for them when I say that your generosity here will never be forgetten."

"We have been moving for many days. Of The worst of the conditions we are fortunate enough to only suffer sprains and heat sickness. But more than anything, what my people need is a good rest, and to eat and drink without rations." He explained.


Ragnar paused as he watched the hawk turn from beast to woman. Not something he had seen before. But something he had heard of, the beastfolk of the moon. He regarded her curiously for a moment before responding to Aredin.

"If annihilation is our goal, which I hope it will be, then we shall help make it so. Not all of us are trained soldiers, but destroying the Wyld Hunt is why we are here. I can send those unable to fight on ahead to the city. There are children and nursing women among us that I would like to get out of any range of engagement. To be able to send them ahead to safety, we can help you fully. "

"I will stay with you, and fight with you. Save for those I send to help those fleeing. My warriors will meet up with yours, we have many traps set up wide, my hunters will help them encircle them without injuring themselves in what was meant for the enemy."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Sirocco bowed her head lightly towards the man Aredin was speaking with, as obviously this was Ragnar. And she adds "We can deal with the Wyld Hunt, but let me first scout them. Sometimes they send a more sizable group than first appears, and it is easier to note those things from a bird's eye. Also, if it comes to a fight, I will be more than happy to assume my War Form, and show them the fury of those touched by the Moon."

 

[Psychie]

Darian looks at the assembled Exalts and the people with Ragnar. "My love, I believe that with the powers that we possess, we can quickly rout this bunch ourselves. I have learned many things since my Exaltation, and have yet to use my most formidable powers in battle. Let us bring the fight to these soldiers, and the ones that do not flee will be crushed underfoot." Her silver eyes gleam in the light, showing a ferocity in the normally demure and sweet woman. "We shall show them what it means to tremble at the sight of the Celestial Exalted."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Sirocco turns to Ragnar " You might wish to spare your men the carnage. If you think that what they have seen is horrifying, They have not yet seen a clash of so many exalts, and they REALLY haven't seen one of the Lunars take on their War Form, or fight in that form. But most importantly, jsut being in the vicinity of the Dragon-Blooded is enough to cause injuries, once their animas flare, and believe me, they will flare." With that speech, she turns to Aredin "I will scout them, and bring you news of their composition, as far as I can see." And with that, she turns into a hawk, and flies in the general direction that the Wyld Hunt is supposed to be.

 

[Sherwood]

As Sirocco wings up into the sky, you can see that Ragnar's people number in total about one hundred and fifty, but only about one hundred of them are of an age to be a combatant; the others are either too young or too old to be effective in a fight. Fortunately, there are now several Exalts to take that burden off of them.

Flying on, it does not take long before you see the first hints of the column of troops on the march. With your keen eye, you can spot fifty horsemen, fifty light infantry and fifty heavy infantry. In addition to the mortal troops, you can see another, smaller group of riders. Many of this smaller group are wearing Jade armor and are carrying artifact weapons, making these ten the Dragon Blooded that you've heard about.

Forming a protective circle around the Exalts, you can see that there are roughly ten large hounds the size of horses, and at least fifteen Erymanthoi Blood Apes. They are loping along side the riders, keeping pace with them easily. If this bunch were to have caught up with Ragnar's people before they had gotten to Gwynnin, the Wyld Hunt forces would have easily been the victors. But now, the odds are more in favor of the Celestial Exalts, even without the entire Circle present.

At the pace that the forces are setting now, they will catch up to Ragnar's people in about four hours.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Activating Eye of the Cat, allows me to see that which i have no chance of seeing. Does that give me any other information that I didn't have before?

 

[Rykon]

Aredin smiles, still finding himself occasionally stunned by Darian's overwhelming beauty in moments like this. Hearing her speak of a new technique did have him curious though. He flashed his own toothy grin. "I've got a brand new trick of my own as well. I look forward to our next dance on the battlefield. None shall stand a chance against the both of us, my love." He said drawing her close with his arm around her waist. "Especially not with our friends here too."

 

[D. Rex]

Working with other Exalts was not something that Ragnar had the privilege of doing before. It made it difficult to gauge what all could be done without witnessing it in person. "You trust your strength. I shall trust in it too. Since we have left the Northlands, we have had to fight fast and fight smart. But it is obvious now that I should have expected that I would need to learn how to fight like a Sun among others of the Sun. And the Moon, of course."

 

[Sherwood]

Activating Eye of the Cat, allows me to see that which i have no chance of seeing. Does that give me any other information that I didn't have before?

It appears that things are as they seem, and there is nothing that suddenly jumps out at you.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Concluding her scouting here, Sirocco makes a wider circle to see if there are any further surprises and then heads to the others to report.

 

[Sherwood]

Concluding her scouting here, Sirocco makes a wider circle to see if there are any further surprises and then heads to the others to report.

Please give me a Per + Awareness roll

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Having faces the Wyld Hunt before, Sirocco didn't take things at face value, especially not when it came to Dragon-Blooded, and their mysterious Sidereal allies. It was only because they didn't realize she was there that she managed to surprise the small Wyld Hunt sent after Heaven, and by the looks of it, this Wyld Hunt didn't realize, or thought they could corner Ragnar and his men before they reached safety. And so, she widened the search, keeping an eye out for more troops, or other nasty surprises.

Perception +Awareness (spending one Willpower for one auto success)

For a grand total of one Success.

 

[Sherwood]

At this point, you do not see anything else noteworthy.

 

[Psychie]

As they wait for Sirocco to return with her report on what is out there, Darian turns to Aredin. "My love, is it your plan to summon forth the other Exalts in Gwynnin to join us? We probably can deal with the numbers of Dragon-Blooded out there ourselves, but the faster we can smite our enemies, the less chance we have of one of them scoring a lucky hit upon one of us. Or do you wish to leave them in Gwynnin to make sure that the city is protected?"

 

[Rykon]

"I need them to defend the home front darling. That said, I have no intention of drawing this fight out. Most of our travel companions would be in great danger in a pitched battle of this kind. I can fight while surrounded just fine, but I'll only really be able to cover you." Aredin explained. "One of these days, I really need to just grab a shield... Still, I'm fairly confident we can handle this as we are."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Sirocco makes her way back, returning to her human form, to better deliver her conclusions.
"I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary, but that doesn't mean there isn't. We have about ten Dragon-Blooded, and mortal troops. They can here in four hours or so, unless we bring the fight to them." She then seems to stop, as if about to say something. "I do think we need to surprise them. But I think part of it should be me going in either as an animal, or in human form, and when needed change into my War Form."

 

[Sherwood]

Are you going to try and engage the entire body of troops yourselves, or are you going to let Ragnar's people join in to face off against the mortal troops?

 

[Psychie]

Personally, I don't think that the regular troops will be much of a threat to us, even with their numbers. I don't have an area of effect attack, but we'll still be able to cut them down like a scythe through wheat.

 

[jaydude]

If Psychie thinks we can take them all, I second that suggestion.

 

[Sherwood]

Ok! At this time, you can either hold your position and let them come to you, which gives you about four hours of time to prepare. Or you can close in on them and engage sooner. What do you wish to do?

 

[Psychie]

I say we close in on them, and let Ragnar's people continue on to Gwynnin where they can be safe. My two cents worth.

 

[Rykon]

I agree. It won't really fatigue us to move forward a bit. So long as we can ready our scene-long/form charms for the start of the battle, that's basically all the preparation we need.

 

[Sherwood]

How do you wish to advance on them? In the Globe of Transport? Or on foot? You can all have your Scene long Charms up and running prior to the fight either way.