And Here Be Dragons, Of Course
Two days after the last scene.
((Sadly Querl couldn’t make it for the end of the plot, but his elementals are still around))
About 30 miles north it is easier to feel the geomantic manipulations. Several times every day they can feel a small shifting of the patters of essence. Subtle, but all in the group of dragon-blooded have keen senses for these matters, they can feel they are close to their goal. The weather keeps being nasty, very cloudy with the occasional snowfall. But after checking a couple other possible places, Turbulent Cry returns with good news. He spotted a group of people and an encampment in the middle of the tundra, a place Sly Fox said was haunted by strange whirlwinds made of ice and rainbows.
Sesus Ormi says, "Excellent news. How many people?"
Megara nods and listens.
Turbulent Cry speaks, <<from afar I saw four large stone buildings and half a dozen tents. I saw fifteen humans outside, but only half of them looked like warriors. I saw two mounted in horses, and four that looked like sentries around the buildings. I didn’t stay for long because I was told I shouldn’t be seen.>>
"If I want to be sneaky, I can be highly sneaky," Megara observes, sitting up from sipping some tea she made, "Using my cloaking device. There are a few things that can see through it -- mostly other First Age power armors, the ones wielded by Anathema, but I think the odds of one of those being there are pretty tiny. Would you like me to scout?"
Ragara Querl says, "we should all try and get a bit closer before Megara goes in to search, just incase things turn bad."
Sesus Ormi says, "We'll likely face many dreadful demons. We'll be sensible to avoid confronting them directly if we can."
"No kidding," Meg agrees before heading out.
Megara closes the scouted distance on flaming wings, but once she believes she's anywhere near her destination, as the Thunderbird flies, she lands, lets the wings wink out of existence, and proceeds on foot. 'On foot' is still very, very fast and light, and, for the next hour, invisible. She sticks to hard-packed tundra where she can find it, rather than soft snow that would leave footprints, and circles the encampment from a fair distance her first time around, once she finds it.
The group has camped about six miles from the demesne, and it is planning time. Sly Fox looks much unhappy when he hears about demons. "Anathema would do that," he comments gloomily. "I am good at scouting, but demons..." the man shivers. And he is the only one that thought freezing cold was okay weather.
Sesus Ormi says, "Relax. We've no intentions of sending you in to battle against the spawn of Malfeas, Sly Fox."
<<If you land, you are going to leave tracks on the snow.>> Advises the Thunderbird, which is always quick to point out that kind of thing. Still, the elemental bird is not going to get much closer, since he is a huge bird-thing that is not going to pass for normal even for those that utterly ignorant of the supernatural. He has offered to create a storm for cover, though (and because there are charms he can only use during storms).
Megara looks back over at the Thunderbird and shrugs. "Fair enough," she agrees, and keeps to the air, her flaming wings making stealth impossible... but not cover. "Do your thing, honored one," she says respectfully in Old Realm, letting him create their tactical advantage with gleeful anticipation.
Sesus Ormi says, "Be wary, Megara. In my studies of the occult, I can tell you that the powers of the Anathema's perceptions can be unnaturally keen, even so as to spy you through the thick clouds. Do not be complacent!"
-= OOC =- Megara stops two miles from the place, behind a hill, and is flying /low/. I'm not hovering NEXT TO THEIR CAMP. XD
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "is she asking him to summon a storm?"
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Yep."
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Storm away. I'll go in on foot, invisible /and/ under cover of a storm, and they won't see me, but I'll use essence sight to pierce the storm and see them. No problemo."
From two miles there is not much to see in the icewalkers’ camp. There are, indeed, stone buildings that do not belong to the tundra. Small groups of people move among them. Hard to say if they are armed or not. Assuming one of the buildings is a stable there might be between 20 to 100 people there, depending on how cramped they are. The weather is getting worse, the Thunderbird is summoning a storm, and this means a snowstorm here. It is not quick, it is going to take several minutes, but soon visibility is going to be really bad, and tracks in the snow are not going to last for long.
-= OOC =- Megara also turns on Fivefold Essence Sense -- if anyone there is carrying any jade whatsoever, I'll sense it, which is a good way to keep track of people trying to sneak up on me.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Fivefold RESONANCE sense, excuse me."
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Works at 600 yards (900 feet!). If it's red jade, no roll required. Any other aspects are Perception + Occult diff 3... as are any other magical materials, for that matter. I can't see stuff that's attuned, so that's a little less helpful, but still possibly useful to see stuff stored."
