|
[OOC Thread | Game doc | Inspiration art: NPCs, Locations Prologue - S1: Welcome to Lozari - S2: The Tavern - S3: The Investigation Lozari The river that flowed through the middle of Lozari was close to overflowing its banks. It would have in some places, if not for quick work from the local dragonbloods shoring it up. Even the grumpiest locals had to admit that they were good for something at this time of year. It was no coincidence that the bulk of the town was built on high ground, and festival preparations continued regardless. Severa was in the thick of things, her plain clothes a stark contrast to the fatigues and finery of the Realm dragons who kept watch from a distance. She was wrestling with an uncooperative tarp when a local guardsman ran up and murmured something to her in a hurried tone. She straightened like a whipcrack, face twisted unpleasantly. "Another? That's it. Gods drat it, where're the solars?" She noticed a Realm dragon staring at her in shock and rounded on him with a malicious smile. She hadn't made it a secret that their dreaded 'Anathema' were accepted around here, yet they hadn't left. "Welcome to Lozari, my lords." The word was a finely-crafted insult. "Maybe I wouldn't need them if you lot were any use beyond sandbagging." His hand clenched on his sword hilt, but he decided that it would be best to not directly antagonize the Outcaste in public and left for camp without a word. Severa sighed and looked up at the sky as if to ask, Why me? --- Hauler train, en route to Lozari The hauler track was slick with mud from snowmelt. It would be a disaster for horses, but they had their own carriage at the rear of the caravan. Inside the cars, it was warm and dry as a traveling minstrel serenaded the passengers with local songs. He was coming back home, he sang, back to the land where ice glittered like jewels. Some from the Realm huddled in the back, surly about the fact they were well sick of the ice by now. Letti's tea steamed more than her nephew's. Reyva hadn't bothered to make a good impression, and that streak continued in a depressing lack of tact. "I don't know how anyone could sing about missing snow," he whined, too loudly to be accidental. "I haven't been warm in ages." The minstrel had reached the end of his song, and he squinted at the boy against the glare through the windows. "I don't know how you can sing about hot weather," he said in apparent good cheer, "but you don't hear me criticize sweat pouring off my back for months unending." Reyva opened his mouth to retort, despite several murmurings of disbelief that the boy was showing his heritage again, when the carriage came to a sudden, jarring stop that knocked cups off tables. There were a few shrieks of pain from hot tea and soups landing in laps, and a yelp from a man whose chair collapsed. As the passengers regained their feet, they heard brays from the horses and other mounts in the rear car, and ahead, shouts and a scream from the dining and sleeping cars. An attendant popped his head in from the connector to the next car. "Is everyone all right?" His eyes were wide, his voice anxious, and it was easy to guess why: Haulers march straight through trees and crush boulders in their path until they reach their unloading station. They don't just stop. --- Locals, you're at Lozari, doing whatever it is you'd do around the time of festival preparation. Set your scenes! Newcomers, you caught the main hauler train to Lozari, and things...happened. What do you do now? Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Mar 10, 2016 |
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 07:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 23:07 |
|
|
Shain - PE: 16/16 | PPE: 28/28 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 | SM: 0 Five sculptures. One for Thousand-Eyes Dozul, who had asked for an effigy of a daring lancer. One for old lady Eudora, nothing more than a trifle for the kindly woman who'd provided food and shelter for a starving glassmaker so many years ago. Two for Makir, the merchant, who would no doubt make a killing off them back home at the Scavenger Lands. And one for an unmarked grave, a hand-sized effigy of a woman in a laced dress, brandishing a twin pair of blocky projectile weapons and striking a graceful and gallant pose. The grave was quiet, as it always was. With the plateau located some two hundred yards off the ground, only the birds bothered to pay it a visit. Other animals could find more easily find food sources closer to the ground. Kneeling down, Shain placed it on the freshly dug soil, along with a new flower and seed. Nothing less than Immortality Iris. "Work was easier than usual. I'm off early today", he said, addressing the little red berries hanging from the headstone with a smile on his face. Behind it, a large tree peppered with similar berries cast its shade. He blinked twice, trying to hold back the tears as the smile faded away. Fool heart. Fool for letting her in, and twice as much a fool for refusing to close these stubborn wounds. What would she think if she saw him crying like this? Probably slap him silly and tell him to stop being such a wimp. The thought cheered him up, and a laugh slipped past his momentary misery, shattering it like a pane of glass. He could feel her here. She was gone, but a piece of Holly's spirit still remained in this world. "Look at me. I bet you're ashamed of me now, aren't you? Weeping like I lost the most beautiful thing in the world. But don't worry, I'm good now. Sorry for forcing you to watch that, Hol." Standing up, he turned around to look at the town. He could see the bustle of activity, even from here. "Big festival coming up. Apparently a lot of kids are growing up from boys to men soon. I wonder what kind of party it's gonna be. Bet it's got to be less intense than the way we grew up, trying to outrun the lights". The memory brought a smile back to his face again. Those had been hard times, chased by people he'd once considered comrades, plucking out bits of crystallized light out of each other's flesh, surviving the dangers day by day. They'd been good times, times when he felt invincible and alive. These days, he was lucky to manage one of those things. "I think I'm gonna lend a hand. It's better than idling out at Griss' teahouse or drinking myself stupid at the Outpost. I know, I know", he said, raising a hand. "Not that it takes a lot. It's still more than you could take. When was the last time you even smelled anything stronger than tea without falling asleep, eh? Even after all this time, you're still the world's lightest spitfire." Approaching the edge of the plateau, Shain took a deep breath. Here, the air was purer. Perfumed with the smell of the flowers he'd brought in since he'd dug Holly's grave, it cleared his mind and gave back a bit of purpose, as it always did. "I'll be back again tomorrow, Hol. Wait for me." He leapt down, his furred white coat trailing up behind him, revealing the pair of slingers he still carried on his belt. As he hit the ground running, he couldn't keep his smile from spreading out into a broad grin. He'd survived the danger for this day, now it was his turn to live a little. If he took the long way down running at full speed, a man could make it back to Lozari from here in thirty minutes. Time to see if he could make it in ten. --- Using a rocky outcropping as a stepping stone, Shain hopped over the ridge's edge, and found himself staring at the back wall of the vault Zisa, the town's scribe, insisted on calling a home. "Thirteen minutes. drat. Guess I'm growing old." Dusting himself off, he took a moment to make sure everything was in place. No stains or dirt on his coat, check. Long, slicked back hair still in order, check. Good humour and the drive to do whatever sort of work he might be needed for...maybe he should take a minute to get in the mood. ...There, check. Time to get that festival up and running. Transient People fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Jun 30, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 09:35
|
|
|
