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The Waves, Ceaseless and Unending, Devour the Shore, Outside the Circle "Blast and damnation!" curses Ceaseless as the plant zombies being to overwhelm him. He clutches his protective mask tightly to his face while flailing ineffectually with his sword at the vines slowly enveloping him. "Sorry, not you Damnation, keep fighting, don't let me distract you. The armor seems to be keeping them at bay." As the engineer is buried further, he says, "Don't worry, I've got some good ideas about how to prevent this next time. Ooof! That's just rude. Note to self, reinforce weight-bearing capacity of groin armor. I hope you guys are doing better than me. Guys?" pre:Wavecleaver Daiklaive: Speed 4, Accuracy +1, Damage +5L/2, Rate: 2, Defense: +3, Tags: O
Health Levels: 0 [ ] Soak: 19B, 18L, 17A
1 [ ] [ ] [ ] Hardness: 11L, 11B
2 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Dodge DV: 5 Parry DV: 5
4 [ ] Dodge MDV: 8 Parry MDV: 4
I [ ]
Conditional:
If attacked in melee, activate Vengeful Riposte
If attack can be parried and it is known/appears to be really nasty, activate Death-Deflecting Technique
If attack can be parried and DV penalty is < -1, activate Elegant Flowing Deflection
Willpower: 10/10 Conviction: 4/4 Temperance: 1/1 Compassion: 2/2 Valor: 2/2
Personal Pool: 19/19 Peripheral Pool: 11/40 (Attuned motes: 29)
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Jan 28, 2013 01:28
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Never Within Reach -To Battle! No… Wait... YES! Never shielded her eyes as Bolt’s lightning split the heavens above their target with earthshattering force. Then she looped her bow over her shoulder, leaned against the tree trunk and laughed long and hard. The whispered voices in her mind were furious at her transgression, and more so at her reaction. But she’d done it, at long last. She’d forced them to break the silence. The long isolation was over, and only one thought, a reckless and dangerous thought, echoed through her mind. I should have defied the Masters long ago! Never looked back at the still-reeling Bolt. Her fondness for the Thunderbird leader increased ten-fold in a single instant, egged on by the screams and dire warnings in her head. If this was what it took, if this was how she got their attention… Anticipation made her hands shake. No good could come from this, she knew that, but if that was true why was she so very excited? Battle cries and the sound of vine whips snapping through the air finally made their way through to her, as the Masters abandoned her to her own thoughts once more. She blinked and looked up to find she’d missed the opening salvo and her erstwhile companions were already deep in the thick of the melee. No matter. She slipped her bow off her shoulder and raised it, looking for a likely target. Her essence reserves were still very low, so she’d have to make each arrow count. Join Battle: 1sux. WELP. I'll shoot something around tick 5. Never is still several hundred yards out from the fighting so I doubt she's under any immediate physical threat.
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Jan 28, 2013 02:08
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Daughter of Onyx & Silver Well. That's probably not good. Having seen the Thunderbirds in action, Onyx has little to no desire to face them on the battlefield. And that's a full scale of Immaculate plants. ...Hrm. Maybe it's best that she let the others know about what's going on. And then there's the weirdness with the decreased necrotic potential of the spores. The Day caste ghosts away, leaving the area somehow more noticeable than it was before she left, simply by virtue of not being there. The way back is even easier than finding the warehouse in the first place. Duck down an alley, slip past a guard, over a couple rooftops... it's fun, in a way. There are a couple of close calls, but nothing that can't be solved by either a wink and a smile, or judicious murder and clever body concealment. She takes something approximating joy in her skill, slowly starting to gauge her proximity to- "-OULD I, REGAL UNBOWED DRAGON, SUFFER THE INDIGNITY OF HAVING TO WALK MYSELF? ON SUCH UNCLEAN EARTH? drat EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!" Ah. From the volume, she had a little less than an eight of a mile to go, then. Onyx glances around to make sure no one is near enough to see what she's about to do, and then, reaches out to give reality a little... twist. Space and time fold around her, making her steps cover great bounds, effortlessly. Walls are conveniences; momentum is easier redirected than stopped. Only a gentle breeze marks her passing, though a trained sorcerer might see her ricochet off of two walls, whip around a flagpole at the end of her chain daiklave, hurl herself across the square, land, roll, leap and catch the top edge of "Unmasked Winter's" (Whose deeds, unerring, ignite Creation's passions in all things. For hers in but the nearest, and in this time of need the sweetest verse in the grand chorus terrestrial, the hallowed legacy of form and spirit whose coils preserve against all foes our history, whose claws rend to barest elements all present who oppose it, and whose eyes gaze ever up and onward to the most serene and tranquil continuation of the age of man, in Gaia's care, as passed down through the Empress (Ever May She Reign), eternal and unyielding, the line of holy dragons.) Palanquin, subsequently sliding in, to land (crouched below the windowsills) next to the Captain. Onyx's voice is soft, melodious, and barely audible, even in the litter. "Nice to see you can keep the locals occupied. We've got... potential problems. Full talon of infected Imperials guarding a warehouse full of spores and blossoms, and it looks like they're trying to steal our erstwhile elemental allies from us with a summoning circle. Spark and Bolt, specifically." Onyx frowns. "Seems like they're setting up a killbox at the end of a maze. Made of boxes, filled with blossoms and spores." She pauses for a second, recalling what else she saw. "Oh, this might come in handy. There's one of 'em that seems to be deactivating the vectors, or something. He sprinkled some powder over all the non-fuchsia blooms, and they stopped resonating with violent energy. We've got a few hours to get back to the warehouse in time to disrupt the summoning enough that they pull the birds through, but fail to bind them." There is a brief flash of fang, a sensuous flicker of tongue. "I don't know about you, but I would just hate to see what happened to someone who wasn't competent enough to bind a pair of Thunderbirds after summoning them." 3m, 1wp to activate Flashing Passage without pinging my anima. It takes me up to 220 yards in 5 ticks, invisibly. Declaring the end of my run to be inside the curtains of the lounge. PersEss: 1/19, PeriEss: 13/24, WP: 8/10
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Jan 29, 2013 02:08
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The Everlasting Butterfly of the Decadent Garden Awww, twuu luv Personal Motes: 4/19, Peripheral: 31/31, Blood-Rose: 7/7 Damnation had already moved when she tried to return to the place where they took off, so instead Butterfly directed Spark-of-Inspiration to the circle that Never had scouted out earlier. As she begins to land, she notices why. A loud crack of lightning strikes, hiding Never's shot against the orchidmen far off in the clearing Butterfly herself had made. Looks like they had decided to finish off what she started. Oh, and there was Never and Bolt in a tree. Kay eye ess ess eye en gee. "♪Some-one's in-nn trou-ble..."