"Honored one... once your storm is in place, if you wished it to end, how long would that take?" questions Megara brightly, her tones muted only by the howling of the storm and her awareness that she's only a mile away from an Anathemic encampment.
<<We can summon storms, but it is not a Thunderbird’s right to decide when a storm should end.>> In other words, he can’t control the weather in any other way. Once Megara flies closer, she can see what is going on in the camp better. Although most of the northmen must be icewalkers, not even they like to be outside during a snowstorm. Most of them are going inside the buildings and tents. However, a group of six well-armed mounted warriors leave the largest one, obviously a stable, and rides towards the demesne. In the demesne properly, she can see another small group.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "How are they armed? :)"
-= OOC =- Megara says, "And what are they riding?"
-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Intriguing..."
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "horses, well, something like shaggy ponies. They are armed with lances, swords and bows. Likely armor under the fur coats too, they wear helmets"
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Are these weapons dice, daiklave and power- respectively, or do they appear to be mundanely outfitted?"
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "roll Per+Occult"
(Judge) Megara rolls Perception + Occult: [ 3 5 5 6 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "no magic"
Slowly and carefully, mindful not to draw any attention to herself, and also kicking a bit of snow over her tracks every few steps, just to speed their disappearance along, Megara ambles towards the demense to get a better look at such important details as its layout and who is there. She's also keeping an eye out for the singing staff, of course.
Meawhile, back at the camp, Ormi is practicing in the galing wind, learning to predict the movement of his arrows even in the wild storm, until it only serves to empower the force of his arrows.
The center of the demesne must be around two hundred yards from the camp. It seems a flat plain, but since it is in the middle of a mostly flat tundra it does not look very interesting. Except the wind is stronger here, and yes, there are small whirlwinds of snow. No rainbows, no... or wait, yes rainbows. Although not always, and they are very faint. Probably they are quite noticeable at night, the wind is not supposed to sparkle. And now the sensors in the armor can detect the presence of artifacts. In the group inside the demesne. Someone there has several artifacts made of jade.
Invisible beneath her cloaking device first and the storm second, Megara lets the group of mounted warriors pass her, then sneaks forward, closer to the group of people. Since it's very flat, she sees fit to go to a crouch, making herself even harder to see -- and she stops a lot. Move... stop. Stare. Move... Stop. Eventually she gets within 150 yards, and once again stretches out her mystical senses, seeking signs of any magical materials besides jade, as well as details about the makeup of the group.
Peering through the snowstorm thanks to her armor sensors, Megara can see there are nine figures in the demesne. Five are still on horse, trying to peer through the storm. The other four at on feet, and two of them are arguing. There is a tall, thin man with a staff made of white jade (according to the sensors). It must be the Singing Staff! He is also wearing jade bracers, and item of enchanted jade, far smaller, is worn handing from the neck, maybe an amulet. The tall man is talking with one of the warriors, then they start walking back to the camp.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Okay! I'll spend 3m to pass this information back to Ormi: 'Singing staff found at demesne, held by jade-clad with mundane friends. They are headed back to main camp. Meet me at periphery.'"
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Wind-Carried Words Technique, no chance of interception."
Megara whispers something into the wind.
Sesus Ormi rises to his feet. "Querl," he says, "Keep up your efforts. Megara's found the staff. Apparently it may - /may/ - be in the hands of dragonblooded servants of the Anathema, but at any rate it's in the hands of jadeclad. She'll inform you when we meet."
Sesus Ormi salutes Querl, draws his fur cloak tight around his shoulders, and strides in to the storm.
Meg follows the jadeclad fellow very, very distantly, trying to see which tent or building he goes into. Sneaky sneak.
Querl is finishing summoning an elemental, so he has to stay for a few more minutes. Sly Fox, however, grabs his bow and rides after Ormi. Meanwhile the group of icewealkers in the demesne return to the camp, most of them entering one of the stone buildings, although leaving two sentinels at the door, other of the men takes the horses back to the stable. They were quite cautions getting back, as if they expected to be attacked at any moment.
"You're sure you with to come with me, Sly Fox?" says Ormi bluntly. "You might be safer at the camp. If I'm set upon by demons or monsters, I may not be able to protect you as well as you think."
Carefully, Megara edges back towards the other members of her party. Her cloaking device remains engaged when she comes right next to Ormi, though she murmurs her first words, trying not to scare anyone. Turning it off early would just require more essence to turn it back on again later, there's no point. "Hail," is her greeting, followed by, "I know which building they're in."