Bright Spark Mammoth PE: 16/16, PPE: 26/29, WP: 6/6, Limit: 0 Active Charms: Keen Hearing Technique (indefinite), Keen Sight Technique (scene) Snow-melt meant that spring and life were soon upon the people, but it also meant one heck of a load of work. Back home it meant temporary camps and grumpy mammoths, as the tribe packed their entire lives on broad, strong backs to make the trek to permanent settlements, and combing mud out of mammoth fur. The grandfathers would tell the old tales in front of the fire, the grandmothers would tell secret tales in the dark. It was right and proper, and Bright Spark Mammoth found himself missing his childhood home. Still, this was home now, and soon home would be coming to him! It wouldn’t do if the place was a mess, eh? Wasn’t he representative of the Mammoth? The ice sledge docks were a fixture of necessary trade in the deep winter, but now they were a barren forest of drydocked ships. That forest was starting to tilt as a slow creeping surge of mud flowed under it, pressing on the support pillars. All around him people were swearing up a storm and trying to pin blame. A few choice expletives rang out, and it looked like it might come to blows before Bright Spark stood up from where he’d been sitting, easily overlooked in a pile of tarps. “Alright, alright! Punching each other won’t make fix the docks, right? And too muddy to work, right? Grab your tools, I’ll deal with the mudflow, give you time to work,” he said, and reached behind him to haul up the flame cannon he was known for. “Realm is busy, fixing the levee they shoulda done months ago, leaving the real work to us, yeah? Let’s not be like that!” He leapt down into the mud, constantly treading his feet up and down to keep from sinking. He pointed out some of the pillars, “That one needs most work, then that one! Now I’ll get away from the wood, this is a job for fire!” He walked towards the source of the mudflow, and, with a show of concentrating, bumped the odd little firestone he had properly into its socket. As it settled in, tongues of flame began to leap from his form, setting the ground to steaming, then bubbling, then cracking as he concentrated and willed the fire higher. The flame cannon awoke in sympathy, and began belching vast quantities of essence that glowed like magma and burned white hot when it touched the liquefied ground. After a few moments, the flow slowed enough to get work done, and with some minutes more the swearing and arguing was replaced by the sound of hauled wood and hammered pegs, as Bright Spark Mammoth stood upon his newly created levee. When he left it would no doubt resume its slow march, but the docks would be reinforced and could remain standing another year, ‘til the whole process no doubt repeated itself. *crunch* He heard, distantly, a different sound of wood and timbers. Keen eyes cut through the distance. Seemed an oncoming caravan was having some kind of trouble. Better see what’s going on. He carefully jimmied the smaller hearthstone socket and the flames around him began to fade. Right, let’s go look into this and NOT set the place on fire.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 16:04
|
|
|
Tepet Letti The Dynast was quite surprised when her tea leaped out of her cup as the hauler came to an abrupt stop, but she managed to catch it again before it could spill all over her nephew. The other two merchants (Sybal and Pernise) who had been seated at the low table with her had not been so agile and there was nothing holding the teapot itself in place, so it hadn't saved him a dousing. He sputtered indignantly. Letti shook her head, shouldn't he have been able to dodge something as simple as flying tea? What were they teaching the young ones these days? The hauler-train had been a novel enough experience, and a good rest for the horses who had walked such a long way without complaint, but it seemed that something had broken down. She set her teacup on the table, since the saucer had gone the way of the rest of the dishes, and stood up. "We're fine, dear. Thank you for asking." She said to the attendant. Reyva tried to inform him that no, everything was certainly not fine, but she gave him a look and for once he quieted. "Change your clothes and meet me outside." she ordered him. "Everyone else, please try to put things back in order while you wait." She didn't wait for her nephew, or pay attention to the attendant when he tried to ask her to sit down again. Something was WRONG, so of course she would go and see what it was! How else was she to fix it? --- Heading for the front of the train/outside if that's where the trouble is.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 19:23
|
|
|
 Daina Giedre "Daina!" A woman's voice shouted from the inn's kitchen. "Hurry up and set the tables before the guests arrive!" "Okay Mother! C'mon Duofeng*!" Daina shouted back, as a set of footsteps stomped down the stairs, carrying a stack of linen tablecloths. A small wooden creature followed behind her, carrying a similar stack of napkins. The inn had five round tables, and Daina quickly ran from one end of the room to the other, tossing a tablecloth on each one. Then she carefully made her way back, neatly spreading the tablecloth out on each one while Duofeng tossed the napkins up onto the table. "How long until the guests arrive?" Daina hollered back at Mother, as she finished up the fifth table. "The hauler should arrive any minute, which is why we need to hurry! Don't forget the silverware!" "Any minute!? Why didn't you tell me earlier! Agh, I was supposed to perform when they got off the train!" Daina rushed to the door to pick up her violin case, then looked back at Duofeng who was about to follow. "Duofeng, stay here and set the silverware!" she shouted before running out the door. Duofeng turned around and hobbled over to the shelf where the (unexpectly large) silverware boxes sat, and gulped. *: Duofeng. A stick person (Wood Elemental) that Daina created/summoned. She has five elementals (all E1, one of each element) that she keeps around. Four stay at the manse to watch over it, and cycles one out to stay with her to help with chores. --- In a few minutes, Daina was at the station where the hauler train was supposed to arrive. Fortunately she had beaten it, and quickly pulled out her violin and waited for the hauler to arrive. ...and waited. ...and waited. ...and waited. "Oh come on, where is the train!?"
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2015 23:44
|
|
|
 Beneficent Owl The idea that he was laying low and trying not to be noticed did not even flash through Owl’s mind; someone might be hurt. What else was he supposed to do but help them? Within a second of the impact he was already on his feet, giving a quick scan of the passengers in his car—several merchants with first and second degree burns, one woman with a mild concussion, and some nicks and cuts on the man whose chair collapsed. Owl strides over to the door and scoops a handful of snow from the top of the threshold. Expertly he rubs the snow into a pair of handkerchiefs, nearly instantly creating a supply of cool cloths. He tosses them over to a youth sitting dumbly near the most badly burned of the merchants. “Their burns need to be covered. Use those, and try to lie them down before shock sets in. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but it sounds like the other compartments need me.” He gives a quick nod to the Dynast who is also going to investigate. “I apologize for co-opting your…nephew? Someone needs to stay with those merchants, though—shock is no trivial matter. And if it is as bad as I fear, it may be a blessing that he is delayed a few minutes.” With that sobering thought, he presses through to the front of the hauler, seeking those in need of his care. Doin’ doctor things. Looking out especially for people in need of medical attention and using Flawless Diagnosis Technique as needed.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 02:49
|
|
|
 Yu Tan Harakino After helping the three or four other passengers in the third class car who she'd used to arrest her slide get back to their feet, Hara hurries out the front of the car. There's no need to let them ask any awkward questions about why one not-so-tall down-on-her-luck merchant woman outweighed any of the other passengers in the car. The Lookshy native takes one look at the muddy ground and shakes her head disdainfully. With a grunt of effort she leaps up to catch hold of the roof of the car ahead and pulls herself up. She just has to hope the makeup is holding up for now, but there is time to take care of one quick detail or two. The Child of Hesiesh gets the good gauntlets out of her bag's secret compartment and slips them on. She can't quite imagine what might stop a hauler, but she can imagine wanting to punch whatever it is full force and broken knuckles are a pain in the rear end. Hand. Whatever. The Fire Aspect inhales deeply and breathes a puff of smoke into her cupped gauntlets. She wafts the smoke across her head and down her back with an instinctively graceful gesture at odds with her usual brutal directness. The smoke curls around her as it settles to her feet and it's no longer quite so odd that one down-on-her-luck merchant might choose to investigate the problem via the train's rooftops. (It's still pretty odd.) Satisfied that she's done what she can to preserve her cover, Hara stuffs her gleaming red jade gauntlets back into the moth-eaten hand muffler some rear end in a top hat in the Quartermaster's Office had dug up from gods know where to outfit her for the mission. If need be, she was quite confident that she could explain the bedraggled appearance of the fur tube as a result of the kind of age that enhances rarity (and value) and the unidentifiable prior possessor(s?) of the skin as fabulously exotic beasts from the opposite corner of Creation from wherever the potential customer had ever been, but the article of clothing certainly gave a blank slate from which to begin the tale. Appearance well in hand, Hara trots forward along the rooftops towards the first hint of excitement she's had in weeks. -The Dissonance distinction of Seasoned Criminal Method is active. -Spend 6m Personal to activate Spurious Presence (even though it is probably not the ideal circumstance. There's just no holding Hara back!)