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Jan 29, 2013 02:57
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Last Damnation of Atlantis - Vegetable Preparation A low grumble emits from the masked first mate. "Bloody 'ell, can these zombies not hear me when my mask's on?" While parrying various vines and limbs with his daiklave, he rips the death's head mask off of his face and immediately begins to bellow. The grog-soaked pirate's baritone echoes across the jungle. "Ceaseless! I'll not have you being injured by ninnies of this caliber! They're plants! I can't afford you needing to recuperate before the battle with Koko'Ino because you were injured by an angry tree!" Damnation looked backwards and then saw two groups of plants descending on Watcher. He sighed. "It's the duty of the first mate to be everywhere and secure everything at once, I suppose." First, while defending himself, he orders the three cadres of sharks to rally to Ceaseless's position. "Your orders are to free the engineer and dismember all plant-creatures attacking him. Get it done, or there'll be no chum for you tonight!" While he was yelling, a vine tentacle wrapped itself around the wrist of his left hand. "The sheer impudence! I'll break you in half, twig-man!" Tick Zero: Spend 3m of personal essence to use Vengeful Riposte against the group attacking me. Order sharks to execute 2 attacks per stack against the creatures grappling Ceaseless. Vengeful Riposte: 19d10x7 8 Despite his cutting aggressively amidst the plant-men, Damnation cannot take his eyes off of the two groups bearing down on the captain. "Coming, sir!" He tries sticking out his wrist as he did the first time. Again, a viney tentacle latches on to his soulsteel gauntlet. "Perfect!" Spinning around with surprising grace, he jerks the plant man in question towards him and chops the tentacle off around the twenty-five foot mark. He sprints, jumping off the body and wrapping the vine around a nearby branch. In the rear, towards the circle, Watcher notices the sky darken, something blotting out the entire sun. Upon closer examination, it's a circle about twenty feet in diameter, a black and silver disc moving through the air. As the whirling dervish hits the earth, the limbs and heads and torsos of the plant creatures turn into a fine mist of pollen and plant fibers. Tick 1: Unfurling Iron Lotus vs. two groups near Watcher Unfurling Iron Lotus 1: 19d10x7 8 Unfurling Iron Lotus 2: 19d10x7 11 Finding his way through the carnage, the captain spies an armored figure fishing through the debris and corpses for an object that seems to resemble a plate. On top lies an assortment of finely chopped leaves, buds, and various other jungle sundries. The first mate playfully tosses the lot of it into Watcher's face. "You ordered salad, captain?" His mask cleared of plant debris, Damnation reaffixes it and turns to face the remaining foes. COMBAT BLOCK posted:
MiltonSlavemasta fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Jan 29, 2013 |
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Jan 29, 2013 22:23
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Never Within Reach -Pew Pew Pew Butterfly’s teasing song came as somewhat of a shock to Never. She had been so wrapped up in the decision that she hadn’t realized how many witnesses were around. Apparently Watcher’s little display of crazy hadn’t been enough of a distraction. “I’d say… that it was worth the price of admission.” she quipped back to Butterfly with a good degree more smugness than she normally exhibited. “Wouldn’t you?” she tilted her head back to smile at Bolt. He probably wouldn’t understand but she had no real desire to explain the wrath of the Masters to him until it became necessary. She looked back at the battlefield in time to see Damnation’s whirling dive. That man had enough style to give her goose bumps. Well, she didn’t have enough energy left to be quite that flashy but she had enough skill to make up for it. Well, skill and a just a pinch of cheating. “Butterfly! Toss me the antimony!” Never called down. A small glass jar was lobbed up into the tree. She caught it and knelt on the branch. She clenched her hand in the air and a brace of sleek black arrows formed in her fist. Quickly she plunged the bundle headfirst into the wood, retrieving one. She twirled it lightly between her fingers, testing the make. Satisfied, she dipped it into the pasty grey-red goo in the jar and took aim. The plant men did not have the traditional weak places like eyes and hearts or even normal joints that she could shoot for, so she’d have to get creative. She chose one out of the bunch attacking Ceaseless and began to test. One in the head, one in the chest, the belly, each leg at knee and ankle… As her chosen dummy filled up with arrows it became clear to her that the arrow to the abdomen had done by far the most damage, which was curious given the thing’s lack of guts to impale. With a target in mind now, she ran the brace of arrows out by plunging the poison-tipped black bolts into enemy bellies one after another. Dex+Arch= 4 sux, ugh. Splinters of the Void arrows(1m) + Bloodthirsty Arrow(2m) for -1DV. pre:Power Longbow: (vs living target, +2 acc+2 damage) Speed 6, Accuracy +1, Damage +3L, Rate 3, Range 350, Tags: 2,B,O Target Arrow: Strength +0L as base damage, Piercing, treat lethal soak of armor as half true value rounded down when damage is applied. Antimony-Laced: ??? Bloodthirsty Arrow: -1DV Motes Remaining: 1 pers, 0 periph mistaya fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 02:43
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Revenge of the Lawnmower Man Damnation's acrobatic leap is followed closely by the bounding pack of orchid-men. As he scythes into the two groups trying to flank Watcher, his aggressors give chase and strike at him with furious speed and force; springing forward in unison and slamming into him from multiple angles, they leave a nasty dent in his armor. Undaunted, he hews left and right, carving a path to his captain. The weeds fall like...well, like weeds, his blade heavy with their sap. So, in the interest of keeping things moving quickly, introducing another rule to stacks: any stack composed of mooks has the active health levels of its members divided by three and rounded down; a stack of extras, therefore, has one health level per member, whereas Watcher's zombie sharks have three per. I'm not linking all the damage rolls because that would be an exercise in masochism; suffice to say, Damnation just took out over a quarter of the enemy in one action. 2-die stunt. Also, although they failed to do any damage, the stack attacking Damnation got 16 sux on 12 dice  Goddamn Orokos, you need to see someone about them mood swings.Watcher gleefully accepts the challenge of keeping the orchids away from the circle by tearing them limb from limb with his shark-mawed hands. Meanwhile, the more proactive of the undead piscines lay into the pack attempting to savage Ceaseless; in short order, they've messily devoured the ones holding the Midnight. Frantic, the orchidmen launch a counterattack on the beasts, and indeed manage to grab hold of one from multiple angles and pull it apart...right before Never's volley skewers them, rupturing the vulnerable cluster of sap-laden vines in their midriffs and exposing them to the concentrated cure. In short order, the last of that particular pack withers and dies. Watcher takes down five more mooks with doubleshark hands. 1-die stunt - have 2m. Zombie sharks and orchid pack 2 mix it up, with the sharks losing one and the orchids losing more than that. Never's shot wounds them, and the poison finishes them off before their next action - agg damage is a hell of a thing. 1-die stunt for Never. With over half their number dead or dying, the remainder of the orchidmen gather together. This is not a tactically ideal position - it places them directly between Watcher and Damnation, forcing them to split their attention. They move closer and closer, pinned between the two Deathknights... One of the gimmicks these guys have is that if two or more stacks are adjacent, they can reflexively destack and restack - normally, breaking with or joining a stack is a miscellaneous action. ...and then inhale. There's a horrible sucking sound as they draw in air through their exposed vines, swelling their torsos grotesquesly, and then violently expel a cloud of greenish pollen. The good news is, this stuff doesn't seem to be infectious. The bad news is, it loving burns. Last ditch attack - the mooks put out an environmental hazard, damage 4L/Action (soakable only with natural soak, not armor), Trauma 3. Success on a Diff 3 Stamina+Resistance roll downgrades the damage to Bashing; success by five or more negates it entirely. Watcher and Damnation are exposed, everyone else is too far away. Turn Order posted:0: Plants (acted) Hostile Work Environment The fireblood trembles before Unbowed Dragon's furious diatribe, bowing and offering a steady stream of apologies throughout. His guards meekly stand back, evidently hoping not to get involved...or at least, to give the appearance of normality by shrinking from such brazen rudeness. Wyrm: At least a few of those bows are masking subtle twinges of pain, although nothing so extreme as happened during the lightning strike earlier. Furthermore, halfway through the rant, the bureaucrat pauses ever-so-slightly before resuming his groveling. So busy is he that he completely fails to notice the sudden reappearance of a certain passenger in Unmasked Winter's litter. Onyx arrives just in time to catch the very end of it. "But of course, I intended no offense," the official hurriedly explains. "I am quite certain that we can expedite all of the necessary paperwork, although it will take some time for specimens from all five tribes to be gathered; even we cannot change that. Nevertheless, we shall endeavor to see to it that none leave Petraya unsatisfied with our hospitality. Please, allow me to show you to your townhouse. Onyx: Every single thing the fireblood says is completely and factually true. NOBODY chooses their words that carefully without a reason - something's up here. The building that has been selected as worthy of such luminaries as Unmasked Winter and the Count of Juche is perched atop a gentle hill some ways away from the waterfront, an edifice of marble no doubt imported at great expense. The style is late-Shogunate, although the lack of weathering suggests that the construction itself is not. The interior is nothing short of palatial - grand halls, scented oil lamps, drapery of black velvet, along with the throw pillows on the expensive hardwood furniture. The walls are tiled in a polished green mineral which Poem helpfully identifies as malachite, and the lighting is perpetually just barely enough to see by. Along with the numerous founts and pools (indoor plumbing? gently caress yes!), the decor serves, probably quite deliberately, to give the impression of an enchanted, undersea grotto. The master bedroom and guest quarters are on the highest of the three floors, with bay windows of lead crystal overlooking the town and the ocean; the view really is quite lovely. Add in the fully-stocked minibar, and this place is giving even the Envoy a serious run for its money. Sadly, there are no heavy weapons in evidence, but you can't have everything. Yet, anyways.