Those words sure make Sly to hesitate, truth is he is not the bravest man in the north. "I... umm, will be careful. But I have waited many years to avenge my tribe. It is the time." Fortunately Megara vision is not impaired by the snow, otherwise it is unlikely they would ever find her, even without invisibility.
Sesus Ormi nods sagely, kneeling in the lee of a high stone along with Sly Fox. "Excellent. Which? It's heavily guarded, I assume?" He squints in to the snow. His gaze is terrifically keen, but that's a lot of snow.
Sesus Ormi would object heartily to the narrator's pessimism, if he heard it!
Megara points it, and the two visible sentinels at its front, out. "I'm somewhat considering the option of flying onto the roof and seeing if there's another entrance there. Essentially, gaining altitude away from the camp, getting straight above it, then dropping down very quickly to avoid detection. If there is, I could certainly carry one or both of you up there."
Sesus Ormi says, "Megara, you realize I can't see what you're pointing at?"
Megara thus describes the path from here to the building in some detail, including the locations of the tents, any other men that she saw, and so on.
"The bird mentioned having special abilities that only work in storms... what we could really use right now is a distraction. Then we slip inside the building and get the job done. The only risk is that the folks inside come out." Megara muses, and shrugs, largely to herself.
Sesus Ormi says, "I would /hope/ that, armed as you are, you could prevent anyone from escaping a building with only one exit..."
Megara shakes her head. "Nay, you misunderstand me. I meant that we should use the distraction to get inside the building without being noticed. If they leave before we get inside..." She shrugs again, the fluid motion magnified by the exomuscular fibers of her armor. "It is only one tactical option of many."
The building is a low structure, maybe a single room inside, although it would be a large one. There is only one way in, and no chimney, the ‘door’ is actually the hide of some animal, more a curtain than a door.
"Lord Ormi," requests Megara softly, "The enlightenment charms of the Immaculates are not unknown to me by reputation. Perhaps, could you check for dematerialized sentries of some kind?"
Sesus Ormi hesitates. "I am not Enlightened," he admits sheepishly. "I am a secular theologian. However... We are near the borders of a demesne. It may be possible for us to align our perceptions to it's natural flows, and thus to perceive the energy sinks or spouts represented by external or internal spiritual forces," he brainstorms.
-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi spends the essence for extra sneaky.
-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi has spent 3 personal essence.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Stealth + Stealth: [ -1- 3 4 5 7 7 7 9 <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 10 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- 5 5 5 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ 5 6 6 6 7 8 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ 5 6 6 8 8 9 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
((The guards can’t see Ormi-the-ninja))
Sesus Ormi slips gracefully in to the howling wind, leaving Sly Fox in the protective shadow of the stone. The wind cradles him like a mother to a child. At his request it gales around the bodies of his opponents, and they pull their robes tight to their bodies, squinting against the wind. He is invisible because no one can look at him.
Sesus Ormi sniffs. "Blood apes," he murmurs. "Lethal, if they bring the principle of motion to bear."
The guards are alert, good soldiers with keen senses. And they can’t see Ormi anyway. They couldn’t have seen him even if he had sneaked inside the building. And the faint scent of rotten blood reveals there must be supernatural sentries too.
Sesus Ormi murmurs to Megara, "I'm not resilient enough to survive an assault from who-knows how many blood apes. You lead - I'll cover you with archery from afar. Don't worry about the wind - I practiced compensating for it."
You heard me. Get in there and suck up some blood ape for me!
Megara nods at Ormi's observation, and silently follows him. As he gets very close, she holds still as a statue, blending in perfectly with her surroundings. Then she silently agrees with his suggestion, and starts activating aspects of her suit: first, she increases her speed to four times normal, to streak in, her abruptly flaming anima still hidden by the cloaking device, before the guards have any chance to react: then she reaches out with her tremendously powerful gauntlets, one on each man, to bash their heads together. Boom. That should get their attention.
Sesus Ormi sidles back, immersing his white furs in to the shapeless clouds of snow, his arrow drawn back sharp and keen to strike at the opponent he knows will appear. His breathing is noiseless; he meditates on the judgement of Mela.
-= OOC =- Megara is hoping for an unexpected attack (DV 0). I'd say they get Perception+Awareness again to notice me, Diff 3. Possibly I get an environmental bonus for being covered by the storm.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- -1- 2 2 4 5 ]
Resulting in a Botch!
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- 2 7 7 8 <10> ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "First one's on the surprised guard, second two on the unsurprised one."
