Trial By Fire - Exalted 2e IC Thread

[jaydude]

There is a bit of resistance, as if the door hasn't been opened for a very long time. Then finally, with a hiss of equalizing air pressure, the door cracks open. With a bit of effort, you can push the door open enough to be able to squeeze inside.

You get the feeling that you are the first person to walk in here in ages, but there is no layer of dust on the floor or any other signs of age in the room.

Entering through the door, Annika would draw one of her Daiklaves, while also looking around at her surroundings. What kind of room was this? How big was it? And what was inside it?

 

[Neopilot]

"Did you honestly think we are the ones here who mean harm? Did you not see the kind of power brought to bare against that airship and the demons we fought from inside it? If we wanted to wipe any of you out it would be done already." Kuridin said crossing his arms across his chest and staring daggers into the man's eyes before him.

 

[Sherwood]

Aredin, still glowing tremendously from his anima, turns to Ragnar. "He doesn't want words, he's asking us to produce physical evidence. Evidence he clearly knows we can't produce."

With a grin the king offers his counter gambit, pointing to the mark of the Eclipse. "If you were willing to tolerate the lowest sum on this earth then I take it the tales of Anathema are lost on you. My power allows me to bind oaths with the penalty being a horrendous curse. I can bind myself to speak honestly about what we heard of their intentions. If you still aren't satisfied, I guess you could declare war on us and try and kick us out."

Aredin shrugged, still grinning. "I mean, we went to all this effort to talk and all that. I suppose this Deathlord must have really been concerned for your livelihood. If you really want to pick a fight for his sake after his agents ensorcelled Duncan and plotted to murder Blythe I suppose I can't blame you. He sounds like such a nice man. Why I'm sure the hundred corpse beast he left here was only to feed candy to the children and treat your sick. The artifact he sought to take from you? Ah, that's just charity to take junk off your hands right?"

Aredin's gentle tone and smile vanished, as he began to rebuke him. "Seriously? You really had to ask who was evil? Wake the hell up. Do you not realize what is at stake? The scarlet bitch just toasted his neighbor, Mask of Winters. He sends Exalted here to barter for artifacts. Did you ever stop and consider why? You ever stop to consider if this mountain that just happens to float has some sort of secret behind it? One an old ghost like Walker in Darkness might have intimate knowledge of? Sheesh, its cause you bumbling dimwits were about to hand him keys to a first age weapon that we had to show up here in the first place."

Aredin finished venting after the insult the man had thrown at the circle. "Well? You want the details under oath or not? You can inspect the wreckage and verify the scenes for yourself when we're done here." Aredin gave a look as if his patience for negotiations was wearing thin.

The Exalt in front of you looks chagrined as Aredin chastises him, but for a moment he says nothing. Then, he starts to chuckle. "Well, when you put it that way, it does sound a bit silly. Wait here. I will go back inside and talk to the others, and I will be back. Do not come in; there are wards that will trigger traps if you try to enter." He then turns and walks back into the chamber that he just came out of.

Once more, Darian's exceptional hearing can pick up on snippets of the conversation between the people inside the room. The man briefly explains the content of the conversation between you and him, and there is varying levels of disbelief that things are going to be so simply solved. Finally, Darian can hear the familiar voice of Issar, saying that he has been warning the lot of them about the Abyssals from day one, and it might explain just why some of their number have suddenly changed their minds on just what artifacts from the cache they are willing to part with in trade to the Deathlord.

This vote of support seems to tip the naysayers over in your direction, and soon after, the door opens once more to reveal all five Exalts that are inside the room. Three of the five are wearing heavy artifact armor, but they have put aside their weapons in a show of good will. Of the other two, one is wearing a set of Perfected Kata Bracers and is in what looks like Silken Armor, and the last is Issar, and he is in a lightweight jumpsuit and is not armed at all. Probably because as they walk out of the chamber, you can spot multiple Warstriders in there, at least a dozen of them, one of which is opened up and standing ready to take a pilot on. He was probably going to suit up in that to face off against the 'Anathema threat'.

Issar takes the lead as the five approach you. "Well, here we are. For the sake of our people here on the mountain, I hope that we have not gotten rid of one set of monsters, only to replace them with another."

