Blrgh (Shadows of the Past logs return)
So after long last, Brian will be resuming his Shadows of the Past Solar's game this coming week.
I'm trying to catch up on the logs!
Brian says, "So, the nibble you guys have been left with is a series of little villages about a day and a half's ride southeast from the Rock. Do you plan to approach openly, secretly...?"
<> Ashan says "As your advisor, I recommend at least a small amount of subtlety."
<> Mahir says "I'm a Night with magic ninja armor. Of *course* I want to do a recon run before we go in."
Bennu might wear a cloak over her CBA, unless someone has a better plan.
Brian says, "You've got the supplies at the Rock for pretty much any plan you come up with that doesn't require artifacts."
<> Reed says "I can always do a flyover. I have many shapes."
<> Two ain't a sneaker.
<> Mahir says "I'm trying to remember where we left off, it's been a while since the last one..."
<> Reed says "We are going to check out an incursion of . . . lion folk, I think. Fey things."
<> Ashan says "And there's a prophecy about horrible fae monster(s) in the area."
Mahir says, "I can also do a flyover, or even just walk through the place, but I do think we need some better idea of what we face before we reveal our presence."
Brian [to Mahir]: You had just finished your victory party and had decided to check after the incursion of the Southern Court-- the theoretically more civilized and seductive fae, rather than the Lionfolk, who have been attacking towns rather barbarically.
<> Reed says "The only thing Reed would pull from stores is something to help ward folks against the Wyld. I don't know off the top of my head if there is anything that does that."
<> Reed says "At least to ward Teyv. If he can't help the others, oh well."
<> Brian says "Cold Iron."
<> Brian says "They've got a lot of cold iron jewelery and knives, even some -very- carefully constructed swords."
Bennu will make sure her troops are well supplied, with iron weapons and armor so far as it is possible, and good, portable supplies. She will also try to commandeer reasonable thaumaturgical components for use by Samun.
<> Reed says "I was thinking more for mental shielding. But I guess they can't hurt anyone if they're dead."
<> Ashan says "It may or may not help with exposure, but Ashan will definitely gank a couple of knives and a necklace or something."
<> Ashan says "Cold iron helps against glamour if you're touching it."
Brian [to Bennu]: Samun has Exceptional materials to work with, and your troops have cold iron -- the best they can do is normal, there.
Brian says, "Anyone else picking up the cold iron before heading out? And/or any disguises? Mahir, of course, does not need them for overfly, all things considered."
Teyv says, "I'll take Bennu's advice and have a bit of cold iron about me."
<> Two will do so. Something wearable.
Reed spends some time picking through the iron stocks, selecting what small, preferably pointy pieces he thinks might help. At the end of his hour or so the little barbarian is looking even more ferocious than usual, with slender chains and random bits of jewelry woven through the bones and talismans attached to his armor. A dagger and chain for Teyv as well, and he's ready.
Reed [to Brian]: I am my own disguise.
Two grabs a few pieces of random cold iron jewelry. A bracelet or two, a ring, a necklace. Small things.
<> Bennu says "I have CBA. I can't really diguise that up close. I will make sure I have a large white cape that covers most of it from a distance, though. No cold iron."
Brian [to Reed]: You seriously are.
<> Bennu says "Not personally."
<> Ashan says "I am also my own disguise, in that they will forget me as soon as I leave."
Brian [to Ashan]: Are you traveling with the group Resplendented or Shucked?
<> Ashan says "Shucked for travel. I have a Gull destiny I can tap for interaction."
Teyv says, "Before departing (and probably as soon as he was awake/at dawn) I'll cast my flame guardian, and put it in its box."
Reed presses an iron dagger into Teyv's hand, and reaches up to fasten a somewhat ugly necklace around the Solar's neck and tuck it under his shirt. "Do not take that off, even if you are told. The fey are masters of trickery, and it is not beneath them to guile you into removing your protections. If you have doubts, poke them with the sharp end."
Ashan spends a small amount of time in the armory, emerging with a few iron throwing daggers and a slim iron necklace. The daggers vanish...somewhere...about his person.
Brian says, "Alright. Bedecked in cold iron and prepared for anything, you set off once your patron has dipped below the horizon. Your sifus instruct you to lead with Teyv going first, holding his flame guardian prepared, but with Mahir travelling overhead to scout. The first night passes easily, the desert cool and lively at night with the hidden wildlife unknown to non-natives. Reed, do you have the hearts' blood of any desert creatures?"
Reed [to Brian]: I have the falcon and owl.
Reed suspects otters don't usually gambol through the dunes.
<> Two says "Desert otters."
<> Brian says "Er. >_> Assume that you've been travelling by Stormwind Rider, and that's the day and a half "ride" you've been on. :P"
<> Brian says "Courtesy of the quiet Samun."
<> Bennu says "Thank you. =p I put enough points into having my goons. :p"
Reed [to Brian]: I was planning to fly. Mahir and I should be able to quarter the area pretty well.
Brian [to Reed]: When you guys camp to decide whether to press on, troops and all, during the heat for the last six hours of the journey, or to sleep the day out and return to moving at twilight (though you no longer need to be 'led' by your Twilight-- that was just suggested for going out), an owl swoops into camp and settles on Reed's shoulder.
<> Reed says "Samun needs to speak up more. :P"
<> Bennu says "Samun is shy of so many Solars. :p He wouldn't presume to interfere in their councils."
Reed hoots quietly at the owl, the closest approximation his human throat can make, and lifts a hand to gently stroke the bird's breast. "Welcome, little sister," he says, offering it a piece of dried meat from his pocket. "You are woken early."
<> Reed says "Perhaps his Solar should be more aggressive in pushing his talents. :)"
Brian says, "The owl nips the meat and chews on it. "Sleep soon. Bad behind. Bad ahead, for you and..." Its head rotates around at the warcamp, "Your flock? Flock. Flock broken. Can't talk. All broken. All scattered," in the language of the owls. For the rest of you, you need to decide whether to go on now, or wait out the night."
Bennu marshals her troops in marching order; of course if they have to march, she'll have them travel last. No need for the Exalts to walk through the dust kicked up. "If you want to scout, I'd welcome knowledge of what we're walking in to," she says, dryly, to Mahir and Reed."
Reed nods, and flips a hand at the Night. "The words and thoughts of birds are limited-- predator, prey, nest, eggs. There is danger before us as well as behind, but what it is she cannot say. Show us, little sister," he continues, turning to the owl. Then, with a flip of his arm, he flings the bird into the air and jumps up himself, matching the owl's shape mid-jump. "This one is not born to the air," he adds in the bird-speech. "We must be careful not to shame or lose him."
Mahir nods at Reed, "I suspect danger all around. I treat all unfamiliar situations as dangerous until proven otherwise, so that's not news." He turns to Bennu, "We shall likely return soon with the knowledge you seek." He turns his focus inward, marshalling his essence, as his armor flickers briefly before vanishing from sight. A voice speaks from the empty air, "Lead on, Reed, and I shall follow."
<> Mahir says "I'm engaging Wings and Cloak, from personal."
Bennu bows slightly towards Mahir as he vanishes, and settles to wait.
Brian says, "The bird is reluctant to fly south, but will not deny an Exalt. As you get closer to the raided village, you begin to see the detritus of village life-- vases, containers, tools, even toys and food strewn around the desert, as though deposited by a mindless whilr wind, with no order or pattern to it. The night noise begins to quiet-- and then the screams start. Well. Some screams, some angry yells, and even some singing, a cacophony coming from the village ahead."
Reed [to Brian]: Just one village, or two?
Brian says, "Just one here. Three have been hit, but villages are scattered wide down here."
Reed [to Brian]: Ok. So, outskirts and the village itself. Was a little confused.
Brian says, "Yarr."
Brian [to Ashan, Bennu, Teyv, Two]: Is there anything you guys want to do while waiting for the scouts?
Reed glides past the owl and whistles a thanks, but not a dismissal. "Wait here, sister. We shall return presently." That said, he banks and glides towards the noises.
<> Two says "Umm. Dice? :D"
Bennu will meditate and pray. Because such things are the duty of the Zenith. A walking prayer, where one paces out the inner-turning path.
Brian [to Bennu]: Give me a Cha + Perf + 1 roll, just for fun.
<> Bennu rolls 11 dice: <1 3 3 4 4 6 7 8 8 9 9> for 5 successes.
Ashan finds some shade and sits in it, mentally reviewing anything about the area he's picked up from his briefings and considering his available destinies. He won't be overmuch use until they make contact, but he'd rather be prepared.
He'll also dice with Two, if Two is interested.
Brian [to Reed]: The owl twists its head. "Light time. Rest time. Away. Do not stay. Broken," she says and then flies away. As you and Mahir fly over the village you see that the houses seem... broken, as said. Sides are cracked open, some huts are caved in. In places, roofs have been moved from one house to another. Like the desert around them, the things and debris of mortal life are tossed randomly into the streets. Some of the mortals are trying to feed from the scattered food-- but on the ground, not moving it anywhere! Others are trying to eat sand. Everywhere you go, there is a babble of languages, fifty different unfamiliar barbarian tongues, mixed with screams of horror, angry shouts, and mournful song. Something is WRONG here.
Brian says, "Reed, Mahir, what are your Dodge MDVs?"
Two spends time dicing with whoever is interested and also going through her martial kata.
<> Reed says "Mine is 8."
<> Mahir says "7"
Brian [to Two]: Luck seems to be with you; you manage to win, but not so heavily as to gain the resentment of Bennu's troops.
<> Brian rolls 13 dice: <1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 6 7 10> for 3 successes.
Brian [to Mahir, Reed]: The chaos of the village tugs at you but weakly, but you can sense a pull to join dissolution of thought and deed below.
<> Two says "Excellent."
Brian [to Bennu]: During the day, you have +1 die you can use to affect any one roll to do with traveling or purity.
Two spends time teaching and explaining martial kata to any interested parties as well.
Mahir glides to the ground in the shadow of one of the broken down buildings, then creeps around to look at the inside.
Brian [to Mahir]: Inside are two frightened children, both holding a rare (and thus valuable) iron piece of cookware. They've managed to keep the chaos of the rest of the village at bay, and are trying to hold what tools and food they can. These are the only children you've seen in the _entire_ village thus far.
Reed banks sharply and whisks away, catching a thermal to help him put distance between himself and the village. A few moments to order his thoughts and brace himself against the assault (and catch and eat an early insect), and then he glides back down for another look, feathers dissolving into fur as he touches the ground behind a building and slinks around the corner in cat's guise.
Brian [to Reed]: Are you being stealthy in movement, or just walking normally?
Reed [to Brian]: Sneaky. I don't want to look edible.
Brian [to Reed]: Given the chewed corpses of what were once beloved pets, that's probably a good idea. Indeed, at this close to the ground, you see _human_ corpses with bites taken out of them. Some of them are heartbreakingly small. This is horror on a small field, but on a scale not seen since the Balorian crusade-- and all for a single, tiny, remote village...
Reed keeps to the shadows and undersides of things, dashing from ruined wall to ruined wall until he finds a human corpse close enough for him to investigate without coming out of cover.
Mahir comtemplates some small token to aid the children, but resists the urge. Time enough for succor once the source of this malady has been cleansed, and he can't afford to break concealment yet.
Brian [to Reed]: It's not hard. Some of them have been violently shoved aside. This one is strange; it doesn't have a lot of blood on it, despite being eaten. Indeed, it doesn't seem to have many wounds from life at all. What's worse, it smells of something other than decay-- of foulness. Rottenness.
Brian [to Mahir]: Going to stay here to cover/guard Reed, or head back to get reinforcements?
Reed [to Brian]: Wyld taint?
Mahir moves out to quickly cover the rest of the village, counting the numbers of the living, the dead, and the clearly insane.
Brian [to Reed]: Hmm. Do you have any specific Wyld-sensing Charms? If not, stunt a Perception + Occult roll for the inspection.
<> Reed rolls 7 dice: <1 5 5 8 8 10 10> for 6 successes.
Brian [to Mahir]: There are only a few pockets of sanity, mostly huddled inside like the two children. About five adults and one other child for a total of three. The rest of the village is half dead, half mad, and all broken. You also encounter a lot of crazed and/or dead animals.
Reed [to Brian]: I have a nose. That's pretty much it.
<> Two says "Ohhh, Reed's gonna die"
Brian [to Reed]: ... There's no direct Wyld energies on them, no scent of unrestrained chaos. But the sickly-sweet scent of gossamer, the vicious spun glass dreams of Fae magic, is all around. It's on everyone and every thing, laid thick and sick like spiderwebs, and the corpses-- whatever killed them is seemingly a byproduct of the change, rather than its cause. By the smell of one-- and the swellings, burst all over, it looks like her internal organs were re-routed by the chaos spell, causing her stomach acids and her bile to leak into the rest of her body. Several others are like that; still yet more seem to have other maladies and deformities-- all with only the filtered Wyld of gossamer. Mutations spun from dreams alone.
Reed hisses softly, and sniffs the air for a trace of Solar scent before slinking back through the shadows to find his partner.
Mahir creeps closer to Reed, not wanting to break cloak in hostile territory, and pitches a whisper just low enough to hear, "I've seen enough here, we should head back to the others."
<> Reed says "I only have forms that can hear, see, and rip the living crap out of things. Nothing that smells very well. :)"
<> Mahir says "The question is whether you have any notion that I'm there before I whisper, or whether I scare the fur off you with the voice frmo nowhere."