(Judge) Megara rolls 9: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 3 6 7 8 8 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 9: [ 2 4 5 7 8 9 <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 9 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 9: [ -1- -1- -1- -1- -1- 5 5 6 <10> ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 8: [ 2 2 3 3 4 4 7 7 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 11: [ 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 6 6 8 8 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Lame. So, 2B on each of them."
Join Battle
(Judge) Megara rolls Wits: [ 6 8 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Wits + Awareness: [ -1- 3 6 6 7 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 5: [ 2 4 7 8 8 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
((Sentries))
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- -1- 6 7 8 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
((Demon))
Tick 2
((Demon declares materializing, will finish in tick 7))
Tick 3
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 5: [ -1- 5 5 6 8 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 4: [ 4 6 6 9 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
The guards scream for help, and then attack Megara with their swords, although they can barely see her. Unsurprisingly, they miss the armored woman. The exalts can also feel some disturbance in the chilly air, something big is materializing.
Tick 5
The loudest noise from the arrows that whip from the shapeless storm, loosed from Ormi's bow, is the crystalline bell-tones of a broadhead arrow cutting through the thick-falling snow, and the bubbling spurt of loosed blood.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 3: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 3 4 8 8 9 9 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 9 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 4: [ -1- 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 6 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 5: [ 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 8 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 9 + 8 - 4: [ -1- 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 9 9 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 8 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 6 + 8 - 4: [ -1- -1- 2 2 3 5 5 6 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 7 + 8 - 4: [ -1- -1- -1- -1- -1- 2 5 5 7 8 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
((The sentries are very dead))
"Should have done that in the first place," murmurs Ormi.
Megara turns to face the shifting sense of essence materializing near her, and crouches slightly into a fighting stance. Wait for it... wait for it... she is like a nocked arrow on a drawn bowstring, pure tension waiting to be translated into action; potential energy shall soon, soon become kinetic, shanking the ape-to-be's vital locations.
((Megara declares aiming against the materializing critter, she will go on 7))
Tick 7
It's hard to be flashy when you're invisible, but if one could penetrate the cloaking field of the Most Fearsome Armor of the Immaculate Fire Dragon, one would see Megara spring into action, the coil of her strength unleashed at exactly the correct instant. She once again activates the fearsome plasma talons on the ends of her gauntlets, and attempts to rake them through the Blood Ape just as he appears. An occult sign of purity and banishment lingers in the air burnt by the plasma-- such is the shape she seeks to carve him into, with a trio of fast, hard, deadly strokes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 14: [ -1- -1- 3 4 4 4 5 5 7 7 8 8 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 8 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 14: [ -1- 2 2 3 3 4 8 8 8 8 8 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 10 successes.
-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "KILL IT WITH DEATH!"
(Judge) Megara rolls 14: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 2 3 3 4 4 7 8 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 6 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 10: [ 2 3 3 4 6 6 7 7 7 9 ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 13: [ -1- -1- 2 3 4 4 5 6 8 9 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 10: [ 3 3 4 4 5 5 8 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
It can’t be said the demon wasn’t aware it was materializing a bit too close to the exalts. But Blood Apes aren’t too smart, just very bloodthirsty. And the moment it appears, Megara cuts it with flaming death. The demon is a headless pyre by the time it hits the snow. Ah well, back to Malfeas.
Meanwhile, a warrior comes running from the stables, sword in hand, gets dived-on by a Thunderbird and bites the dust, hard. But this is a sharp reminder than there must be many more warriors in the other buildings.
Sesus Ormi, if he's still there, isn't making a point of being obvious about it.
Tick 11
Megara would have been a blur even if she were visible. As it is, the motion of the flap of fur gives away when she enters, and then she rushes in, distorting the air only slightly; a better indication of her speed is the wind that she kicks up, though it could easily be attributed to the storm.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "I can't, but I'm suggesting that as an invisible /and/ moving unexpectedly quickly target, that might impose an extra penalty."
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "I will roll Per+awareness, if they fail to get 3 success, they automatically miss"
As Megara goes in, she meets the geomancer defenders. Four warriors, three with bows, one with a spear. Behind them another Blood Ape, and the tall icewalker that was in the demesne. Obviously a dragon-blooded, with long white hair, blazing blue eyes... and the skin of bronze. Someone has been casting.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- 3 3 6 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- 3 4 7 8 9 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ 2 5 5 5 6 <10> ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ 5 5 5 5 6 8 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 7: [ 2 2 3 5 5 6 7 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 4: [ 2 3 5 7 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 4: [ 2 2 4 <10> ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
As Megara dives in, several arrows and a stream of ice air (this one from the white-haired gentleman) are shot at her blurry form. But they all miss terribly. The men drop the bows, readying spears and swords, while the Blood Ape charges.
