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[ExaltedIC] "We attack at Dawn! No, at Eclipse!"
Rainfall
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
The Ethereal Voice languished.
Betrayed by those he had thought allies, thrown into a jail cell simply for becoming one of the hated Anathema. The squadron of soldiers outside were easily enough to hold him back until the Immaculates themselves could arrive. Then, it would be over quickly.
He heard a clattering, and footsteps. "We just need to stamp your documents. Please be patient, noble Star Ring. I just need to check that all these are in order. Sej! Check these, get your stamps!"
A low bass rumble. "Assessor 'Greenjade,' I grow impatient with these delays."
A quiet baritone, soothing. "Just wait, noble Star Ring. Wait for Sej to return with the stamps, then..."
A fourth voice cut in, instantly trustworthy, the soft tenor and elegant Realm accent music to the Voice's ears. "Sir, you know enough to recognize our papers on sight. Time is of the essence here, the Ambassador needs to ensure that the Anathema has been captured and contained, and he can only accept this if he sees the demon with his own eyes."
"Well... alright. Dragons know I've seen enough assessors and ambassadors in my days to not want to piss them off."
Keys rattled. The Voice's breath caught in his throat. What exactly was going on, here? No ambassador should have known of his capture.
"Tsas! Don't touch that!" Greenjade sounded alarmed.
"Don't tell a Khan what to do!" Star Ring sounded angry.
"What the hell?" The guard captain sounded confused.
"Everyone duck!" The persuasive voice sounded urgent.
Skidding, sliding, a large thump.
When his vision finally cleared, The Ethereal Voice saw three figures standing in front of him, one of them wiping blood from an Orichalcum daiklave.
"Hey there. We thought you might need a hand."
Betrayed by those he had thought allies, thrown into a jail cell simply for becoming one of the hated Anathema. The squadron of soldiers outside were easily enough to hold him back until the Immaculates themselves could arrive. Then, it would be over quickly.
He heard a clattering, and footsteps. "We just need to stamp your documents. Please be patient, noble Star Ring. I just need to check that all these are in order. Sej! Check these, get your stamps!"
A low bass rumble. "Assessor 'Greenjade,' I grow impatient with these delays."
A quiet baritone, soothing. "Just wait, noble Star Ring. Wait for Sej to return with the stamps, then..."
A fourth voice cut in, instantly trustworthy, the soft tenor and elegant Realm accent music to the Voice's ears. "Sir, you know enough to recognize our papers on sight. Time is of the essence here, the Ambassador needs to ensure that the Anathema has been captured and contained, and he can only accept this if he sees the demon with his own eyes."
"Well... alright. Dragons know I've seen enough assessors and ambassadors in my days to not want to piss them off."
Keys rattled. The Voice's breath caught in his throat. What exactly was going on, here? No ambassador should have known of his capture.
"Tsas! Don't touch that!" Greenjade sounded alarmed.
"Don't tell a Khan what to do!" Star Ring sounded angry.
"What the hell?" The guard captain sounded confused.
"Everyone duck!" The persuasive voice sounded urgent.
Skidding, sliding, a large thump.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
When his vision finally cleared, The Ethereal Voice saw three figures standing in front of him, one of them wiping blood from an Orichalcum daiklave.
"Hey there. We thought you might need a hand."
Assume introductions are done in blackspace between OP and first post. Including a physical description of your character, be it in a spoiler or whatever, would be cool. You have a few moments to plan and/or act before reinforcements arrive. Gyler has one bag of boom left.
All of you have your weapons. Ketan is really persuasive
All of you have your weapons. Ketan is really persuasive
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Indeed, a closer examination confirms this. Under the beige traveler's cloak that extends past his knees, the crimson scaled lamellar he wears bears the marks of high quality craftsmanship, the Arbani flame piece holstered at his hip a sign of exquisite taste, and the bright pommel of the large sword strapped across his back all point out that this is someone special, someone worth listening to, someone worth following.
When his true solar nature is revealed, his caste-mark shines solidly and brightly, and trails of blue-gold essence whip around him, echoing his fluid movements. The draw of his masterfully engraved flame piece is more of a blur than a motion, causing the casual observer to question if the firewand hadn't been in his hand the whole time. As his anima banner flares, the essence trails expand and solidify, forming swirling bands of runes in an indecipherable language that flow to accentuate every pull of a trigger and strike of a Daiklave, every beat of a rousing speech and each stroke of a bureau-rectifying pen.
Gyler kept his hand on the hilt of his flame piece as he glanced around the scorched door frame leading back towards the way they came, his caste mark still lightly glimmering.
