Trial by Fire - IC Thread

[Psychie]

Spider goes over to her fellow Lunar with a smile. "I have no idea what it is you are asking about, or the names of any of the villages in the area, but with Melinda's aid, we can probably figure it out. Wait . . . You were inside the fortress? Why does that not surprise me? Lets go share this with the others, then we can go inside and look around and see what treasures are in there! C'mon! Let's go!"

She then shifts back to her eagle form and takes to the air, heading back to where the others are still waiting for the Mercury Ants to get to the heart of the citadel.

 

[Random Word]

Maja nods amiably and takes wing as a falcon to follow Spider back.

Once they've returned to human form, she picks up as if there had been no interruption, "So how did you find me so fast, anyway? I'd only just reached the surface again!"

 

[Psychie]

Maja nods amiably and takes wing as a falcon to follow Spider back.

Once they've returned to human form, she picks up as if there had been no interruption, "So how did you find me so fast, anyway? I'd only just reached the surface again!"

As she lands and shifts back to her human form, she replies to Maja, "Melinda gave me directions on where to find you, and I went hunting for you to make sure you weren't in trouble or something like that. I'm just jealous that you've had the chance to run around inside the citadel and we haven't yet!"

She looks over at the others and says to them, "Look what I found! A wild Maja! And get this: she's been inside the citadel already, and has a tunnel already dug for us to get back inside! That stinker was off exploring while we were having tea with the elders."

 

[Sherwood]

The revelation that Maja was already inside the fortress takes Melinda by surprise. "How? Where? What did you see? What is it like in there?" She leans forward, anxiously waiting the answers.

Rory has a bit of a laugh at Melinda's reaction. "Take it easy, lass. Give her time to reply to your questions." He does look over at Maja at this point, obviously expecting to hear a story.

 

[Random Word]

"I smell great, thank you very much," retorts Maja with mock indignance as she saunters over to Kuaidao and rises up on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I beat you to the top!" she declares proudly, "While I was sitting on top of the great tree waiting for you, I asked her how to get to the fortress. She told me about a secret passage, and I took it to visit the great Spirit Tah-Rue. There was a strange glass pressure plate that opened the door, and there it was. I think it's gone a little crazy, though. Tah-Rue told me it would only move the fortress for me if I sacrificed someone powerful from the village of Re-Ak-Tor on a throne. I couldn't tell if it wanted the sacrifice to happen on a throne, or to be someone who has a throne, but I just nodded politely and asked it where to find the nearest exit for, uh, people who walk. And can't change shape."

She turns to Melinda, her arms still wrapped around Kuaidao, "The halls of Tah-Rue are huge, and they seem to go on forever, but they're mostly full of dust and the dead. None of them got up to attack me, but I think that's just because I always kept my eye on them. They like to sneak up on you when you think they're going to stay put."

She steps back to lean over the hole the giant demon ants are digging, "Wow. What are those? You're going to be digging a long time going this way, and then you're just going to hit a fortress wall, and I'm pretty sure those are hard to dig through. I already cleared out one of the gates of Tah-Rue. Come o- Oh. Right. You still can't fly. Uh, well, maybe there's another way down?" Maja shrugs sheepishly.

 

[Sherwood]

Rory laughs, then says, "I'm sure we can find a way down to your way in, one way or another. In the meantime, I have no idea of what it is you were talking about with your speaking of Tah-rue and the other word you said."

Melinda gets to her feet at the appearance of the two Lunars. She says, "Some of what the spirit said to you will make more sense to me once we get inside and check out the workings." She glances over at the Ants as they work, then shrugs in resignation. "So much for my great idea; beaten to the punch by Maja. Second best once more." She grins at Maja as she dusts off her rear end from the rock she was sitting on.

"Now let us see how we can get to your entrance. It seems like my Mercury Ants will be at work here for a while longer, and I don't feel like sitting around waiting. Shall we go?"

 

[jaydude]

"I smell great, thank you very much," retorts Maja with mock indignance as she saunters over to Kuaidao and rises up on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I beat you to the top!" she declares proudly, "While I was sitting on top of the great tree waiting for you, I asked her how to get to the fortress. She told me about a secret passage, and I took it to visit the great Spirit Tah-Rue. There was a strange glass pressure plate that opened the door, and there it was. I think it's gone a little crazy, though. Tah-Rue told me it would only move the fortress for me if I sacrificed someone powerful from the village of Re-Ak-Tor on a throne. I couldn't tell if it wanted the sacrifice to happen on a throne, or to be someone who has a throne, but I just nodded politely and asked it where to find the nearest exit for, uh, people who walk. And can't change shape."

"I don't see how it was ever going to be much of a contest. I can't fly." Kuaidao replied with a little smile. "Also, no offense, but I'd like to have a look around this place for myself first."