Tick 12
Seeking to close with the Air aspect, Megara grits her teeth and continues to move towards the tremendous demon. Thus, ninja style, she will rush that way at positively inhuman speeds, even for the Exalted, plasma talons re-summoned -- and slice the ape as she goes by. The sort of move that you don't see coming, nor the results of, until the victim collapses, dead, cut in half. Her trajectory continues, fueled by white-hot motes of essence which trail behind her invisibly, until she does the very same thing to the caster, finally skidding to a halt right behind him. Now he's the shield between her and the ape, rather than the old situation. She stabs him in the back for good measure, the plasma on her claws causing the bronze of his skin to squeal, spark, then bubble.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- -1- 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 8 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 7 9 9 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ 3 3 5 5 5 6 7 8 8 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 8 successes.
((Meg misses))
Tick 13
Megara’s charge is impressive, but she misses her targets. Even the dragon-blooded, who moves out of the way at the last second, with the amazing reflexes of an exalt. Then the demon turns back, and moving at incredibly speeds rushes her, slashing with his claws again and again.
-= OOC =- Megara spends a mote on the First Dodge Excellency. Since I only get the one die, I'll roll it to see if I get any DV bonus or not.
(Judge) Megara rolls 1: [ 7 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 9: [ -1- 2 6 6 8 8 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 9: [ 2 4 5 5 5 6 7 7 8 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 9: [ 2 3 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 9: [ 2 3 4 4 8 9 <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 8 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "I assume it overcomes my hardness of 7."
-= OOC =- Megara says, "I have 17B/15L soak though. :)"
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "claw, 11L, so ping"
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 3: [ 2 5 9 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
Tick 14
Where Megara entered like a storm, Ormi arrives like a raindrop. He slides past the furs, bow easing up, preparing to kill the thoroughly distracted guards before their leader can alert them to his presence. Arrows fly.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 3: [ -1- 3 3 4 4 4 5 7 8 9 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 4: [ -1- 2 3 5 5 7 7 7 8 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 8 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 5: [ 2 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
((The guards have PDV 4, so 3 hits))
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 8 + 3 - 4: [ -1- -1- 3 4 4 8 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 8 + 4 - 4: [ -1- 2 5 5 5 6 9 9 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 8 + 1 - 4: [ -1- 2 3 5 8 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "two at -1, last one -0"
Tick 15
Those arrows got the attention of the three guards. So instead of attacking Megara they rush Ormi. Meanwhile the sorcerer attempts another elemental attack on Megara, and the spearman joins him.
Sesus Ormi whips the heavy fur door open and off it's hooks as his opponents approach, blasting them with an unexpected wind and flurry of snow to throw off their attack!
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- 2 3 4 8 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 6: [ -1- 2 3 4 7 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 7: [ 2 5 6 6 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha laughs, "okay, +2 dice = +1 DV :)
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 7: [ -1- 3 3 7 7 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 12: [ -1- -1- 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 8 9 9 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
((Sorcerer blasts and misses))
(Judge) Megara rolls 1: [ 8 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 12: [ 2 2 3 3 4 4 6 6 6 7 7 8 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
((Spearman misses))
Rapidly getting surrounded by foes, between the sorcerer, spearman and ape, Megara goes after who, twistedly, she considers simultaneously the largest immediate threat and the easiest mark: the demon. "Return to Malfeas, Erymanthoi!" she commands as imperiously as any Dynast in Old Realm, once again lashing out with her plasma talons -- this time, she seems to swirl and circle around him, remaining in easy reach of the sorcerer should he decide to go for any sorcery funny business -- and her fingers, gauntleted in that red jade and copper alloy, and dripping with pure energy, leave a remarkable trail in their wake, this time one of the Immaculate sutras against Anathema, demons more specifically. They are Anathemic, after all.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- 2 2 5 5 6 6 7 7 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 6 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- -1- 4 5 7 7 8 9 9 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 10 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 9 ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 8: [ 2 2 3 4 4 5 7 8 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- -1- 2 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 8: [ 4 5 6 6 6 7 9 9 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "7L."
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "he is at -2"
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 8: [ -1- -1- 2 2 3 3 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
((Demon is not burning))
Tick 18
Badly wounded, the demon tries to step back and reload his powerful Principle of Motion charm, ignoring the fact his fur is in flames. It snarls ferouciously to Megara, or at least a the blur that is Megara.