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Jan 30, 2013 05:37
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Watcher at the Gates of Sorrow The admiral-cum-mad scientist roars as the acidic spores begin to infiltrate his system. Both arms rise up in a show of rage and defiance, as if through pure willpower his skeletal might could resist even the worst these plants could dish out. He chuckles darkly as the pain fades and pure instinct takes over. He doesn't need his eyes for this slaughter; the plant-men act as one, and once he has tasted blood, it always plays out the same way; his prey attempt to shake off the razor-sharp teeth, only damaging their soft flesh further. Another mouth darts in from an unexpected side, throwing the now-limp body a few feet in the air. Stunned, the delirious seal or fish can only watch and feel in horror as increasingly large chunks are ripped away. That this happens in the steamy jungle, against foes resembling a manatee's diet than a shark's, is no matter; there is no fundamental difference between these and a delicious sea turtle, or a human swimmer. Watcher's mouth begins to salivate at the thought, which would be much more disturbing if he didn't have fangs for just that purpose. And so Watcher rampages on, his eyes closed, smashing apart what later turns out to be mostly trees and foliage--it turns out that while the instincts might be quite effective, they have no way of distinguishing between enemy plants and the rest of the plants in the jungle. pre:Health Levels Soak* DV -0 O Bash 18 Parry 6 -1 OO Lethal 13 Dodge 10/11 -2 for flurrying -2 OO Agg 11 MDV 8/3 (DDV/PDV, +App mod) -4 O Hard 11L/11B Incapacitated OOOO Essence 3 PersEss: 16/19 PeriEss: 33/37 (4 committed) Will 8/10 D-d-d-DOUBLESHARK Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 10L, Defense +2, Rate 3, Tags: N If attacked by something scarier yet, using Heart of Darkness(6m) to boost up to 14/15 (if needed a second time to 17/18, as it hits dice caps then). Again, scene long. OldMidgetWillow fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 06:34
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The Waves, Ceaseless and Unending, Devour the Shore, Outside the Circle "Ah ha!" exclaims Ceaseless as he leaps to his feet after being freed from the pile of plant zombies. "The problem is that the footing is too stable!" Taking in the cloud of acidic fog and the tools at hand, the engineer quickly forms a plan. "You gentlem...er...gentlesharks, gather round," orders the Midnight as he gestures the shark zombies to surround him. "Good, good, now lift me up. There we go, excellent, keep me right at this height. Now make a sort of rowboat shape. Hmm, you move a little to the left. Oh, no. Never mind, good enough. Shark zombie rowboat, charge!" shouts Ceaseless, pointing his daiklaive in the direction of the remaining plant zombies. The engineer keeps his feet above the acid cloud waves as he leans over the shark zombie gunwales to slash enthusiastically and somewhat wildly at any plant zombies that come within reach. I did not include my melee specialty of "At Sea" in the roll, I'll let you make the call on that one. Also I have no idea how long it takes to put this plan into action. pre:Wavecleaver Daiklaive: Speed 4, Accuracy +1, Damage +5L/2, Rate: 2, Defense: +3, Tags: O, -2 to enemy soak (bracers)
Health Levels: 0 [ ] Soak: 19B, 18L, 17A
1 [ ] [ ] [ ] Hardness: 11L, 11B
2 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Dodge DV: 5 Parry DV: 5
4 [ ] Dodge MDV: 8 Parry MDV: 4
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If attacked in melee, activate Vengeful Riposte
If attack can be parried and it is known/appears to be really nasty, activate Death-Deflecting Technique
If attack can be parried and DV penalty is < -1, activate Elegant Flowing Deflection
Willpower: 10/10 Conviction: 4/4 Temperance: 1/1 Compassion: 2/2 Valor: 2/2
Personal Pool: 16/19 Peripheral Pool: 11/40 (Attuned motes: 29)
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Jan 30, 2013 08:54
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Daughter of Onyx & Silver The Day caste's ears twitch at the fireblood's words. She murmurs gently in Unmasked Winter's (Whose deeds, unerring, ignite Creation's passions in all things. For hers in but the nearest, and in this time of need the sweetest verse in the grand chorus terrestrial, the hallowed legacy of form and spirit whose coils preserve against all foes our history, whose claws rend to barest elements all present who oppose it, and whose eyes gaze ever up and onward to the most serene and tranquil continuation of the age of man, in Gaia's care, as passed down through the Empress (Ever May She Reign), eternal and unyielding, the line of holy dragons.) ear, out of sight of all others. "Everything he said is completely, factually true." Onyx pauses to consider possible implications, before pinching the bridge of her nose and letting out a small sigh of exasperation. "They're not going to let us leave until we're infected, are they?" Per conversation with Thes, I'm getting back 8m (2m from stunt, 6m from eating folks who managed to catch a glimpse of Onyx). Whee!
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Jan 30, 2013 16:52
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Jackal gives a sadistic and ferocious smile at the official's pathetic excuses. It was always amusing to berate and mistreat those lesser than him, which in Jackal's opinion, included literally all of creation. "Now that is the sort of deference that I, Regal Unbowed Dragon, want to see. Very well then! As long as you make it quick to produce the chattel, we are satisfied. You will be pleased to know that our generosity is as great as our wrath, so depending on how well my beloved wife and myself are treated, it will be retributed ten times over to you and this pitiful little island. Now forward, to our accommodations!" Townhouse As the Moonshadows and their escorts arrive at their temporary marble residence, the fake nobleman sneers as he examines the lodgings, stepping on a carrier's head as he descends from his lounge and gets on the floor. "Truly, a shack compared to our Palace in the Blessed Isle, but it must be the best one can expect in such a primitive place. Oh, my beloved Unmasked Winter (whose deeds one cannot repeat for they are absurdly long), what do you make of this shameful excuse for an edifice? Be warned, fools, that if she disapproves of it, I, Regal Unbowed Dragon, shall have incomparable punishments and unmeasurable misery inflicted to every living creature in this archipelago, with Gaia and all of the gods of Yu-Shan as my witnesses! For nothing short of perfection is needed to the absolute appreciation and comfort that the two of us require in order to be pleased." He says in an imperious tone while heading to the minibar, opening it and looking for a beverage. "By all that is unholy, if there's no Gin here I, Regal Unbowed Dragon, am going to rip someone's testicles with my own hands."
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Jan 30, 2013 18:23
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Last Damnation of Atlantis - Plant Battle "Poisonous Gas? These ripe bastards have got to be taking me for a loop. I'll cut yer poisonous gas right in half, I will!. There's bigger and better things to be done today. We've marched all the way from the east side of the bloody island, found nothing of interest, including this damned piece of poo poo plant patrol, and I'll execute you all if we don't succeed in our primary mission! We're here to rescue Koko'Ino whether she wants it or not. In a few minutes, the only ones left here will be my retainers unimportant enough to be put on duty to burn and salt these bodies. Just a sandbar! Just a minor sandbar in the way of my plan is all!" Despite the seemingly absurd things Damnation was saying, his blade didn't falter one bit. A few moments later, he emerged from a neatly drawn circle in the gas, not coughing in the least. It appeared there lay a characteristic wake of carnage behind him. Damnation used Unfurling Iron Lotus once again (2x post soak damage) after using the reflexive stocked parry from Fluttering Moth Defense to "parry" the gas. Unfurling Iron Lotus vs Big Stack (2x Postsoak): 19d10x7 10 Never Within Reach: <Watcher has informed me the Circle is of the utmost importance, and its existence, our knowledge of its existence, its purpose, and other things he cannot share with me cannot fall into the hands of our enemy. If these plants can still relay information to the main hive, it is necessary for them to have a plausible explanation as to why we are in this part of the jungle. If we had landed on the eastern side of the island, this would be in our path to Koko'Ino. Therefore, I have concocted a mission consisting of kidnapping her before the Realm arrive and ransom to her supervisor, Watcher's friend Siakal. No one can be allowed to speak of our true mission or the Circle in front of the plants. I can only relay this information to you because of our telepathic link. It may be helpful to inform anyone you can while the plants are still at range.> <And yes, this consists of me getting them to set a trap for me and then walking in.> Thes: Don't know if rolling to convince the hive of my blatherings is a thing, but will use Presence Excellency on it. COMBAT BLOCK posted:
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Jan 31, 2013 09:34
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Unmasked Winter - Sown softly on the purest hearth, the better that she may take swift root and in such divine embrace hold fast the world against the storm, the deeper that it may nourish with the timeless soul and substance of almighty Gaia from whose graces all life springs, the sooner that she may burst forth with all the world her witness in full bloom, the higher that this peak of seasons may thus ascend in celebration of all life, in all lands, under the kind and righteous hearts of Gaia's chosen warriors as united by The Scarlet Empress (Ever May She Reign) Wyrm is quite distracted from the sympathetic torture of the customs officer by a much nearer tormented soul who's had the courtesy to crawl into her lap. Not quite so from the mission. News of the creatures' little hive sing praises of Wyrm's prior insights into their prey. Hide, harass, ambush, and when pressed in earnest flee to better ground to fight again. She'd chased her share of vermin from their holes in Thorns. This will be fun. The colour-coded poisoning indeed stands out. She recalled vaguely from Butterfly's reports that the colouration of a Chakra Orchid indicated the individual's particular breed, and with a rank and role within the structure of the hive. To make all but one fall silent serves some purpose. Indeed, are these specially treated seeds slain or merely dormant? Another piece has entered play. She is, as always, pleased to see a comrade recognize opportunity for action. Her breathless words are quite easily read, "Indeed, you don't know me. Since they've put so much work into building their funeral pyre I'd love to see it put to use. We will leave quite satisfied." Vila There is much shifting and shuffling and otherwise disembarking of things before the litter is set down. The attendant in white stands ready aside its door, the remaining four surround him, each opposite their antipode. Far afield, the household staff find their rush to take up the former burdens of the haulers intercepted. In the service of nobility, one learns to hold dearly to a higher standard. It is a world where any less than excellence is tantamount to atrocity. Here stands one who has found a service under par, one who will shortly take matter into her own hands. "Leave." Within the litter, Wyrm silently rebriefs The Daughter. "When they are gone, you will determine the degree of our privacy. Make note of prying ears and eyes. Make way for unexpected guests. When we've a measure of our foes, then we shall plan our moves." In no hurry to depart, Wyrm grants Poem ample time to clear the place of weeds.
