Trial by Fire - IC Thread

[D. Rex]

Back in deck, the man with the bandaged face found himself a nice barrel to sit upon while he turned his lute. Every now and then plucking a string to make sure the sound was ~juuust~ right.

"Two pairs, Spider. And I would think that with at least one pair we share a mutual friend." He said quietly to his comrade in reference to Melinda. "I believe the two passengers before us are the ones we read about."

Rather than casting his gaze about to eye the men, he instead moved his head and eyes as if to look around the ship. To see if the ship or crew also bore a similar mark. To see just how subtle he needed to be. If course he tried to make his attempts seem like nothing more than admiring the ship. ( Sherwood )

"Shall we introduce ourselves? Or do the power move of making them come to us, hmm?" He didnt mind either way. He was fairly relaxed over this situation. Or he seemed that way, at least, as once his lute was tuned he began to pluck a simple yet jaunty little shanty he learned from his time out west. Something to keep his hands busy.

 

[Random Word]

As Maja is ascending the plank her eyes alight on Kuaidao and immediately her face lights up as her heart leaps into her throat.

She waves and cries out, "Kuai-" Recalling the current state of her appearance her cry of greeting is abruptly strangled and she looks briefly mortified. She feigns having her coin purse knocked from her hand, spins on her heel, ducks behind an amphora carried by a passing crewmember, and makes a lightning fast attempt to turn merely dishevelled into artfully dishevelled (Perfect Symmetry +1 App, free Glance Oration Technique, 6m personal). Pleasantly surprised at the results she snatches the coin purse from the deck, takes a deep breath, straightens her shoulders and steps back out, gesturing apologetically at the coin purse.

"Fancy meeting you here! Because I certainly wasn't following you. Well, I was, but not here here, and then I had to stop. And even when I was, I wasn't stalking you. I mean, yes, I was in the literal sense of the word, but not the pejorative sense. I just felt I owed you a great debt for everything you did for me, and I had to find some way to repay it. Can you tell I haven't slept in a while?"

Blushing slightly and eyes searching for literally anything other than Kuidao to fixate on she spots the hatch leading below decks and feels cold sweat. She hadn't quite considered that the hold of a ship was quite so small. Confined. There probably wasn't a lot of air down there, and she was having trouble breathing already. She turns to the Captain, pained, "Would it be alright if I slept on the deck? I don't mean to be a nuisance, and I'm sure your berths are lovely, but I can't really, um, go down, uh, there." She gestures at the shape and size of the hatch. "It's difficult to explain. Have you ever been in prison?" She pales slightly, "Which isn't to say you look like the sort of person who would be put in prison, and of course it's fine if you have, but - Would you believe this went better in my mind?" She presses the agreed upon quantity of coin into the Captain's hand and smiles apologetically.

"Have you met Rivers?" she gestures enthusiastically at the woman beside her on the ramp by way of distraction, "She's very wise. She's got this whole speaking thing nailed. I'm going to stop talking now. I think that's best."

 

[jaydude]

Kuaidao's eyes widened slightly when he saw the sigil on the piece of paper being held by Spider. Another of the Exalts "Melinda" told me about perhaps, he thought, as he turned his attention to Bard and wondered if he was an Exalt as well.

When he saw Maja on the deck, aside from recognizing her as the young woman he'd once rescued, he would be almost completely taken aback by how beautiful she was, despite - or perhaps because of - her current disheveled state. He opened his mouth to give a friendly reply, but she seemed to have been overcome by nerves to a greater extent than he had, and then she began engaging the captain in conversation. He decided to wait and see how things panned out between them.

 

[Psychie]

Spider thinks for a moment, then says, "I think we don't want to seem too anxious, but if these are the other Exalts that our benefactor has told us about, perhaps it would be a good thing to make ourselves known to them. Especially if we are going to be running from the Wyld Hunt the whole time. Lets head up on deck and get to know our fellow passengers."

 

[Syvvaris]

Motion-sickness was not friendly to Thallus and his meager attempts to read while the ship was in motion, and decided to wait to go above deck until the ship set sail. Maybe then the sailors will be more apt to helping him with a request. It would be a simple one to look at any potential maps at of the north; Geography was an interest of his but in the libraries of Nexus, there weren't many detailed maps of small areas of the Northland. Though before the time he could ask, he did study the piece of map that he found before the mysterious woman had whisked him away from the love of his life, books.

In his journal, he is going to copy what he can down from the piece of map he found into his journal while studying any notable geographical feature and other landmarks.

Sherwood what would you like me to roll?

 

[Sherwood]

@Sherwood what would you like me to roll?

Perception + Awareness, which for you is five dice. Forgot to add that the target number you are looking to get is 7 or higher, and 10's count as two successes.

