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[ExaltedIC] "We attack at Dawn! No, at Eclipse!"
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He had a hunch of who might be on the other side.
"Can you hear me in there!?" he called out?
"Sindle!?"
He wasn't sure at the purpose of a wooden panel in a prison, but he had a theory - depending on a dynast's abilities, some might not so easily be contained by walls of earth, stone and metal.
The Ethereal Voice stepped forwards and concentrated on the door. Those who payed attention noticed his Caste mark flared up for a brief moment and his eyes glowed a pale shade of blue.
"If there is a spirit bound to this door, reveal yourself to me."
Spending the three motes to use Spirit Detecting Glance
Tzeentch in CitOW Game 53
"Mmm, I was having such a peaceful dreammm... You're nnot the Monk, why wouldst thou awaken me?"
Two dots of Linguistics would cover your needs, but if you want to keep your dots where they are, I'll assume that you only have Flametongue, and you can't understand what the spirit is saying.
Taking a few steps back, Gyler pulled out his Komodo and leveled it at the center of the panel.
"Stand back!" he yelled out, both to E.V. and whoever may be listening on the other side as he lowered his tinted goggles over his eyes.
And then he pulled the trigger, unleashing a forceful vortex of flames and bringing a long-awaiting daylight to the dark recesses hidden away under the Immaculate Temple.
The Ethereal Voice yelled as he tried to stop Gyler, but he was too late. The flames from Gylers Komodo wrapped around the door, and the Solar could do nothing but wince and hope that either his gamble paid off or that the spirit wouldn't become too enraged at the attack.
"Gyler stop this at once, there is a spirit within the door and it does not deserve such treatment!"
Turning back to the door, E.V looked towards it and hoped for the best. "Spirit of the door, I apologize for this others outburst but we are in dire haste. We would truly appreciate you opening for us and in exchange when we get out of here each of us shall make an offering and a prayer in your honor."
Tzeentch in CitOW Game 53
The backwash of heat from the finely-crafted firearm was intense in the small, cramped corridor, the smell of firedust lingering in the air, having completely wiped away the sweet floral scent that had previously been blocking out the smell of death and pain that filled the dark prison.
The spirit screamed and twitched in The Ethereal Voice's vision as the door burned, the concentrated heat at the center of the burst burning a hole directly through the door, right where the spirit had been coiled. It fell, limply coiling on the ground before shimmering into utter nothingness.
Beyond was a small chamber, made out of finely-worked stone, with small loops cut into each corner of the room to hold the ropes that stretched tight, spread-eagling the captive in the center of the room. The prisoner made no response to the sudden ignition and disintegration of the door, and continued whispering in a long-forgotten language in what sounded like a prayer.
Long sandy-brown hair pooled on the ground around her, the only part of her body that wasn't covered in some form of cut, bruise, burn, or scar. A blindfold was wrapped around her eyes, two bloodstains marking where her eyes would be, if they hadn't presumably been torn out. She might have been beautiful... once.
Lodwilk -
Gyler holstered his flame piece and ducked through the charred hole in the door. Truly, he could not help but be moved by the magnitude of the Order's cruelty at such an act. He rapidly made four cuts with his daiklave before returning it to its sheath, severing the ropes that bound the prisoner.
"It's okay," he whispered in High Realm to the woman as he kneeled down beside her. "We're here to free you." Raising his goggles, he removed the desert coat that hid his lamellar, and attempted to wrap it around the tortured woman to hide her shame.
"Are you Sindle?" he asked. She didn't have the distinct Cathak look upon her, from what he could tell - but who knew who she had been before the Order had gotten to her?
Gyler turned his head slightly, showing a disapproving look.
"Rescue. I meant rescue."
Back in the corridor, Ketan was distracted by the scene unfolding in front of him, forgetting that he was watching the stairs for a moment. When he turned, he saw a pair of guards, quickly ducking into cover on the cross-corridor at the other side of the prison block.