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 09:03
|
|
|
Lozari "Hey. Hey, uh, you!" Severa wasn't very good with names, but she was pointing at Shain. "Gunner something. Either take this over-" she jerked her thumb at the stall that was refusing to stay together in the muck long enough to get hammered together "-or head over to the north post and find out why another kid disappeared even though those Realm idiots are 'looking into it!'" Judging from her tone, her method of 'finding out' was likely to involve gore. The bone-shaking rumble that came from the hauler tracks shortly after the crash wasn't a sound heard often, but to a local, unmistakable for what it was: One of the beasts was distressed and in pain. The last time Bright Spark Mammoth had heard that, people had died when it panicked and crushed a car. Thankfully the path between the docks and the track was on higher ground; it wouldn't be a difficult trek. Daina felt the rumble just as Finn, a young dragonblood who acted as Severa's messenger boy, approached her. He stumbled mid-step and spun to look down the track. "Severa needed you," he said, wide-eyed, "but if that's the hauler-" He darted toward the leparn stables, kept by the track for emergencies. "She's pitching tents," he called back, just in case of the off chance she wasn't going to ride off to the rescue with him. --- Hauler train The attendant deflated and entered the car to help Reyva treat the burns, while Letti and Owl went ahead. Sudden footsteps on the roof raised a brief hubbub about being attacked, but the minstrel laughed quietly. "If we were being attacked it would be coming from the front," he said, and no one seemed willing to argue. The next car was much like the last, though with fewer burns. They appeared more dazed than injured. Some were hurrying out to hop to the muddy ground and see what was happening for themselves, now that the attendant was distracted. But the next car... The sudden stop had done a number on it. The entire thing listed slight to the right; a table had broken from the wall, and an attendant and two passengers held the heavy wood against the slant while someone else dragged a woman out from between it and the far wall. A young man huddled in a corner, holding his head, while another paced near him clutching his arm, and ranted. Loudly. "Cheap structures, do they think they can keep the same cars running for decades without maintenance? Who travels in this weather! If I didn't have business, I'd be home! You're all mad coming this way willingly!" The other passengers exhanged irritated glances, but they were thankfully more focused on helping the unfortunate woman. The boy shrank further into the corner. This was a sobering look at what Reyva might be like in a few more years. From the roof, it wasn't immediately apparent what had happened, but the results were clear: One car tilted to the right, and the one ahead of it pitched sharply forward, bucked up against the lead car. People swarmed over it, frantically trying to disconnect the lines from the hauler. Then the massive beast moved, trying to lift itself up. The ground shifted audibly, and its front half slumped back into what must be a deep pit. The front cars shuddered. It let out a deep, rumbling call that Hara felt like a punch to the chest; cups and windows rattled inside the cars. She was no expert on haulers, but it didn't sound happy. "What are you doing up there?" someone shouted, a woman in a staff uniform who'd happened to look up. "This whole thing could move!"
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 16:43
|
|
|
Shain - PE: 16/16 | PPE: 28/28 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 | SM: 0 "Easy there. If you keep that up you're gonna blow a gasket." Shain said, raising a hand in a pacifying gesture. He could see why she was on the edge of a nervous breakdown, if the sorry, deflated remnants of the stall were any indication. He would've helped, but his sixth sense for danger told him that letting her loose upon the world when she was in such a bright mood could only lead to woe and sorrow. "Missing kid, you said? Don't worry. I'll bring him home." Taking a bow at the waist, he excused himself and headed for the northern post. Any weight of Severa's back would go a long way toward making sure things went smoothly.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 19:48
|
|
|
Beneficent Owl Not as bad as it could have been, but not great either. He hefts his medical bag as a symbol, pushing through to injured woman while loudly stating "I'm a doctor! Let me see her!" But as he begins to poke and prod and see if anything's broken, the compartment begins to shake. That can only mean one thing--the hauler itself is not well. Luckily, the woman is unconscious; with a few taps to acupressure points and a rush of invisible power, she is stabilized--for now. With a few nearly meaningless blandishments and reassurances that "these things always look worse than they are", he is off to see what he can do to help the hauler outside. Hopefully no one will notice that her contusions are now superficial and the swelling of her brain has mostly disappeared. 10m to Anointment of Miraculous Health the lady--she recovers 2 lethal/bashing health levels. Off to diagnose and treat the hauler now! 9/16 personal, 31 peripheral. OldMidgetWillow fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Jul 2, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2015 22:57
|
|
|
Lozari Severa rolled her eyes when Shain bowed, but he caught her smiling a little as he turned to leave and she muttered, "Suckup." Another rumble shook the ground as he approached the northern post, but beside the building he saw two figures locked in argument. Just as well Severa hadn't had time for it in her mood. Shain recognized them both, though he didn't know them particularly well: One, small and wiry, was a local guardsman. The other, massive and imposing even in light armor, was the Fire aspect general from the Realm. "My men," the general was saying, slowly, as though conversing with a particularly obstinate child, "have scoured the area. There are no signs. They are still looking. They will continue looking." "That doesn't tell me how she went missing in the first drat place," Arin snapped back. "Traveling too far despite the warnings. Getting caught up playing. A mudslide." "You're the ones that took over patrol." Everai sounded resigned. "And there have been fewer disappearances throughout the region since we did." Arin opened his mouth, thought better of whatever was about to come out of it, and glared instead. This was going nowhere fast. Hauler train Curious passengers approached, to be fended off by the train's crew. One started to block Owl's way before noticing his bag. "You're a doctor?" he asked, a touch desperately. "Nobody hurt too bad inside? We might-" "There he is!" someone shouted from the edge of the pit. The woman who had questioned Hara gave her a last uncertain frown and joined the others who'd rushed to look. At the bottom lay the hauler's driver, half-buried in snow and mud where he'd been thrown when the ground collapsed. The hauler shifted, and its massive feet stomped dangerously close to the unmoving man. The pit was deep. The man who'd talked to Owl ran for a rope, and jumped back from the car with a shout when the hauler made another attempt to drag itself free. Its front legs buckled, and its rear legs didn't have enough leverage to pull itself out; it let out another rumbling roar of pain and the cars jerked forward a little farther. The tangled lines tightened, very nearly taking an attendant's hand. Part of the pit's edge gave way. The conductor was likely to be either buried or crushed at this rate.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 04:19
|
|
|
Shain - PE: 16/16 | PPE: 28/28 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 | SM: 0 "What's that about disappearances I just heard?" Shain said, stepping into the conversation before it could get worse. "Severa sent me to help find the child. If you could start at the beginning, there might be something we can do for her. What's her name, where did she go missing, and what was she doing before she disappeared?" He asked the questions rapid-fire, without giving the men time to pause for argument or hesitance. it was the best way of defusing and uncooperative mood, he'd found. "And what's the story behind the other disappearances, while we're at it? Let's see if we can put all these pieces together."