"Now let us see how we can get to your entrance. It seems like my Mercury Ants will be at work here for a while longer, and I don't feel like sitting around waiting. Shall we go?"

"I'm ready to begin searching when you are." Kuaidao responded.

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Sherwood]

Without much delay, the reunited Circle sets out for the tunnel that Maja carved out of the interior of the citadel. It is a steep trek down the Slope that takes about forty-five minutes, taking various switchbacks as you go along. Finally, you work your way around a hefty boulder, and you can see the opening in the ground that Maja made as she worked her way out of the innards of the place. The tunnel leading into the mountain is not too long, stretching about a hundred and twenty feet or so, and it is completely dark inside.

Who goes in first?

 

[Random Word]

Maja puts her hands on her hips and gives Melinda a sceptical look, "As if you didn't know exactly what would happen."

Maja sticks her tongue out at Kuaidao, "And yet somehow you made it on to a flying mountain anyway, Mr. Chosen of Being Good at Everything. It sounds like you lost a perfectly fair contest because you stopped for tea in the middle of a race!"

Once they reach the entrance she lights her caste mark and drags Kuaidao along by the hand as she runs down the tunnel, "Come see! And don't get eaten by a ghost!" It was easy to be brave with so much backup. The dead suddenly didn't seem so scary.

 

[Psychie]

Spider shrugs and smiles as she follows along behind Kuaidao and Maja, wondering if Maja is being serious about being careful of ghosts. "Is it a real thing that we need to be careful of? Ghosts, that is? I don't know if I've ever faced off against a spirit like that before. Well, to be honest, I get into so many fights they all seem to blur together."

Keeping her eyes and ears open for anything, she enters the tunnel.

 

[jaydude]

Maja puts her hands on her hips and gives Melinda a sceptical look, "As if you didn't know exactly what would happen."

Maja sticks her tongue out at Kuaidao, "And yet somehow you made it on to a flying mountain anyway, Mr. Chosen of Being Good at Everything. It sounds like you lost a perfectly fair contest because you stopped for tea in the middle of a race!"

Once they reach the entrance she lights her caste mark and drags Kuaidao along by the hand as she runs down the tunnel, "Come see! And don't get eaten by a ghost!" It was easy to be brave with so much backup. The dead suddenly didn't seem so scary.

"Well, looks like we're taking the lead here." Kuaidao said to the other three Exalts as he let himself get tugged down the tunnel, adopting a bemused grin.

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Random Word]

Maja grimaces, her gait faltering slightly as she turns to look back at Spider without stopping, because if she stops she might not keep going, "There's a lot of... A lot of people died here. This isn't a... good place." There's no easy way to say, 'this place creeps me the fuck out' without sounding like a coward. "There are... probably ghosts. But it's nothing you can't handle, right?" she says, with what she hopes passes for a confident, maybe even reassuring smile.

 

[Sherwood]

Spider shrugs and smiles as she follows along behind Kuaidao and Maja, wondering if Maja is being serious about being careful of ghosts. "Is it a real thing that we need to be careful of? Ghosts, that is? I don't know if I've ever faced off against a spirit like that before. Well, to be honest, I get into so many fights they all seem to blur together."

Keeping her eyes and ears open for anything, she enters the tunnel.

Melinda nods. "Depending on the way that they died, it is possible that there are hungry ghosts of the former crew inside these halls. I hope not, but it is a real possibility that we will be faced with the restless dead. Be cautious."

With Rory taking the rear position in the line, everyone makes their way through the tunnel and into the outer corridor that is the citadel proper. The hall is somewhat clogged by a large pile of rock and dirt that Maja hauled in to make her tunnel out, but it appears that the debris will not be here for long. A couple of small automations are there, sweeping up the mess and carting it away. They certainly explain why there is no dust in the corridors Maja has walked.

Inside the corridor is dark, and without the light of your anima glowing around you, it would be completely black except for one glowing figure that is hovering in the air near the entrance.



It is small, just about the size of a large fist, and it appears to be made of crystals of some sort, glowing from within. It pauses in front of Kuaidao and bobs in the air, and from it comes badly accented Skytongue. "Greetings, Noble Exalt. I am TARU. What is your designation?"

 

[Psychie]

Once Spider gets through the tunnel and into the corridor, she eyes the strange glowing thing with suspicion. Maja was saying stuff about the halls of this place being filled with dead people, and Melinda just said that the chances of there being hungry ghosts is very good, and to be on the watch for them. "What in Malfias is that thing?" Her hands stay close to the hilts of her swords, standing ready to engage if it turns out that it is a threat.

 

[Sherwood]

Melinda looks at the floating thing and steps forward. She says, "I am Melinda e'Barrit, Chosen of Saturn. These are my companions and fellow Exalted - Rory, and Kuaidao, Exalted of the Sun, and Spider and Maja, Exalts of Luna." She points to each of you in turn, and the spirit looks at each of you as she does so.