Entering through the door, Annika would draw one of her Daiklaves, while also looking around at her surroundings. What kind of room was this? How big was it? And what was inside it?

It looks like a large sitting room for a bunch of ladies to enjoy the view outside (assuming that you were not buried under a mountain) and have their tea. There are several comfy looking chairs in here, along with paintings hanging on the walls and decorative lights on the ceiling. It is roughly 25 foot by 30 foot, and there is another set of double doors leading out. Looking down, the floor is polished to a bright gleam, made up of an intricate pattern of tiles. Other than you, there is no signs of life.

 

[jaydude]

Looking around, Annika would grin as the sight of the room took her back to her days as a thief, before she set off towards the other set of double doors, opening them up once she got to them.

 

[Sherwood]

Annika finds herself inside a well furnished set of rooms that consist of two bedrooms, a living room and a small kitchen. All of this is filled with artwork and fine items that would fetch a fortune on the market if you were so inclined to sell any of them. In addition to the finery, placed against the wall of each room is what can only be described as a computer screen. It is unlike anything you have ever seen before.

In the living room, there is another door that leads out into a dark corridor that stretches out in both directions as far as the eye can see before the darkness consumes the light.

 

[jaydude]

Almost like I'm in some noble's mansion, Annika thought to herself, as she walked over to the screen-like...thing in one of the bedrooms to look at it closely. After a few seconds looking, she would reach up and place the tip of a finger against it.

 

[Sherwood]

Almost like I'm in some noble's mansion, Annika thought to herself, as she walked over to the screen-like...thing in one of the bedrooms to look at it closely. After a few seconds looking, she would reach up and place the tip of a finger against it.

When your finger touches the screen, there is a brief flash of Essence as you can feel the screen trying to take some power from you. It manages to nab a mote before you are able to pull your hand away, but in that moment, the screen begins to flicker on, showing a three-D holographic display in Old Realm, of the word 'Welcome. Press any key to continue.'

 

[jaydude]

"Too bad I don't speak Old Realm."muttered Annika with a grimace as she regarded the incomprehensible symbols on the screen.

Turning away from it, Annika would head back into the living room, and then into the long corridor. Grinning as she looked down both ends of the dark corridor, the Night Caste would sheathe her Daiklave, before reaching up to remove her Heaven Glory Shroud, allowing her anima to shine brightly and illuminate the place.

 

[Rykon]

"Why don't you ask my subjects how they feel about my rule." Aredin said with a smirk of confidence. "I doubt you'll find a happier population on the Earth. Once we're done here, naturally the offer to join as a province of our nation is available to you. For now, we have work to attend to."

Turning back to Ragnar, who still held the inert globe, "It'll be a tight fit, but if you can take us all down to the dig site we can wrap up this mess once and for all."

 

[Sherwood]

"Too bad I don't speak Old Realm."muttered Annika with a grimace as she regarded the incomprehensible symbols on the screen.

Turning away from it, Annika would head back into the living room, and then into the long corridor. Grinning as she looked down both ends of the dark corridor, the Night Caste would sheathe her Daiklave, before reaching up to remove her Heaven Glory Shroud, allowing her anima to shine brightly and illuminate the place.

Out in the hall, when you light up your anima and let it shine, it shows a long corridor reminiscent of something out of the Enterprise D from Star Trek. Wide enough for several people to walk down side by side, it is neat, clean, and made with smooth lines. Along the ceiling you can see that there are glow tubes spaced out in regular intervals, all dark at the moment, but if they were on, it would leave the hall brightly lit. Lining the hall on both sides of the corridor are more doors evenly spaced, looking like more of the same kind of room you just came out of.

Across from you, you can see what looks like another computer screen built into the wall, but this one is much larger.

 

[D. Rex]

Ragnar took the orb. "Aye, my lord. But I hope you dont mind walking after this." He said, expending the last mass of motes he had, with only a precious few left.


Once everyone was suitably in tow, he would direct the orb to the digsite.