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 05:35
|
|
|
 Yu Tan Harakino"Only one pair of boots," replies Hara to the inquisitive official. Luckily, the action ahead spares her from elaborating further. "Great," she mutters to herself as she takes in the driver's predicament. "It really is my only pair of boots." The Fire Aspect pulls her hands free so she can run properly and jogs forward. When she reaches the front car, she accelerates into a sprint, leaping at the last moment to clear the hauler and land near the driver's side. Mud and water splashes away from her impact as the dragon blood lands hard enough to determine that there was indeed something solid beneath the muck. Hara bends to grab the driver beneath his armpits so she can drag him at least a little ways further from the unpredictable hauler. -Spent 3m Peripheral on Athletics Excellency. 4 sux on 10 total jumping dice.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 05:45
|
|
|
Beneficent Owl Just stay in the moment... Owl very deliberately touches the shoulder of the passenger who stopped him, looking him in the eye for one split second, all his attention focused on reassuring the man. "They're all stable. Excuse me." It was a touch abrupt, but this was now a game of seconds and inches. If he had been a different man--a doctor of the city, perhaps, or not one of the Solar Exalted, this would be an impossible task: a hauler is a massive beast, its own specialty in fact; only his time treating livestock gives him even a faint idea of where to start. Always the legs first. But how? He was simply not strong enough to lift up a foot to check properly. So he starts with what he can see, analyzing its fumbling steps to see exactly where the break has occur--is that someone jumping down there? To move his patient? Who might have a brain injury? Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Owl slides down the pit after. By the time he reaches the bottom, his (righteous) anger has faded to the cool certainty of what must be done. No time to try and convince the bumbling Fire Aspect of her stupidity or even the wrongness of her actions; the most effective way to stop her was simply to give an alternative. "No time for that! I will protect him with my body if I must--for now, I need you to push, right here." He pats the hauler lightly on the calf of its broken leg--they were going to have to set it before there was a chance of getting it out alive. Besides, that muscle-bound Fire Aspect looks like she could handle this part of the task, if not much else. On something as large as a hauler, splints are more or less useless--what could be sturdy enough to support all that weight? You would need an entire tree trunk, it seems. But there is a trick, if you have a bit of extra power behind you: the muscles and tendons of the leg itself are powerful enough to keep everything in place if they can be immobilized. So that is what Owl does--the acupressure points on a human are fairly straightforward if you know enough about energy flow; how different can one of these be? With care, he extrapolates where he must apply firm pressure, first an area on the inside between the third and fourth toe to immobilize the Achilles tendon, then on the inside of the (nonexistent) arch, then half a hand's breadth under the kneecap, each movement becoming faster and more sure as he starts to see the connections and feel the leg begin to tense up. A second is used to stroke the belly of the enormous beast, whispering small reassurances. "It's almost over, girl; you'll be just fine. Just a little bit more and you'll be right as rain..." Using Wound-Mending Care Technique, made instantaneous via Body-Sculpting Essence Method, which is free due to popping Benison of Celestial Healing. Spending 4 extra motes for 8 extra dice via my Excellency; each success heals 1 lethal/bashing level instantaneously. Total cost 9 motes and 1 WP but I get the WP back if I heal at least 2 levels of damage; I heal 11 levels of damage. Not bad. If the hauler thrashes towards the driver I will try to interpose myself with Fluttering Cry of Warning. Personal: 4m, Periph: 27m
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 06:25
|
|
|
Yu Tan Harakino - PE: 10/16 | PPE: 28/31 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 Hara gives the new arrival a brief once over as he gives her orders. He's in the pit with her and seems to know what he's doing, that's good enough for the moment. She drops the hauler back in the muck and gets her feet set to follow the fellow's directions. There's not much about her training she enjoyed, but she has always enjoyed the yelling. "Raaaagghhh!" she yells, putting her whole body into the effort. Wisps of mist rise from the muck around her knees as she channels the power of Hesiesh into her task. -Spending 2m Peripheral to get up to 10 dice for the feat of strength. 2 sux. Bouquet fucked around with this message at 07:54 on Jul 4, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 08:30
|
|
|
Bright Spark Mammoth PE: 6/16, PPE: 23/29, WP: 5/6, Limit: 0 Active Charms: Keen Hearing Technique (indefinite), Keen Sight Technique (scene) The area all around the hauler-side of the pit was rapidly becoming cluttered with people, some might have been slightly surprised to see a young Icewalker with large, shining weapon standing on the town side of the pit, looking down and thumbing the carved mammoth-ivory charms on his necklace idly. He pulled his eyeshield off his face and double checked what he was already pretty certain of. (From IRC: 7 Success lore roll.) Washouts happened. This was no washout. Someone had dug out a pretty large trench, a pit trap for the Hauler path. No tool marks, either, which made it EXTRA suspicious. "Hey, hey, hey, this is no good, no good at all," he said, jabbering down rather quickly from above. "Somebody dug this, we shouldn't stay here, they might be around!" he shouted. "Get that man out of the pit, I'll try to give the Hauler more to stand on. I wouldn't stay down there either but..." Oh crap, someone who might be able to see through his fake fire anima. "You, you! Dragonblood! You're the wrong type, but I'm gonna try to fill the pit with earth. Maybe you help the hauler climb as the earth comes down, yeah? Not bury you OR the hauler!" He waited, at the very least, for the doctor to pull the injured man from the pit, then sized up his side of the earthworks. His Dragon Wand hit the ground with a thump, and he felt the vibrations come up through the ground back to him. That was all mud. No good. He thumped another spot. Humus. Dead plants. Oooh, root ball! Not enough. Thump. Some stone. Some earth. Not too muddy. Best he'd find. "He clear? Alls away who's going away, here comes the earth!" He wedged Hesiash's Anger into the earth, where one rock met another. He breathed in cold, wintry air. He breathed out, and felt his hot, transformed essence enter the Orichalcum. Boom. Activating a weapon evocation, 5 Jades 5 Flames, to double damage, which should get me the oomph necessary to start a landslide. Dex + MA roll, 6 successes to make it a controlled landslide. And while he's giving you time to respond, he's assuming you're gonna listen, so unless someone leaps up to stop him, he's going to follow his Fire Hyperactivity weakness and go through with it. Mile'ionaha fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Jul 3, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2015 18:00
|
|
|
Lozari The two of them stared at Shain for a moment, before Arin placed him and his shoulders slumped in relief. "Oh, Shain Xio." He slipped away from Everai like a child hiding behind mom to escape dad's scrutiny. "Her name's Chloe. She was last seen by the mill, but that was yesterday morning and no one's heard since. The miller thought she was just playing by the garden, but then she was gone." He paced in a small circle, shoulders tensed. "You must have heard about the others - kids wandering too far and never getting seen again. Always to the north, but we haven't found anything, and then these guys took over the investigation-" "You don't let us assist in the festival-" Everai began. "You don't offer to help!" Everai pressed a hand to his forehead. "And there are only so many we can station at the mines. It is as he says, my trackers have found no clues. Which is suspicious in itself, considering all this mud." He glanced toward the main town and its trampled streets in distaste. "The problem appears supernatural, but that's as far as we've come. My good sorcerers aren't here yet." That last was decidedly bitter. A boom nearly as loud as the hauler's rumble sounded from the tracks. Guard and general both snapped their attention that way. Arin darted inside the post station, and after a moment, Everai turned back to Shain. He studied him silently, his attention drifting to the guns at his hip. "Shain, was it. Are you the Seven-Colored Gunner I keep hearing about?" Hauler train The hauler rumbled and started to pull away from Owl, but then seemed to realize that, despite the tiny person yelling at it, it was feeling better. It stopped shifting around and settled for the moment. Then Bright Spark Mammoth's cannon wentoff. The flash was mostly directed into the ground, but there was still a loud boom as the edge of the pit cracked and slid down. It washed against the hauler's good leg, and came to rest - and the hauler's bellow was a different pitch as it jerked away from the loud thing. Thankfully, not on top of the driver, but it flung Owl and Hara into the mud without even noticing. Yet Mammoth's control was surprisingly precise: There was now a slope rising the ten feet or so to the top that had only partially buried the dragon-blood and the doctor, having lost most of its energy by then. It was loose, treacherous dirt and mud, but with some help from the others, it looked manageable. The driver groaned. "Is that guy crazy?" "Well, it worked..." Two men got ropes from the lead car, but passengers swarmed past them, trying to get a look. Shouts of "It's dangerous!" had little effect; people were confused, and some were panicking at the sight of the front cars pitched at strange angles. Mammoth's cannon hadn't helped. "Are we being attacked, now?" The merchant cut off his ranting and rushed to the window. "Someone's blasting at us and they're just standing there, what are those drat natives doing?" The minstrel appeared behind Letti and glowered at the merchant, but headed outside. Things were getting out of hand, and that simply wouldn't do.