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Jan 31, 2013 23:43
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Never Within Reach -Relaying Information <Is it still a trap when you've instructed them where and how to build it?> Never laughed softly as the last plant fell. <Perhaps we should leave Watcher and Butterfly here to deal with the circle while the rest of us go pay a visit to this godling.> Never capped the little pot of poison and dropped out of the tree. She handed it back to Butterfly, who stowed it away carefully. "Damnation is doing something reckless." She told the doctor, (and the thunderbirds and the shaman) repeating what he'd said about telling the plants that they were here to kidnap and ransom Koko'Ino to Siakal. "So, the question is... What is so desperately important about this spot?" She gestured at the circle of blackened ground. "Do you know anything about it, old man?"
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Feb 1, 2013 20:26
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Weed-Whacker Hacking and slashing over the edge of the gunwales (gunsharks?), Ceaseless crowd-surfs his way through the acid fog and into the mob of plant-things. Valiant effort though he makes, he manages only to clip a few petals from their "scalps" as the sharks carry him clear through the crowd to the other side of the deforested swath. 2-die stunt just barely allows a hit, but these dice just aren't loving you. No damage. Watcher finds that he may have set the doubleshark's aggression levels just a touch too high; gnashing and snapping with wild and indiscriminate abandon, its teeth catch on a low-hanging branch and pull the daybreak up and along with it as it chews the tree to wood chips. 1-die stunt, but still a miss. Enough of this clowning around. Damnation's first swing passes cleanly through the cloud of caustic pollen. In its wake, a half-circle of jet-black nothingness hangs suspended, a wound in the fabric of creation itself. The air whorls and churns around this void, spiraling into the tear and dragging the miasma out of this or any other world. Stepping into the gap left by the slash, the Dusk swipes low, severing three of the creatures at the waist. His follow-through cuts the legs out from under two more, then tilts high again. Twirling the greatsword about as if it were nothing more substantial than a fencing blade, he hews arms and legs and heads and splits one down the middle as if he were chopping firewood on a block... When all is said and done, he finds that he's left not a one to actually hear his attempt at misdirection. 12 levels of damage is exactly enough to finish the last of the mooks. Congratulations: the fight is over!  Going In Circles "Damnation is doing something reckless." She told the doctor, (and the thunderbirds and the shaman) repeating what he'd said about telling the plants that they were here to kidnap and ransom Koko'Ino to Siakal. "Risky," Bolt agrees, "but a good way to draw them out of hiding - no matter whose side Koko'Ino's on, they won't be able to ignore this." He nods approvingly. "I'm down for luring them out; this hide-and-seek bullshit is getting old, fast. 'Course, there's no way she didn't hear that lightning strike, so we really are going to have to deal with her." Bolt shrugs. "Eh. Sooner's better than later." There's a sort of absence to the thunderbird's words. Their meaning is unambiguous, but his tone and the way he looks at Never suggest that his thoughts are still lagging about a minute behind the course of the conversation. A minute, and counting. "So, the question is... What is so desperately important about this spot?" She gestured at the circle of blackened ground. "Do you know anything about it, old man?" Voice-of-Ages approaches the copse that hides the circle. Each step is slower than the last; as he draws near, his limbs begin to tremble. Pulling aside the foliage for an instant to peer at the circle, he rapidly draws back. When he turns around, the Deathknights can swear there are wrinkles and creases on his face that weren't there before, and the fingertips of the hand he used to brush aside the leaves are a deep purple, as if frostbitten. "A great and terrible magic was worked here," he announces stoically. "More than that, I cannot say. I am sorry; this is a mystery beyond my wisdom." Shaman rolls 2 sux to know about the circle. He can tell you that it's necromancy, and powerful necromancy at that, but that's about it. Nuestra Casa es Tu Casa Sorry, another placeholder. Port crew will get an update when MadcapViking posts some sleuthing rolls - your choice of Per+Awareness or Per+Investigate.
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Feb 2, 2013 03:54
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The Everlasting Butterfly of the Decadent Garden I don't need to walk around in circles walk around in circles walk around in circles walk around in Personal: 4 --> 0/19, Peripheral: 31 --> 21/31, Blood-Rose: 7 --> 6/7, Willpower: 9 --> 7/10; Anima: Dark Aura Agh! Never was taking it in stride! That completely ruined the fun of ruining her and Bolt's moment. And he seemed to be enjoying her teasing too. "Hmph. Fine then, I won't tell anyone but I'm sure they know already." However, when it was clear that Never was involved with sniping the orchidmen she sliced and diced and dropped tress on earlier, Butterfly stayed quiet and let the Day caste do her job, only supplying the poisonous antimony to help out. Although she couldn't help but be pretty concerned for Bolt who was looking way too out of it. Dammit Never, just what did you do to him? Int+Med on the pretty birdy: 10d10x7 11 ...evidently she really did not want to know. Eww. You two have wings, get a cloud or something. Butterfly perks up and gets out of doctor mode when Never starts relaying more information from Damnation. Well, trying her magic would always be a bit more interesting on a goddess than something more fleshy. Then the old man investigates the circle, but it seems to be doing things to him as well. Necromancy. The man was too mortal to be toying with these forces. She wasn't. "I'll take a look...but I fear for your safety. You shouldn't stand so close, less an unnatural death settle upon you." Butterfly said, kneeling down at the circle. As she traced her fingers around it, it definitely was a summoning circle of some kind. Although she wasn't adept with summoning sorcery, there were the notes from Xulan's journal and she had discussed the theory with Loren on it. She could easily identify this for what it was. However, that was sorcery. This was different. This was closer to her. This was necromancy. So the circle was placed to summon something undead from the Underworld, but what? Certainly not one of Voice-of-Ages ancestors, there was too much in the surrounding area to be something small. No, this certainly had to be something more. This circle was certainly for summoning something great and powerful. But what, and how recently? Was a ghost or some other undead horror roaming the island? If it was out and about, it could be risky to keep it keep it around or it could get infected with the Orchid and enslaved by that horrific mockery of Death. She would have to know what was summoned to save it. As Butterfly stared into the circle, her anima began to appear, starting with the bruise of internal bleeding before breaking out and cutting through her skin. The corrupted half-sun of the Twilight inverted into Daybreak. From the blood came darkness, surrounding Butterfly. She pressed her fingers to her forehead, wiping the blood on her fingertips. A single petal from her blood rose dropped and fell on her extended hand, spreading it further with her own blood. Then once more she traced the circle, spreading the darkness around her. With her magic she reached into the circle, trying to mix it's power with her own. Reveal your secrets to me. Int+Occ+Compasion and 2nd-Ex with WP. "I'a Cthulhu! I'a Dagon!": 14d10x7+6 12 EDIT: Using Anima Power too for 3 more sux. Krysmphoenix fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 2, 2013 06:17
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Watcher at the Gates of Sorrow Bright green leaves fall all around him, as if a blizzard had gone through the jungle. Watcher stands silently for a moment or two, simply enjoying the ichor dripping off his jaw-hands. Out of the corner of his eye he notices Butterfly poking around the circle. No...it's too soon... "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" The admiral drops into a dead run, tackling his fellow scientist to the ground in the slim hope of silencing her before she says anything damning. No matter the cost. There was a time for being a supportive leader, and there was a time to rip off the mouth of your compatriot because they might know sensitive information before it was ready for sharing. Anything to complete the job. Channeling Conviction. We'll see how this goes. I was going to try to do a Crippling sorta thing but I would be content with Clinch sorta stuff keeping her from talking. OldMidgetWillow fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 2, 2013 06:33
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The Everlasting Butterfly of the Decadent Garden Personal: 0 --> 4/19, Peripheral: 21/31, Blood-Rose: 6/7, Willpower: 7/10; Anima: Dark Aura (2-die stunt, mote refund.) "No..." "That...can't be..." Butterfly Empty whispered, her body trembling. Shadow "If that's... Death I... We..." She wiped away her Blood tears with her Sanguine hands, only spreading blood all over her face, Lacrima streaking further by her tears. Zombie. "JEKINS!" She cried out, looking around her. Pallor "Jenkins...I need you..." Rigor She tried to reach out, but Livor collapsed onto the ground. Algor "Please... please..." Mortis Under this tree, die, Feast in the Netherworld. Flawless Nirvana... Also shame on you for reading this so I'm going to mentally torture you. DavidmotherfuckingBowie Krysmphoenix fucked around with this message at 07:12 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 2, 2013 07:09
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Watcher at the Gates of Sorrow While he has a precious few seconds before someone else tackles him or slices his throat, Watcher takes the opportunity to whisper quietly in Butterfly's ear: "I must assume that you now know what happened here; I could feel the power in your searching eyes. Now you know my burden, or at least part of it--and you know how important it is to not let this information spread any further. More than just our lives depend on...many entities only learning of this at the proper time. Can I trust your discretion?"