Tick 20
Sesus Ormi ducks out of the way of the lunging mortals, swords kissing his furs, and draws back the string of his bow with three arrows nocked upon it. As the bow pulls back, the flurries of snow whirl and lurch in anticipation, lunging as the arrows are loosed!
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 3: [ 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 7 9 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 6 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 4: [ -1- -1- 2 2 2 3 3 7 7 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 4 + 2 - 5: [ -1- -1- 3 4 6 7 8 8 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 8 - 4 + 4: [ 3 3 5 6 7 8 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 8 - 4 + 4: [ 2 2 4 4 5 7 9 9 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 8 - 4 + 5: [ -1- -1- 2 3 4 6 7 7 8 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "dead, dead and at -4"
((The mortal warriors fall))
Sesus Ormi 's second arrows are significantly more auspicious, two through the heart, one nearly so. He casually steps over the prone bodies of his foes. "Don't get up," he instructs the survivor, drawing the arrows from the bodies of his companions.
"You're not getting away from me," swears Megara, refusing to allow the demon even a breath's respite. Already, she has drawn sutras upon his fur, which currently are burning into his flesh -- she decides they'll look quite nice with a signature, so she signs 'Megara' in Old Realm at the bottom, right on his stomach. Vigorously, of course, and with deadly force; this is no calligraphy class.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "2d?"
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "yes :)"
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 3 4 5 7 7 8 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ 2 4 4 5 6 6 8 8 8 <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 9 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- 2 2 3 3 4 7 8 8 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 10: [ 2 4 4 5 6 6 7 7 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 13: [ 2 3 4 4 5 6 6 6 7 8 9 9 9 ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 8 <10> <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
((The demon explodes))
The demon not just dies, it almost explodes in fire as Megara hits it again several times with her flaming claws. But the two remaining opponents do not seem terribly worried. They have defeated just a few mortals and a demon. Only the exalted remain in the battlefield.
Tick 21
(Judge) Megara rolls 1: [ 5 ]
Resulting in a failure.
Sesus Ormi glances up from his imperious gesture at the incoming bolt of plasma and squawks in undignified terror, dropping half-prone as the bolt sears past to rip shreds from the doorway.
-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi stunts, charms, WP-channels for DV 5.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "oh, okay :)"
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 12: [ -1- -1- -1- -1- 2 2 3 4 5 6 6 9 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "you shouldn't have bothered, this wizard can't hit the broad side of a barn!"
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 18: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 7 7 7 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Yeah, that's 2 overage on me, certainly."
-= OOC =- Megara says, "He probably pings."
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "and the spearman... could have done better, because with a -2 external that is a miss"
This time Ormi is the target of the elemental blasts of the sorcerer, but the Dynast easily ducks under the lightning bolt. Meanwhile Megara finds the invisible armor saving her life, the spearman misses her for a fraction of an inch, and he swears something in a barbarian dialect.
Tick 24
= OOC =- Megara also blows a willpower and channels valor, just to be a meanie, if that's okay.
As Megara moves towards the sorcerer, there is an interesting and curious effect: the joining of two opposing Terrestrial animas. Hers, however, is empowered by one of her hearthstones, the Gem of White Heat, which causes it to blaze, not red, but white. The term 'fanning the flames' applies here, as the winds whip her invisible flux into an absolutely furious firestorm. Through that storm, riding the heat like a tiger, channeling its strength like a gestalt, comes the owner of the Most Fearsome Armor of the Immaculate Fire Dragon. Yet again, her plasma claws activate, though they're fitting right in with the temperatures around her in general. Once, twice, thrice, they strike vengefully at the sorcerer who dared betray the Ten Thousand Dragons' host to serve Anathema; she aims for his hands, hoping that if she hits him well enough, he'll drop the staff.
(Judge) Megara rolls 13: [ -1- -1- -1- -1- 3 4 5 5 6 8 8 8 9 ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 13: [ -1- 2 3 3 3 3 4 7 7 8 8 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 13: [ -1- 2 3 3 4 7 9 9 <10> <10> <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 13 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Oh wait... valor."
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ 6 9 9 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ -1- 5 <10> ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ 2 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Anyway... *tallies up the damage* She'll ping on the first hit, and roll all 11 dice on the second."
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ -1- 3 7 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Oh, and that extra anima die for each."
(Judge) Megara rolls 1: [ 6 ]
Resulting in a failure.