|
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2015 00:38
|
|
|
Shain - PE: 16/16 | PPE: 28/28 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 | SM: 0 No matter how many times that question was asked, it never got any easier to answer. Sheer repetition helped Shain stop himself from wincing, however, allowing him to hold steady instead. "You know how things are. The real deal's never all it's cracked up to be." He said, raising his hands in a gesture that was at once apology and showmanship. "Need some eyes on the hauler, or do you have something else in mind?"
|
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2015 01:11
|
|
|
Tepet Letti - PE: 7/16 | PPE: 35/35 | WP: 5/5 | Limit 0/10 Letti made her way through the compartments just a hair slower than the doctor, stopping to share a word of encouragement here and there and assure people that it would all be handled shortly. When she reached the twisted, nearly overturned cars at the front though she stepped off the train and into the mud. It squished beneath her boots unpleasantly. "Oh dear. This will not do at all." she muttered, approaching the large trench that the Hauler-beast had floundered into. Someone squished into the mud behind her and she turned around to raise an eyebrow at Reyva- still in his tea soaked garments. She'd rather expected him to ignore the doctor's orders but her own were a bit more important. "Did I not tell you to change first?" she said. "It's all mud out here anyway!" he complained. He did have a point, so she let it slide. For now. "Do you need any help down there?" she called to Owl and Yu (though she did not know their names just yet.) She turned and found one of the attendants. "Please get some rope so Reyva can fetch the driver up at least." A rope had been found and tied around the (extremely unwilling) fireblood's waist when Mammoth brought a chunk of hill down. The ensuing quake knocked Reyva over the edge and he landed with all the grace of a flightless duck in mud up to his thighs. Letti clapped appreciatively. She'd rather thought he would end up on his face after his earlier failure to dodge a flying teapot. "There you go, now fetch him up!" she said, ignoring the long chain of expletives that were now coming from the mud-hole. She waved to the helpful young man on the other side of the trench and shouted: "Good work! We'll get the cars straightened out!" ---- Now that she had a bit of an audience, Letti found a discarded crate and stepped on top of it, putting her head and shoulders above everyone else, and just a bit behind them. "Everyone please remain calm, there is no danger! But we do need to work together to get things moving again!" She gave the yelling man a dire look. "If you do not mean to help, please remain in your car and wait, QUIETLY." That nuisance handled, she addressed the crowd again. "There are two tasks that need doing, the first is the construction of a bridge that will bear our weight- which is already being handled. The second is that the train must be reset, and the only way to do that is to pull it from the rear until it straightens. Any of you with horses, oxen, or other beasts of burden, please collect them from the rear cars and let us see this task done. This won't take long." ---- Letti would like to Instill a minor intimacy of "Let's Work Together To Fix The Train" on the crowd at large. Harmonious Presence Meditation (7m) 3 bonus dice to social rolls, all social influence dice costs are reduced by 1 mote. Listener-Swaying Argument (3-1 = 2m) 1 autosux Tiger's Dread Symmetry (0m) 1 bonus die to presence rolls Charisma 5/ Presence 5/ Specialty "Working Together" +1/ +3 HPM / +1 TDS = 11 sux, +1 LSA = 12 total sux! 
mistaya fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Jul 3, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2015 03:23
|
|
|
Daina Giedre Daina nods at Finn, and makes her way to the leparns. "Sounds good, I'll send her a Messenger when we figure out what's going on." Once at the furry beasts, she picks one and pets it gently on the nose. "Hey there, lovely, you wanna go for a run?" - - - The journey took longer than Daina hoped. The leparn was fast, but Daina still had her violin case strapped to her back and kept banging against her shoulders with every step. By the time the train came in sight, she was already quite sore. As she approached though, she realized that someone was shouting to get things organized. "HOOOOOOOYYYYY!" Daina shouts, waving frantically from the leparn. "We're from Lozari, heard you were having trouble, can you use these?" She smiled, then looked back at the village. "Let me send a message back, and then I'll help out as best I can." She turned back in her saddle, and held her hands together, softly singing a melody. A light formed above her hands, soft golden Essence taking shape. When her spell was complete, she held the light close and whispered to it. Finishing with a kiss, the light danced off. (Casting Infalliable Messenger. Sorcerous motes are free when you have time to spare, and the willpower cost comes back after casting it so...yay!) - - - Back in Lozari, a golden angel appeared before Severa. It was Daina's sorcerous messenger, as told by it's unique shape. Upon arrival, the angel unfurled itself and sang. ♪ Worry not my good friend Severa, ♫ Finn and I have traveled the terra. ♪ The train we see, and trapped by muck, ♫ We will be there, soon with great luck.
|
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2015 04:16
|
|
|
Beneficent Owl - PE: 3/16 | PPE: 23/35 | WP: 7/7 | Limit 0/10 He couldn't even get angry. That is, there was still the almost reflexive offense over putting his future patient in harm's way, but that...Fire Aspect? was so incredibly audacious that he just might actually be that good. Hopefully. Or he could just be crazy. Either way, the massive man was more like a natural disaster than anything else--and you wouldn't get mad at a hurricane, or a mudslide. He smirks for a second at his own joke, then glares up at the man while holding up his now incredibly muddy clothing. "Thanks for not burying me in a landslide or startling this hauler into crushing me to death? A bit more warning next time, if you would." Nothing for it, though. He struggles to extricate himself from the even-deeper mud, squelching over to Revya and the driver. "Here, I can help. Give me the head, and we can get him up our new ramp. " Even he can't mess up carrying the feet. As they carry the man, he considers berating Revya for leaving the burn victim. It might be personally cathartic, but would it change anything? Safely on solid ground, Owl begins to treat the driver in earnest. Rooting around in his bag for his set of acupuncture needles, he sighs at the mud covering them. With a shake of his head, he carefully dribbles water on them and then douses them in alcohol before dousing a splint similarly and setting it alight with a lens. Then begins the long process of sterilizing the driver before he can begin in earnest. There were faster ways, but everyone knows the driver was in a bad way; it's good to be known as a good doctor, but not that good. Wound-Mending Care Technique. Takes 15 minutes to treat, and he gets better over the next day or so. 5m.
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2015 03:31
|
|
|
Yu Tan Harakino - PE: 10/16 | PPE: 26/31 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 Hara briefly contemplates herding the hauler up the ramp before shrugging and heading up without it. "Good luck with that," she says to the newcomer with the massive cannon. A wave back towards the hauler accompanies her curt remark. He looks rustic enough, and she's not inclined to be all that polite to someone who managed to ensure not a single bit of her was free of cold mud. The Fire Aspect heads back towards the train to try to find a towel.