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Feb 2, 2013 07:12
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The Everlasting Butterfly of the Decadent Garden Watching the Watcher Personal: 4/19, Peripheral: 21/31, Blood-Rose: 6/7, Willpower: 7/10; Anima: Dark Aura Butterfly tries to quiet herself, yet a few sobs break through as she considers what he said. "For now," she simply replied, turning away from him.
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Feb 2, 2013 07:24
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Last Damnation of Atlantis - Not In My Crew Clank. Clank. Clank. Brush crunches underfoot as the first mate follows his captain. Butterfly had been left alone with the circle, and this could be assumed to be Watcher's reason for panicking. If Watcher had received his own information from the Neverborn not to be shared, fine. Those are his orders and it is up to his discretion. However, Butterfly is from another boat and if she cannot be trusted to reveal her own independent findings, there exists the possibility that Watcher has gone rogue and is using the crew for his own purposes. That, or he is so paranoid he cannot reveal his discoveries with the rest of the group. While Damnation did say he would accept Watcher's guidance on this matter, he appears to be going rather far. Clank. Clank. Clank. The resounding voice of the first mate echoes throughout the jungle. "I tire of these shenanigans. We are not on your boat, Watcher, we do not even all serve on your boat, and you and I are of at least equal standing in the Deathlord's eyes. My reputation as a loyal Death Knight is written in the blood of the defenders of Thorns, the countless Lookshayan opponents whose blood I have drank and whose bones I have crushed beneath my boots. Perhaps you have been ordered not to tell me something, fine. The word of my earlier agreement stands. However, I cannot carry out my orders while you are snuggling with Butterfly like Never and Bolt." Clank. Clank. Clank. Butterfly and Watcher are greeted with the image of an imperious, incensed, and indefatigable armor-clad Agent of Death wearing a Mask in the style of Mask of Winters himself, calmly holding a sword taller than either of them. "Captain, you requested me devise a plan that would keep attention away from your damnable circle. I have put this plan into motion. If we delay, we may all die. This plan requires you release Butterfly to accompany me to the stockade. You may remain here with your shark-men and fawn over your little necromantic curiosity as much as you desire, but you have given me orders, and I intend to carry them out. Release our fellow death knight at once, allow her to tell me whatever she deems necessary, and things can stay entirely amicable between all of us." Damnation could be deadly serious or wildly grinning. The eyes and smile of his mask permanently reflect both.
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Feb 2, 2013 07:39
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Watcher at the Gates of Sorrow The admiral waits a few seconds, staring at Damnation, before releasing Butterfly--just to make clear that he was not intimidated by the little display. "I am in this not acting as captain of a ship, but as someone who does not wish us all to die messy deaths. While she is not yet fully aware of the scope of the problem, she knows enough to keep silent; that is all I look for, for now." He gives the scientist and sorcerer a respectful nod. "We will talk later, in a safer location--there are some things about the situation with my...uncle...that you still need to know before making any decisions about informing the rest of the crew."
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Feb 2, 2013 07:52
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The Waves, Ceaseless and Unending, Devour the Shore, Outside the Circle Ceaseless arrives aboard his zombie shark craft in time to hear enough of Damnation's speech and Watcher's response to get the idea of the situation's seriousness. Unseen by the others as they focus on each other, the Midnight's eyes narrow briefly in frustration. Then he leans back in his unstable seat and drawls, "Captain, if we're going to march all the way to the stockade, I'm keeping this lot on duty as ship's second boat. We all know the ship's second boat is the proper command of the engineer, seeing as the mate commands the ship's first boat." "Damnation, while we walk, would you be so kind as to inform us as to our expected part in your plan of distraction? Oh, and toss me up a stick about so long," he gestures about five feet, "will you? This boat doesn't steer worth a drat. I think it needs a better tiller to get the message across to the oars."
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Feb 2, 2013 08:09
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Never Within Reach -Annoyed Never's right eye twitched under the monocle. Her stock and trade was information, and now it was being withheld from her. It was irritating. She had been nearly completely honest with all of them for the entire mission, handing out knowledge as if it were free and not paid for with hard work and essence. Besides that Watcher had assaulted Butterfly, who was Never's shipmate and one of the few individuals who had given her comfort in recent times. The little doctor was too distraught to be upset with, and Never would not stand to see her suffer under that shark-clad monster. She twanged the bowstring with one finger and the sound echoed through the clearing with a quiet menace. "Captain Watcher, I will not tolerate another act of aggression on my shipmate." She shouldered the bow to help Butterfly back to her feet. A handkerchief was retrived from a dress pocket and Never calmly wiped the blood from Butterfly's face. She did not smile, she was too angry. Damnation: <I have little tolerance for this silent treatment. If we are to deal with the godling we should do so now. The longer I can keep Butterfly from Watcher's glare the more likely I can discover what in Creation they've unearthed here.> mistaya fucked around with this message at 09:07 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 2, 2013 09:03
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Spawn of the Devouring Wyrm - Vila With the most obvious eyes of her enemy driven off and her borrowed set loose upon the countryside, Wyrm is left to contemplate the nature of the hunt. Though the enemy offends all aspects of her being, she cannot help but appreciate its potential use in war. Not for anything so superficial as its physical prowess or capacity to consume what defeats, but for its supreme mastery of communication. For a force spread over such a space to coordinate with the same intuitive speed of reason and reaction with which one governs their own fingertips is without doubt an achievement. Although, of course, she had already seen the consequences of such intimate harmony of mind and body. It is little surprise it prefers to hide. Were it forced to fight in earnest and in scale, the shared horror a thousand bodies wounded, dying, and dead may well wholly snap the vital spirit of the hive. Could such a thing, struck down with all its parts in such great anguish, find the will between its great mass of shattered souls to defy the wheel and rise again? In this, Wyrm finds the will to rise from her seat. This time she shall not be serenaded out of action. She erupts from the Litter in a great whirl of silken gowns, eyes alight with excitement as she draws her first deep breath of the manor's atmosphere. Auling is caught in her wake, dragged into open as the crew rush into formation around them. She sifts through the subtle traces of the world around her, setting aside the familiar pulse of terror from her faithful servants, the primal heat and vital innocence of her terrestrial companions, the ethereal chill of her fellow undead. She sifts through the scents of salt and sweat and stone, the taste of all the worldly delights this place prepared to entertain her, seeking out the sweetest prize of all - The spark of hidden life. The unmistakable perfume of her enemy. The hunt is on. Buying Awareness up to 4 for 8xp. Hunting for traces of life within the building. Personal 5/16 Will 7/10
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Feb 2, 2013 18:21
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Watcher at the Gates of Sorrow The old man does not reply for a few second, the stony silence answering for him. After a while, though, he speaks up. "Someone might think that if everyone that finds out about a piece of information is turned into a shivering wreck, and they will do whatever it takes to keep their comrades from finding out, that maybe those people are protecting the others." He keeps his voice low, but the bitterness with which he says this last is audible to all. "Someone might also think that a person so upset about an ally assaulting a crewmate without the intention of hurting them would be a hypocrite if she didn't apologize for her own captain doing the same, for far less of a cause."