<> Brian says "Given the earlier Perception, with Occult, even, I'm going to rule it startles, rather than scares."
Reed arches his back and whips around, then subsides and just hisses softly. "I agree," he says, twitching in irritation. "And we have been gone long. Although it would be ill-advised for them to come looking, I would not be surprised if they did so." He whips through the shadows towards the edge of the village before taking wing again to return to the camp.
Brian says, "It doesn't take you long to get back to the warcamp. How sneaky do you want to be coming in, or will you decloak/deowl and announce yourselves/"
Mahir depowers his cloaking device as soon as he's out of range of the village outskirts, it's easier to fly formations while visible.
Reed [to Brian]: Still daylight?
Brian [to Reed]: Early morning, actually.
Brian [to Mahir]: The Tiger Warriors notice you, and after a careful inspection on your flight in, salute respectfully.
Brian says, "Your scouts are back, folks."
Bennu's prayer-steps have worn a rune of purity in the ground where she prayed; she steps clean away from it, leaving it marked well against the ground, and inclines her head as the scouts return. "What do we face?" she asks, her hands folded in the sleeves of her cape before her.
Ashan stands up from his shady patch, gliding over to the returning scouts.
Reed discards the owl's form for the faster falcon's, and makes it back just behind Mahir. He can't resist taking a swipe at the Night's head before landing, although he doesn't really try too hard to hit. "Madness. The village is broken, as the owl said-- their minds and thoughts not even animal anymore. I could not tell the cause, but I believe it came upon them in their sleep."
Mahir says, "Devastation, mostly. There are fewer than ten people left alive and sane in the village, the rest are either dead, or corrupted beyond repair by some form of wyld taint. The village itself is mostly uninhabitable. I saw no sign of the antagonists, however, so for now we've got rescue and cleanup, not war.""
Ashan tilts his head, looking thoughtful. "But the village itself isn't a wyld zone, I take it? That implies something's been, gone and left something behind."
Reed nods in agreement. "As long as our minds are rested and strong, I believe we can enter under the light of the Sun. But," he adds, glancing over the mortals and Teyv, "There is a lingering madness, still strong enough to be wary of. It is not a Wyld zone, no, and I do not believe the Wyld ever touched it. I believe it is the work of the fey."
Teyv says, "Those who are not yet crazy, it is our duty to escort them away from this area, to someplace of relative safety. If the crazy ones have truly lost their mind, beyond all hope of recovery, then as much as I hate to say it, it might be best to cull them. We can't know that until we get a much closer look at them."
Ashan mentally reviews what he knows about raksha glamour and sorcery, with particular emphasis on how to counteract it if needed. Iron will help, but wasn't there something...?
Two says, "No indications the Fey stayed around? I'm saddened we won't get the chance to discuss this with them personally."
Bennu frowns and nods. "There are a few unaffected? We'll need to get them to safety. Defend ourselves from the mad ones while killing as few as possible. See what we can do in the terms of cleansing when we get there." She nods to her Tiger Warriors and Samun. "Your primary duty is to get to the unaffected people and defend them," she informs them, then looks back at the scouts. "How are they distributed? Will I need to split the troops?"
Brian [to Ashan]: Make an Int + Occult + 1 roll.
Mahir gestures vaguely, "There were only two, maybe three pockets of sanity left. They didn't look like they planned on moving around much, but nothing is certain with that much chaos around."
Teyv says, "They must be saved."
<> Ashan says "WP."
<> Ashan rolls 10 dice: <1 1 2 2 2 3 4 6 6 8> for 1 success.
<> Ashan says ". . ."
<> Two says "Wow"
<> Ashan says "Teyv, you wanna try? It's your area. XD"
Reed opens a hand and gestures towards Mahir. "I saw none, only the mad." He crouches down in the sand and smooths an area, then sketches a quick map from memory. "The bulk of the mad that I saw were concentrated here, although I would not be surprised if there were more hidden. Some may yet retain enough instinct to flee from the heat of the Sun." He pauses, and says, "If you tell me where they were, I can take them a message to wait for rescue."
<> Ashan says "(As tempted as I am to burn a Guardian Gem reroll on that...)"
Brian [to Ashan]: You know the iron dealie. It'll break the mutations, but. potentially fatal for someone whose innards are only being -sustained- by the mutation.
<> Reed says "He's stepped out. Give him a minute."
<> Brian says "Check."
Ashan shakes his head slightly; he has the nagging feeling there's _something_ he's forgetting, but he can't lay his mental finger on it. "Iron in skin contact will break the enchantment," he says, "but for someone who's been mutated, it won't change them back to normal; they'll die if the mutation would be fatal."
Teyv says, "There are many 'diseases' that can be spread by the Fey. A cure may be possible, if we, or rather they, are lucky. I will have to think on this for a bit."
Brian [to Teyv]: Want to stunt it, or just roll for it?
Reed snorts. "They would die anyway. And the corpses I saw seemed to not have been mutated so much as . . . rearranged."
Bennu nods, and moves among the troops dividing them into three smaller squads; 8, 8, and 9. "Can you give them rough directions to where you saw survivors?" she asks Mahir. "If they're helping rescue, we can focus on finding any contamination left behind.
Teyv opens his medical bag, and looks through a small notebook, and begins pulling out instruments and drugs one at at time. He turns to Reed, "did you notice if the flow of their... hmm, no, I guess you probably wouldn't notice. Well, did they smell of ammonia or would you say almonds?
Samun, who was not divided into the mortal troops, rummages through his thaumaturgical supplies, face unreadable behind the veil. "I have rock salt... silk..."
Bennu nods. "Anything you think might help?" she asks the DB, looming over him only a little bit impatiently.
Teyv says, "It is very difficult to diagnose at a distance. I will probably have a much better idea of what to do when are close."
Brian chuckles. 2-dot stunt.
Mahir motions to Bennu's troops, then crouches over the crude map that Reed had scratched in the dirt, pointing out the houses that still held... humans rather than beasts, describing in detail identifying markings.
<> Teyv says "int + occult?"
Brian [to Bennu]: Give him... 2.
<> Brian says "Yeah."
<> Teyv rolls 12 dice: <1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10> for 6 successes.
Reed lifts an eyebrow. "Bile. Blood. Shit. Decay." He pauses for a moment, and adds, "Gossamer smells both of sweetness and sickness; attar of roses masking corpse rot."
Teyv says, "No almond, huh, that would have been much easier to deal with."
Reed adds the locations of the mad to the map, at least where he'd seen them nearby Mahir's humans.
Brian [to Teyv]: You know there's a focal object for any instance of oneiromancy, probably still left at the sight. Destroying it would probably give the same results as the iron, but you -are- a doctor and a scientist. You feel that if you can find it, you could probably work with Ashan and Samun to come up with a counter ritual, designed to restore things that were altered by the spell-- but not the devastation in its path. The dead will remain dead.
<> Bennu rolls 12 dice: <1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 8 8 9 9> for 4 successes.
<> Bennu says "That's for Samun."
Teyv passes on the information, "we should attempt to preserve the life of the insane, as I believe there is hope to cure the malady."
Brian [to Bennu]: Sammun gets the same, except he doesn't have a hint to start the ritual like Teyv does.
Teyv says, "I urge our leader to move quickly, though with all due caution, as waiting helps no one."
Reed [to Bennu]: Do your Tiger Warriors have any insignia or other way to recognize them?
Ashan facepalms. "I knew I was forgetting something."
<> Mahir says "Reminds me that I have *no* idea what Mahir's icon would be. Not that I'm likely to ever *see* it, given his spending patterns right now."
Reed brushes the sand from his haunches and stands, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Make your plans. I will go and tell the living to keep hope, and that help will come soon if they remain where they are."
Bennu steps closer to the three squads. "Sol Invictus watch over you," she invokes, "And see your deeds. Harden your minds and your souls against the importunate whispers of the wyld. Strengthen each other, and know that my will too shelters you." She nods to Reed as she finishes her brief blessing, and says, "Be careful they do not see you as a hallucination, Luna's Beloved. They have been shaken badly, I am sure." She draws her long hooked swords, pauses to invoke her Essence in defensive patterns, and begins to lead towards the village.
Samun, carrying his sack of components, hurries over to follow Teyv until he can help, a light wood javelin in his right hand.
Teyv says, "The insane may ignore you, or they may not... Try not to look too tasty, and don't kill without reason."
<> Bennu says "Putting up 5BS and will put up Temptation Resisting as soon after as possible. It's a reflexive, so."
<> Brian says "Hmm. Bennu, Two, how intimidating are you guys attempting to be, vis a vis the village? Too low, and they may attempt to attack you; too high, and they may flee into the desert."
Reed nods and takes the falcon's shape again, brushing Teyv's hair lightly with his wingtips before arrowing off to deliver the message and re-scout the village.
<> Bennu says "Can I use conviction instead of Temperance?"
<> Brian says "You're pretty convictive. I'd say yes."
Bennu has not invoked her anima, but is letting the cloak blow back and reveal the armor; she wants them to keep their distance - but as the rebirth she represents, she wants to offer them even maddened enough hope that they linger.
<> Reed says "I suggest attempting to disable and corral as many of the mad as possible, rather than killing them. It may be possible to save them."
Ashan fingers his iron necklace, making sure it's touching his skin. "I'll see what I can do to calm them as we go," he says. "I may be able to bring a few of them some serenity, until we can work out that ritual."
Brian [to Reed]: The poor unfortunates are baking in the days heat; that's probably killed others. The moans have a strange quality to them; as soon as any of the sounds start to harmonize, the two screamers, singers, or shouters are drawn to each other into a vicious melee until one is beaten into silence. Four such fights are going on now. Two are done, and the victor of one is shredding and tearing at the loser's flesh, not even eating, just defiling.
Teyv says, "Look for an object which the madness might be emanating from. It could be anything, though is probably Fey portable. Don't touch it!"
Brian [to Reed]: But you can make out where most of the forty survivors of the two to three hundred who once lived here.
Two walks along with the others. "I am not good at non-lethal combat, but I'll try my best to keep things at bay without hurting them too badly."
Reed [to Brian]: As long as they're at a safe distance away from the mad, I'll deliver the message and move on.
Teyv says, "Any deaths are the fault of the agent which caused this, Two, but mercy is what sets us apart from lower forms."
Brian [to Reed]: Sure, pose it.
Teyv says, "And in some cases, 'higher' beings, as well"
<> Brian rolls 12 dice: <1 2 5 6 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10> for 10 successes.
Brian [to Two]: How intimidating are you being, btw?
<> Two says "Hmm"
Two is full on battle armor, weapons out and doing that weird singing noise they do.
Bennu nods to Teyv and moves into the village, directing her squads towards their various charges as they move through the ruined structures. She represents the order of Sol Invictus, the structure of Creation, the laws of Heaven. Against her patterned motions, chaos flares and struggles. And that is what she seeks; she seeks the resistance to her order, the seed of corruption which began this all; by eyes, by Essence Sight, by the systems of her armor, she seeks that unclean heart of unnatural disorder. She keeps her swords in hand - just in case.
Brian says, "The mad aren't crazy enough to attack you guys; in fact, they're... well. Some are hiding. Some are... just laying down in front of you. Some are running, but others can't seem to coordinate their limbs in order to do so."
<> Brian rolls 20 dice: <1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 9> for 5 successes.
<> Brian nods.
Mahir will go in flying and cloaked, weapon drawn. Sniper-in-reserve, in case things turn ugly.
Reed slips into the safehouses through cracks in the walls and roofs, letting his form melt back into human as he slides down the walls to the floor. "A message," he says to each group, hands spread and open so they can see he means no harm. "Luna and the Sun have heard your cries, and you are not forsaken. The Children of the Sun come to cleanse the taint, but you must be patient. Stay here, and you will be retrieved and taken to safety."
Ashan takes a shallow breath as they approach the village, then bows his head. The Essence of Serenity infuses him; his every movement becomes graceful, his majesty assured, his presence impossible to resist. Displeasing him or harming him becomes unthinkable.
<> Ashan says "Activating You and Yours Stance."
Brian [to Bennu]: You've got your troop pretty well protected. You could easily spread them out to begin collection.
<> Brian says "Does what again?"
<> Reed will add a description of the Tigers and Bennu's mark, so the survivors can recognize them when they arrive.
Brian [to Bennu, Reed]: Roll Charisma + Performance or Presence?
<> Ashan says "Attacking me requires Conviction diff. 3. Knowingly displeasing me requires Temperance, diff. 3."
<> Ashan says "No roll, 2WP to resist."
Reed [to Brian]: Can I use Manipulation instead?
Ashan looks over the assembled madmen, his gaze sad but stern. "It would displease me to see violence," he says in a carrying voice, "and sadden me to see fear. Remain where you are; help will come."
Brian [to Reed]: Hmm. Yes, though I'll dock one success. They can't really understand you verbally; you're relying more on body language.
<> Two has mob-dispersing rebuke. Could pull that out if things get weird.
Brian [to Ashan]: You're actually going to have to roll for that one. Give me Conviction + Linguistics + Essence.
<> Ashan says "Any stunt?"
Reed will carve Bennu's mark into the floors, so they recognize it.
<> Reed rolls 4 dice: <1 4 6 7> for 1 success.
Brian [to Ashan]: Mmmm... Two!