Looks like they've gotten bold enough to try again!
Upon seeing the state of the women however, he was able to forgive Gyler. Upon hearing her prayers though, E.V was able to pick up a few words here and there.
"Both of you shut up. I think I can figure out to whom she's praying to."
Tzeentch in CitOW Game 53
"Get away from that woman now! She's praying to the god of demons."
Pointing his dagger at Gyler, The Ethereal Voice tells him in an all too serious tone. "You had no problem burning that innocent spirit within the door. Well here you have a blind demon worshiper before you. Do what the Immaculate Order should have done."
Tzeentch in CitOW Game 53
It struck Ethereal Voice that cultural habits are apparently difficult to erase.
Running a finger down the side of her face, he attempted to quell her fear before trying to pick her up and bring her to her feet, adjusting the coat on her battered body to maintain her decency, hoping she would stand on her own. He whispered to her soothing words in the hopes that she still could hear him, and that it would temporarily allay her madness.
"If this had been done to me," Gyler sternly asserted to The Ethereal Voice, "I would pray to any god or demon I knew for salvation. You are a Lawbringer now - And there is no place in our judgment for rash proclamations."
"We still yet have enemies to shoot, Khan." He continued, spotting the movement of the guards down the stairs out of the corner of his eye, disgusted by his lack of compassion and his barbarity. "Surely we can begin to dispatch our foes first, before starting in on those who have done us no harm."
The Ethereal Voice, took a few steps closer Gyler and the woman, daggers still in hand. "As you said, we are Lawbringers, and she is someone who worships those who wish nothing more than to destroy the gods and their creations."
With that said, The Ethereal Voice sheathed his daggers. "This is not the time to debate philosophy, and you did come here to rescue me. So I shall respect your wish to save this women, even though I highly disagree with that action. As the Khan said though, she's your woman now. I shall raise no hand against her, unless she strikes first. Her actions are your responsibility now, and I hope you can live with that."
The Ethereal Voice turned around and left the room, joining Ketan outside. "Any further signs of trouble, Ketan?"
Tzeentch in CitOW Game 53
Calling back to the others he adds, "I believe it is time we made our way out of this dungeon. Shall we fight our way back up the stairs?"
Tsas Khan dug a silk scarf from beneath his armor, and tosed it at Gyler, then nocked another arrow to his bow.
"Come, Conlyth Gyler. Quiet your woman and we will get out of here."
"But you need to be quiet now. I don't want to have to gag you." He continued, gently clapping his hand over her scarred lips to still their mumblings. After a moment, he lifted the emaciated and catatonic woman up hopefully without causing too much pain, finally removing the hand that had been quelling her prayers. He begin to move forward behind the others, keeping it free to draw his Komodo if he needed to.
"Anathema! Surrender now, and you shall live to be purified and granted a good life in your next reincarnation! Resist, and you'll be killed, with no redemption for your wickedness!"
The sound of more guards heading down the stairs echoed through the corridors, mixing with the woman's whispered prayers, and the sound of beating on the other side of the heavy iron jail cell doors.
As he talks, he swings his lance in a circle above his head and then brings it down in a sharp arc in the direction of the stairs. "Order will fall. Chaos will reign. Only a man who stands for himself will stand for anything at all. Stand before me. Stand before the Blasphemous and be judged."
"Die, Anathema!"
Tsas and Gyler act on Tick 1, Ketan and Voice act on Tick 2. There's roughly a dozen guards moving towards you in a clumped mass, more coming down the side corridors. They're weak individually, but coordinated attacks can hurt you, and there are quite a few of 'em.
Golden-blue runes swirled around the length of the firewand's barrel as the faintest glimmer of a caste mark appeared behind the goggles pushed up on his forehead. As the Lightbringer was lining up his shot, the motes of essence served to focus and expand the imminent blast of flames, so as to catch as many of the immaculate zealots as possible in the searing inferno.