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Feb 2, 2013 18:24
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Never Within Reach "Do not speak of 'someone's as if they are not present, Captain Watcher. I am not reduced to gibbering when the Masters speak their will, and I do not require your protection. What Captain Wyrms does is her own affair and none of mine, and I will make no apologies for an event that occurred while I was miles distant over open ocean. I do not expect Damnation to apologize for your behavior, sir, though we both find it vexing to the extreme. For that matter I do not expect you to apologize for it. I do expect you to refrain from laying hands on my shipmate again, because I do not believe you for an instant when you claim you had no intention of causing her harm, had she chosen not to obey your order of silence." Never pointedly stared at Watcher's shark-gauntlets, which had been far too close to Butterfly's vitals for comfort. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a jade daiklaive. It would be simple to take Damnation's path and let Watcher have the last word. That was what he craved. But there was a stubborn streak in her that wasn't willing to back down from this. Once there was a woman, a strong right hand, who crushed her enemies beneath her boots... The memories were always disjointed, without context. Tidepools of isolated emotion and thought that washed away within seconds.
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Feb 2, 2013 22:00
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A Little Knowledge... Spark-of-Inspiration looks from the ashen-faced Watcher, to the stricken Butterfly, to the copse hiding the circle, and begins to shuffle in the ring's general direction. Bolt holds an arm out to bar his comrade's way, shaking his head, then steps forward and helps Watcher to his feet. "Look," he sighs, "I get it. Dangerous secrets, things we weren't meant to know. But we have a job to do here, and I'm guessing that chicken-scratch in the dirt has something to do with it. So before we go on, I'm just going to ask one thing: what does this mean for the mission? We've almost walked right into a trap once already because we didn't have enough intel, so if some big-and-nasty is loose on Petraya, at least give us some kind of warning." Butterfly: 11 sux goddamn. Well. Other than blood loss (and blood being in not-quite-the-right-place for rational thinking), Bolt is in excellent health. In fact, that an amount of leeching that would have outright killed a mortal merely left him a bit loopy suggests that he's quite powerful for an elemental of his station. Not terribly surprising; even the great dragons that serve as the arbiters of Heavenly law rarely get the respect they're due. The House the Realm Built The vantages and angles of the townhouse and its surroundings tell Wyrm that it's unlikely she'll be spied on through any windows. No; if there are any eyes and ears, they're hidden in the building itself. The place is quite spacious, and for that fact, seems all the more empty. For a guest house in a luxury resort, there are few signs of previous occupants. Drifting through the halls of the manor like a haunting phantom, the Moonshadow combs it for unwelcome surprises. Nothing is immediately evident; perhaps the hive has deemed her and her companions unworthy of such efforts. Or perhaps they're even sneakier than she suspected. It's said that a picture's worth a thousand words; accordingly, the decor of her lodgings, upon close inspection, proves to speak volumes. One of the lamps in a second-floor corridor is newer than the others, and the carpet is cleaner than anything in such a disused place has any right to be. Pulling it aside, she spies ten long, parallel grooves in the soft tile of the floor. Scratch marks. Everywhere Wyrm looks, she finds the tiny details that tell the story, the cracks in the mask of polite tranquility worn by the sleepy little town. And everywhere, some lingering sense of something that offends her sensibility. But what? And then it strikes her - symmetry. There are, in the master bedroom, the reflecting pool, the baths, and the study, mosaics on the wall of polished, black stones. Lovely, but for the tiniest asymmetry marring their beauty. In each, when she looks closely, a single disc that doesn't belong. On each disc, miniscule engravings. Onyx, Wyrm: Memories from lives that ended long ago bubble to the surface. Children's tales, of honor and heroism, of brave wandering xia and the terrible Anathema, of wicked sorcerers...and the black coins they used to spy on their enemies.
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Feb 2, 2013 22:19
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The Everlasting Butterfly of the Decadent Garden Mom! Dad! Stop fighting!  Personal: 4/19, Peripheral: 21/31, Blood-Rose: 6/7, Willpower: 7/10; Anima: Dark Aura "Bolt's right!" Butterfly said softly, now finally able to hold back some of her tears. She took in a few breaths to steady herself as she tried to get out of Never's arms. "First off, Watcher's reaction was justified. Impulsive, rude and reckless, but justified. I believe if he wanted to harm me he would have and had the perfect opportunity for that. But he didn't. However, I will ask for some respect for the future from him. I am going to have a word with you later. "Second, given the circumstances, I find treating each other like crew of 'the other ship' doesn't really apply considering this situation affects all of us equally. Until Watcher and I can figure out what is really going on, it's for the best we simply keep an eye on it until it does something again. For now, it's not doing anything, hasn't for a long time, and I doubt will do anything anytime soon. We still have the pressing threats of the Orchidmen and Koko'Ino which have nothing to do with this circle. I don't think anything big-and-nasty is out there, but if I feel something, you all will be the first to know. I'm not holding this in to get you all killed." She steals a quick glance at Watcher. They're in this together now. The fact that he doesn't like it is her only leverage right now. "So, please...let's just focus on what needs to be done right now." She takes Never's handkerchief and tosses it at Bolt. "Get your self cleaned up and healed up. You need to be in top condition." Then she looks at Never, and pauses for a moment. "Next time, get a cloud."
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Feb 2, 2013 22:26
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Unmasked Winter - So self-evidently splendorous when clothed is purest silk and sunlight that no barricade could dare deny such vision of the verdant blossom born of holy union between man and dragon, lest it collapse it collapse in anguish at the knowledge that a between the blink of eyes a soul may fall astray without such a vibrant beacon to set it on the immaculate path to one day be reborn as so great a being as She, and dwell in the Great Houses of they descended from Gaia through The Scarlet Empress (Ever May She Reign) Wyrm stands before the artwork on the bedroom wall, inevitably closing the distance to the errant disc. When her eyes draw near enough that can see their finest details in the stone's reflection, she turns to gauge its view of the master bed. At this, the lady makes her opinion known. "How Rude." At a flick of her fan, the servant in blue springs to action. The proper tools quick in hand the intrusive chip of enchanted stone is wrenched from wall and, as punishment for its audacious voyeurism swiftly imprisoned in a lockbox. Its accomplices soon follow suit. Before the last is thrown into its cell, Poem, duly informed and appropriately irate, addresses the final stone. "When my lady wishes to be seen or heard it shall be by her will, and no other." The final box slams shut, and unpacking proceeds in earnest. Wyrm allows the dust to settle and the woodblood to disentangle from her clothing. Elsewhere, Poem leads the crew in taking final stock of the contents of the building. Satisfied that anyone who still surveils her deserves a good hard look, she settles somewhere comfortable to consult with Rose, "Recognize anyone's handywork?" Debug the house, then we have us a sitdown. A_Raving_Loon fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 2, 2013 23:09
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Last Damnation of Atlantis - On The Move Damnation decides to begin ignoring the entire circle business once again. "Ultimately, we're here for Cleansing Tide, and while protecting this circle may very well be the most important thing to do here, we cannot easily protect it while Tide himself and the majority of his forces are still mucking about. Worse, the Realm is arriving soon and, if possible, we ought to deal with the entire situation before they start meddling in things they clearly cannot handle without being warped." He nods at Ceaseless's request and begins moving towards the Palisade. "There are two possibilities for Koko'Ino entering the Yasal Crystal. The worst case scenario is for her to need to be taken down first. If she is anything like the impression I have received, in addition to weakening her while inside the crystal, this will make her unlikely to lend her powers to whoever might be holding the crystal among us. On the other hand, if she is as I suspect she is, it will not be easy to convince her to get into the crystal willingly, and so we have to act with the presumption that this will be necessary." With that, the first mate begins passing out orders. "Never Within Reach, your job is obvious. I need you to stay out of sight and keep me informed of the location of Koko'Ino and any other relevant parties who may be dematerialized. I can't see them in that state, and I can't afford to be ambushed." He turns to Bolt, dropping the matter of their kiss for the time being. "Bolt-from-Brightest-Day, I need you to get healthy. You're the only person besides myself I might feel comfortable with engaging Koko'Ino in close quarters, and if she tries to dematerialize and run, I'll need you to take her down. She knows you, though, so you may wish to stay quiet and out of sight unless or until I need you to engage her. You know her better than I do, so that's your call." Looking back to Watcher, he then turns and nods to Ceaseless. "Watcher needs to stay here and protect this circle. Despite any hostility that may have occurred, his willingness to defend something so ferociously from even his own comrades is admirable. Leave him at least a third of the Sharks, if you don't mind. Your duty, ideally, won't involve violence. There are numerous spirits of all sorts and distraught, hungry mortals within the compound. I need you to keep everyone except Koko'Ino distracted and preferably calm and relaxed. Voice-of-Ages and Midnight Rainbow are yours to command as you see fit." Carefully thinking over everyone's roles, Midnight, Never, Ceaseless, Watcher, Himself, he realizes it is indeed time to mention the last resort. Rubbing the side of his mask, he casually motions to Butterfly. "Do you recall boasting to me about a spell which could annihilate something completely, stabbing them in the soul with a shard of Oblivion? Obviously, I prefer to capture Koko'Ino here, as that would provide us a plethora of benefits going forward in the future. According to Watcher and presumably the Deathlords, though, we are to succeed in our central mission at any cost. If things go exceptionally poorly, I am willing to let Koko'Ino die in order for us to take these two palisades and commandeer the spirits and mortals within. Should things go badly, I will signal Never to let you know to do your best to completely destroy Koko'Ino." Almost as an afterthought, he looks to Spark and Herald. "As for you lot, I can't say I know too much of your capabilities. Are either of you particularly adept at socializing and negotiating with other spirits? If so, that one should go with Ceaseless. The other one can accompany Never and Butterfly, who shouldn't be drifting too far apart." Damnation stretches, grinning underneath the mask. "Yes, it should be a lovely little operation. All sorts of interesting contingencies!" Then, while walking, he holds up his hand. "Wait, you ninnies! Did you not remember that the Alpha has not been disposed of. We had to kill Cynis Xulan three times. I had to kill her twice myself. Before we head out, let us proceed with disposal in the manner with Butterfly previously intuited.