<> Ashan says "WP/WP"
<> Ashan rolls 10 dice: <3 4 5 5 6 6 8 8 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Reed says "Well . . . if I can intimidate them into staying inside, that's good too."
<> Ashan says "Total 6."
Brian [to Reed]: They stare at you blankly, gibbering in their strange, broken 'language'. They shudder, moving away from you. Again, some hide, but others just curl up into themselves, not seeming to comprehend the idea of hiding.
Teyv says to the nearest party member carrying weapons, "watch my back," and goes over to one of the motionless, but still living, crazies, and begins a standard exam. Being careful to not actually touch the person with any metal, he looks at both the physical ailments, but also the spiritual flow and unclean energy which surrounds the poor villager.
Brian [to Bennu]: Also, +2 stunt.
Teyv says, "Perhaps we can get a clue as to the exact details of what has caused this, and what we should be looking for."
Brian [to Reed]: ... Sigh, reroll, with two-dot stunt, no penalty.
<> Reed rolls 6 dice: <1 1 3 4 5 9> for 1 success.
Brian [to Bennu]: Okay. :P Perception + Occult.
<> Reed says "Again: If I scare them into staying inside, that's ok."
Brian says, "Plus two."
<> Bennu says "Any bonus for armor essence sight/the atlas effect?"
Brian [to Reed]: They all begin to bow heavily towards you. If you so permit, they request that you escort them all together into one of the larger, more intact huts.
Brian [to Bennu]: Hmm. Let's say +3 circumstantial.
<> Bennu rolls 7 dice: <1 1 3 4 5 6 7> for 1 success.
<> Bennu says "Sigh. :p"
<> Teyv says "That was my stunt to diagnose the crazies, I can repeat it when you're ready."
<> Mahir lawls, and is glad to be confusing the poor GM any further, and continues to observe the proceedings from above and watch for external threats.
<> Two says "Wow"
<> Mahir says "To *not* be, sheesh."
Brian [to Bennu]: No clue, as of yet.
<> Brian rolls 12 dice: <2 2 2 3 3 5 5 6 6 6 10 10> for 4 successes.
Brian [to Mahir]: You see a small dustcloud to the south, moving towards the village.
Reed [to Brian]: Presuming that there is one both nearby and not closer to crazies, I shall do so and then make sure the Tigers know where the new location is.
Brian [to Teyv]: Hmm.
Brian [to Reed]: Done easily.
Brian [to Teyv]: Give me the greater of Perception + Occult or Medicine, +2 stunt.
<> Teyv says "I wonder if my magic bag helps me with diagnosis."
<> Brian says "Does it have a specific dice bonus tool in there somewhere?"
Mahir moves closer to the southern edge of the village, engaging his essence sight and straining his vision to the utmost to attempt to pierce the cloud.
<> Teyv says "That's what I'm looking for"
Reed ushers the survivors into their new hidey-hole, and then scratches a giant sun-symbol into the wall for the Tigers to find before delivering the message to the remaining groups, and then going to seek out Teyv.
<> Brian says "+4 dice if you use medicine, it looks like."
<> Reed says "Book says +4 dice to all Medical rolls including diagnosis."
<> Teyv says "I was looking in the wrong book."
Bennu is frustrated in her first search and turns to analysis. If the curse came on them in the night... perhaps the patterns of bodies and survivors will indicate where it spread from. The place where there are more bodies, perhaps undisturbed where the survivors fear to tread... she applies her intelligence to the readout from her armor.
<> Teyv rolls 12 dice: <1 3 3 4 4 4 7 8 8 8 10 10> for 8 successes.
Brian [to Bennu]: Hmm. You can use int, with the bonuses previous for it. 2 die stunt, but +1 external difficulty.
Reed [to Bennu]: I don't think there are that many undisturbed bodies. At least, they've been chewed on.
Brian [to Teyv]: Now-- to be clear-- what specific information are you looking for?
Ashan walks with Bennu and Teyv, letting his aura of Serenity wash over the afflicted. As he watches them work, his eyes seek patterns, both in Essence and in the spread of the affliction. As an agent of Destiny, he knows that large events proceed from smaller ones, and how to determine the center and cause of a thing from its effects; somewhere in this village, a small event has begun this devastation.
<> Reed says "Actually, I'll mark each of the buildings with survivors in them, to make it easier for the Tigers to find them. I know they're supposed to be smart, but they *are* mortal."
<> Bennu rolls 9 dice: <2 3 3 5 6 8 9 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Ashan says "Trying to locate the object Teyv mentioned."
Teyv [to Brian]: I am looking for clues as to the nature of the illness, for the purpose of making it easier to find the causing object, and to reveal the ritual that might remove it with the least harm to those affected. I'm not particularly concerned with the details of the damage to this individual---I'm not trying to fix him, but rather looking for an overall fix.
Brian [to Teyv]: Whatever the gossamer effect was, it was designed as a hateful curse against Order. A shout of primal wrath and deep, ugly violation, it ravished their souls, not to devour them, but to force them into breaks from reality. It refuses to let them redevelop any sense of order, a crushing, ugly devisiveness that seems aimed to cause the most degrading of transformations and actions. You think you can undo it; if you carefully "peel" apart the object, rather than just breaking it, you can strip the disorder in steps, causing a total reversion fo everyone not dead. Feel free to think up a particular ritual when you guys find the device, I'll give it +1 die in addition to the stunt bonus you get a tthat point.
Brian [to Ashan]: Perception + occult +2 stunt.
<> Ashan says "WP/WP"
<> Ashan rolls 9 dice: <1 1 4 4 6 6 10 10 10> for 6 successes.
Teyv says, "We must find the object that is the center of this. I believe I can undue it, if given time. Follow the tendrils of chaos, if you can sense them, they may lead to the source."
Teyv perception is typically poor, compared to other Solars, but he tries his best to detect the flow of the disease/curse from it's source into all of his patients, and back track to the root cause.
Reed [to Brian]: Can I assume that all the survivors get safely tucked away and their hiding places marked for the Tigers to find them?
Brian [to Ashan, Bennu]: The "center" of the chaos is, of course, not the actual center at all. Beneath the small shrine to the local hunting and farming deities, centered around the shrine to the local river spirit from a nearby spring that permits any farming at all, you are certain, buried somewhere, is the cause of everything.
Brian [to Teyv]: You want a roll, or just follow Bennu and Ashan?
Teyv [to Brian]: if they have a lead, I'll follow it.
Brian [to Reed]: Yup. The tiger warriors are defending as Bennu ordered. They've got some food and some tools, though grief is over them. They're less than five percent of the original inhabitants of the village, and the remaining survivors that are mad compose only a fifth. They don't know how they're going to survive.
Reed [to Brian]: As much as it pains me to suggest it, if they can't join another village they may have to go back to the Cult for a while.
Ashan frowns as he realizes where the curse is emanating from. "Of course it would be there," he murmurs. "I hope the deity in charge of that shrine is all right." He heads for the indicated shrine, waiting for the others as necessary.
Teyv notices that Ashan seems to have found something, and moves quickly to be near him.
Brian [to Mahir]: The dust cloud is definitely coming closer to the village.
Reed [to Brian]: I know. But the Cult can help get them on their feet again, and they're probably going to be favorably disposed towards worshipping Solars after this.
Brian [to Reed]: Ah. Do you want to stunt convincing them now, or leave that for fater you guys deal with the oneiromantic artifact?
Reed [to Brian]: Later.
<> Mahir says "I stunted a roll to examine the cloud, but it probably got lost in everything else."
Reed [to Brian]: Because sending them to the Cult is a last-resort solution as far as Reed is concerned.
Reed lands on Teyv's shoulder, digging his talons in to keep balance as they move towards the shrine. "Did you find something?"
Bennu strides towards the shrine, eyes and Essence Sight scouring the ground for any evidence of the small seed of great devestation. She nods as she crosses paths again with Ashan. "Find it yet?" she asks him, hopefully.
Ashan nods, uncharacteristically sober. "It's coming from the shrine to the local river-god. I don't know if the god's in there or not."
Brian [to Mahir]: Si. Repose, please?
Mahir moves closer to the southern edge of the village, engaging his essence sight and straining his vision to the utmost to attempt to pierce the cloud.
Brian [to Bennu]: Is your Essence Sight engaged?
Brian [to Two]: Where are you, btw?
<> Bennu says "Yes. :P I've said so several times this scene."
<> Teyv says "I'm waiting at the shrine. When you're ready I can stunt to find the exact nature of the problem, or if Ashan or Bennu find the object, then I can work from that point."
Two is stalking the area near the survivors' big building, being all protective and such.
Brian [to Bennu]: You can see toxic essence radiating in fumes from something buried in the dirt beneath the shrine. Coils, oily tentacles of Wyld Essence hidden by dreams periodically reach up to tug on invisible strands of gossamer-- and to tie terrible, cutting bonds around some other large essence source trapped in the building.
Brian [to Mahir]: Per + Awa + 2 situational + 2 stunt.
<> Mahir says "Spending WP and taking it back."
<> Mahir rolls 10 dice: <1 2 3 4 5 5 5 9 9 10> for 4 successes.
Bennu looks nauseated, taps Ashan on the shoulder and points towards the source. "It's under the ground, there. And... I'm afraid the god might be in the shrine. THere's something there; it's bound by the taint." Never hesitant, she moves forward, seeking disturbed earth closer to the source; easier to dig up what's been dug before.
Brian [to Mahir]: Your suit's essence sight reports Wyld Essence, centered low to the ground and housed in mutated, misshapen, extra-limbed creatures within the cloud, rapidly running towards it. They have great "fanged" maws of essence low on their Charm-shaped bodies, hungry and gaping.
<> Two says "Ah hell, Exalted Lovecraft"
Ashan looks somewhat sick himself. "Hopefully dealing with the focus will free the god, too."
<> Reed says "In sand-covered R'lyeh dread Sarlacc lies dreaming."
<> Ashan says "That's what you get with raksha! ....and the Neverborn. .....and several types of Yozi."
<> Brian says "la la la ia ia ia..."
Teyv says, "Be careful Bennu, we will have to deconstruct this precisely. Each step of the corruption must be removed in order, if we are to save the sick."
Brian [to Bennu]: It's not hard to find, since you're looking. There's loose dirt behind the shrine, in an area abutting the nearby hut that was probably the priest's, in between them in an area rarely used.
Mahir drops rapidly towards the ground, racing to rejoin the rest of the group, as he tries to estimate in his head the time until the arrival of the wyld-beasts.
Bennu smiles grimly. "That may not be a good thing if it's been warped too." The Solar isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and she nods to Teyv. "Got to find it first," she says. "It's under soil." Putting deed to action, she kneels on the soil and begins to use the hands of her battle armor as scoops, lifting up soil.
Teyv leans in over Bennu, letting her do the dirty work, but poised to halt her digging if something doesn't look right to him.
Reed bristles at the Solars' words and ruffles his feathers before hopping over to the shrine's roof and peering down at the disturbed ground. "Wait, Solar," he says, dropping down to the ground in human form and putting a hand out to stop her. "Let me-- I'm protected."
Brian [to Mahir]: They'll be here in about 15 minutes, give or take.
Brian [to Bennu]: Are you letting Reed do the digging?
<> Two says "You can't trust Reed! He's one of them!"
<> Bennu says "Does he have a dog form? Maybe a badger?"
<> Reed says "Bear and otter."
<> Bennu says "Bears can dig pretty good."
Mahir rapidly approaches the group clustered around the altar. His disembodied voice floats out of empty air, "We've got a problem. The cleansing of this place will have to wait, we've got company coming in about 15 minutes and they don't look friendly. We need to get the mortals under safe cover, and quickly."
<> Reed says "I don't think he"
<> Reed says "Will take a dog form as long as the Cult's got any influence over you. Don't want them to get any ideas."
Brian [to Mahir]: Did you grab Two on the way to the Shrine? Or is he still guarding them?
Bennu chuckles. "More than I, but I am not mortal either. Still, if you wish..." she pauses as Mahir announces the incoming fight, and, spits out, "Sol Invictus blight them." She inclines her head to Reed, and comes to her feet. "I will cede the digging to you, Sorrowful Ivory Reed, in favor of smiting the unrighteous. Samun, get the troops together with their charges so they can fight together. Which direction, Mahir?"
<> Mahir says "Straight to the shrine, Two is mostly combat-ready already, but I need to get the rest of the party started in the right direction."
<> Two says "Yay for being combat ready."
Reed drops to his knees and flows into his bear's shape, smaller than most but still a hulking white-furred heap of muscle and teeth. He shoulders Bennu out of the way and extends a paw, then stops at the Night's news. "How many?"
Brian [to Mahir]: You might want to let him know at some point.
<> Mahir says "How many?"
Brian [to Mahir]: Also, you're not sure. More than five, but less than twenty.
<> Reed says "Two's all like, "Hi, mortal survivors. So that corpse over there was your dad? Wow, that sucks. Yes, I have a shiny sword. No, you can't touch it.""
<> Mahir says "And I will, shortly, although he'll probably also pick up from the shouting quick enough."
<> Two says "They can touch it."
<> Bennu says "Hey, I'm in CBA and have my defensive scenelongs up all ready. And my swords out. I'm pretty combat ready when not playing in the dirty."
Teyv says, "I'll stay to work on this. You all work to protect those who cannot help themselves. If you need me to fight, then the battle is probably already lost, though it would be quite satisfying to drop a Howl on top of whoever caused this."