(Judge) Megara rolls 12: [ -1- -1- -1- -1- -1- 2 4 4 5 8 9 9 ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
Tick 25
Sesus Ormi silently nocks a single arrow, points it at his opponent, and waits. "In your next life," he says quietly, "For serving the anathema, you will be incarnated as a dairy cow."
Tick 26
Megara surprised the sorcerer by ignoring the spearman and going after him, and even managed to scratch him under all his charms and sorceries. The air-aspected man, surrounded by a cloud of icy winds, his anima glowing brightly, glares a the blur she has become and tries to it her with the Singing Staff. His spear-wielding bodyguard also attacks her, ignoring Ormi’s threat (which he can’t understand, anyway).
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 7: [ -1- 2 3 8 8 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 6 successes.
((Sorcerer misses))
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 18: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 2 2 4 5 6 6 7 7 9 9 <10> <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 12 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "6 overage, with the same sad story of a 17B/15L soak."
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "so he does 13L, or ping"
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 3: [ 3 8 9 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "also, your lungs are full of water and you lose 3 ticks"
-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi spends 3 motes on the excellency. How many ticks of aiming did I get?
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "1 to 3, up to you"
Tick 28
Sesus Ormi needs to learn more languages, for better insulting. Whilst his opponent is distracted, he shoots him in the spine.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + Archery + 3 + 1 + 1: [ -1- -1- 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 9 9 9 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 10 successes.
-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "What's his lethal soak?"
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "12L, thanks to his terrestrial hero form"
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls 3: [ 6 8 <10> ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
Tick 31
-= OOC =- Megara is going to channel Valor again and try to disarm the sorcerer.
Once again the invisibly, burning white-hot, plasma-clawed Megara goes after the sorcerer -- but this time, not in the way he's expecting. Rather than sending her talons of plasma at his heart, she goes, instead, for his staff. First she reaches out to pull it from him in the most standard way, with both hands; then she pivots, spinning gracefully to his side, to yank at its knobbly end; finally she's behind him, and pulls on it from that direction, trying to rip it over his head. All of this happens in a fraction of a second, and the end result should be disorienting, to say the least.
(Judge) Megara rolls 15: [ -1- 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 7 7 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 6 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 15: [ -1- 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 8 8 8 <10> ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 15: [ 2 3 4 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 9 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 9 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 5: [ 2 3 7 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
The ice-bearded sorcerer’s eyes widen in alarm when he realizes what Megara is trying to do, but he holds to the staff firmly. "So is that? Thieves!" He growls in Old Realm. “You won’t take this staff from me while I live!†He swings at Megara, enraged. His bodyguard, an arrow through his back, decides Ormi needs to die, and charges him.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 7: [ -1- 2 2 4 6 7 8 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
((The sorcerer misses by a lot))
Tick 33
Sesus Ormi fires as he runs, discarding the bow before closing for a fierce grapple as the heroes of old did, his boots digging in to the frozen ground!
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Archery + 1: [ 2 4 4 4 5 6 6 6 6 7 9 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
The spearman laughs when Ormi’s arrow misses, and then strikes with his spear, then he lounges the dynast and stabs him solidly, twisting the spear as he pulls back for greater damage.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 17: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 3 3 4 6 8 8 8 9 9 9 <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 12 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 5: [ 2 7 8 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Oh, hey, Ayesha."
-= OOC =- Megara says, "The sorc's been on fire this whole time."
-= OOC =- Megara says, "He needs to make a Stam+Res, diff 3, every time his action comes up, or take damage..."
((So the sorcerer misses one roll and takes 2L))
Sesus Ormi gasps in shock at the stern hit, spurting his hot blood on to the sandy floor of the tent. At once his heroic gesture strikes him as foolish and he collapses back to the earth, holding up his bloodied hands in a submissive gesture. I am defeated! Do not slay me!
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Valor: [ 3 4 7 7 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(OOC) Sesus Ormi just spent Willpower from his Willpower pool
Tick 35
((Megara Clinches))
-= OOC =- Megara rolls Strength+MA. Speed 6 (5 with bracers). It would normally do no damage; instead it'll ping because of all the flame on me.
Megara curses roundly, using a soldier's oath from her years in the Legion raw enough to make a babe yelp. It is /so/ raw that it ignites the very air it is spoken upon -- or perhaps that's just her anima, which is continuing to burn and rage furiously. "That is IT," she bellows in Low Realm, her native tongue, before springing with the grace of a great cat and the strength of a mammoth to tackle the sorcerer to the ground. First her gauntlets go for his chest, to push him, and then it's a big bear hug, a couple hundred pounds of woman and red jade. Who knows, maybe he'll even drop the staff. It must be really fun being crushed and burnt to death by a blur in the air, while still on fire from a previous attack.