 

[Sherwood]

When Maja asks about sleeping on the deck, Dromond shrugs. "Suit yourself. The weather is good this time of year, but if you need it, I can put out a tarp to shield you from any light rainstorms that may come. In any case, I have work to get done. We shall sail within the next half hour, so you have that much time to go ashore before we leave." He then turns away, going off to make sure that the cargo is all properly secured.

The bow of the ship is fairly unobstructed and out of the way of the crew, giving you a out-of-the-way place to stand and talk.

 

[D. Rex]

Sherwood
Did you see me having bard look around for the symbol of Melinda in the ship or its people?

 

[Sherwood]

Sherwood
Did you see me having bard look around for the symbol of Melinda in the ship or its people?

Sorry, I spaced on it. Go ahead and give me another Perception + Awareness roll.

 

[Syvvaris]

Rolled in my last post, that's 4 successes? That's 8 8 8 10 3

 

[Sherwood]

Rolled in my last post, that's 4 successes? That's 8 8 8 10 3

Didn't see the roll. That is a total of five successes; the '10' counts as two.

Thallus is also able to spot the familiar symbol that was shared with you by Melinda on the two pairs of newcomers on the boat, supposedly indicating them as the Exalts that she hinted at.

 

[Sherwood]

D. Rex

While the crew works, Bard does some examination of the ship and the people. Without going through the cargo spaces, as of now you do not see any sign of the symbol of Jupiter on the boat or its crew.

 

[Psychie]

Spider does her best effort at looking like she's just being casual while keeping her eyes on the docks for any signs of the Realm's troops coming this way. As she does so, she taps the paper in her hand gently and softly says, "Are you all heading north? A friend of ours told us to look for her friends on the way there."

4 successes for my Perception roll

 

[HumanPlus]

Getting settled on the ship was less troublesome than Rivers had expected. With all the clandestine behavior that had started this journey, she had almost expected suspicious glances, secret messages or something along those lines. Yet after an adorably fumbling introduction to the captain by Maja that had her holding down a chuckle, the transaction with the captain had gone smoothly and soon after she had found herself on the ship, satchel and caged bird stashed in the hold.
The one really interesting detail she had noticed back then was that the dark-haired woman next to the man with the lute who was talking to the captain before she and Maja had in her hands a piece of paper with the symbol that Melinda had pointed to. She had said that other Chosen would be here, so those two would be likely candidates.

Now standing on deck, the smell of the river filling her nose and the breeze pushing at her long hair, the sound of music penetrates the rush of the waves and creak of wood and rope. A simple but beautiful tune excellently played on a string instrument which gives her a moment of pause before seeking the source of the same. On her way, she nearly bumps into a young man who is clearly already feeling sick from the movement of the barge. Could the other passengers also be Chosen? If so, Rivers was not overly impressed by this show of weakness. Except it could be a ruse, then she might be.

It did not take much to find the man playing the lute. Even though he is just sitting there idly playing, there is a presence about him that has busy sailors walk around with respect not to disturb him. She, however, walks over and sits down next to him. She sits and waits for his song to stop, and while she initially tries not to, ends up humming quietly along.
After he does finally remove his fingers from the strings, before words are exchanged, Rivers places a small wooden plaque on the deck between them wherein she has carved Melinda's symbol. "My name is Twin Rivers Entwined. I believe we have a mutual friend"

 

[Random Word]

Maja nods in appreciation to Captain Dromond, gliding by to lean back against the prow of the ship and rest her feet. As Spider flashes the symbol and speaks softly, Maja stretches her arms out and yawns, wrists crossed and fingers of one hand curled into a crude but oddly unmistakable symbol of Jupiter. She then idly examines the fingernails on one hand, stretching each of three fingers in turn to point at Spider, Rivers, and Bard - the passengers she has so far spotted the symbol on. The fourth and final finger doesn't so much point at Kuaidao as drift uncertainly in his direction, silently inquiring whether he has one as well with an arched eyebrow.

"Why yes!" replies Maja, brightly. She smiles ruefully, "We were just having tea, as a matter of fact, before some boorish ruffians arrived and put a dreadful damper on the whole ambience. She sends her deepest regrets she could not accompany us, but you know how she is. Here one moment, gone the next," Maya gives Spider a look of long suffering exasperation at the unreliable nature of their mutual friend. "I hope you didn't run into any trouble on the road. I'm Maja. She's never failed to introduce me to people of unusual calibre, so I'm delighted to make your acquaintance," Maja smiles warmly as she introduces herself. She gestures at Kuaidao and smiles gratefully, "And this is Kuaidao, hero of Ironfall."

While she speaks her fingers dance, forming a rapid series of symbols. Fleeing figures, pursuing horsemen, the arch of the sunset, the number two, an arched eyebrow, a finger pointed down. [I last saw my pursuers two days ago. Are you pursued, and are they here?]