Mahir gestures, "They approach rapidly from the south, maybe as few as five, as many as twenty. The dust obscures their number and their features, but I saw enough to know that they are deeply Wyld-tainted, if not simply invaders from beyond the edges of Creation."
<> Brian says "I'll assume any scenelongs and such were put up in long ticks. Quick pause--- no posing, if you please, just OOCly tell me what Charms you guys have active, or will be putting up prior to the arrival of the Wuggabuggas."
<> Mahir says "I've got wings and cloak and sight already, I'm going to complete the set with my Shield. Everything else is instants."
<> Two says "Umm. I forget which of mine are scenelongs. I should add that to the spreadsheet."
<> Bennu says "I have the Essence Sight from the armor, two miles of heads up display tactical information (=P), 5BS, and TEmptation Resisting Stance."
<> Bennu says "Conviction based at the moment."
Reed grunts and shakes his head at Teyv, but doesn't say anything.
<> Ashan says "I probably still have You and Yours up; no other Charms."
<> Ashan says "Also native Essence sight, if it matters."
<> Reed says "I'll activate the goggles for my own essence sight, and I think that's pretty much it other than instants and reflexives."
Brian [to Two]: Take a look fast. I want to know what people have going before the fight starts, just to be sure. What Charms do you have?
<> Mahir says "Have I gotten any regen since I started using my armor features? I need to figure out how much I'm down when we open."
<> Two says "Dual Slaying Stance, Balanced Dominance Stance,"
Brian [to Mahir]: It's probably been a few hours. Yeah, I'd say so.
Brian [to Two]: Check.
Brian [to Reed]: What configuration is your quicksilver squid-- I mean, aegis talisman?
<> Mahir says "So I'm only down for Sight and Shield? Close enough?"
Reed [to Brian]: Defensive.
Brian [to Mahir]: Si.
<> Brian says "Ok."
<> Brian says "Back to pose time."
<> Mahir says "Flying, invisible sniper, reporting for duty!"
<> Brian says "Thanks for clarifying, guys."
<> Two says "I need more scene longs. Dozens of them."
<> Teyv says "I have my Virtuous flame thing up and spinning."
<> Two may want to turn on essence shield.
Reed glances at Teyv. "I do not think it wise to uncover the thing while enemies are at our door. But if you wish it, I will."
<> Teyv says "It can still be in its box."
<> Reed says "I meant the thing under the shrine."
<> Reed says "The Bad Thing."
<> Reed says "You can have the flame sword out all the time, as far as I care. Just don't burn my fur."
Bennu nods in agreement with Reed and gestures south. "Let us face these things beyond the town. My tiger warriors will keep the sane survivors safe, but if we can prevent these things from feeding on the maddened ones, so much the better. Let us intercept them. She doesn't wait for responses, but just moves, heading south with the sort of ground eatting trot her CBA permits, unafraid to face the onslaught - even alone.
Ashan glances over at the direction Mahir's indicating, then nods. "I wouldn't advise it either. We'll want to deconstruct it as soon as we reveal it, in any case; we can't do that while we're fighting."
<> Bennu says "Did Mahir fly over to alert Two?"
Teyv reluctantly agrees, and with a dark look at the alter, follows Bennu and the rest towards the coming battle.
<> Mahir says "Not yet, will do now."
Reed stands on his hind legs and shakes himself, letting his bearform's loose skin shiver and contract until he stands in his sleek taloned war form. "I am behind you," he says, taking up a position at Teyv's elbow. "Let us go and destroy these things."
Mahir nods at the preparations, and flies rapidly over to Two's location to alert him to the upcoming hostilities, and to warn Bennu's warriors to keep their heads down and try to stay out of it.
<> Reed says "Outside of town is best. Don't want the mad ones to take splash damage, or join in."
Bennu laughs, calling back over her shoulder, "It might be better for you to be -before- the Twilight, as a suggestion." She turns her attention back to the distant dust cloud, both swords out as she salutes the sun overhead. "Sol Invictus, be with us as we fight!" she cries.
Two assumes she's watching Bennu run off. She listens to Mahir, looks back at the survivors, and then runs off after Bennu.
<> Bennu says "Brian's computer just froze, hold poses for the moment, plz."
Mahir moves to join the war party, flying behind the ranks, and high enough to have clear sightlines to the entire field.
Brian says, "Alrighty then! Are you guys going to rush out to intercept directly, or wait for them at the outskirts of the village."
Reed doesn't respond to the Zenith's barbs, just sticks next to his Solar and bares his teeth at any of the mad ones that don't cower in fear as they move through.
<> Bennu is going to wait, but not until she's a good long ways past the furthest out survivors. She doesn't want the mortals getting involved.
<> Mahir says "I think Bennu's got point, I'm going to wait for someone that isn't me to throw the first attack before I make them sprout arrows."
Ashan will stick close to the armored Solars, his stance loose and ready, an iron blade ready in his hand.
<> Bennu says "Hey, she's just saying Reed's better in a fight. =p"
<> Reed says "I think the outskirts; I know Teyv's got something that he wants them to run into."
<> Reed says "It sounds like she's saying that Teyv can take care of himself. :P"
<> Teyv says "I can drop as wolf howl on them as soon as they are at 100 yards. That should give them -2 on actions for a while."
<> Bennu says "The intention was that "Reed should be in front of Teyv because Teyv in front is bad.""
Two takes up a position near Bennu. She stares at the oncoming Stuff and while there is still time, moves into her martial kata.
<> Reed says "Teyv getting distracted and wandering off is bad, too. As is something coming up behind Teyv and eating him."
Brian says, "Very well. The dust cloud takes its time, but not too much, getting to where you can see them. Teyv, they have no idea that you're here, so pose casting the spell; we'll count that as being the start of combat time."
<> Reed says "But don't worry. As soon as he's safely positioned somewhere, Reed will come help you kill things."
<> Bennu says "Heh. Samun has Wolf Howl too. He's with the troops though right now."
<> Ashan says "I have no AoE, but I can Song of the Waves one of them to make it fight for us for a while."
<> Mahir says "Wolf Howl?"
<> Bennu says "First Circle attack spell. AOE bashing + crippling, IIRC."
<> Mahir says "Wheeee."
<> Ashan says "Yes."
<> Ashan says "It's a big sonic attack."
<> Bennu says "I was gonna buy that for Zillah's Dog in the Trytalia game. XD"
<> Reed says "Thunder Wolf Howl. Basic sonic AOE, makes them dizzy and debuffs their actions."
<> Mahir says "I don't have AoE yet, but a volley of Sky-Burning is enough dice to one-shot a 2nd Circle Demon. :-P"
<> Mahir says "And it's *really* hard for me to not shout BOOM HEADSHOT when I do it."
<> Reed says "Well sure, if you don't have to split the arrows between multiple targets!"
<> Reed says "He's typing."
Teyv lets the disgust at what has been done to the weak and innocent well inside of him and form into the angry howl which is the essence of this sorcery. He reaches for the center of his essence and lets loose with a physical and metal howl that crashes into the approaching mob. The furry of what comes from him takes back those around him, but they've probably never seen him really pissed off at an entity who eats the very structure of reality, particular when that reality is living and breathing.
<> Bennu says "My AOE is currently limited to 'hitting lots'."
<> Teyv says "s/metal/mental/"
<> Reed says "s/furry/fury"
<> Reed says "They've seen your furry before."
Brian [to Teyv]: Nice. Three point. ROll it.
<> Mahir says "Yeah, without an EA or AOE charm, I've only got rate 3 for now."
<> Brian says "Hey, it's Exalted."
<> Brian says "It's BORN Metal."
<> Bennu says "I figured it WAS a metal howl."
<> Teyv says "I'm not quite sure what I'm rolling."
<> Teyv says "ok, int +occult"
<> Reed says "Should be in the spell desc?"
<> Teyv rolls 13 dice: <1 3 4 4 4 5 6 7 7 7 8 8 10> for 7 successes.
<> Teyv says "so 10 bashing damage, I think."
<> Reed says "It only just occured to me that I can use Acrobat to slice all the charms out of the PDFs and make my own little reference sheet, so I'm doing that now."
<> Ashan says "Minus their bashing soak, yeah, Teyv"
<> Brian swears at his computer.
<> Brian says "It's not opening B&W Treatise for me. What are the effects of the spell?"
<> Brian says "Other than bashing damage."
<> Reed says "Hang on, I'll get it."
<> Teyv says "plus they're at -2 for 35 ticks, unless they save or something."
<> Ashan says "20-yard AoE, no defenses applicable, Essence + successes levels of bashing, minus soak"
<> Ashan says "Secondary effect: -2 dice for (Successes x 5) ticks, Essence-wielders may roll Sta+Res to reduce by 5/success"
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 1 1 2 3 7 9 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 3 4 4 4 5 6 8 10 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <2 2 4 4 5 5 8 9 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <2 4 5 6 7 7 7 8 9 10> for 7 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 9> for 2 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 2 3 4 5 7 8 10 10 10> for 8 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 3 4 5 5 7 8 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 2 2 6 6 8 9 10 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <2 2 3 3 3 5 7 9 9 9> for 4 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 2 4 5 5 8 8 8 8 9> for 5 successes.
<> Reed says "What he said."
<> Reed says "It ignores armor, undeads and inanimates only get half their soak."
<> Teyv says "I think that was 10m of peripheral, so I might be sparkly, unless I should do it differently."
<> Reed says "I think they've noticed us anyway."
<> Ashan says "No, twilights should always spend peripheral for the damage reduction. XD"
<> Bennu says "Especially when 'sneaky' is a lost cause because you have three people in CBA and only one of them is a night."
Brian says, "The thundrous roar of the Thunder Wolf splits the quiet desert air. The hissing heat is blasted aside in a concussive rush, and the dust cloud clears. Rolling around in the dirt, all gangly, arthopod limbs with a wild combination of feet, pincers, hands, and paws are a series of unlikely looking horrendous creatures. Their long, segmented limbs are attached to big, lumpy, roughly spherical bodies with odd bulges and swells. Maws so gigantic you can see them from this distance cover the lower quarter of the main body, with anywhere between three to eight eyes on stalks-- hard to tell from a hundred yards. They roll about for a few seconds and then kick to a standing position. Some are dazed, some are angry, and they all begin to shout, "WUGGA! BUGGA! WIGGLE GIGGLE! Waggle goo! Sorcery's not for mortals, there's stew to do!" as they pick up the pace to run at you guys. Roll join battle; we're probably going to pause for the week and do the actual combat next time, since my computer is freezing up."
<> Ashan rolls 3 dice: <2 4 8> for 1 success.
<> Two rolls 6 dice: <1 1 6 8 8 10> for 4 successes.
Into the shattered silence left behind by the mind (and flesh) rending Howl, Bennu shouts her own defiance. "Come and die, or flee to die later, tainted spawn of the Wyld! Creation does not welcome you, and we are here to defend its boundaries." She lifts her right sword up towards the sky, reflecting sunlight across the field as she brings it back down, ready and waiting for the wave to break. Checking her heads up display, she counts their numbers and status after the effects of the spell, and take that too into account.
<> Bennu says "Stunting. :p"
Brian [to Bennu]: ... Very nice. 3-dot.
<> Bennu rolls 8 dice: <2 2 3 5 7 8 8 9> for 4 successes.
<> Reed rolls 7 dice: <2 4 4 6 6 7 7> for 2 successes.
<> Mahir rolls 8 dice: <1 1 2 2 4 4 7 7> for 2 successes.
<> Teyv rolls 5 dice: <2 2 4 7 7> for 2 successes.
<> Two says "They remind me of that one dnd monster... gibbering mouther"
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <2 2 2 2 2 3 7 9> for 2 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <2 3 4 5 5 8 9 9> for 3 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 2 2 5 6 8 8 10> for 4 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 2 3 4 6 6 8 10> for 3 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 2 2 5 7 9 10 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 3 4 5 6 7 10 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <3 3 4 4 5 6 7 8> for 2 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <2 2 4 7 8 9 9 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <3 5 5 7 8 8 9 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 4 4 6 7 8 8 8> for 4 successes.
<> Mahir says "It occurs to me that I never *wrote down* which of those fancy not-quite-hearthstone things I took."
<> Ashan says "Lemme logcheck."
<> Reed says "The soulsteel one, I think."
<> Ashan says "That sounds right, yah"
<> Mahir says "Which I then slaved to my armor, which is why it's not noted."
<> Ashan says "Yar"
Two continues her kata, sliding from one position to the next, her actions encouraging proper philosophy. One blade points north, another west. Order. One thrusts, the other parries. Discpline. Both strike, slashing from the left side. Patience.
Brian says, "Okay. You guys are at 100 yards apart, so most of you are going to have to dash to get close. Order will be:
Tick 0: WB 5, 8, 9;
Tick 1: WB 6,
Tick 2: Two, Bennu, WB 3, WB 10;
Tick 3: WB2, WB 4;
Tick 4: Reed, Mahir, Teyv, WB 1, WB 7,
Tick 5: Ashan"
<> Mahir says "I forgot that you even *could* stunt Join Battle, but "The invisible sniper waits for his moment" isn't an impressive thing to describe. :-P"
Brian says, "5 xp for everyone, and I hope you guys didn't get too bored and frustrated with my muddle-headedness. :("
This entry lives at http://leticia.dreamwidth.org/277187.html - comment either location. Dreamwidth comments:
I'm trying to catch up on the logs!