(Judge) Megara rolls 14: [ 4 5 5 6 6 8 8 8 9 9 9 <10> <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 12 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Okay, so first she does fire anima ping..."
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ 3 7 9 ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Then she crushes, which does an assload of damage which translates, thanks to his bronze skin, back to ping..."
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ 2 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 3 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ 3 6 <10> ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ 3 4 6 ]
Resulting in a failure.
((The sorcerer is hurt by the clinch))
Holding him tightly, watching as her hands BURN through his clothing and onto his skin, Megara puts her invisible face right in front of the old Air aspect's and hisses furiously, in Old Realm: "Call your man off. Now."
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 4: [ 2 6 6 <10> ]
Resulting in 2 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "is Valor holds"
Tick 38
Sesus Ormi , even as his valor fails him, is not entirely hapless. As the warrior sprints past him to lunge for Meg, he casually whips out his immensely long braid like a whip to catch his opponent's leg and jerk him off balance.
(Judge) Sesus Ormi rolls Dexterity + Martial arts + Valor + 1 - 1: [ -1- -1- 2 2 2 3 3 4 6 7 9 <10> ]
Resulting in 4 successes.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 5: [ 2 4 7 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 5 successes.
Seeing the sorcerer tackled and burning, the spearman shouts something and runs to help him, leaving the wounded Ormi bleeding on the floor.
Tick 39
-= OOC =- Megara says, "So we make the opposed roll, first."
(Judge) Megara rolls 8: [ 2 3 4 5 5 6 8 <10> ]
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "what does he roll?"
-= OOC =- Megara says, "Dex or Str + MA."
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 3: [ 5 6 8 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
-= OOC =- Megara says, "And he takes more ping. Because I'm kind of in a hurry here, I'm going to spend my last few peripheral motes for another flurry..."
(Judge) Megara rolls 3: [ 2 5 9 ]
Resulting in 1 successes.
The tortured, burning man falls into merciful unconsciousness; Megara releases him from his bear hug, and pries the singing staff from his nerveless fingers. It seems to vanish as well; the whole phenomenon of seeing your boss burn to death without any obvious source has got to be unsettling in the extreme. "SURRENDER!" she calls in Icetongue, one of the words she learned.
(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls 17: [ -1- -1- -1- 2 2 2 4 4 4 5 6 6 8 9 9 <10> <10> ]
Resulting in 7 successes.
-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "and he misses!"
The spearman is not surrendering, he charges the invisible fire woman shouting a barbaric warcry, his spear glistening with mirages of waves of the distant seas. However, his rage blinds him, and the spear sinks a couple inches in the stone wall, missing its target.
Sesus Ormi hooks his feet through his bow, locks his fingers around the staff, and leaves a bloody trail as he's hauled out at breakneck speeds.
Megara sweeps past the spearman, laughing, adrift in her adrenaline rush. Hopefully Ormi has quick reflexes; she extends the end of her staff past her cloaking field's radius, watches him grab it, and runs for her life. "Hold on!" is her order, in High Realm. She keeps her head enough to run the right way, out of the camp as quickly as possible...
Outside a battle rages between elementals and barbarians, with Sly Fox arrows also doing some damage. The elementals are stronger, but there are so many barbarians that it is unlikely they can win the battle, fortunately they are too to try to stop the running dynasts. They would need some quick horses to manage, anyway!
And after about one hour of fleeing, and before there are signs of perusal, the old airship appears to pick them up. There is a second summoned Thunderbird on board, and Turbulent Cry, on Querl orders, told them to come to pick them up. Once in the airship there is little the icewalkers can do to catch them. They are safe. And they have the legendary artifact.
Once they're /well/ clear of the fighting, and have a few moments, Megara stops and straps Ormi more tightly to the staff. Then she activates her burning wings and takes to the air at sixty miles per hour -- now they /really/ can't follow them, or even see which way they go, covered as they are. She stays aloft, away from the airship, until her anima calms down... then lands, triumphantly. "That was fun," she pants, "Medic! See to Lord Ormi, immediately!" Her own wounds, she isn't so concerned about, compared to his.
Sesus Ormi sighs. "I am perfectly capable of bandaging my own wounds," he says, checking his gouge for damage to the vitals.
THE END
Appendix, the antagonists:
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