RttToFC/Session15

Alyssa: so, while we wait, we're off to find this hidden city. anyone have any clever plans?

Thelaos: Hm. Well, there's an abyssal and The Bull.. they may or may not be teaming up.

Thelaos: All I can think is that we should arrange for them to meet and kill each other if they haven't already :P

dakkareth: Step 1: Aerial overview and mapping of the terrain around Lake Uddjare. Step 2: Question local gods, elementals and ghosts. Step 3: Try to find the Bull's expedition or the Abyssal forces and find out what they know.

Beyond the Tomb of Five Corners - Session 15

Kuros: OK. Everyone is still At Son's manse, contemplating travel to Lake Uddjare. You may begin!

Alyssa: "So, is there anything else to do before we leave? And are there sufficent Agatae for our number?"

Silk makes sure that the three DB's daiklaves are among the things packed. "Returning them to their master might make for a suitable peace offering if that is what we desire."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I will need another agata for our new companion. Each can carry two at the most."

Astrid was busy sitting off to the side, contemplating the situation... At least until Son said something. "Oh! Don't worry about me, I can just turn into a bird and sit in someone's things or something"

Silk: "Son, there's also something I'd like you to look at before we leave."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "In that case, we do have enough agatae."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "And what would you like for me to look at, Silk?"

Silk: "There's that coin, that was with the body of one of the Dragonblooded killed by the masked Abyssal along with the message for Alyssa. I know sorcerers can spy through magical coins, so I sequestered it, but before we leave I'd like for you to look at it and make certain it's not a spying device."

Silk leaves and returns after a few minutes with a silver coin

SonoftheMetalFlame takes the silver coin, looking it over.

SonoftheMetalFlame drops the coin, stepping back. His face has an unreadable expression on it, but his rate of breathing appears to have increased.

Silk looks at him questioningly

SonoftheMetalFlame: "My apologies." Son bends down and picks the coin back up. "I am not sure if it is being used as a spying device, but... it seems to have jolted a memory loose."

Astrid: "Are you okay?" Astrid asks, looking somewhat curious. "Well, if there's any doubt in your mind, why not get rid of it anyway? I mean, it's just one coin, right?"

SonoftheMetalFlame: "No, we're not getting rid of it. This has something to do with my past, and I need to know more about it."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Or, I should say, my past incarnation."

Astrid: "Well... At the very least, is there any way to tuck it away so if it 'Is' a spy thing, that it won't be doing any damage?"

Silk frowns. "Then we should sequester it once more, though, while you aren't investigating it." He offers the piece of cloth he had wrapped it in and the box it was contained in to Son.

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I... I just have this feeling that it may be relevant to our pursuits. I wish to keep it with me."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I will gladly dispel it, though. If there is any sorcery on it, there won't be when I am done."

Astrid: "That should help"

Silk nods. "Best to be certain."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Then I shall go to do that in the basement. I do not think it would be wise to flare my anima up out here."

SonoftheMetalFlame walks to the main building and enters.

Kuros: Anyone want to do anything in the interim?>

Alyssa is ready to depart.

Astrid: ((Nope, I'm good))

Silk likewise

Thelaos: (all set here)

Silk: (depending on preference I think, but I'd vote for taking our time at least to the degree that we can count our days of travel as training, IE fly no more than 8-10 hours per day)

Kuros: The agatae buzz down, ready to be mounted. THey look at each other distrustfully, keeping several yards apart.

Silk, his usual traveling bag on his back, mounts the one he has used before. No sense in not maintaining a working relationship.

Alyssa likewise selects her usual ride.

SonoftheMetalFlame takes up the other agata.

Astrid looks about a few times, glancing from rider to rider in thought. "Erm..." She begins. "Any preference as to who I should go with?"

Alyssa: "Do you have a preference for which of these men you ride?"

Kuros: One of the agatae speaks up in a voice of chimes. "Me! Come with me!"

Kuros: THe other whacks the one who spoke with a leg, and jumps in front next to Astrid. "No, with me!"

Alyssa: "Behave," Alyssa snaps to her steed.

Silk keeps a stoic face

SonoftheMetalFlame: "I think it might be best that you take the form of a raven and ride in someone's backpack."

Thelaos, still quiet and distracted by his own thoughts, climbs upon one of the Agatae without a word.