Brian says, "So, the nibble you guys have been left with is a series of little villages about a day and a half's ride southeast from the Rock. Do you plan to approach openly, secretly...?"
<> Ashan says "As your advisor, I recommend at least a small amount of subtlety."
<> Mahir says "I'm a Night with magic ninja armor. Of *course* I want to do a recon run before we go in."
Bennu might wear a cloak over her CBA, unless someone has a better plan.
Brian says, "You've got the supplies at the Rock for pretty much any plan you come up with that doesn't require artifacts."
<> Reed says "I can always do a flyover. I have many shapes."
<> Two ain't a sneaker.
<> Mahir says "I'm trying to remember where we left off, it's been a while since the last one..."
<> Reed says "We are going to check out an incursion of . . . lion folk, I think. Fey things."
<> Ashan says "And there's a prophecy about horrible fae monster(s) in the area."
Mahir says, "I can also do a flyover, or even just walk through the place, but I do think we need some better idea of what we face before we reveal our presence."
Brian [to Mahir]: You had just finished your victory party and had decided to check after the incursion of the Southern Court-- the theoretically more civilized and seductive fae, rather than the Lionfolk, who have been attacking towns rather barbarically.
<> Reed says "The only thing Reed would pull from stores is something to help ward folks against the Wyld. I don't know off the top of my head if there is anything that does that."
<> Reed says "At least to ward Teyv. If he can't help the others, oh well."
<> Brian says "Cold Iron."
<> Brian says "They've got a lot of cold iron jewelery and knives, even some -very- carefully constructed swords."
Bennu will make sure her troops are well supplied, with iron weapons and armor so far as it is possible, and good, portable supplies. She will also try to commandeer reasonable thaumaturgical components for use by Samun.
<> Reed says "I was thinking more for mental shielding. But I guess they can't hurt anyone if they're dead."
<> Ashan says "It may or may not help with exposure, but Ashan will definitely gank a couple of knives and a necklace or something."
<> Ashan says "Cold iron helps against glamour if you're touching it."
Brian [to Bennu]: Samun has Exceptional materials to work with, and your troops have cold iron -- the best they can do is normal, there.
Brian says, "Anyone else picking up the cold iron before heading out? And/or any disguises? Mahir, of course, does not need them for overfly, all things considered."
Teyv says, "I'll take Bennu's advice and have a bit of cold iron about me."
<> Two will do so. Something wearable.
Reed spends some time picking through the iron stocks, selecting what small, preferably pointy pieces he thinks might help. At the end of his hour or so the little barbarian is looking even more ferocious than usual, with slender chains and random bits of jewelry woven through the bones and talismans attached to his armor. A dagger and chain for Teyv as well, and he's ready.
Reed [to Brian]: I am my own disguise.
Two grabs a few pieces of random cold iron jewelry. A bracelet or two, a ring, a necklace. Small things.
<> Bennu says "I have CBA. I can't really diguise that up close. I will make sure I have a large white cape that covers most of it from a distance, though. No cold iron."
Brian [to Reed]: You seriously are.
<> Bennu says "Not personally."
<> Ashan says "I am also my own disguise, in that they will forget me as soon as I leave."
Brian [to Ashan]: Are you traveling with the group Resplendented or Shucked?
<> Ashan says "Shucked for travel. I have a Gull destiny I can tap for interaction."
Teyv says, "Before departing (and probably as soon as he was awake/at dawn) I'll cast my flame guardian, and put it in its box."
Reed presses an iron dagger into Teyv's hand, and reaches up to fasten a somewhat ugly necklace around the Solar's neck and tuck it under his shirt. "Do not take that off, even if you are told. The fey are masters of trickery, and it is not beneath them to guile you into removing your protections. If you have doubts, poke them with the sharp end."
Ashan spends a small amount of time in the armory, emerging with a few iron throwing daggers and a slim iron necklace. The daggers vanish...somewhere...about his person.
Brian says, "Alright. Bedecked in cold iron and prepared for anything, you set off once your patron has dipped below the horizon. Your sifus instruct you to lead with Teyv going first, holding his flame guardian prepared, but with Mahir travelling overhead to scout. The first night passes easily, the desert cool and lively at night with the hidden wildlife unknown to non-natives. Reed, do you have the hearts' blood of any desert creatures?"
Reed [to Brian]: I have the falcon and owl.
Reed suspects otters don't usually gambol through the dunes.
<> Two says "Desert otters."
<> Brian says "Er. >_> Assume that you've been travelling by Stormwind Rider, and that's the day and a half "ride" you've been on. :P"
<> Brian says "Courtesy of the quiet Samun."
<> Bennu says "Thank you. =p I put enough points into having my goons. :p"
Reed [to Brian]: I was planning to fly. Mahir and I should be able to quarter the area pretty well.
Brian [to Reed]: When you guys camp to decide whether to press on, troops and all, during the heat for the last six hours of the journey, or to sleep the day out and return to moving at twilight (though you no longer need to be 'led' by your Twilight-- that was just suggested for going out), an owl swoops into camp and settles on Reed's shoulder.
<> Reed says "Samun needs to speak up more. :P"
<> Bennu says "Samun is shy of so many Solars. :p He wouldn't presume to interfere in their councils."
Reed hoots quietly at the owl, the closest approximation his human throat can make, and lifts a hand to gently stroke the bird's breast. "Welcome, little sister," he says, offering it a piece of dried meat from his pocket. "You are woken early."
<> Reed says "Perhaps his Solar should be more aggressive in pushing his talents. :)"
Brian says, "The owl nips the meat and chews on it. "Sleep soon. Bad behind. Bad ahead, for you and..." Its head rotates around at the warcamp, "Your flock? Flock. Flock broken. Can't talk. All broken. All scattered," in the language of the owls. For the rest of you, you need to decide whether to go on now, or wait out the night."
Bennu marshals her troops in marching order; of course if they have to march, she'll have them travel last. No need for the Exalts to walk through the dust kicked up. "If you want to scout, I'd welcome knowledge of what we're walking in to," she says, dryly, to Mahir and Reed."
Reed nods, and flips a hand at the Night. "The words and thoughts of birds are limited-- predator, prey, nest, eggs. There is danger before us as well as behind, but what it is she cannot say. Show us, little sister," he continues, turning to the owl. Then, with a flip of his arm, he flings the bird into the air and jumps up himself, matching the owl's shape mid-jump. "This one is not born to the air," he adds in the bird-speech. "We must be careful not to shame or lose him."
Mahir nods at Reed, "I suspect danger all around. I treat all unfamiliar situations as dangerous until proven otherwise, so that's not news." He turns to Bennu, "We shall likely return soon with the knowledge you seek." He turns his focus inward, marshalling his essence, as his armor flickers briefly before vanishing from sight. A voice speaks from the empty air, "Lead on, Reed, and I shall follow."
<> Mahir says "I'm engaging Wings and Cloak, from personal."
Bennu bows slightly towards Mahir as he vanishes, and settles to wait.
Brian says, "The bird is reluctant to fly south, but will not deny an Exalt. As you get closer to the raided village, you begin to see the detritus of village life-- vases, containers, tools, even toys and food strewn around the desert, as though deposited by a mindless whilr wind, with no order or pattern to it. The night noise begins to quiet-- and then the screams start. Well. Some screams, some angry yells, and even some singing, a cacophony coming from the village ahead."
Reed [to Brian]: Just one village, or two?
Brian says, "Just one here. Three have been hit, but villages are scattered wide down here."
Reed [to Brian]: Ok. So, outskirts and the village itself. Was a little confused.
Brian says, "Yarr."
Brian [to Ashan, Bennu, Teyv, Two]: Is there anything you guys want to do while waiting for the scouts?
Reed glides past the owl and whistles a thanks, but not a dismissal. "Wait here, sister. We shall return presently." That said, he banks and glides towards the noises.
<> Two says "Umm. Dice? :D"
Bennu will meditate and pray. Because such things are the duty of the Zenith. A walking prayer, where one paces out the inner-turning path.
Brian [to Bennu]: Give me a Cha + Perf + 1 roll, just for fun.
<> Bennu rolls 11 dice: <1 3 3 4 4 6 7 8 8 9 9> for 5 successes.
Ashan finds some shade and sits in it, mentally reviewing anything about the area he's picked up from his briefings and considering his available destinies. He won't be overmuch use until they make contact, but he'd rather be prepared.
He'll also dice with Two, if Two is interested.
Brian [to Reed]: The owl twists its head. "Light time. Rest time. Away. Do not stay. Broken," she says and then flies away. As you and Mahir fly over the village you see that the houses seem... broken, as said. Sides are cracked open, some huts are caved in. In places, roofs have been moved from one house to another. Like the desert around them, the things and debris of mortal life are tossed randomly into the streets. Some of the mortals are trying to feed from the scattered food-- but on the ground, not moving it anywhere! Others are trying to eat sand. Everywhere you go, there is a babble of languages, fifty different unfamiliar barbarian tongues, mixed with screams of horror, angry shouts, and mournful song. Something is WRONG here.
Brian says, "Reed, Mahir, what are your Dodge MDVs?"
Two spends time dicing with whoever is interested and also going through her martial kata.
<> Reed says "Mine is 8."
<> Mahir says "7"
Brian [to Two]: Luck seems to be with you; you manage to win, but not so heavily as to gain the resentment of Bennu's troops.
<> Brian rolls 13 dice: <1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 6 7 10> for 3 successes.
Brian [to Mahir, Reed]: The chaos of the village tugs at you but weakly, but you can sense a pull to join dissolution of thought and deed below.
<> Two says "Excellent."
Brian [to Bennu]: During the day, you have +1 die you can use to affect any one roll to do with traveling or purity.
Two spends time teaching and explaining martial kata to any interested parties as well.
Mahir glides to the ground in the shadow of one of the broken down buildings, then creeps around to look at the inside.
Brian [to Mahir]: Inside are two frightened children, both holding a rare (and thus valuable) iron piece of cookware. They've managed to keep the chaos of the rest of the village at bay, and are trying to hold what tools and food they can. These are the only children you've seen in the _entire_ village thus far.
Reed banks sharply and whisks away, catching a thermal to help him put distance between himself and the village. A few moments to order his thoughts and brace himself against the assault (and catch and eat an early insect), and then he glides back down for another look, feathers dissolving into fur as he touches the ground behind a building and slinks around the corner in cat's guise.
Brian [to Reed]: Are you being stealthy in movement, or just walking normally?
Reed [to Brian]: Sneaky. I don't want to look edible.
Brian [to Reed]: Given the chewed corpses of what were once beloved pets, that's probably a good idea. Indeed, at this close to the ground, you see _human_ corpses with bites taken out of them. Some of them are heartbreakingly small. This is horror on a small field, but on a scale not seen since the Balorian crusade-- and all for a single, tiny, remote village...
Reed keeps to the shadows and undersides of things, dashing from ruined wall to ruined wall until he finds a human corpse close enough for him to investigate without coming out of cover.
Mahir comtemplates some small token to aid the children, but resists the urge. Time enough for succor once the source of this malady has been cleansed, and he can't afford to break concealment yet.
Brian [to Reed]: It's not hard. Some of them have been violently shoved aside. This one is strange; it doesn't have a lot of blood on it, despite being eaten. Indeed, it doesn't seem to have many wounds from life at all. What's worse, it smells of something other than decay-- of foulness. Rottenness.
Brian [to Mahir]: Going to stay here to cover/guard Reed, or head back to get reinforcements?
Reed [to Brian]: Wyld taint?
Mahir moves out to quickly cover the rest of the village, counting the numbers of the living, the dead, and the clearly insane.
Brian [to Reed]: Hmm. Do you have any specific Wyld-sensing Charms? If not, stunt a Perception + Occult roll for the inspection.
<> Reed rolls 7 dice: <1 5 5 8 8 10 10> for 6 successes.
Brian [to Mahir]: There are only a few pockets of sanity, mostly huddled inside like the two children. About five adults and one other child for a total of three. The rest of the village is half dead, half mad, and all broken. You also encounter a lot of crazed and/or dead animals.
Reed [to Brian]: I have a nose. That's pretty much it.
<> Two says "Ohhh, Reed's gonna die"
Brian [to Reed]: ... There's no direct Wyld energies on them, no scent of unrestrained chaos. But the sickly-sweet scent of gossamer, the vicious spun glass dreams of Fae magic, is all around. It's on everyone and every thing, laid thick and sick like spiderwebs, and the corpses-- whatever killed them is seemingly a byproduct of the change, rather than its cause. By the smell of one-- and the swellings, burst all over, it looks like her internal organs were re-routed by the chaos spell, causing her stomach acids and her bile to leak into the rest of her body. Several others are like that; still yet more seem to have other maladies and deformities-- all with only the filtered Wyld of gossamer. Mutations spun from dreams alone.
Reed hisses softly, and sniffs the air for a trace of Solar scent before slinking back through the shadows to find his partner.
Mahir creeps closer to Reed, not wanting to break cloak in hostile territory, and pitches a whisper just low enough to hear, "I've seen enough here, we should head back to the others."
<> Reed says "I only have forms that can hear, see, and rip the living crap out of things. Nothing that smells very well. :)"
<> Mahir says "The question is whether you have any notion that I'm there before I whisper, or whether I scare the fur off you with the voice frmo nowhere."