The spirit-thing sparkles in the light of your anima glows, and it replies, "Greetings Noble Exalted. I am TARU. How may I be of assistance to you?"

Melinda nods, saying, "Excellent. First, seal the outer door, then take us to the Command Center, please."

"Compliance! Please follow me." TARU turns and begins to float off down the hallway past the huge pile of dirt and rock that Maja moved in here to make her way out to the surface. As it flies along, the door that you just entered through slides shut, sealing you in. The spirit comments, "After so long with no one here, to be suddenly faced with so many Exalts all at once is quite exhilarating!"

Traveling through the corridor, you can see that there are several bodies lying on the floor, long dead and dried up, all of them having been killed long ago. Some of them have been cut down by bladed weapons, but others show signs of being felled by burns that have scarred and blasted holes in their lightweight armor.

Rory asks, "Uh, so . . . what now?"

Melinda daintily steps over a desiccated corpse and says, "Now, we go to the command center and see the status of this place. It may require too much work to get it back to a fully operational status, but we won't know that until we look at the readouts in the command center. Once we see the condition of the Titan, we can determine what to do next."

The large man nods, saying, "I suppose that is a reasonable thing to do." He looks down at the bodies of the fallen and says, "We will have to do something about all of these men. Make sure that their souls have gone onto their rightful resting place and are not stuck here, lurking about in some dark corner. I can commit their bodies to the flame, but just a glance around here tells me that there are probably a lot of fallen to take care of, and it will be a very slow process."

She looks back at the Solar and says with a smile, "You have a good heart, Rory. I hope you keep that giving spirit as the years weigh heavy upon your shoulders. Now, TARU, what is the status of the citadel?"

"Noble Exalt, the fortress has been put on station keeping, and all systems are in standby mode. There is no structural damage to the Titan, but for full functionality, the exterior will have to be cleared of the extraneous debris that covers the place."

It takes several minutes and a lot of walking to get through the massive place to get to an elevator that takes you all up to the level where the command center waits for you. As you step out of the lift, you can see that there are several more bodies lying around here, along with what appears to be a full dozen brass statues of armed and armored men standing on either side of the orichalcum-inlaid door in front of you.

TARU hovers in front of the sealed door, saying, "I cannot open the door for you, Noble Exalts. It has been ordered sealed by the Admiral, and only Essence users can unlock it. Any that attempt to force the door open will activate the Brass Legionnaires and they will attack to defend the command center."

What do you do now?

 

[Psychie]

Spider eyes the statues, thinking that they must be some kind of warding or trap to keep them from getting through the door somehow. She says, "Ok, so we are Essence users, so how do we get through the door? Without setting off some alarm and making the whole place go nuts on us? Do we just walk up and say, 'open!'?"

 

[Sherwood]

Melinda looks at Spider, saying, "It is most likely sealed with an Essence lock, and will only unlock with a sufficient infusion of power to the door. If we try to force our way through the door, these automations will most likely activate and immediately attack. TARU, am I correct?"

"Yes, Noble Exalt."

She then steps forward slowly to the door and places her hand upon it. "I should be able to unlock the door, but it will most likely take a sizable amount of my Essence to do so. Only the gods know what we will find on the other side of that door, so stand ready for anything." Melinda then focuses her attention on the door, letting her energy flow into it.

As you watch, lines of Magical Materials in the door begin to glow, softly at first, then brighter and brighter, until there is an audible 'click' and the double doors start to swing open. Melinda immediately steps back away from the door, letting the swinging doors yawn wide open. The metal statues on either side of the door make no move against you at all.

Who goes in first?

 

[jaydude]

Placing a hand upon Guardian Host's handle in case he needed to draw it in a hurry, Kuaidao stepped forward into the command centre of the fortress.

Spoiler: Kuaidao Stats

Essence: 2
Personal Essence: 16/16
Peripheral Essence: 30/40

Committed Essence: 10

Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -3, Incapacitated
Resolve 3, Guile 2

Attacks
Guardian Host (Orichalcum & White Jade Daiklave): 14 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 15 Damage, Overwhelming 4 (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4) (Lethal, Melee, Chopping)
Straight Sword: 13 W. Accuracy, 11 D. Accuracy, 12 Damage, Overwhelming 2 (+2 Accuracy +9 Damage, +1 Defense, +2 Overwhelming) (Lethal, Melee, Balanced)

Actions
Rush: 10
Disengage: 8

Evasion 4, Parry 7
Soak/Hardness: 11/7 (Dauntless, Soak +8, Mobility Penalty -1, Hardness +7, Attune 5)

 

[Psychie]

Spider follows along, keeping her eyes open for any sign of a hazard in there.