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Feb 2, 2013 23:10
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Jackal notices a Gin bottle inside the minibar and quickly swipes it, drinking the content from the bottle itself in large glugs. "Ghah! Probably better than the ones tasted by me when I, Regal Unbowed Dragon, was at the island." Such an entertaining role to play was too good to be interrupted by now, and Jackal felt that the character was really an untapped part of himself. And of course, were he ever reached a position of power like the one he feigned to have at the moment, there was nothing that could prevent him to act on such an exaggeratedly haughty manner. He walks over to Wyrm, half-empty bottle in hand and a sarcastic smile in his face. "Oh, my beautiful wife. Have you found anything of note that our not so gracious hosts have left for us? Perhaps I, Regal Unbowed Dragon, need a good excuse to go wild on such flippant people." He offers her the bottle while waving at his mortal servants. "And for you lot. Be useful and guard the surroundings. Do it so and perhaps you'll get some grog as well. Now, what are you waiting for?!" He claps at them rudely before turning back to his fellow Abyssals. "Well, now things might start to get interesting. What is the course of action for now?"
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Feb 3, 2013 01:06
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Watcher at the Gates of Sorrow Watcher gives a grim smile as the woman he had almost killed scant seconds ago comes to his defense. "That sounds about right. And know that if I didn't have direct orders to the contrary, I would tell you all everything I can. After dealing with Koko'Ino, Butterfly and I will have a long talk, try to muss things out. Nothing is going to happen at the moment, but let me emphasize this before you get into any negotiations: If at all possible, Cleansing Tide is to be taken alive. Remember, our ultimate focus is larger than one island, even if it is a bioweapons research site." He raises his eyebrow at Damnations remembering of the Alpha. Snapping his fingers to a zombie shark to grab him some antimony and salt, he considers tramping over there himself, then looks back at the circle. "Any volunteers?"
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Feb 3, 2013 04:22
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Never Within Reach -Arrow Retrieval The Abyssal turned her enchanted vision on the alpha plant and was dismayed to find out that it was indeed still alive, if unconscious. Well, she'd have to do something about that. "Given the nature of this threat, taking Cleansing Tide alive may be our only choice. I would be suprised if he was not at least as insulated from death as Cynis Xulan. Worse, he has an entire island on which to hide any life extending artifacts, where Xulan was limited to the Jewel." She turned back to the battle-clearing. "But yes, we had better disable that alpha before it decides to slink away. I will restrain it for you before we take our leave, Watcher." A wingbeat took her back to the alpha's location. She wrenched the arrow in its shoulder free. It was warm to the touch and static electricity still played up and down the shaft. She tucked it away under her leathers. From the other corpses she retrieved a half dozen of the antimony laced arrows, willing the rest to fade into nonexistence lest their essence signatures betray an Abyssal presence. She approached the alpha and pinned it to the ground like an insect on display. The last arrow she handed to Watcher. "Drive this through the skull if it gives you any trouble." Never's fine with eye in the sky work.
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Feb 3, 2013 06:56
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The Everlasting Butterfly of the Decadent Garden Messenger Personal: 4/19, Peripheral: 21/31, Blood-Rose: 6/7, Willpower: 7/10; Anima: Dark Aura Butterfly followed the rest of the group to the alpha plant, but kept her distance. If the plants were under a hivemind, then certainly having it notice her would be very counterproductive. For now she settled on using her parasol to block her bleeding caste mark from vision should the alpha plant manage to get up. "If you can restrain the survivor for a while, we could send back a message to the ships, I believe Blood-on-the-Wind is still on the ships. She'll probably want in on Koko'Ino as well, so she could ferry Kaida and one of our anti-Orchid suits full of seawater down here. We put the survivor in that, and we can take him back to the ship for an autopsy later on. Of course, this also means one of the Thunderbirds has to return to the ship...any volunteers?" All four of them could be helpful in dealing with Koko'Ino, and Butterfly couldn't decided who should stay or go. In a case like this, perhaps leaving the decision to the four of them would be best. Krysmphoenix fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Feb 3, 2013 |
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Feb 3, 2013 19:54
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Politics and Religion Almost as an afterthought, he looks to Spark and Herald. "As for you lot, I can't say I know too much of your capabilities. Are either of you particularly adept at socializing and negotiating with other spirits? If so, that one should go with Ceaseless. The other one can accompany Never and Butterfly, who shouldn't be drifting too far apart." "Well," Herald says to Damnation, "I'm pretty good with people, and lots of spirits around here know Bolt. They might be more willing to listen to you if we're there." He grins. "Hey, maybe we could even convince the others to rise up against Koko'Ino! I mean, you know, if she won't cooperate. Which would be terrible." For all that Herald touts his social skills, he's not entirely convincing of his sincerity in wanting to take the war goddess alive. "If you can restrain the survivor for a while, we could send back a message to the ships, I believe Blood-on-the-Wind is still on the ships. She'll probably want in on Koko'Ino as well, so she could ferry Kaida and one of our anti-Orchid suits full of seawater down here. We put the survivor in that, and we can take him back to the ship for an autopsy later on. Of course, this also means one of the Thunderbirds has to return to the ship...any volunteers?" "...it'd take a while," Spark grumbles. "...don't know how much time we have. North shore's not far; we could just tie it to the rowboat's anchor and drop it in the water for now." So saying, he assumes his great raptor form and ducks to allow Butterfly to mount up. Herald, smirking, opens his mouth to comment; Spark cuts him off with a blood-chilling glare. In short order, he swoops to grab the unconscious Alpha in his talons and flies for the landing site. -------- It only takes another fifteen minutes for everyone who's going to make their way through the jungle to the wooden enclosure where Never indicated that the war goddess was living it up. Certain oddities at once stand out: the absence of sentries, the way the gate's barred from the outside and not the inside. A trained observer might well conclude that this place is meant less as a refuge than a prison. Rest and Relaxation Never and Bolt spiral high into the skies above Petraya: Never, with her magical wings, and Bolt by simply walking through the air as if it were a solid staircase. As the ground below becomes a patchwork map and the people turn to tiny specks, the thunderbird steps into the windstream. Before Never's eyes, his form becomes wispy and ethereal, patches of skin fading to translucency before becoming solid once more. Once the color has returned to his skin, he stretches, cracks his neck, and smiles at Never. "So, not that that wasn't amazing - because that was amazing - but I think maybe we should hold off on the celebration a little while longer. You know, at least until we're done dealing with evil, brain-eating flowers." Before she has time to reply, something on the ground below catches her eye. Near the rustling in the foliage that can only be Damnation's team, a whorl of bright and vivid colors, underscored by navy blue. It circles once, then takes off faster than anything Never's seen before save herself and the birds; from their lack of reactions, it seems the other Abyssals haven't noticed a thing. It's hard for her to make out details at this distance, but she can take a pretty good guess as to what (or rather, who) that light is. For the sake of keeping track of where everyone is: Ceaseless, Damnation, NPC'd Rainbow, Herald, and two squads of zombie sharks have just reached the nearest palisade; Watcher is remaining by the circle with one squad of sharks; Butterfly and Spark quickly reach the spot on the north shore with the standing stones; Never and Bolt are up in the sky, keeping lookout and (in Bolt's case) recuperating. Arts and Crafts Rose looks more than slightly concerned by the coins. "No," she admits, "I don't. In fact, other than...other than Xúlan and Ahazda, the only sorcerer at the mission was the Grandmaster himself. How could...? Oh...OH! You don't think he could have worked out a way to let individuals in the hive, like, copy each others' training and knowledge, do you? Because that's just what we don't need." She gives an involuntary shudder as she and Wyrm check the store rooms and side chambers of the townhouse, making sure there aren't any more unwelcome surprises. "Even so," she reflects, "something doesn't make sense here. There's no way he could have trained that many sorcerers that quickly, but...if he could make three more, why not make twenty more? It doesn't...add..." When Wyrm turns around, she sees Rose curled up on the floor, rocking back and forth and shivering. This particular room is filled top to bottom with exotic adornments: hunting trophies, pelts, wood carvings...and masks. Directly across from Rose is such a piece that happens to look strikingly like the one worn by the late Cynis Xúlan. Rose rolls Per+Awareness 8 to help search: Quadruple. loving. Botch. Not only does she not find anything, but she also gets a PTSD attack that drains a point of WP and renders her less-than-helpful for a scene, barring intervention.