 

[D. Rex]

Yellow River. A little shanty he picked from traders. Normally a shanty meant for a simple drums, but covering it to strings was easy enough. Sure, he knew the words. But singing shanties was not as fun if when sung gracefully. He figured these river boaters would prefer some a little more familiar over sea faring songs.

Sailors were busy men, as much was understandable. Yet it seemed he gathered an audience of one. One of the passengers. She seemed to be enjoying it, so who was he to interrupt a simple pleasure. He would play the rest of his tune, and encouraged by her seeming enjoyment of it, ended it with a simple flourish.

He gave her a smile and a nod in greeting, his eyes wondering down to the plaque she placed. Trust those with the symbol, eh? Well it was at least safe to say that Twin Rivers Entwined was neither Thallus or Kuidao. Which was a safe assumption given she was named Twin Rivers Entwined and not Thallus or Kuidao.

With a small chuckle, the man introduced himself, "Everyone just calls me Bard." He said, a clear smile forming under the bandages. "And yes, I suppose we do. A tight-lipped one at that. A shame she has so little time for us these days."

"I take it that you and your buddy over there have a little more about you that meets the eye, no?"

 

[jaydude]

Seeing Maja identify him and herself to Spider and Bard-She's one of my old Circle, is she? Well it would certainly explain how she survived those circumstances in which I found her.-Kuaidao would step forward and show them a small piece of paper with "Melinda's" sigil, taken from a pocket in his buff jacket.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, both of you." he said to Spider and Bard, before looking and smiling at Maja. "I don't know if I'd go so far as to call myself a hero. I protected Ironfall from the Fae because I was under obligation to do so, not so that I could brag about it."

Not so good at communicating through handsigns, he would shake his head and raise his hands a little in response to Maja's unspoken question. [Possibly, but I don't know. If they are, I haven't seen them.]

 

[HumanPlus]

"A little" she confirms with a nod and a small cryptic smile.

His statement indicated that he too knew little about Melinda. A shame, she would need to find out more if she wished to gain some manner of control over this whole situation.

"I happened to notice your traveling companion was carrying a the same symbol. I assume most if not all the passengers on this ship might count among our ranks. Maybe some of the crew as well" She mused, wondering once again what Melinda would need to gather so much power to accomplish.

 

[Syvvaris]

There were others with the symbol that the mysterious woman gave him on board, which did not surprise him. She told him to be on this ship, which meant she would have told others about the ship. There were two possibilities of why Melinda told us all to join the Seagull; one was to have this group together so they provided better defense against the wyld hunt or she was apart of the wyld hunt and this ship was a trap.

One of the other passengers, one of the women, asked a question to all aboard about if we were headed northward. Thallus wanted to speak up, but the majority of the non-crew grouped up and conversed each other and the bookworm decided his chance to answer was gone. His eyes adverted back to his journal to the page of which there was a piece of an ancient map detailing a cache of artefacts. There will be other chances to talk to them once they're done talking to each other.

 

[Psychie]

Spider looks at the various passengers and says, "Well, perhaps we should compare notes on how we got here. By the way, I call myself Spider."

She lowers her voice a bit to keep from being overheard by the crew. "From what Bard and I have been told by our mutual friend, she said that we'd be running in to . . . fellow Exalted that we knew in the past. I would hazard a guess that it means you share the same distinction as me and Bard." She takes a deep breath, and finally blurts out, "I am a Sword of Luna, an Exalt of the Full Moon Caste, and Bard is the Solar that I am bound to."

 

[jaydude]

Keeping his voice down to prevent the possibility of being overheard by the crew, Kuaidao would say, "I'm a Solar, of the Dawn Caste. As for how I ended up on this ship, I was travelling with a merchant caravan near Vale when Melinda - assuming that's actually her real name - approached me while disguised as one of the caravan's servants and warned me that a group of Dynasts was travelling towards us."

"They weren't with the Wyld Hunt, or searching for me." he assured the other Exalts. "But Melinda feared that they would discover what I was if I spent too much time around them, and urged me to leave the caravan and find this ship. I decided to do so, rather than take any chances with the Dynasts."

 

[Random Word]

Maja pales, bites her lip, and looks around as casually as she can before whispering, "I think I understand. So you're like the Bull in the North? That explains a lot." She nods at Spider, "And you're like Arvida of the Crescent Eye. I don't know what I am, but Luna put me back together when I was almost dead. That's five of six passengers. Let's say coin odds on the quiet one with the book. Even without him, the last time this many god-chosen gathered in one place the Realm sent all the Tepet legions to kill them, and it didn't work. I don't know whether to be reassured or terrified."

 

[HumanPlus]

Rivers gives a composed nod in greeting to the others as they introduce themselves.

"That, at the very least, should not be a problem where we are going". She says with confidence. "The Realm and the influence of its Dragons only reach so far from the shores of their isle".