 

[Sherwood]

With the five Dragon Blooded in the Globe, it is a bit of a tight squeeze, but everyone is able to fit inside well enough for the short flight to where the tunnel has been dug into the mountain by the elementals. As you come in for a landing, you can still see the line of Mercury Ants exiting with their pincers full of rocks to be dumped over the side of the mountain, just to head back into the tunnel for another load of rock.

At the moment, there is no sign of Sirocco or Annika.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin stepped toward the cave entrance and gestured for the others to plug their ears, especially Darian. When he saw that at least she had done so, he raised a hand to his mouth and released a loud piercing whistle to echo through the excavated caverns. He'd then wait for a moment before shouting down the tunnels, "Oi, Sirocco! Annika! We're in the clear! What's going on in there!"

 

[jaydude]

Exploring the hall, Annika would keep both her eyes and ears open.

(7 successes. Dang. Probably my most successful roll ever on this site.)

 

[Sherwood]

As Annika is exploring, you hear a faint high-pitched whistle from behind you that catches your attention enough to be able to make out your name being called. Sounds like Aredin.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Frustrated that her end leads nowhere, Sirocco goes back to where Annika turned. Might as well see if that way leads to something more productive.

 

[jaydude]

Upon hearing the sound of what appeared to be Aredin's voice, Annika would don her Heaven's Glory Shroud again and start heading towards the cave entrance. She would intersect with Sirocco at the wall of jade where they'd each gone in different directions, but she made no attempt to call out or signal to the other woman, not wanting to risk alerting the Mercury Ants, and not sure whether the Lunar would be able to see her with her current charm up.

 

[Rykon]

When the circle eventually reconvenes outside Aredin turns to their Dragon-Blooded accomplices. "I realize you all aren't eager to follow orders, but I need each of you to suck it up and swallow your pride for the moment. Take my brother with as many of you as you think you'll need to secure settlement. Let everyone know the truth about the Deathlord and that we're here to restore order and peace."

"Whoever stays behind, you're with us. We need to inspect this thing and get ready to clear out any pesky critters still lurking in here. The ants are bottom priority since they are still excavating mindlessly. Investigate, then clear them out. Got it? Good. Annika, Sirocco what's our status?" Aredin asks directly, urging everyone to stay focused to drive this mission to its conclusion.

 

[jaydude]

Annika would give a little shrug of her shoulders. "I didn't get a good look at the place, but It was like I was inside some kind of palace. And there were these...mirrors, or windows...that had Old Realm letters appear on them when I committed Essence to them."

An idea then occurred to her. "Do you think that whatever's inside has something to do with how this mountain's able to float in the air?"

 

[Psychie]

Darian replies, "Well, I do have a strange memory of a massive flying city, surrounded by smaller airships. If this is the same thing, it might just be what is keeping the mountain up in the sky. It must be a truly massive thing in order to carry such a heavy load of rock on it and still be able to fly."

 

[jaydude]

"Or just powered by a massive amount of Essence." replied Annika. "Anyway, shall we all head inside for a look? I wasn't able to see anyone or anything else in there...but I also have a feeling I haven't seen everything there."

 

[Rykon]

"Sounds like a winner to me. If there isn't anything more pressing discovered, then I say let's start there. Any objections?" Aredin asked, making sure he hadn't overlooked anything in the scramble.

 

[Sherwood]

Issar looks dumbfounded as you are talking. He finally says, "You mean to tell me that there is a whole city underneath the mountain that we have been living on top of, all these years? And we have never known about it? How is that possible?" He looks at everyone of the Circle, seeming to try and figure out if there is any way that this is a joke that is being played on him. "If this is true, I must see this for myself!"

Heading into the tunnel, it is just as Annika remembers, except that the Mercury Ants have cleared away even more of the rock around the balcony, continuing on to uncover even more of the artifact hidden inside. Just as Annika has described, you are inside a dark apartment. The light from the computer screen that Annika touched earlier is now out, but everyone can see where the screen is.

 

[Rykon]

Aredin reaches out a hand to press his palm against it, testing to see if it's an artifact he can resonate with and attune.

 

[Sherwood]

You feel a spark of Essence being drained from you, then the screen once more lights up in a glowing display in Old Realm, saying, "Welcome. Press any key to begin."