And just when they were perfectly lined up, Gyler pulled the trigger. His perception of time seemed to slow to a crawl. The unwinding clockwork springs of the twin hammers on the rear of the Komodo triggered their revolutions - both of them functioning perfectly as their flints simultaneously ground across the rough metal surfaces, a shower of sparks falling all around the breech and into the flash-pans to heat the volatile firedust packed inside.
And then, the eruption of flame.
Flawless.
Archery 5 + Firewand specialty 2 + Dexterity 4 + Accuracy 3 + 1 stunt die = 15 dice.
Arrow Storm Technique, one stunt die: 15d10x7 7
7 successes + base 9L damage - 3L soak = 13 damage dice
Six Damage rolls: 13d10x7 5 13d10x7 5 13d10x7 8 13d10x7 4 13d10x7 6 13d10x7 6
All toast.
Personal Pool: 0/12
Peripheral Pool: 24/29 (5 attuned)
Willpower: 5/6
DDV: 1 (base 5, -1 armor mobility, -2 mobility for holding the woman, -1 for attacking)
PDV: 3 (base 4 with the flame piece, -1 for attacking)
Acting next on tick six.
This time, however, he took advantage of the fact that the quiver was closer to his face. He moved his head like that of a rearing horse, and pulled three arrows from the quiver with his teeth. The expression upon his face that resulted - bared teeth framed by sun-bronzed skin and his fierce moustaches - had been enough to deter enemies from attacking in the past.
He plucked the arrows from his mouth and fired rapidly, one at a time. His blinding speed nearly matched that of Gyler's, and the broad-headed arrows flew just behind the bolts of fire.
1st attack: botch (man the probability of rolling this poorly is insane) - sooo unless i get stunt dice? boned
2nd attack: 1 success
3rd attack: 3 successes
damage - Strength (3) + Broadhead Arrows (2) - soak (3) = 2 + success dice
link
damage, 1st attack = ...well i guess i only roll damage if i get stunt dice and succeed.
damage, 2nd attack (3 dice) = 2 successes
damage, 3rd attack (5 dice) = 1 success
It was, in short, a massacre.
E.V decided to pick of a few more of them. Choosing not to do anything fancy or flourish he simply wound both his hands back and flung them forwards, launching the knives in his hands. The two blades spun through the air before each one impaled a different guard, dropping them to the ground.
damage: 5d10x7 1 4d10x7 2
Tzeentch in CitOW Game 53
Attack Roll, 15d10 = 5 successes I'm just gonna ignore that two of those were tens. So, if I understood this right, 5 successes minus a parry of 3 leaves 2 Successes.
So then my damage is 4+8+2-3=11
Damage Roll, 11d10 gives 5 Successes and still not bothering with the tens. Dude is toast, assuming I did that right.
Firedust, arrows, and knives whittle the doomed charge down to one man. Ketan steps forward smartly, engaging the lone guard with his lance. "What you lack in cowardice, you make up for in rote stupidity. You had no chance. We are the Chosen," he says as he slides the blade through the guard's guts. "You would do well to remember that in your next life."
They closed the distance quickly, blades flashing as they attacked The Khan and Gyler with practiced movements. They were skilled soldiers, but no match for the prowess of Sol's Chosen. The Kahn quickly stepped back from the blade of the one attacking him, spinning his bow in a blur and neatly deflecting the blade.
Gyler, with his Daiklave undrawn and his hands full of the crazy whispering lady, was not so lucky. The soldier came under his guard, the heavy chopping sword finding a weak point in his armor, drawing blood.
At the front of the passage, Ketan kicked the dying soldier off of his lance, casually spitting on the corpse. The smell of blood and charred flesh filled the air, the sound of maddened prisoners screaming forming a chorus for their glorious victory.
Then, a mountain of a man filled the doorway. Easily seven feet tall, his shirtless torso covered in corded muscle, a pair of jade cestae strapped to his fists. His shaven head indicated his status as a Monk of the Immaculate Order, his weapons indicated his status as a Prince of the Earth, one of the feared Dragon-Blooded, aspected to Pasiap, Lord of the Earth.