Twisted metal hinges dangled limply, and a large collection of kindling and splinters were embedded like thousands of needles both in the walls of the room beyond, as well as in Sej, who to his misfortune, had indeed been dutifully returning with the stamps.
"Well," he noted, taking stock of the remaining bag of firedust dangling off his belt loop. "There's no way we're making it out through the front door after that, and I don't think we have enough dust to blow through the thick masonry walls on the first floor, but we can still break through the thinner walls on the upper floors."
"You know your way around here, E.V.?"
Tsas Khan bears a gaze and countenance as harsh as that of his desert homeland. In all other ways, he might appear to be any other warrior of the arid steppes, wastelands, and deserts of the south.
Similarly, his steed Jalayir bears no distinctive livery but is clearly a lord among horses... and his falcon Hazār can inspire the terrible knowledge that the charge of his horsemen draws near.
The falcon on Tsas Khan's shoulder coughed. It was a strange sound. It isn't every day one hears a bird cough.
The Khan removed the bow from his other shoulder, and checked the quiver at his hip to make sure it was still well intact.
"I hate all this skulking around indoors. Whichever way gets us out the fastest."
Ketan is currently a study in browns. Sand colored robes cover his dark skin and his even darker lamellar armor. His hood thrown back reveals a face that exudes both trust and confidence of purpose. Both his hair and small beard well trimmed to combat the desert heat. In one hand he holds the great lance "Truth". In the other a small satchel for carrying scrolls and other paperwork.
"Close quarters gives us very little room to manuever. We can hold the entrances for a time, but eventually they will simply fire the building rather than let the Anathema escape. We must either retreat quickly before they have a chance to surround us, or strike first in a place that they do not expect us."
Ketan swings the satchel over his shoulder and then shifts the lance to a two-handed grip. "I say we escape this building and strike inward. A jailbreak isn't enough. We must send a message."
Although he is a man of knowledge first, the Solar is by no means useless in a fight. Hidden amongst his robes are several exceptional knives that the Exalt could throw with impressive accuracy and finesse.
“Sadly I am not exceptionally familiar with this buildings layout, but I am sure I could lead us out of here that won’t lead to our deaths. I would have to agree that standing around here would not be the wisest decision. So let us get out of here, and let us bring down anyone who tries to stop us along our way.”
One exit is filled with the sound of approaching guards, but it's also the route the group took to get into the prison. The other exit from the room leads deeper into the building, but away from immediate pursuit.
And, of course, there's the hole in the ceiling.
Perception+Awareness, Difficulty 2(Sound-based)
It was the easy way out - An Exalt could make the leap while mere mortals would struggle, giving them the vital seconds that he needed to set the charge and blow a hole through one of the weaker walls of the upper floor. The least danger, and they had already accomplished what they set out to do.
But then he remembered the looks on the faces he had seen. Ketan - relishing every second of this, the widest grin on his face, so desperate and elated was he to embrace his destiny and finally strike a tangible blow to the order. Tsas Khan, finally where he belonged - in the middle of the action. And the newcomer - the Ethereal Voice - the palatable anger in his tenor, the hate he now directed at his captors, and from the looks of his clothes, his former friends, now turned on him.
No man or god ever achieved greatness by sticking to the plan. They seized the opportunity.
"This way!" called out Gyler, unholstering his Flame Piece and reversing the grip on his Daiklave as he headed down the path deeper into the confines of the building.
"Let's find out what else the Order hides away behind its locked doors!"
Also, the perception check: Perception + Awareness: 6d10x7, 2 Successes
The Khan nocked an arrow to his bow in anticipation and followed his fellow Solar.
Coming to a quick stop with the Ethereal Voice hot on his heels, he glanced back and with a quick hand signal, indicated that Ketan and the Khan were to check out the door on the right, while he and the Twilight were to investigate whatever lay behind the door on the left.
An improvised count went up among the four of them, and as it reached zero, Gyler threw his shoulder into the door, intending to surprise any potential foes who may be waiting for them on the other side.
The clerk shivers behind his desk, clearly petrified by fear.
On the other side of the hallway, Ketan pushes the door open to find an interrogation chamber, a simple table with straps and a locked cabinet next to it. There's a series of holes cunningly worked into the walls to carry sound over to the actual prison cells, to make waiting heretics think of the suffering they have ahead.
Investigation+Perception roll, difficulty 3 re: torture chamber
The Solar decided to stay off to the side to let the two of them enter the room first.
"The prisoner dossier. Let's see it. And some blueprints of the complex while you're at it. Be quick about it now!"