Kuros: The agatae Alyssa is reading flutters its wings, and hisses at her. "I am the best mount!"

Alyssa: "Don't tell her that, show her that," she advises him. "Start by not bouncing us around like baggage."

SonoftheMetalFlame speaks in a harsh tone. "You are both fantastic mounts. We are very proud of you. It is simply difficult to divide one person in half to ride the both of you."

Astrid looks between the two Agata in thought, frowning--the blushing frantically at Alyssa's insinuation. "Th... That's none of your business!" She complained, crossing her arms, and in a flash of silver light, and looking confused and conflicted for a moment, she eventually settled into Silk's pack, looking as embarassed as a bird could

Silk watches the transformation with interest. "A useful ability, that."

Astrid: "Caw" quoth the raven--and nothing more

Thelaos speaks in an impatient tone - very rare for him - "we're wasting time.. let's go."

SonoftheMetalFlame smiles. "You know the way, agatae. Lead on."

Kuros: They leap into the air...

Kuros: Ride checks, difficulty 2

Silk quietly cheats, essence keeping his balance perfect

Kuros: ALyssa's mount gets a few feet off the ground, when she slips off and falls to the ground.

Alyssa: Muffled swearing from the ground about the treacherous habits of Agatae.

Silk brings the agata down again. "An inauspicious beginning, were I to believe in such things."

Astrid looked smug for a minute--unfortately, the lack of vocal cords meant that she cuoldn't properly giggle at Alyssa's plight

Alyssa remounts behind Silk and grabs hold of the back of his belt. "It's never happened before."

SonoftheMetalFlame laughs at Alyssa's comment. "Don't worry, it happens to all of us at some point."

Kuros: (Roll again, Alyssa)

ExBot: Alyssa rolled 4 dice [ 1 1 4 6 ] - double botch!

Silk reaches to catch Alyssa before she falls again

Silk: "Slower, steadier! You don't have to prove your speed and strength just yet," Silk admonishes the agata.

Kuros: The agatae get a few dozen feet in the air, when ALyssa slips off again, this time taking Silk with her. You are directly over a building, unfortunately, and bounce off the roof, landing headfirst on a solid rock stuck halfway into the ground.

Silk: As Alyssa drags him off the agata Silk reacts by instinct, bringing his feet under him to catch the roof and come to a halt in a few steps, still supported by the Essence rendering his balance absolute.

Astrid was a little bit shocked next when Silk and Alyssa both began to plummet off of the Agata--taking her with them--she did a quick mental calculation of what was going on though--and the raven dove down to keep up with them, another brief flash of silver bursting out as a pair of silver clad hands reached forward, a pair of black wings visible as Astrid caught the two Exalts mid flight--several frantic flaps later as she reduced the speed of the fall

Astrid: --then landed with a musical sort of clatter, settling them down. "Don't fall off in the future..." She says, looking a little annoyed at this.

Silk: Startled by the sudden appearance of a winged figure behind him, Silk rolls and dodges in mid air, trying to dodge the grasping hands.

Astrid: ((BTW, rough explaination of the appearance of her War Form--still mostly humanoid features, roughly Astrid's original build, but her hair's gotten silly long at this point, she's got a pair of huge black wings coming out of her back, and her armor's fully visible, more or less a second skin with a bunch of intricate mandalawork all over it))

Thelaos sees the second fall and urges the Agata down to the ground quickly, to meet them.

Silk thrashes in the bird-monster's grasp, almost lashing out with a weapon before he recognizes Astrid and subsides

Alyssa: "Thank you for the catch," Alyssa says to Astrid.

Astrid: "Please be more careful in the future?" Astrid says with a sigh at Silk's sudden burst of near aggression, crosses her arms, and pouts for a moment, before poofing back into her Raven form

Silk: "Ahem." He looks a bit embarrassed. "Not necessary at this height, but thanks anyway."

Silk: "And sorry for that."

Thelaos jumps from the back of the agata as soon as it lands, walking over to the other three.

SonoftheMetalFlame continues sitting on the back of the agata.

Thelaos: "This may not be the best idea. These demons may be quick, but none of us are accomplished riders."

Silk remounts his agata and produces a length of rope from his voluminous sleeves. "From now on we make certain not to repeat this ..."