<> Brian says "Given the earlier Perception, with Occult, even, I'm going to rule it startles, rather than scares."
Reed arches his back and whips around, then subsides and just hisses softly. "I agree," he says, twitching in irritation. "And we have been gone long. Although it would be ill-advised for them to come looking, I would not be surprised if they did so." He whips through the shadows towards the edge of the village before taking wing again to return to the camp.
Brian says, "It doesn't take you long to get back to the warcamp. How sneaky do you want to be coming in, or will you decloak/deowl and announce yourselves/"
Mahir depowers his cloaking device as soon as he's out of range of the village outskirts, it's easier to fly formations while visible.
Reed [to Brian]: Still daylight?
Brian [to Reed]: Early morning, actually.
Brian [to Mahir]: The Tiger Warriors notice you, and after a careful inspection on your flight in, salute respectfully.
Brian says, "Your scouts are back, folks."
Bennu's prayer-steps have worn a rune of purity in the ground where she prayed; she steps clean away from it, leaving it marked well against the ground, and inclines her head as the scouts return. "What do we face?" she asks, her hands folded in the sleeves of her cape before her.
Ashan stands up from his shady patch, gliding over to the returning scouts.
Reed discards the owl's form for the faster falcon's, and makes it back just behind Mahir. He can't resist taking a swipe at the Night's head before landing, although he doesn't really try too hard to hit. "Madness. The village is broken, as the owl said-- their minds and thoughts not even animal anymore. I could not tell the cause, but I believe it came upon them in their sleep."
Mahir says, "Devastation, mostly. There are fewer than ten people left alive and sane in the village, the rest are either dead, or corrupted beyond repair by some form of wyld taint. The village itself is mostly uninhabitable. I saw no sign of the antagonists, however, so for now we've got rescue and cleanup, not war.""
Ashan tilts his head, looking thoughtful. "But the village itself isn't a wyld zone, I take it? That implies something's been, gone and left something behind."
Reed nods in agreement. "As long as our minds are rested and strong, I believe we can enter under the light of the Sun. But," he adds, glancing over the mortals and Teyv, "There is a lingering madness, still strong enough to be wary of. It is not a Wyld zone, no, and I do not believe the Wyld ever touched it. I believe it is the work of the fey."
Teyv says, "Those who are not yet crazy, it is our duty to escort them away from this area, to someplace of relative safety. If the crazy ones have truly lost their mind, beyond all hope of recovery, then as much as I hate to say it, it might be best to cull them. We can't know that until we get a much closer look at them."
Ashan mentally reviews what he knows about raksha glamour and sorcery, with particular emphasis on how to counteract it if needed. Iron will help, but wasn't there something...?
Two says, "No indications the Fey stayed around? I'm saddened we won't get the chance to discuss this with them personally."
Bennu frowns and nods. "There are a few unaffected? We'll need to get them to safety. Defend ourselves from the mad ones while killing as few as possible. See what we can do in the terms of cleansing when we get there." She nods to her Tiger Warriors and Samun. "Your primary duty is to get to the unaffected people and defend them," she informs them, then looks back at the scouts. "How are they distributed? Will I need to split the troops?"
Brian [to Ashan]: Make an Int + Occult + 1 roll.
Mahir gestures vaguely, "There were only two, maybe three pockets of sanity left. They didn't look like they planned on moving around much, but nothing is certain with that much chaos around."
Teyv says, "They must be saved."
<> Ashan says "WP."
<> Ashan rolls 10 dice: <1 1 2 2 2 3 4 6 6 8> for 1 success.
<> Ashan says ". . ."
<> Two says "Wow"
<> Ashan says "Teyv, you wanna try? It's your area. XD"
Reed opens a hand and gestures towards Mahir. "I saw none, only the mad." He crouches down in the sand and smooths an area, then sketches a quick map from memory. "The bulk of the mad that I saw were concentrated here, although I would not be surprised if there were more hidden. Some may yet retain enough instinct to flee from the heat of the Sun." He pauses, and says, "If you tell me where they were, I can take them a message to wait for rescue."
<> Ashan says "(As tempted as I am to burn a Guardian Gem reroll on that...)"
Brian [to Ashan]: You know the iron dealie. It'll break the mutations, but. potentially fatal for someone whose innards are only being -sustained- by the mutation.
<> Reed says "He's stepped out. Give him a minute."
<> Brian says "Check."
Ashan shakes his head slightly; he has the nagging feeling there's _something_ he's forgetting, but he can't lay his mental finger on it. "Iron in skin contact will break the enchantment," he says, "but for someone who's been mutated, it won't change them back to normal; they'll die if the mutation would be fatal."
Teyv says, "There are many 'diseases' that can be spread by the Fey. A cure may be possible, if we, or rather they, are lucky. I will have to think on this for a bit."
Brian [to Teyv]: Want to stunt it, or just roll for it?
Reed snorts. "They would die anyway. And the corpses I saw seemed to not have been mutated so much as . . . rearranged."
Bennu nods, and moves among the troops dividing them into three smaller squads; 8, 8, and 9. "Can you give them rough directions to where you saw survivors?" she asks Mahir. "If they're helping rescue, we can focus on finding any contamination left behind.
Teyv opens his medical bag, and looks through a small notebook, and begins pulling out instruments and drugs one at at time. He turns to Reed, "did you notice if the flow of their... hmm, no, I guess you probably wouldn't notice. Well, did they smell of ammonia or would you say almonds?
Samun, who was not divided into the mortal troops, rummages through his thaumaturgical supplies, face unreadable behind the veil. "I have rock salt... silk..."
Bennu nods. "Anything you think might help?" she asks the DB, looming over him only a little bit impatiently.
Teyv says, "It is very difficult to diagnose at a distance. I will probably have a much better idea of what to do when are close."
Brian chuckles. 2-dot stunt.
Mahir motions to Bennu's troops, then crouches over the crude map that Reed had scratched in the dirt, pointing out the houses that still held... humans rather than beasts, describing in detail identifying markings.
<> Teyv says "int + occult?"
Brian [to Bennu]: Give him... 2.
<> Brian says "Yeah."
<> Teyv rolls 12 dice: <1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10> for 6 successes.
Reed lifts an eyebrow. "Bile. Blood. Shit. Decay." He pauses for a moment, and adds, "Gossamer smells both of sweetness and sickness; attar of roses masking corpse rot."
Teyv says, "No almond, huh, that would have been much easier to deal with."
Reed adds the locations of the mad to the map, at least where he'd seen them nearby Mahir's humans.
Brian [to Teyv]: You know there's a focal object for any instance of oneiromancy, probably still left at the sight. Destroying it would probably give the same results as the iron, but you -are- a doctor and a scientist. You feel that if you can find it, you could probably work with Ashan and Samun to come up with a counter ritual, designed to restore things that were altered by the spell-- but not the devastation in its path. The dead will remain dead.
<> Bennu rolls 12 dice: <1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 8 8 9 9> for 4 successes.
<> Bennu says "That's for Samun."
Teyv passes on the information, "we should attempt to preserve the life of the insane, as I believe there is hope to cure the malady."
Brian [to Bennu]: Sammun gets the same, except he doesn't have a hint to start the ritual like Teyv does.
Teyv says, "I urge our leader to move quickly, though with all due caution, as waiting helps no one."
Reed [to Bennu]: Do your Tiger Warriors have any insignia or other way to recognize them?
Ashan facepalms. "I knew I was forgetting something."
<> Mahir says "Reminds me that I have *no* idea what Mahir's icon would be. Not that I'm likely to ever *see* it, given his spending patterns right now."
Reed brushes the sand from his haunches and stands, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Make your plans. I will go and tell the living to keep hope, and that help will come soon if they remain where they are."
Bennu steps closer to the three squads. "Sol Invictus watch over you," she invokes, "And see your deeds. Harden your minds and your souls against the importunate whispers of the wyld. Strengthen each other, and know that my will too shelters you." She nods to Reed as she finishes her brief blessing, and says, "Be careful they do not see you as a hallucination, Luna's Beloved. They have been shaken badly, I am sure." She draws her long hooked swords, pauses to invoke her Essence in defensive patterns, and begins to lead towards the village.
Samun, carrying his sack of components, hurries over to follow Teyv until he can help, a light wood javelin in his right hand.
Teyv says, "The insane may ignore you, or they may not... Try not to look too tasty, and don't kill without reason."
<> Bennu says "Putting up 5BS and will put up Temptation Resisting as soon after as possible. It's a reflexive, so."
<> Brian says "Hmm. Bennu, Two, how intimidating are you guys attempting to be, vis a vis the village? Too low, and they may attempt to attack you; too high, and they may flee into the desert."
Reed nods and takes the falcon's shape again, brushing Teyv's hair lightly with his wingtips before arrowing off to deliver the message and re-scout the village.
<> Bennu says "Can I use conviction instead of Temperance?"
<> Brian says "You're pretty convictive. I'd say yes."
Bennu has not invoked her anima, but is letting the cloak blow back and reveal the armor; she wants them to keep their distance - but as the rebirth she represents, she wants to offer them even maddened enough hope that they linger.
<> Reed says "I suggest attempting to disable and corral as many of the mad as possible, rather than killing them. It may be possible to save them."
Ashan fingers his iron necklace, making sure it's touching his skin. "I'll see what I can do to calm them as we go," he says. "I may be able to bring a few of them some serenity, until we can work out that ritual."
Brian [to Reed]: The poor unfortunates are baking in the days heat; that's probably killed others. The moans have a strange quality to them; as soon as any of the sounds start to harmonize, the two screamers, singers, or shouters are drawn to each other into a vicious melee until one is beaten into silence. Four such fights are going on now. Two are done, and the victor of one is shredding and tearing at the loser's flesh, not even eating, just defiling.
Teyv says, "Look for an object which the madness might be emanating from. It could be anything, though is probably Fey portable. Don't touch it!"
Brian [to Reed]: But you can make out where most of the forty survivors of the two to three hundred who once lived here.
Two walks along with the others. "I am not good at non-lethal combat, but I'll try my best to keep things at bay without hurting them too badly."
Reed [to Brian]: As long as they're at a safe distance away from the mad, I'll deliver the message and move on.
Teyv says, "Any deaths are the fault of the agent which caused this, Two, but mercy is what sets us apart from lower forms."
Brian [to Reed]: Sure, pose it.
Teyv says, "And in some cases, 'higher' beings, as well"
<> Brian rolls 12 dice: <1 2 5 6 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10> for 10 successes.
Brian [to Two]: How intimidating are you being, btw?
<> Two says "Hmm"
Two is full on battle armor, weapons out and doing that weird singing noise they do.
Bennu nods to Teyv and moves into the village, directing her squads towards their various charges as they move through the ruined structures. She represents the order of Sol Invictus, the structure of Creation, the laws of Heaven. Against her patterned motions, chaos flares and struggles. And that is what she seeks; she seeks the resistance to her order, the seed of corruption which began this all; by eyes, by Essence Sight, by the systems of her armor, she seeks that unclean heart of unnatural disorder. She keeps her swords in hand - just in case.
Brian says, "The mad aren't crazy enough to attack you guys; in fact, they're... well. Some are hiding. Some are... just laying down in front of you. Some are running, but others can't seem to coordinate their limbs in order to do so."
<> Brian rolls 20 dice: <1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 9> for 5 successes.
<> Brian nods.
Mahir will go in flying and cloaked, weapon drawn. Sniper-in-reserve, in case things turn ugly.
Reed slips into the safehouses through cracks in the walls and roofs, letting his form melt back into human as he slides down the walls to the floor. "A message," he says to each group, hands spread and open so they can see he means no harm. "Luna and the Sun have heard your cries, and you are not forsaken. The Children of the Sun come to cleanse the taint, but you must be patient. Stay here, and you will be retrieved and taken to safety."
Ashan takes a shallow breath as they approach the village, then bows his head. The Essence of Serenity infuses him; his every movement becomes graceful, his majesty assured, his presence impossible to resist. Displeasing him or harming him becomes unthinkable.
<> Ashan says "Activating You and Yours Stance."
Brian [to Bennu]: You've got your troop pretty well protected. You could easily spread them out to begin collection.
<> Brian says "Does what again?"
<> Reed will add a description of the Tigers and Bennu's mark, so the survivors can recognize them when they arrive.
Brian [to Bennu, Reed]: Roll Charisma + Performance or Presence?
<> Ashan says "Attacking me requires Conviction diff. 3. Knowingly displeasing me requires Temperance, diff. 3."
<> Ashan says "No roll, 2WP to resist."
Reed [to Brian]: Can I use Manipulation instead?
Ashan looks over the assembled madmen, his gaze sad but stern. "It would displease me to see violence," he says in a carrying voice, "and sadden me to see fear. Remain where you are; help will come."
Brian [to Reed]: Hmm. Yes, though I'll dock one success. They can't really understand you verbally; you're relying more on body language.
<> Two has mob-dispersing rebuke. Could pull that out if things get weird.
Brian [to Ashan]: You're actually going to have to roll for that one. Give me Conviction + Linguistics + Essence.
<> Ashan says "Any stunt?"
Reed will carve Bennu's mark into the floors, so they recognize it.
<> Reed rolls 4 dice: <1 4 6 7> for 1 success.
Brian [to Ashan]: Mmmm... Two!
<> Ashan says "WP/WP"
<> Ashan rolls 10 dice: <3 4 5 5 6 6 8 8 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Reed says "Well . . . if I can intimidate them into staying inside, that's good too."