"Oh no, oh no, where did it go? Did it get knocked onto the floor?"
He moves to his hands and knees, brushing through some of the papers before holding up a stack. "Here you go! Please don't kill me!"
Down the hallway, you hear a crash and the sound of shouting guards as they push through the rubble that was blocking their entrance to the main cellblock you just came from.
"HELP! HELP! THEY'RE OVER HERE!" The clerk shouts frantically, backing into a corner away from Gyler.
Everyone check the OOC OP, it's updated with character sheets and some cheesy blurbs!
Wits + Bureaucracy +3 autos: 6d10x7 6
9 Successes
Daaaamn!
Personal Pool:6/12
Peripheral Pool 24/29 (5 attuned)
He examines the cabinet to see whether martial prowess will make up for his lack of a key.
The Khan seemed disappointed at the lack of enemies to shoot at. He'd seen so very many people he'd wanted to shoot on the way in. Like whoever was making the pathetic simpering and sobbing noises behind the door Gyler had opened.
"Have you found anything, Conlyth Gyler?"
Ketan winced. He had hoped that Tsas would not have heard him. He more or less expected what he heard next.
"If we are to succeed, all shall know our names and give due attention! Have you learned nothing from I and Conlyth Gyler?"
"Some very interesting stuff," Gyler remarked in a tone indicative of deep thought.
The commotion of the advancing guards, however, prompted them to action. "Quick, this way!" he called out, heading down the stairs.
Arrow nocked, the Khan made after Gyler, keeping the rear of their position in his peripheral vision.
He had hoped to interrogate the man himself, but the others where already on the move. Still carrying two of his throwing knives, The Ethereal Voice chased after his rescuers down the stairs.
"I must admit, if we're able to free the other prisoners I'd very much like to do that. They could prove to be useful distractions, and any that make it out could become valuable allies."
"Free? No, Ethereal Voice. If they leave... they leave as our prisoners until we know that they are willing to aid our cause. Perhaps they can be convinced to do so."
Rolling his eyes at the Khan's words, Ketan vents his frustration by tearing the lock from the cabinet door. "What do we have here?"
In the hallway, Tsas and Gyler can both see the guards rounding the corner and coming down the corridor towards the group. Armored in mere buff jackets, cloth wrapped around their faces to block heat and dust, it's clear that these are guards normally posted on the outside. They draw their swords as soon as they see the exalts.
"Halt!"
Following a dismissive shrug of their shoulders, Gyler and Tsas Khan skidded to a stop, facing their accusers.
"No, you Halt!"
"How many?" he mouthes.
"Conlyth Gyler... stand still."
Tsas Khan kicked his hip quiver with the back of his heel, and for a moment the guards were distracted, looking up at the two ascending arrows and wondering what in blazes was going on... that is, of course, until the Khan fired his knocked arrow and proceeded to pluck the next two from the air and fire them before they hit the ground.
As for why Gyler shoud not have moved... the arrowhead that passed millimeters from his temple may have been the cause. He and the Khan might have cause to speak of it later.
Arrow Flurry -3/-4/-5: 5#1d10 6 9 2 7 7
4#1d10 6 3 7 1
3#1d10 4 1 5
Dang missed the third... hopefully I get a stunt on this. Knew I shoulda used an excellency with only three dice.
"Take cover!" The remaining guards immediately moved out of immediate line of sight, their short curved blades sticking out into the entryway to cut off any chance of exit the way they had came.
"They're trapped down there, it's just a matter of time before The Monk gets back!"
"We've already gone this far," said the Lightbringer, striding to the top of the the stairs which descended down further into confines of the complex, turning to face his fellow Solars.
"I want to see what's down there. Who's with me?"
At the far end of the corridor he was looking down was a rather... different door. Made of some kind of solid wood, it sprouted vines and flowers, presumably the source of the sweet scent wafting through the corridors.
Layout of the prison block. Orange is corridors, green is the stairs down, black is heavy iron doors, the red door at the opposite end of the corridor is the wooden flowery door.
"I'm assuming none of us thought to check if there was a key in that torture room did we?"
The Khan pointed, of course, toward the wooden door that seemed alive.
"Which prisoner is behind that one?"
Gyler pondered blasting the door the smithereens with his flame piece, but the thought of Sej's grisly end stayed his hand.
Unsheathing his gleaming orichalcum daiklave and taking a two-handed stance, he strode towards the curious door and looked for any obvious weak spots.
Tsas Khan took a hard look at the door.
"Ethereal Voice... it strikes me that this door may very well be a living thing. Tell me, what do you see?"