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2015 07:57
|
|
|
Bright Spark Mammoth PE: 6/16, PPE: 23/29, WP: 5/6, Limit: 0 Active Charms: Keen Hearing Technique (indefinite), Keen Sight Technique (scene) "That goes!" Spark said after moment, looking over his handiwork with pride. “I’ll do fine, lets see what this beast needs to go, but keep eyes out, this was a trap. God trap, Fairy trap, Dragon trap, I don’t know, but it is a trap. Give you a whole Caribou if I’m wrong.” He took another look around him, briefly climbing a nearby tree that was sagging sideways rather alarmingly, checking the horizon and listening for weapons, before trying to help out the train from the front end. Seemed the back end was getting pulled in order. “Good Hauler, nice hauler.” Per+Awareness Roll: 6 success Cha+ Survival Roll: 1 success
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2015 16:12
|
|
|
Lozari "I hadn't had much of an impression for it to crack up to. But it's enough that you'll probably not get yourself killed by ghosts." Everai shrugged. "I'll set my 'incompetent' soldiers to the hauler." He jerked his thumb toward the taiga behind him, which had become a swamp. "Don't know what you'll find that we didn't, but at least I can tell that outcast of yours that one of her own is on it." He turned to leave for town. "Beneath my pay anyway." The millhouse wasn't far east from the guard post. The wheel turned strongly with the rush of meltwater, near to overflowing under the bridge that crossed the stream. The miller was prodding sticks out from under the bridge to prevent a blockage when Shain arrived. Hauler train: TEAMWORK Letti's voice cut through the crowd. Heads nodded in agreement, and a team quickly formed and made for the rear to do as ordered. Others stood around looking helpless, especially the Realm nobles; what could they do to fill in a mudpit? But they soon sorted out. Someone laid out their cloak for Owl to rest the driver on while his wife went back into the train for blankets. Others went to puzzle over the lines, which were almost untangled by now. In minutes the scene of chaos had some semblance of order. [Instill is a success, although not everyone is quite sure on how to do as asked.] An attendant waved back to Daina as Finn left her to guide his leparn around the edge of the pit. "Aye, they can help straighten this mess! Just have a care on the edge." The minstrel had wandered nearer to Bright Spark Mammoth. "A trap, you say?" he asked idly. The hauler didn't seem pleased that Mammoth was near it, and shifted its weight backward, to be swatted away from the front car; it shifted forward, and frantic tugs on the lines signaled it still before it pulled the car over the edge. It was a horrendously awkward position to be stuck in, and it made that known with a bass grunt. The minstrel looked up at the massive creature, completely unafraid, and drew the bow across his fiddle strings. The song that started was lilting but calming, and the hauler stopped its shuffling with a sigh that blew dirt around. And as Mammoth scanned the mountainsides as the song played, he saw movement by a scrub brush - not much of it, but there definitely was something up there. But the lines weren't yet loose, and until then, the hauler was a massive target that most people were now distracted from. Under Owls' care, the driver groaned and opened his eyes, but they were unfocused. He blinked in confusion and tried to turn his head, but pain stopped him before Owl could. "Whadappened?" he mumbled indistinctly. Hara was greeted at the door by a well-dressed merchant who made no move to help her, but the young man beside him - more of a boy, really - held a stack of towels fetched from the washrooms, though he leaned heavily on a seat and looked at the wall rather than at her. The merchant whisked a towel off the pile and offered it to her - at arm's length. "So good to see that we're in someone's good hands," he said. "What a dreadful predicament. Might I offer you a change of clothes, my lady? I had intended to sell, but in exchange for your daring, I could bear to part with some." If he questioned the condition of her clothing before she got covered in mud, that seemed eclipsed by the wisps of smoke rolling off of her. Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Jul 7, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2015 02:51
|
|
|
Shain - PE: 16/16 | PPE: 28/28 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 | SM: 0 Approaching the bridge, Shain stopped for a moment and took in the scene. Peaceful, and oddly normal for Lozari. He hadn't thought about it much, but there was a sense of mismatch to the town, as if it had been built on the ruins of many previous settlements. Perhaps the hill it rested upon was even hollow, waiting for someone to dig inside and uncover a cache of wonders! That thought made him smile. Enough with the flights of fancy for now. Time to get down to business. Approaching the miller, he spoke up. "Mind if I interrupt you for a minute?" The miller straightened with a grimace. "Be glad of it. What can I do for you?" "Just a couple questions, nothing too fancy," Shain said. "Some people came here recently asking about that lost girl, didn't they?" He sighed and leaned back against the bridge railing. "That they did. Twice. You need the story again or they already give it to you?" Shain nodded, crossing his arms. "I think I got all the important details about this one. What I'm missing is the bigger picture. Do you remember when the disappearances started?" "Not sure. A year ago, now?" He rubbed his forehead. "Kids aren't s'posed to go past the city on their own, but sometimes they sneak out anyway. I knew I shouldn't have let the girl out there, but she was right near the house and I only stepped inside for a moment..." He shook his head. "Some think it's those folks in the mountains, but I don't. Not here." "You mean the cultists?" Shain frowned. It was odd how neither of the two bickering men had mentioned them. It was worth following up on that. "Why do you think they're uninvolved?" "They keep to themselves. Why come all the way down here? People still go there sometimes. You'd think they'da noticed something in a year." He waved a hand toward the taiga, not unlike Everai had. "'Sides, how'd they get that close and that far away without any sign? Makes no sense to me." "Did the town guard or the dragonblooded decide to go take a look just to make sure, or did they choose to stick to sweeps instead?" He frowned. "Not far as I know. You'd have to ask that general, if he gives you the time of day." "Ask him?" Shain snorted and rolled his eyes. "He's too busy taking the day off for that. I'm filling in for him instead. If you see anything unusual, let me know, alright?" Saying his goodbyes, he returned to town, to begin preparations for his trip to the mountain. He finally had a decent lead. Transient People fucked around with this message at 05:21 on Jul 7, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2015 03:58
|
|
|
Yu Tan Harakino - PE: 10/16 | PPE: 26/31 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 "Lovely, friend merchant, you honor me. Your kindness will not go unremarked. Whose merchandise will I have the pleasure of displaying?" Any hope of remaining unnoticed had vanished like face powder coated in mud and scrubbed thoroughly with a towel, so Hara determines she may as well make friends. She's met few merchants immune to flattery and free advertising.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2015 08:47
|
|
|
Bright Spark Mammoth PE: 6/16, PPE: 23/29, WP: 5/6, Limit: 0 Active Charms: Keen Hearing Technique (indefinite), Keen Sight Technique (scene) "Be wearing arrows and sword wounds if you don't be careful," Bright Spark grumbled, although he doubted Harakino could hear him. Ambush! Does nobody else get worried when they hear that word? Clearly, these strangers didn't respect him yet, that just wouldn't do. Alright, so the rest of the train was basically on cliff, but some folks were working to pull it backwards. Hauler in a pit, but it could get out. Couldn't bring whole train into pit without breaking down the cliff (take too long) or breaking all the wheels (train move too slow if they did that), so he had an idea. "Hey, you lot! Pull the train back far, I'll try to bring the hauler around, bring it to you, then we re-attach and move whole train around!" he shouted, and immediately began working to make it so. He moved slowly around the mighty beast, muttering soothing platitudes, eventually slipping behind it to where the long ropes and lines bound it to the train. He only had a basic hunting knife, but it would do. Keep the beast soothed while cutting it free: 1 success Now, whether it’d follow him was a separate issue! He fished out a few fragrant herbs from his pack and waved them slowly, wafting the scent of the tasty greens, and tried to encourage it to follow him out and around the pit. He kept an eye on the scrub where he was dead certain that an ambush awaited, but what was he to do, eh? EchoCian: if enemies start to move on us from what Mammoth believes is the ambush point, he'll activate Dragon's Snarl to launch a burning red flare above the caravan. Townsfolk who know Bright Spark will recognize this as meaning 'trouble here!' Mile'ionaha fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Jul 13, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2015 19:13