"So, it seems the Anathema have come to my dungeon. How convenient, I don't have to drag you down here to await the judgement of the Dragons. Submit!"
He advances on Ketan, his mighty fists prepared to strike down the anathema in front of him.
0-Tsas Khan, Gyler
1-Ketan, EV
2-Guards, The Monk
4-The Monk(BOOSH!)
5-EV, Gyler
6-Khan, Ketan
7-Guards
Current Tick=4. Since Exalted is going to be hella slow if we wait for action/response from everyone, I'd like you guys to establish a defensive strategy.
Read: "I will use X charm for X motes if under attack from The Monk, use Y Charm for Z motes if under attack from a Guard."
Naturally, using a charm removes your ability to defend with a charm.
The Monk's Defensive Strategy -
The Monk's DV is 5 base, but he'll use Charms(1st Martial Arts Excellency) to push that up to an effective 6 against any attack that includes the Obvious keyword, or if it pushes your Anima Banner to a new level(because hey, then you're clearly spending essence!)
His Soak is 9L/11B, or 7L/9B against charm-enhanced attacks.
"Monk DV 5(6 vs. Charm-enhanced attacks.) Soak 9L/11B, 7L/9B vs. Charm-attacks."
Ketan, he's about to attack you, so declare your defense.
The Monk looked down and grunted, a trickle of blood running down his bare chest. "Huh. Barely even felt that, Anathema! The Dragons will see you dead this day!"
14L damage is lowered by 7 due to soak, but he rolls ridiculous well and gets 5 successes, inflicting 5L directly to Ketan's face.
Ketan, however, gets his counterattack, rolling 8 to beat The Monk's DV of 5. With +2 dice, minus 7 soak(another 2M spent from The Monk) he manages to inflict 3L damage, putting a -1 wound penalty onto The Monk, lowering his base DVs by 1.
The Monk is at DDV2/PDV3 thanks to the wound penalty and the DV penalty for attacking, wide open for a counterattack! His Defensive Strat will only boost him to PDV5 now!
Ticks:
0-Tsas Khan, Gyler
1-Ketan, EV
2-Guards, The Monk
4-The Monk(BOOSH!)
5-EV, Gyler
6-Khan, Ketan
7-Guards
8-The Monk
EV and Gyler are up!
The blade bit deep into his armored shoulder, drawing an light upwelling of blood from his flesh wound, its red color lost among the hue of his crimson armor.
Gyler would be lying if he claimed that the blow wasn't a painful one, grimacing as he twirled away from the guard to gain room to draw his Goldenrod, the Daiklave of Orichalcum that was his birthright, reunited with him from the time it parted solar hands millennia ago. Its flawless edge threw dozens of faint and hair-thin beams of light across the stone dungeon floor, reflections from the trace particles of firedust in the air, still smouldering and only now flickering out.
Ignoring the guard who had dealt him the blow, Gyler locked his eyes on the massive man who had sent Ketan flying backwards with a tremendous essence-fueled roundhouse, a stupid grin of his face as he delighted in causing pain.
So, this was one of the ringleaders of this sick circus. Somehow, the thought of taking the fight to him emboldened Gyler, the pain of his wound all but vanishing as he dashed down the hallway with woman still in his arm, ready to deliver a mighty blow.
What were his minor flesh wounds compared to what she had suffered in this hellhole? This was righteous vengeance, and it fueled his desire to see this clown destroyed. At first he feinted left, and then spun right, ducking under the Monk's meaty fist. The extra weight of the auburn-haired girl he clung to, who might have been beautiful once, only adding to the essence and rage fueled momentum of the blow he delivered.
It's a 3-action flurry - drawing a weapon, dashing down the hallway, and attacking with Hungry Tiger Style, which means a total of -5 to the attack roll.