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Feb 5, 2013 01:50
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Never Within Reach -You Been Called Out Beach "Agreed, there is no reason to rush..." She caught sight of the blur below. "Which is something Koko'Ino is soon to discover. Come on!" She grabbed Bolt by the hand and went into a dive, picking up speed and leveling out just over the treetops. He might be cross with her later for not letting him shift but she didn't want to play that card just yet with Koko. Bolt's phoenix form was too recognizable and far too large for what she had in mind. Never called out to Damnation before she reached the limited range of her charm. <An opportunity presents itself. You've been seen, and the godling took off at speed towards our longboat. I will confront her on the beach and distract her for a short time before sending her back this way, if I am lucky she will be in a more amenable mood for negotiations. I look forward to seeing what you do with the place while I'm gone.> Never did not wait for a reply, there was no time if she was to match Koko's pace. It was breakneck, and they were beyond the battlefield clearing and nearing the shoreline in a few breaths. She let go of Bolt at the treeline, trusting him to make his own entrance when he felt the time was right. Butterfly and Spark were just ahead, and Never let Koko see the longboat (and the lack of any ships either at anchor or on the horizon for it to belong to,) before calling out to her. "Koko'Ino, Western Undersecretary of the Bureau of War and servant of Siakal, you have found nothing but a spent battlefield and an empty beachhead. I am Never Within Reach, Abyssal Knight, and I would speak to you about what paths still remain to you. This stain on Creation is about to be removed. If not by me and my kind than by the Realm, who are sailing here in force. They will not be as willing to negotiate with those they find involved as I am. Your palisade was forfeit the moment you abandoned it to the war party you passed on your way. Show yourself. You are not hidden here." Her voice dripped with disdain. She touched down lightly on the sand and folded her wings, staring intently at the dematerialized goddess. This was a risk she would prefer not to take. There was enough distance to ensure her time to react if Koko decided to fight, but her essence reserves were still dangerously low. She needed time to recover and they didn't have it. Any battle now would be at a great disadvantage. But Koko'Ino didn't know that. Her hope was that the imminent threat of the Realm's navy was enough to get her talking, but she couldn't predict the goddess' reaction. So she waited, poised and ready for either outcome.
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Feb 5, 2013 05:33
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Daughter of Onyx & Silver Onyx searches around the room with a predator's stalk. Her nostrils flare delicately as she scents the air, tasting the potential for treachery and death. The layout of the villa is simultaneously extremely private and shockingly open. Plenty of alcoves and grottoes for rendezvous and illicit conversations. Plenty of sumptuous curtains to hide behind. From the outside, nothing would present itself. Once inside, however... The Daughter counts several potential ambush spots, another half-dozen countermeasure locations, and that's not even including the servant's passages. Grudgingly, she has to approve of the design. Provided the security staff was competent, the villa was a veritable fortress. If a talented spy or assassin managed to slip in, however, the tables would rather neatly turn. It was a mark of the sophistication of the Lizards' scheming capacities that they would provide this as a vacation home. Simultaneously a threat to those who ventured here, or an ideal location to remove troublesome local elements. "Well. I'll give them this. The reptiles know how to construct multipurpose vacation homes." Sorry for the delay! Antidepressant withdrawal, schoolwork, writer's block and an out-of-town weekend have sort of conspired to keep me offline for the past week. Throwing 8 dice of 1st Excellency to Spy Check: 11 sux holy gently caress. I CAN SEE FOREVER. PersEss: 1/19 PeriEss: 16/24
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Feb 5, 2013 15:04
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Spawn of the Devouring Wyrm - Tending Roses The offending item is in hand. Wyrm looks from the mask, to the shaken woman laying before her. At that moment, there is nothing else. The world beyond has vanished. All her senses focus on the fear and sorrow curled up at her feet. This isn't right. Wyrm approaches, slowly descending on her. She lays the mask beside Rose. The nun recoils at the sight of it. As she twists to look away Wyrm takes her firmly by the shoulders. "She loved you." The words hang just long enough. "It saved her soul." Wyrm moves closer, grips tighter. She smiles softly as she draws Rose into her embrace. "You did the best you could, what you had to do, for her. To stop what she'd become. To set her free." The smile is gone, "It hurt you, both of you, that it had to come to that. That there could be no better way. It will never stop hurting you, because you will never forget - She loved you." "That pain," Wyrm takes up the mask again, and set it before Rose, "is not your enemy. It's yours. It's part of you. It's who you are." An odd undertone creeps into the captain's voice, unheard since Wyrm took on her Regal costume. The dry rasp of a knight of death. "Embrace it." It wasn't so cold in here before. "Mourn her, Rose. Take in her torment, let it burn with yours. Take up her cause. Swear vengeance in her name and that love, that pain, will guide your hand to victory. Then, she will know peace." Wyrm's grip relaxes, leaving Rose resting in her lap, "Tell me, Rose, who was Cynis Xúlan to you?"
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Feb 6, 2013 16:36
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Last Damnation of Atlantis - Wooden Palisade <Never, you can't be serious. You're serious? I'm coming. Try not to start anything. Spark tells me her fighting style involves murdering everything possible and using the essence of those that died to increase her power. Don't give her any targets.> The words drop like a rock. Circumstances are too serious for Damnation to get emotional one way or another. "Koko'Ino's gone. She came out to investigate the thunderbolts personally, and now she's at the North Beach with Never and Bolt. I need to get there as fast as possible." The Death Knight draws his massive Daiklave and points to Ceaseless. "This isn't all bad. You, Midnight, and Voice-of-Ages can talk to the people inside without the White War Goddess around, and we can't lose track of the bigger picture here. Any army we can amass will help us take on Cleansing Tide, and maybe you'll even get a chance to make them listen to your poetry." "Everyone besides me is staying here." He turns and contemplates the distance between himself and the beach, then turns to look at Herald. "Well, I would have you stay too, Glorious Herald of Strife, but I'm afraid I might need to make a request." In a rare display of humility, Damnation removes his mask and looks the elemental in the eye. "I can't take off my armor and sprint if there might be a fight in the near future, and considering how much Bolt and Koko'Ino hate one another, I don't want to leave them alone any longer than I have to. Would you mind conveying me to the North Shore of the Island?" While waiting for a response, Damnation begins to prepare himself. His muscles tense, and his Daiklave again grows black veins and begins to twitch. Activating Infinite Mastery of Melee for 6m, 1wp (spending peripheral essence) and Fluttering Moth Defense for 3m (spending personal essence. Damnation's caste mark is glowing, but he doesn't have a visible aura.
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Feb 6, 2013 17:24
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