<> Ashan says "Total 6."
Brian [to Reed]: They stare at you blankly, gibbering in their strange, broken 'language'. They shudder, moving away from you. Again, some hide, but others just curl up into themselves, not seeming to comprehend the idea of hiding.
Teyv says to the nearest party member carrying weapons, "watch my back," and goes over to one of the motionless, but still living, crazies, and begins a standard exam. Being careful to not actually touch the person with any metal, he looks at both the physical ailments, but also the spiritual flow and unclean energy which surrounds the poor villager.
Brian [to Bennu]: Also, +2 stunt.
Teyv says, "Perhaps we can get a clue as to the exact details of what has caused this, and what we should be looking for."
Brian [to Reed]: ... Sigh, reroll, with two-dot stunt, no penalty.
<> Reed rolls 6 dice: <1 1 3 4 5 9> for 1 success.
Brian [to Bennu]: Okay. :P Perception + Occult.
<> Reed says "Again: If I scare them into staying inside, that's ok."
Brian says, "Plus two."
<> Bennu says "Any bonus for armor essence sight/the atlas effect?"
Brian [to Reed]: They all begin to bow heavily towards you. If you so permit, they request that you escort them all together into one of the larger, more intact huts.
Brian [to Bennu]: Hmm. Let's say +3 circumstantial.
<> Bennu rolls 7 dice: <1 1 3 4 5 6 7> for 1 success.
<> Bennu says "Sigh. :p"
<> Teyv says "That was my stunt to diagnose the crazies, I can repeat it when you're ready."
<> Mahir lawls, and is glad to be confusing the poor GM any further, and continues to observe the proceedings from above and watch for external threats.
<> Two says "Wow"
<> Mahir says "To *not* be, sheesh."
Brian [to Bennu]: No clue, as of yet.
<> Brian rolls 12 dice: <2 2 2 3 3 5 5 6 6 6 10 10> for 4 successes.
Brian [to Mahir]: You see a small dustcloud to the south, moving towards the village.
Reed [to Brian]: Presuming that there is one both nearby and not closer to crazies, I shall do so and then make sure the Tigers know where the new location is.
Brian [to Teyv]: Hmm.
Brian [to Reed]: Done easily.
Brian [to Teyv]: Give me the greater of Perception + Occult or Medicine, +2 stunt.
<> Teyv says "I wonder if my magic bag helps me with diagnosis."
<> Brian says "Does it have a specific dice bonus tool in there somewhere?"
Mahir moves closer to the southern edge of the village, engaging his essence sight and straining his vision to the utmost to attempt to pierce the cloud.
<> Teyv says "That's what I'm looking for"
Reed ushers the survivors into their new hidey-hole, and then scratches a giant sun-symbol into the wall for the Tigers to find before delivering the message to the remaining groups, and then going to seek out Teyv.
<> Brian says "+4 dice if you use medicine, it looks like."
<> Reed says "Book says +4 dice to all Medical rolls including diagnosis."
<> Teyv says "I was looking in the wrong book."
Bennu is frustrated in her first search and turns to analysis. If the curse came on them in the night... perhaps the patterns of bodies and survivors will indicate where it spread from. The place where there are more bodies, perhaps undisturbed where the survivors fear to tread... she applies her intelligence to the readout from her armor.
<> Teyv rolls 12 dice: <1 3 3 4 4 4 7 8 8 8 10 10> for 8 successes.
Brian [to Bennu]: Hmm. You can use int, with the bonuses previous for it. 2 die stunt, but +1 external difficulty.
Reed [to Bennu]: I don't think there are that many undisturbed bodies. At least, they've been chewed on.
Brian [to Teyv]: Now-- to be clear-- what specific information are you looking for?
Ashan walks with Bennu and Teyv, letting his aura of Serenity wash over the afflicted. As he watches them work, his eyes seek patterns, both in Essence and in the spread of the affliction. As an agent of Destiny, he knows that large events proceed from smaller ones, and how to determine the center and cause of a thing from its effects; somewhere in this village, a small event has begun this devastation.
<> Reed says "Actually, I'll mark each of the buildings with survivors in them, to make it easier for the Tigers to find them. I know they're supposed to be smart, but they *are* mortal."
<> Bennu rolls 9 dice: <2 3 3 5 6 8 9 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Ashan says "Trying to locate the object Teyv mentioned."
Teyv [to Brian]: I am looking for clues as to the nature of the illness, for the purpose of making it easier to find the causing object, and to reveal the ritual that might remove it with the least harm to those affected. I'm not particularly concerned with the details of the damage to this individual---I'm not trying to fix him, but rather looking for an overall fix.
Brian [to Teyv]: Whatever the gossamer effect was, it was designed as a hateful curse against Order. A shout of primal wrath and deep, ugly violation, it ravished their souls, not to devour them, but to force them into breaks from reality. It refuses to let them redevelop any sense of order, a crushing, ugly devisiveness that seems aimed to cause the most degrading of transformations and actions. You think you can undo it; if you carefully "peel" apart the object, rather than just breaking it, you can strip the disorder in steps, causing a total reversion fo everyone not dead. Feel free to think up a particular ritual when you guys find the device, I'll give it +1 die in addition to the stunt bonus you get a tthat point.
Brian [to Ashan]: Perception + occult +2 stunt.
<> Ashan says "WP/WP"
<> Ashan rolls 9 dice: <1 1 4 4 6 6 10 10 10> for 6 successes.
Teyv says, "We must find the object that is the center of this. I believe I can undue it, if given time. Follow the tendrils of chaos, if you can sense them, they may lead to the source."
Teyv perception is typically poor, compared to other Solars, but he tries his best to detect the flow of the disease/curse from it's source into all of his patients, and back track to the root cause.
Reed [to Brian]: Can I assume that all the survivors get safely tucked away and their hiding places marked for the Tigers to find them?
Brian [to Ashan, Bennu]: The "center" of the chaos is, of course, not the actual center at all. Beneath the small shrine to the local hunting and farming deities, centered around the shrine to the local river spirit from a nearby spring that permits any farming at all, you are certain, buried somewhere, is the cause of everything.
Brian [to Teyv]: You want a roll, or just follow Bennu and Ashan?
Teyv [to Brian]: if they have a lead, I'll follow it.
Brian [to Reed]: Yup. The tiger warriors are defending as Bennu ordered. They've got some food and some tools, though grief is over them. They're less than five percent of the original inhabitants of the village, and the remaining survivors that are mad compose only a fifth. They don't know how they're going to survive.
Reed [to Brian]: As much as it pains me to suggest it, if they can't join another village they may have to go back to the Cult for a while.
Ashan frowns as he realizes where the curse is emanating from. "Of course it would be there," he murmurs. "I hope the deity in charge of that shrine is all right." He heads for the indicated shrine, waiting for the others as necessary.
Teyv notices that Ashan seems to have found something, and moves quickly to be near him.
Brian [to Mahir]: The dust cloud is definitely coming closer to the village.
Reed [to Brian]: I know. But the Cult can help get them on their feet again, and they're probably going to be favorably disposed towards worshipping Solars after this.
Brian [to Reed]: Ah. Do you want to stunt convincing them now, or leave that for fater you guys deal with the oneiromantic artifact?
Reed [to Brian]: Later.
<> Mahir says "I stunted a roll to examine the cloud, but it probably got lost in everything else."
Reed [to Brian]: Because sending them to the Cult is a last-resort solution as far as Reed is concerned.
Reed lands on Teyv's shoulder, digging his talons in to keep balance as they move towards the shrine. "Did you find something?"
Bennu strides towards the shrine, eyes and Essence Sight scouring the ground for any evidence of the small seed of great devestation. She nods as she crosses paths again with Ashan. "Find it yet?" she asks him, hopefully.
Ashan nods, uncharacteristically sober. "It's coming from the shrine to the local river-god. I don't know if the god's in there or not."
Brian [to Mahir]: Si. Repose, please?
Mahir moves closer to the southern edge of the village, engaging his essence sight and straining his vision to the utmost to attempt to pierce the cloud.
Brian [to Bennu]: Is your Essence Sight engaged?
Brian [to Two]: Where are you, btw?
<> Bennu says "Yes. :P I've said so several times this scene."
<> Teyv says "I'm waiting at the shrine. When you're ready I can stunt to find the exact nature of the problem, or if Ashan or Bennu find the object, then I can work from that point."
Two is stalking the area near the survivors' big building, being all protective and such.
Brian [to Bennu]: You can see toxic essence radiating in fumes from something buried in the dirt beneath the shrine. Coils, oily tentacles of Wyld Essence hidden by dreams periodically reach up to tug on invisible strands of gossamer-- and to tie terrible, cutting bonds around some other large essence source trapped in the building.
Brian [to Mahir]: Per + Awa + 2 situational + 2 stunt.
<> Mahir says "Spending WP and taking it back."
<> Mahir rolls 10 dice: <1 2 3 4 5 5 5 9 9 10> for 4 successes.
Bennu looks nauseated, taps Ashan on the shoulder and points towards the source. "It's under the ground, there. And... I'm afraid the god might be in the shrine. THere's something there; it's bound by the taint." Never hesitant, she moves forward, seeking disturbed earth closer to the source; easier to dig up what's been dug before.
Brian [to Mahir]: Your suit's essence sight reports Wyld Essence, centered low to the ground and housed in mutated, misshapen, extra-limbed creatures within the cloud, rapidly running towards it. They have great "fanged" maws of essence low on their Charm-shaped bodies, hungry and gaping.
<> Two says "Ah hell, Exalted Lovecraft"
Ashan looks somewhat sick himself. "Hopefully dealing with the focus will free the god, too."
<> Reed says "In sand-covered R'lyeh dread Sarlacc lies dreaming."
<> Ashan says "That's what you get with raksha! ....and the Neverborn. .....and several types of Yozi."
<> Brian says "la la la ia ia ia..."
Teyv says, "Be careful Bennu, we will have to deconstruct this precisely. Each step of the corruption must be removed in order, if we are to save the sick."
Brian [to Bennu]: It's not hard to find, since you're looking. There's loose dirt behind the shrine, in an area abutting the nearby hut that was probably the priest's, in between them in an area rarely used.
Mahir drops rapidly towards the ground, racing to rejoin the rest of the group, as he tries to estimate in his head the time until the arrival of the wyld-beasts.
Bennu smiles grimly. "That may not be a good thing if it's been warped too." The Solar isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and she nods to Teyv. "Got to find it first," she says. "It's under soil." Putting deed to action, she kneels on the soil and begins to use the hands of her battle armor as scoops, lifting up soil.
Teyv leans in over Bennu, letting her do the dirty work, but poised to halt her digging if something doesn't look right to him.
Reed bristles at the Solars' words and ruffles his feathers before hopping over to the shrine's roof and peering down at the disturbed ground. "Wait, Solar," he says, dropping down to the ground in human form and putting a hand out to stop her. "Let me-- I'm protected."
Brian [to Mahir]: They'll be here in about 15 minutes, give or take.
Brian [to Bennu]: Are you letting Reed do the digging?
<> Two says "You can't trust Reed! He's one of them!"
<> Bennu says "Does he have a dog form? Maybe a badger?"
<> Reed says "Bear and otter."
<> Bennu says "Bears can dig pretty good."
Mahir rapidly approaches the group clustered around the altar. His disembodied voice floats out of empty air, "We've got a problem. The cleansing of this place will have to wait, we've got company coming in about 15 minutes and they don't look friendly. We need to get the mortals under safe cover, and quickly."
<> Reed says "I don't think he"
<> Reed says "Will take a dog form as long as the Cult's got any influence over you. Don't want them to get any ideas."
Brian [to Mahir]: Did you grab Two on the way to the Shrine? Or is he still guarding them?
Bennu chuckles. "More than I, but I am not mortal either. Still, if you wish..." she pauses as Mahir announces the incoming fight, and, spits out, "Sol Invictus blight them." She inclines her head to Reed, and comes to her feet. "I will cede the digging to you, Sorrowful Ivory Reed, in favor of smiting the unrighteous. Samun, get the troops together with their charges so they can fight together. Which direction, Mahir?"
<> Mahir says "Straight to the shrine, Two is mostly combat-ready already, but I need to get the rest of the party started in the right direction."
<> Two says "Yay for being combat ready."
Reed drops to his knees and flows into his bear's shape, smaller than most but still a hulking white-furred heap of muscle and teeth. He shoulders Bennu out of the way and extends a paw, then stops at the Night's news. "How many?"
Brian [to Mahir]: You might want to let him know at some point.
<> Mahir says "How many?"
Brian [to Mahir]: Also, you're not sure. More than five, but less than twenty.
<> Reed says "Two's all like, "Hi, mortal survivors. So that corpse over there was your dad? Wow, that sucks. Yes, I have a shiny sword. No, you can't touch it.""
<> Mahir says "And I will, shortly, although he'll probably also pick up from the shouting quick enough."
<> Two says "They can touch it."
<> Bennu says "Hey, I'm in CBA and have my defensive scenelongs up all ready. And my swords out. I'm pretty combat ready when not playing in the dirty."
Teyv says, "I'll stay to work on this. You all work to protect those who cannot help themselves. If you need me to fight, then the battle is probably already lost, though it would be quite satisfying to drop a Howl on top of whoever caused this."