|
|
|
Train The merchant smiled. Its sincerity was questionable. "I am Agidus. You'll find no finer clothing than mine here, I assure you." He paused when he caught sight of what was happening beyond the windows, and groaned. "Cutting the ropes, what do they expect of us? Walk in that mud?" His next smile to Hara was plastered in place. "It seems my offer might be sadly delayed. 'Twould hardly do to ruin new clothing already." With the lines finally dropped from its back, and a light slap on the leg from the minstrel, the hauler stepped down fully into the pit with a grunt. It still put its weight carefully on the leg it had broken, but at a whiff of Mammoth's herbs its strides became more confident and it followed him to and up the dirt ramp, to a few rough cheers. And more than a few heads turned to watch Owl skeptically, some murmuring amongst themselves. The leg had definitely been broken, hadn't it...? The cheers died when a man emerged from the bushes. And three more crested the ridge above. In a breath there were at least a dozen of them atop the hills that made the pit impassable. They held their weapons where they were clearly visible, two archers with bows drawn. A woman choked off a shriek and huddled against her husband, but no one else moved as a figure seemed to materialize from the stones opposite from Mammoth. This man stood tall, dressed in rock-colored working clothes that nevertheless fit him perfectly. In one hand he carried a loaded crossbow; the other dangled casually beside the visible thowing knives strapped to his belt. He climbed down the hill with an easy grace. "Heretics," he announced. "Empire filth, here to bring us to heel? Do you bargain with spirits or slaughter them? Do you grovel to the earth but fear the sun on a man's brow?" "Of course we curse the Anathema!" a man shouted. "How dare you think-" The crossbow suddenly pointed at his brow silenced him. And the subsequent startling blast of Mammoth's warning shot into the air saved his life, as the stranger's glance jumped to the man with the cannon. Lozari "Hey," the miller said as Shain started off, "you can't be planning to walk up there right now, it's a mess out there!" BOOM The western sky lit up with a warning flare. "Hell with it," the miller yelped, "that was the tracks! Is someone attacking a hauler?" -- This is a good time to attack - or a good time to figure out what's really going on. They didn't try to butcher the caravan before now, after all. Roll JB or get them talking. Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jul 14, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2015 01:03
|
|
|
Bright Spark Mammoth PE: 6/16, PPE: 19/29, WP: 5/6, Limit: 0 Active Charms: Keen Hearing Technique (indefinite), Keen Sight Technique (scene) The young Icewalker brandished his huge weapon towards the sky, small reddish flames slowly dying down in its muzzle, looking almost defensive as the bandit stared at him. "Is this really what you want? Buncha guys like you could be out helping the town, not starting fights," he grumbled. "Yeah yeah, I get it, you get free, you get something nice, then suddenly the Realm decides to set up camp, but if there's gonna be a fight it's gonna be ugly for everyone, lotta us hurt, lotta you hurt." Trying to Read Intentions, which was already resolved in IRC. 4m total on boosting it, 2 successes. Not actually trying to Instill or lead to a decision point, but someone can act on what I just laid down.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2015 02:45
|
|
|
Shain - PE: 16/16 | PPE: 28/28 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 | SM: 0 "No, I think the mess is right here." The more he stared at the tracks, the more Shain grew convinced that something big was about to hit Lozari. Since the orichalcum deposits had been discovered, a strange sense of tension had settled down upon the town, as if the magma was waiting for a signal to erupt, and now the region had caught fire all at once. These were bad omens. Mentally, he added one more thing to his checklist — find the reasons behind all these happenings, if any, and take care of it. But first things first. "Never fails, does it? The one day I decided I felt like playing deputy..." The words were light-hearted, but there wasn't much humour in Shain's eyes. "Looks like I've got one more thing to take care of, besides planning a visit to the cultists. If the town starts blowing up too, just shout out loud. I'll be back before you know it." In the span of a second, Shain dropped to a running start and took off. He moved close to the ground, quickly and with a low profile, racing towards the hauler. It was rather far away, but it didn't matter. He'd get there in time. He had to.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2015 02:52
|
|
|
Tepet Letti - PE: 7/16 | PPE: 35/35 | WP: 5/5 | Limit 0/10 "Heretics?!" Letti exclaimed, as shocked as she could muster, (which was very shocked indeed.) "Come to bring you to heel? But then where are the soldiers, the weapons? We are simple merchants, sir, on our way to a town who will soon be in sore need of us, if they are not already!" She stepped forward, standing before the group and extending her hands protectively, in full range of the man's crossbow. "We have not come to bind or slaughter, but to sell and to barter. There are no monks here, to spread unwanted faiths. I will not allow you to harm these good folk, more than the bruises you have already given them with this selfish trick." Very quietly, so quietly that only Reyva, who'd managed to climb out of the pit to stand beside her, muddy as he was, could hear, she added: "These fools would never dare attack a caravan they thought could fight back. Prepare yourself, young dragon." Her nephew could only blink at her in surprise but he nodded and made ready. ---- Harmonious Presence Meditation (still up from previous): 3 bonus dice to social rolls, cost reduction of 1m for all influence rolls. Tiger's Dread Symmetry (passive): +1 bonus die to presence rolls, reroll 3 non-sux on intimidate rolls. Threaten action, Letti has promised not to allow the bandits to hurt anyone else here: Cha 5 + Pres 5 + HPM 3 + 2die stunt = 7sux, reroll 3 fails for 1 sux, for a final of 8. mistaya fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Jul 15, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2015 06:01
|
|
|
Beneficent Owl - PE: 3/16 | PPE: 23/35 | WP: 7/7 | Limit 0/10 Owl tries very hard not to glare at the bandits, succeeding only when he re-focuses on his patient. He continues to fuss over the driver, trying to keep his head down; he has already made far too much of a scene, from the way people are pointing and staring at the hauler. But what else was he supposed to have done? As he busies himself with the minutiae of disinfecting and bandaging, he tries to ponder the bandit's words. Is there another like me here? If so, do I even want them to know I exist? He looks up to give Letti a brief nod, approving of her methods. No need for a fight when simple intimidation can defuse a situation. ------- Trying to keep out of notice; if someone tries to initiate combat he'll try to do something but he is perfectly willing to let people social our way out of this.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2015 17:09
|
|
|
Daina Giedre Pers: 16->5/16; Peri: 40/40; Wp: 5/5 "Hey, hey, hey!" Daina shouts, waving her arms to get the crossbow man's attention, as well as the others from the train. "What's going on here? Nobody's attacking anyone. The Realm isn't here to invade or anything crazy, there're just here to enjoy the festival!" She took a longer look at the man, and recognized him. He's been in Lozari before, talking to Severa. Stayed a few times at her parent's inn, but mostly kept to himself. "So how about you tell us what's really going on here, and maybe we can all walk away without anyone getting hurt?" (Motive-Discerning Technique (3m) with Ex (8m) to Read Intentions for 18 dice and double 9's.) <Krysmbot> Krysmphoenix, (9 9 8 7 7, 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 3 2 1) = 5 (And with double 9's, that's 7 sux)
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2015 19:06