"I had not heard of this Wangler's Knob before Melinda appeared to Maja and i, but i heard that the ship plans to follow this river to its end"
She places a finger on the gnarled wood of the deck, and drags it along a long crack, stopping at points while mentioning names of areas from the start to the end of the river "Lookshy. Sijan. The Black Chase. Rubylak. Linowa. Haslanti. We will be near the Edge where we are going, the likelyhood of anyone loyal to the Dynasty is minuscule so close the Bordermarches". She leans back against the rail, looking out toward the horizon "This is going to be a long trip".

 

[D. Rex]

Bard little a little snicker when "Wanglers Knob' was mentioned again. But he controlled himself. "I would not be so sure about that, Twin Rivers." He said regarding loyal dynasts up there.

"Where me and Spider, there was a man with what might be considered an Anathema oddity. Boldly proclaiming he got it from Wanglers Knob. We left moments after as Dynasts came to the tavern."

"There is a good chance that he is currently being interrogated about where he got it."

Running a finger along a lute string, he pondered for a moment. "If they were there for me and Spider... they may see it as a lead. If not, they may still send some to investigate."

"Either way, I think I would be safe to expect us to encounter some form of Wyld Hunt up there. Hopefully we can conclude our business there before they arrive. Hopefully we arrive before they do."

 

[HumanPlus]

"That is certainly worrisome". Rivers said, with a calm sigh despite the troubling news. "Then we will need all the advantage we can get our hands on".

She gets up from the floor and walks away from the group and down towards the bunks. Shortly after she returns with the caged chicken in one arm and an ivory-handled knife in the other.
She sits down once again, opens up the cage, takes the bird out and holds it down to the deck of the ship. She speaks in a calm voice "While not as precise as our mysterious friend Melinda, i too am versed some in foresight".
Muttering a short mantra she places the tip of the knife at the struggling beasts chest "You see, life is something quite extraordinary in this world. In this small beast is signs of every being it has touched, along with every being they have. This creates a web of memory one can use to interpret patterns of the future"
She drags the knife down the the body of the chicken through skin, flesh and hollow bone. Then digging her fingers into the wound of the still-living creature and spreading open the cut so she can observe its insides with cold practiced eyes. "Every spray of arterial blood holds portent. The pattern of every organ and vein holds secrets. All you have to do is know where to look and how to interpret". Her eyes glints with silver as all these signs and portents coalesced to information in her mind.

It did not take many seconds after that before the bird stopped moving, and she removed her bloody fingers from the corpse. Picking up the bird, she throws it to a nearby horrified sailor who had seen but likely not understood what was going on. "Just a prayer for fair winds. Take this to the cook if you please".

Spoiler: OOC

I use my charm Dreaming Wisdom Revelation. Spending 5 (or more if i get a stunt due to Lunar exellency specifics) on Exellency and 1 willpower for an autosuccess. Everything is of course paid in personal motes. Don't wanna start a lightshow just yet after all. (weirdly cryptic or cryptically weird foreshadowing on the ST's side with the use of this charm could be neat)

Dice: 5 Int, 3 Occult, 1 for ritual specialty, 5 exellency, 2 stunt, 2 auto

Dreaming Wisdom Revelation
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One story
Prerequisite Charms: Wayfaring Sage Meditation
A mystic and visionary, the Lunar realizes uncanny insights. After a scene reading animal entrails, interpreting dreams, imbibing psychedelics, vision questing in the Wyld, performing austerities, or similar, she rolls (Intelligence + [Integrity, Lore, or Occult]), banking foresight points equal to her successes. She may spend foresight points on the following effects reflexively:
1 point: Reset the once-per-scene limit on introducing a fact, as long as this upholds a Defining Intimacy or benefits her Solar mate.
3 points: Add (higher of Essence or 3) sorcerous motes towards shaping a spell. She may use this benefit multiple times on the same spell.
3 points: Gain (higher of Essence or 5) silver craft points, or (Essence) gold points.
5 points: Add (Essence/2, rounded up) successes on Investigation, Lore, Medicine and Occult rolls for one scene.
5 points: Add +2 Resolve for one scene.
5 points: Use Devil-Pleasing Chiminage (p. XX) retroactively. Success reveals she’s already acquired the offering.
5 points: Use Moonlit Apothecary Cauldron (p. XX) retroactively. Success reveals she’s already acquired the medicine.
7 points: Automatically succeed on a roll to introduce or challenge a fact, as long as the Storyteller deems success possible.
7 points: Use Heaven-Darkening Eclipse (p. XX) retroactively, without needing to roll. Success reveals she’s already prepared a contingency to negate the effect in question.
The Lunar must know any Charms enhanced with foresight points. This Charm can only be used once per story, unless reset by gaining a Lore background from Wayfaring Sage Meditation.