To offset this, I'm channeling compassion to add 3 dice to my attack roll. Hungry Tiger pushes me to 2 peripheral for the scene, not enough to trigger any sort of anima increase for his defensive strategy to trigger.
Wating on stuntage, gonna need all the dice I can get for this.
Edit: 1 stunt die, so 13 dice total.
Hungry Tiger Attack: 13d10x7 6
He has a PDV of 3, so I got 4 threshold successes.
8L base damage and 7L Soak means 5 damage dice.
Hungry Tiger Damage: 5d10 3 (10's don't count for double on damage)
3 Damage dealt.
Peripheral Pool: 24/29 (5 attuned)
Willpower: 4/6
DDV: 0 (base 5, -1 armor mobility, -2 mobility for holding the woman, -1 for attacking, -1 for dashing)
PDV: 5 (base 7 with the Daiklave, -1 for attacking, -1 for dashing)
Acting next on tick 10.
The Ethereal Voice then quickly reached into his robes and pulled out two daggers. The Solar flung each dagger in different directions, one of them flew past the gaurd who had attacked Glyer, bouncing off the wall and landing on the ground. The guard who had attacked the Khan was not so lucky however and dropped to the ground, with a dagger firmly imbedded in his throat.
damage: 4d10x7 3
Tzeentch in CitOW Game 53
Waaait, did I do that wrong? The wound penalty comes after the attack roll? I guess I'll do that again. Urrrgh, bad roll
Attack fixed: 15d10, 5 successes
minus 2 for wounds and 2 for pdv and one success left. 13l minus 9l soak gives us 4
Damage Roll: 4d10, 1 Success
I liked my first roll so much more
Ketan steadies himself, looking past the pain. He landed his blow against the Monk, but paid a heavy price for allowing his opponent to get so close. As he watches Gyler charge into the fray, Ketan lunges towards the Monk, intent on making a nuisance of himself. Once, twice, three times he parries the Monk's strikes, keeping the length of the lance between them. But as Gyler's blow finds its mark, so too does Ketan's as he slashes the Monk low along the calf.
He'd grin, if his face didn't hurt so much.
The Khan pulled three arrows at once, two in his palm, and one ready to nock. His considerable dexterity exceeded his usual fleetness as he flipped the other two arrows in his fingers one at a time, nocked them, and let fly.
In the blink of an eye, three arrows are drawn and released. The Khan's vision sped to normal, and to the naked eye, they must have seemed to have been fired simultaneously. All three streaked directly toward the chest of the Dragonblood. The giant Imperial warrior's face had been in a fearsome countenace. It exponentially spead to something between surprise and grimace as Tsas Khan's trance ended and brought him back to his accustomed perception of time.
note: the following assumes no stunt dice and DV's that are identical to the last update on the DB's status... I think... rainy can make that call and roll them herself or I can edit it later if need be!
anyway, getting on with it...
1st attack: 5 successes
2nd attack: 4 successes
3rd attack: 4 successes
so... damage time
first attack damage = 5 dice - 7 soak + 1 threshold success = -1 dice; must resort to essence ping of 2
first attack damage = 5 dice - 7 soak + 1 threshold success = -1 dice; must resort to essence ping of 2
first attack damage = 5 dice - 7 soak + 2 threshold successes = 0 dice; must resort ot essence ping of 2
1st damage roll = 0 successes
2nd damage roll = 2 successes
3rd damage roll = 0 successes
The sole remaining soldier gasped in horror and fled, casting his sword behind him, the echoes of clanging steel on stone mixing with his frantic footsteps as he scurried up the corridor.
The noise from the prison cells had quieted, as though the inmates themselves were deeply curious as to who had just fallen.
The Khan shouted, as if to answer the silence of the prisoners, and call after the guard who fled in terror.
"Look at him now. These so-called 'Immaculates' stand no chance against the arrows of Tsas Khan! Soon, all shall ride to freedom under the banner of I and my allies!"