|
|
|
Yu Tan Harakino - PE: 10/16 | PPE: 26/31 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 "Bah," says Hara as the continued need to tramp through the mud becomes apparent. "Ugh," she adds when the ambushers arrive. The Fire Aspect listens to the other responses and adds her own just as the apparent leader is about to respond. With exquisite manners and exactly the right amount of humor, she interrupts: "Your pardon, sir, but some of us aren't from the Realm at all. It would be a tragedy to antagonize several neighbors at once when you had intended to attack only the one. If violence is a must, perhaps you might consider taking the time to sort the gold from the dross, as it were." Hara has enough sense of the man already that beneath her polite surface words she manages to convey another complementary message: "A direct attack on Realm citizens will just result in a few talons of troops coming to level the place; if you really want to hurt them you've got to lure them into exposing some truly valuable targets. Come find me once I get settled in and I can offer advice gleaned from Lookshy's centuries of opposition to the Realm." -Activating Mastery of Small Manners for 5m personal. -Using Subtle Speech Method twice for 5m personal 1m peripheral to secretly convey two ideas.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2015 04:27
|
|
|
Train The leader's eyes slowly passed over each speaker in turn. There was something strangely intense in his eyes, separate from the fact he hadn't yet lowered the crossbow. It was unreadable to Bright Spark, beyond the obvious from what he had already said. The man took in Letti's stance and his eyes narrowed, barely - but he didn't fire, or move to signal the others. His only answer to her question was a skeptical glance at her hooksword. For Daina, there was a flicker of recognition; he raised his chin a fraction. He listened to Hara, but before he answered her, he turned back to Daina and finally spoke again. "Miss Giedre, no one outside of Lozari has interest in a coming-of-age festival," he said, in the patient tone a teacher would use to correct a clever but mistaken student. "Much less from the Realm. Merchants or soldiers, they are here to exploit us, and I am here to ensure they do not." His voice held no malice, for now; only the sense that this was the way of things, just as the road was muddy, and there was no point in saying otherwise. His expression shifted to mild interest as his focus returned to Hara and he considered her words. "I have. Those who are not from the Realm need not worry. But those are few." He lifted his chin, his gaze sweeping the silent crowd - but he finally lowered the crossbow. "Who can vouch for the rest, without insurance? The spirits are already angered." His attention sharpened once more on Letti. That she had prepared Reyva for something hadn't gone unnoticed. "Can you, if you are prepared to fight despite your words?" Finn was stopped just ahead of Daina, crouched low over his leparn. He didn't seem to know whether to draw his daiklave or turn and bolt to town for backup. He looked at Daina helplessly when she caught up. "I think that's Liandre," he hissed at her. The name wasn't familiar. But now that she had a better look at the man, she found that something else was. He reminded her of Severa, somehow - and not just because she'd seen them talking. -- Mammoth's 2sux aren't nearly enough to beat Liandre's Guile, but he can at least draw some conclusions (resolved in irc). Letti barely beats his Resolve, making him hesitate and eventually put down his weapon. He counters with a Read Intentions for 6 sux, so he knows what she's up to. And that she's serious about it. Daina beats his Guile, earning an actual response, and notices some things. He heard Hara, but this isn't the time to discuss it. And a reminder that I forgot to mention before: Any description at all automatically earns a 1-point stunt, so always add 2 dice to rolls, and if you earned more I'll let you know. Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Jul 17, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2015 06:11
|
|
|
Daina Giedre Pers: 5/16; Peri: 40->36/40; Wp: 5/5 "Liandre? He reminds me of Severa. As blunt as her too." Daina whispered back, "Merchants, and their escorts to protect them from people who would randomly attack them." Daina said bluntly. "You haven't even given them a chance to see if they're here peacefully." As tempted as she was to speak for protection for everyone on the train, it would have to be on them speak for themselves. But something he said caught her attention. "What's wrong with the spirits?" She asked, no longer angry but now speaking with the voice of a girl concerned for her friends. (Charisma+Socialize+4m from Peri to Persuade him to tell Daina about the spirits, should barely qualify as Inconvenient, and I'm sure he has an intimacy.) <Krysmbot> Krysmphoenix, (10 7, 6 6 5 3 2 2 1 1 1 1) = 3 (oops, forgot stunt) <Krysmbot> Krysmphoenix, 3 + (9 9) = 5 sux
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2015 16:31
|
|
|
Train Finn looked like he wanted to answer, but stayed silent when Daina spoke. Liandre regarded her for a moment, his glance briefly flicking to his right before returning to her. "Your inn," he said, and turned to the assembled crowd. He didn't quite frown, but he was a step from it. "She speaks for you, knowing nothing of your origins, which is more valuable than you know. Do not betray her trust." Liandre raised his hand and watched impassively as people flinched, but his men quickly retreated over the ridge. He turned toward Daina, and she saw a flicker of annoyance on his face before he smoothed it out, and finally seemed to notice her companion. He sighed, shook his head, and a single graceful leap carried him to a rock outcropping halfway up the hill. A gust of wind blew past the crowd. There, he sat on the edge and watched like a king surveying his court from a balcony. "He's Severa's half-brother," Finn whispered to Daina. He'd shrunk even further down on his leparn's back; it shook its head unhappily at the shifted weight. "But you'd best ask her about it. They um, don't really get along." He stared at the pit. "You can guess why." Some passengers stared at her oddly. It was hard to blame them, after she had apparently made the crazy guy with all the weapons and his own posse stand down. Lozari outskirts Thankfully for Shain, the track was at least on the north side of town, so he didn't have to go far to reach it. As it came in view, he saw glimpses of a mess, though it would be hard to tell what was happening until he arrived; the terrain was in the way. It wasn't far, though. The odd thing were the half-dozen men picking their way down the hill in his general direction. -- Daina didn't beat his base Resolve, but she tagged an Intimacy: She cares about spirits, therefore he'll talk to her later. You all can try pressing him further, or you can focus on getting everyone to Lozari already. It's not much farther now. Shain can arrive shortly. Echo Cian fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Jul 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2015 03:20
|
|
|
Shain - PE: 16/16 | PPE: 28/28 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 | SM: 0 Instead of waiting for the men to come down, Shain came to them. He didn't get to bet too often these days, but odds were good they'd be able to tell him something about the crash. "Nice to see you, folks. Did you see that light too? I came here to take a look. Is everybody alright?" He asked. "Wonder who did it...you don't see those kinds of fireworks every day, that's for sure."
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2015 04:45
|
|
|
Tepet Letti - PE: 7/16 | PPE: 35/35 | WP: 5/5 | Limit 0/10 Letti let out a sigh of relief. That took care of that, hopefully. She dusted her skirts off and spared a smile for her nephew before approaching the local girl who had saved all of them a lot of trouble. "Thank you for the timely intervention, miss... Geidre was it?" She inclined her head politely. "I'm Letti of house Tepet, and I feel I owe you a favor. It was very brave to stand up to someone with a weapon for strangers you've never met." She nodded at Finn also, not forgetting he was there. "What was this about a festival?"
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2015 05:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 23:07 |
|
|
Yu Tan Harakino - PE: 0/16 | PPE: 25/31 | WP: 5/5 | Limit: 0/10 The muddy walk isn't going to get any shorter by standing around talking, so Hara does what she can to assist the efforts to return the train to order and cover the last small distance to their destination.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2015 05:54
|
|