 

[Sherwood]

The chamber is rather large, circular in shape, with many seats spaced around the outer edge and a larger seat in the center of the room. There is one other door out of the room besides the one you came in. The room is empty of people except for two bodies, one seated in the large throne in the center, long dead like the other bodies that you have seen. The difference with this body is that the figure is wearing gleaming jade armor that is a reinforced breastplate, and on the floor next to the outstretched hand is an orichalcum reaper Daiklave that looks to have fallen from the hand of the withered figure.

Unlike the other bodies you've seen, this second figure on the floor is in pristine condition, looking like a man sitting with his back propped up on what looks like a golden sarcophagus at the far left side of the chamber. This man is wearing a lightweight chain shirt made of moonsilver with a pair of Slayer Khatars on his hands, also made from moonsilver.

Melinda slowly walks in with the spirit avatar of TARU at her side, looking around at the room, her eyes falling on the two bodies. Without touching anything, she first examines the withered figure on the throne. "This one is wearing the old uniform of the Deliberative. See these symbols? It shows that he was a highly ranked member of the sky navy, and one of the Chosen of the Dragons, too."

Rory points at the other form seated with its back against the gold container, asking, "What of this one, lass? The years don't appear to have touched him at all. What can you tell us of him?"

Again, she avoids touching the body as she looks at it, then looks over the sarcophagus. "I would have to guess that this is one of Luna's Chosen, sleeping in hibernation until the day comes that his charge is awake and is in need of his protection once more."

Rory lets out a low whistle. "If he be still alive, can we wake him up? Do we even dare to do so?"

Melinda says, "It should be possible for us to wake him without any danger to him if you so desire. I have heard stories of Lunars slumbering for decades like this and they then rise without any side effects from their long sleep. I am, however, more concerned with this." She points at the sarcophagus. "It would appear that there is someone, or something, inside and alive still, being sustained by the power of the Titan. If it is an Exalt, it is very likely that we have stumbled across a Solar from the First Age."

 

[Psychie]

Spider also makes sure that she keeps her hands to herself as she walks around, looking at the place. She asks, "So, do we even want this Lunar to wake up? We don't know anything about him and his motivations. He may be a threat to us here if we're not careful. And the same goes for whatever is inside that golden box. I mean, we see evidence of a huge fight taking place here a long time ago, and we have no idea on what side of the conflict that everyone was on. We just gotta be really careful is all I'm saying."

 

[Sherwood]

Rory clomps around the apparently sleeping Exalt on the floor to peek over inside the golden case he's lying up against. Letting out a low whistle, he says, "Well, little blondie in here doesn't look to be much of a threat at all, being so small and skinny. If she is a Solar, I wonder what caste she is?" He looks at the outside of the case, also making sure to not touch it. "If we were to wake these two, how do we do it safely?"

Melinda says, "It appears to be a fairly simple suspended animation chamber, with the same generic controls that they all have. I can unlock the chamber with ease, and your little one in there would wake up quickly with little in the way of side effects of her long sleep. As for this fellow on the floor, I suspect that it is possible to wake him up by shaking him, just as if he were sleeping naturally. There are several questions that demand answering in my mind. Who are they? Are these two Celestial Exalted? If so, how is it that they were able to survive the Solar Purge? Are they members of the original crew? Without knowing those answers, any interactions with them pose a real hazard."

She then turns and walks over to one of the control stations, wondering, "If I could find a log of the last hours of the crew, we would be able to have a better sense of what happened here and know more of our two dozing Exalts." Melinda slides into the seat, adding, "These controls seem to be fairly strait forward. It shouldn't take me long to get some data."

 

[Random Word]

From behind Kuaidao, Maja peers suspiciously down at the man lying in the middle of the room and the woman in the sarcophagus behind him. "They don't look that old to me. There's no way they'd still be alive, anyway. How do you know they didn't just come down here like we did? Maybe they're only pretending to be asleep. Tah-Rue could have told them we were coming, or maybe they heard us approach."

 

[Psychie]

Spider thinks for a moment, wondering if what Maja was saying is true. "Well, lets ask. TARU, do you know who these two people are? How long have they been here?"

 

[Sherwood]

Spider thinks for a moment, wondering if what Maja was saying is true. "Well, lets ask. TARU, do you know who these two people are? How long have they been here?"

The spirit seems to nod. "Yes, Noble Exalt." Hovering over the sarcophagus it says, "This is Admiral Garrett of the Deliberative Sky Navy, and her Lunar bondmate, Gideon Raffa. They have been here since before the Citadel suffered its fall from the sky when the Dragon Blooded officers rose up against the Admiral and tried to take over. They sleep now, but someday they will rise once more and restore the Titan to its full glory."

Rory lets out a snort. "Well, that answers the question of how long they have been here. So, what do we do about it? Do we try to wake them up, or do we tiptoe around and let them sleep?"