Mahir gestures, "They approach rapidly from the south, maybe as few as five, as many as twenty. The dust obscures their number and their features, but I saw enough to know that they are deeply Wyld-tainted, if not simply invaders from beyond the edges of Creation."
<> Brian says "I'll assume any scenelongs and such were put up in long ticks. Quick pause--- no posing, if you please, just OOCly tell me what Charms you guys have active, or will be putting up prior to the arrival of the Wuggabuggas."
<> Mahir says "I've got wings and cloak and sight already, I'm going to complete the set with my Shield. Everything else is instants."
<> Two says "Umm. I forget which of mine are scenelongs. I should add that to the spreadsheet."
<> Bennu says "I have the Essence Sight from the armor, two miles of heads up display tactical information (=P), 5BS, and TEmptation Resisting Stance."
<> Bennu says "Conviction based at the moment."
Reed grunts and shakes his head at Teyv, but doesn't say anything.
<> Ashan says "I probably still have You and Yours up; no other Charms."
<> Ashan says "Also native Essence sight, if it matters."
<> Reed says "I'll activate the goggles for my own essence sight, and I think that's pretty much it other than instants and reflexives."
Brian [to Two]: Take a look fast. I want to know what people have going before the fight starts, just to be sure. What Charms do you have?
<> Mahir says "Have I gotten any regen since I started using my armor features? I need to figure out how much I'm down when we open."
<> Two says "Dual Slaying Stance, Balanced Dominance Stance,"
Brian [to Mahir]: It's probably been a few hours. Yeah, I'd say so.
Brian [to Two]: Check.
Brian [to Reed]: What configuration is your quicksilver squid-- I mean, aegis talisman?
<> Mahir says "So I'm only down for Sight and Shield? Close enough?"
Reed [to Brian]: Defensive.
Brian [to Mahir]: Si.
<> Brian says "Ok."
<> Brian says "Back to pose time."
<> Mahir says "Flying, invisible sniper, reporting for duty!"
<> Brian says "Thanks for clarifying, guys."
<> Two says "I need more scene longs. Dozens of them."
<> Teyv says "I have my Virtuous flame thing up and spinning."
<> Two may want to turn on essence shield.
Reed glances at Teyv. "I do not think it wise to uncover the thing while enemies are at our door. But if you wish it, I will."
<> Teyv says "It can still be in its box."
<> Reed says "I meant the thing under the shrine."
<> Reed says "The Bad Thing."
<> Reed says "You can have the flame sword out all the time, as far as I care. Just don't burn my fur."
Bennu nods in agreement with Reed and gestures south. "Let us face these things beyond the town. My tiger warriors will keep the sane survivors safe, but if we can prevent these things from feeding on the maddened ones, so much the better. Let us intercept them. She doesn't wait for responses, but just moves, heading south with the sort of ground eatting trot her CBA permits, unafraid to face the onslaught - even alone.
Ashan glances over at the direction Mahir's indicating, then nods. "I wouldn't advise it either. We'll want to deconstruct it as soon as we reveal it, in any case; we can't do that while we're fighting."
<> Bennu says "Did Mahir fly over to alert Two?"
Teyv reluctantly agrees, and with a dark look at the alter, follows Bennu and the rest towards the coming battle.
<> Mahir says "Not yet, will do now."
Reed stands on his hind legs and shakes himself, letting his bearform's loose skin shiver and contract until he stands in his sleek taloned war form. "I am behind you," he says, taking up a position at Teyv's elbow. "Let us go and destroy these things."
Mahir nods at the preparations, and flies rapidly over to Two's location to alert him to the upcoming hostilities, and to warn Bennu's warriors to keep their heads down and try to stay out of it.
<> Reed says "Outside of town is best. Don't want the mad ones to take splash damage, or join in."
Bennu laughs, calling back over her shoulder, "It might be better for you to be -before- the Twilight, as a suggestion." She turns her attention back to the distant dust cloud, both swords out as she salutes the sun overhead. "Sol Invictus, be with us as we fight!" she cries.
Two assumes she's watching Bennu run off. She listens to Mahir, looks back at the survivors, and then runs off after Bennu.
<> Bennu says "Brian's computer just froze, hold poses for the moment, plz."
Mahir moves to join the war party, flying behind the ranks, and high enough to have clear sightlines to the entire field.
Brian says, "Alrighty then! Are you guys going to rush out to intercept directly, or wait for them at the outskirts of the village."
Reed doesn't respond to the Zenith's barbs, just sticks next to his Solar and bares his teeth at any of the mad ones that don't cower in fear as they move through.
<> Bennu is going to wait, but not until she's a good long ways past the furthest out survivors. She doesn't want the mortals getting involved.
<> Mahir says "I think Bennu's got point, I'm going to wait for someone that isn't me to throw the first attack before I make them sprout arrows."
Ashan will stick close to the armored Solars, his stance loose and ready, an iron blade ready in his hand.
<> Bennu says "Hey, she's just saying Reed's better in a fight. =p"
<> Reed says "I think the outskirts; I know Teyv's got something that he wants them to run into."
<> Reed says "It sounds like she's saying that Teyv can take care of himself. :P"
<> Teyv says "I can drop as wolf howl on them as soon as they are at 100 yards. That should give them -2 on actions for a while."
<> Bennu says "The intention was that "Reed should be in front of Teyv because Teyv in front is bad.""
Two takes up a position near Bennu. She stares at the oncoming Stuff and while there is still time, moves into her martial kata.
<> Reed says "Teyv getting distracted and wandering off is bad, too. As is something coming up behind Teyv and eating him."
Brian says, "Very well. The dust cloud takes its time, but not too much, getting to where you can see them. Teyv, they have no idea that you're here, so pose casting the spell; we'll count that as being the start of combat time."
<> Reed says "But don't worry. As soon as he's safely positioned somewhere, Reed will come help you kill things."
<> Bennu says "Heh. Samun has Wolf Howl too. He's with the troops though right now."
<> Ashan says "I have no AoE, but I can Song of the Waves one of them to make it fight for us for a while."
<> Mahir says "Wolf Howl?"
<> Bennu says "First Circle attack spell. AOE bashing + crippling, IIRC."
<> Mahir says "Wheeee."
<> Ashan says "Yes."
<> Ashan says "It's a big sonic attack."
<> Bennu says "I was gonna buy that for Zillah's Dog in the Trytalia game. XD"
<> Reed says "Thunder Wolf Howl. Basic sonic AOE, makes them dizzy and debuffs their actions."
<> Mahir says "I don't have AoE yet, but a volley of Sky-Burning is enough dice to one-shot a 2nd Circle Demon. :-P"
<> Mahir says "And it's *really* hard for me to not shout BOOM HEADSHOT when I do it."
<> Reed says "Well sure, if you don't have to split the arrows between multiple targets!"
<> Reed says "He's typing."
Teyv lets the disgust at what has been done to the weak and innocent well inside of him and form into the angry howl which is the essence of this sorcery. He reaches for the center of his essence and lets loose with a physical and metal howl that crashes into the approaching mob. The furry of what comes from him takes back those around him, but they've probably never seen him really pissed off at an entity who eats the very structure of reality, particular when that reality is living and breathing.
<> Bennu says "My AOE is currently limited to 'hitting lots'."
<> Teyv says "s/metal/mental/"
<> Reed says "s/furry/fury"
<> Reed says "They've seen your furry before."
Brian [to Teyv]: Nice. Three point. ROll it.
<> Mahir says "Yeah, without an EA or AOE charm, I've only got rate 3 for now."
<> Brian says "Hey, it's Exalted."
<> Brian says "It's BORN Metal."
<> Bennu says "I figured it WAS a metal howl."
<> Teyv says "I'm not quite sure what I'm rolling."
<> Teyv says "ok, int +occult"
<> Reed says "Should be in the spell desc?"
<> Teyv rolls 13 dice: <1 3 4 4 4 5 6 7 7 7 8 8 10> for 7 successes.
<> Teyv says "so 10 bashing damage, I think."
<> Reed says "It only just occured to me that I can use Acrobat to slice all the charms out of the PDFs and make my own little reference sheet, so I'm doing that now."
<> Ashan says "Minus their bashing soak, yeah, Teyv"
<> Brian swears at his computer.
<> Brian says "It's not opening B&W Treatise for me. What are the effects of the spell?"
<> Brian says "Other than bashing damage."
<> Reed says "Hang on, I'll get it."
<> Teyv says "plus they're at -2 for 35 ticks, unless they save or something."
<> Ashan says "20-yard AoE, no defenses applicable, Essence + successes levels of bashing, minus soak"
<> Ashan says "Secondary effect: -2 dice for (Successes x 5) ticks, Essence-wielders may roll Sta+Res to reduce by 5/success"
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 1 1 2 3 7 9 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 3 4 4 4 5 6 8 10 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <2 2 4 4 5 5 8 9 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <2 4 5 6 7 7 7 8 9 10> for 7 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 9> for 2 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 2 3 4 5 7 8 10 10 10> for 8 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 3 4 5 5 7 8 9 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 1 2 2 6 6 8 9 10 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <2 2 3 3 3 5 7 9 9 9> for 4 successes.
<> Brian rolls 10 dice: <1 2 4 5 5 8 8 8 8 9> for 5 successes.
<> Reed says "What he said."
<> Reed says "It ignores armor, undeads and inanimates only get half their soak."
<> Teyv says "I think that was 10m of peripheral, so I might be sparkly, unless I should do it differently."
<> Reed says "I think they've noticed us anyway."
<> Ashan says "No, twilights should always spend peripheral for the damage reduction. XD"
<> Bennu says "Especially when 'sneaky' is a lost cause because you have three people in CBA and only one of them is a night."
Brian says, "The thundrous roar of the Thunder Wolf splits the quiet desert air. The hissing heat is blasted aside in a concussive rush, and the dust cloud clears. Rolling around in the dirt, all gangly, arthopod limbs with a wild combination of feet, pincers, hands, and paws are a series of unlikely looking horrendous creatures. Their long, segmented limbs are attached to big, lumpy, roughly spherical bodies with odd bulges and swells. Maws so gigantic you can see them from this distance cover the lower quarter of the main body, with anywhere between three to eight eyes on stalks-- hard to tell from a hundred yards. They roll about for a few seconds and then kick to a standing position. Some are dazed, some are angry, and they all begin to shout, "WUGGA! BUGGA! WIGGLE GIGGLE! Waggle goo! Sorcery's not for mortals, there's stew to do!" as they pick up the pace to run at you guys. Roll join battle; we're probably going to pause for the week and do the actual combat next time, since my computer is freezing up."
<> Ashan rolls 3 dice: <2 4 8> for 1 success.
<> Two rolls 6 dice: <1 1 6 8 8 10> for 4 successes.
Into the shattered silence left behind by the mind (and flesh) rending Howl, Bennu shouts her own defiance. "Come and die, or flee to die later, tainted spawn of the Wyld! Creation does not welcome you, and we are here to defend its boundaries." She lifts her right sword up towards the sky, reflecting sunlight across the field as she brings it back down, ready and waiting for the wave to break. Checking her heads up display, she counts their numbers and status after the effects of the spell, and take that too into account.
<> Bennu says "Stunting. :p"
Brian [to Bennu]: ... Very nice. 3-dot.
<> Bennu rolls 8 dice: <2 2 3 5 7 8 8 9> for 4 successes.
<> Reed rolls 7 dice: <2 4 4 6 6 7 7> for 2 successes.
<> Mahir rolls 8 dice: <1 1 2 2 4 4 7 7> for 2 successes.
<> Teyv rolls 5 dice: <2 2 4 7 7> for 2 successes.
<> Two says "They remind me of that one dnd monster... gibbering mouther"
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <2 2 2 2 2 3 7 9> for 2 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <2 3 4 5 5 8 9 9> for 3 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 2 2 5 6 8 8 10> for 4 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 2 3 4 6 6 8 10> for 3 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 2 2 5 7 9 10 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 3 4 5 6 7 10 10> for 5 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <3 3 4 4 5 6 7 8> for 2 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <2 2 4 7 8 9 9 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <3 5 5 7 8 8 9 10> for 6 successes.
<> Brian rolls 8 dice: <1 4 4 6 7 8 8 8> for 4 successes.
<> Mahir says "It occurs to me that I never *wrote down* which of those fancy not-quite-hearthstone things I took."
<> Ashan says "Lemme logcheck."
<> Reed says "The soulsteel one, I think."
<> Ashan says "That sounds right, yah"
<> Mahir says "Which I then slaved to my armor, which is why it's not noted."
<> Ashan says "Yar"
Two continues her kata, sliding from one position to the next, her actions encouraging proper philosophy. One blade points north, another west. Order. One thrusts, the other parries. Discpline. Both strike, slashing from the left side. Patience.
Brian says, "Okay. You guys are at 100 yards apart, so most of you are going to have to dash to get close. Order will be:
Tick 0: WB 5, 8, 9;
Tick 1: WB 6,
Tick 2: Two, Bennu, WB 3, WB 10;
Tick 3: WB2, WB 4;
Tick 4: Reed, Mahir, Teyv, WB 1, WB 7,
Tick 5: Ashan"
<> Mahir says "I forgot that you even *could* stunt Join Battle, but "The invisible sniper waits for his moment" isn't an impressive thing to describe. :-P"
Brian says, "5 xp for everyone, and I hope you guys didn't get too bored and frustrated with my muddle-headedness. :("
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