Alyssa: "What do you have in mind?"

Thelaos: "Besides.. even if we can make the entire journey without.. accidents.. we will helpless if someone *can* reach us in the air."

Astrid: The Raven looked at Thelaos with a huff, shaking it's head, then pointing a wing at itself--as best as such a creature can anyway

Thelaos: "We can take the river as far north as possible. From there.. the road. There are other methods of travel faster than walking, and we can still make better time than the Bull's men would have."

Silk nods toward the raven. "Yes, we are not defenseless. And it is only the taking off that poses difficulty. Once we are in the air it should be easier."

Silk: "I guess, we could wait while Son creates saddles for the agata to make it easier to stay on top."

SonoftheMetalFlame nods. "It shouldn't be too hard or take too long for me to create sufficient saddles for these demons."

Silk: "But we should not surrender the advantage of aerial travel unless there is no way we can make it safe."

Alyssa: "I'm deuced if I'm giving up for something as foolish as a minor tumble," Alyssa agrees.

Silk: "It may be neither comfortable nor dignified, but there are additional safeguards we can use." He lets a length of rope dance on the palm of one hand like a dancing snake.

Alyssa: "Safeguards that I'm still waiting for you to explain."

Thelaos: "Very well. We will try this again. But even riding a tamed horse for ten hours can be very difficult.. and that is without gusts of wind, weather, or the possibility of falling the height of a small mountain."

Silk looks puzzled. "Tying ourselves to the saddles Son will build, I mean. I thought my meaning was clear."

Alyssa: "I was hoping I was misinterpreting you. Alright, if that's what it takes."

Silk grimaces. "I don't like it much either, but if it prevents you or someone else from falling from a less manageable height ..."

Alyssa: "I shall consider it incentive to learn to be a better rider."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "It will take me two days to make sufficient saddles for the agatae. Can we spare the time?"

Alyssa: "It might be faster than waiting for me to recover from a cracked skull if I take a tumble again."

SonoftheMetalFlame nods, dismounting from his agata. "So then, if there are no objections, I will go and begin."

Silk nods. "Any other method of travel would be slower by enough to make the delay worth it over this distance."

Alyssa looks at the Agatae. "Sorry, but it seems you're a better ride than I can manage."

Silk: (fast forward here?)

Kuros: (Yes. Two days, you get two saddles)

Kuros: Ride roll, diff 1

Kuros: (Yay, no one falls.)

Astrid: ((Just this once, everybody lives!))

Kuros: You head to the northeast, zipping along at a speedy 30 miles per hour

Kuros: You make it a day relatively unmolested...and you stop to train?

Silk: In the evenings when the day's ride is over Silk spends much time away from the camp, practicing his dancing in secluded forest clearings, going through sequences of facial expressions before the mirror of quiet ponds and exercising his voice where he is unlikely to be heard from afar.

Silk: He seems to like practicing in privacy but makes no greater than usual efforts to evade the others, should they be curious.

Astrid: Astrid ... Spent much of the coming days napping--she wasn't yet aware of any particular weaknesses after all...

Alyssa puts most of her effort into tending camp and also ventures to nearby villages if she can, to purchase food for the circle.

Kuros: You set off the second day, a few hundred miles to the northeast...Per+Survival rolls

Kuros: Astrid, Silk, you smell rain in the air, and notice the clouds beginning to darken. You sense an extremely powerful storm brewing.

Astrid: The Raven suddenly perked up in it's position, cawing as it pointed to the northeast, then pointed down, repeating the process until it managed to pass the message along

Silk nods, having seen the dark clouds as well and having felt the wind pick up.

Kuros: The skies darken very quickly, and thunder begins to boom. Raindrops begin to fall as the wind picks up.

Silk: "Landing now would be a good idea, yes."

Astrid: The Raven nods quickly

Alyssa: "If you think it wise."

Kuros: Below you is spotted forest and plains. As you descend, you see a few dozen people fleeing south, with a large contingent of people right behind them on horseback, slaughtering them as they run.

Alyssa: "Oh the joy."

SonoftheMetalFlame: "Agatae! Take us toward those people!"

Astrid: Looking down with a frown at the massacre going on at the bottom, The Raven looked a bit hostile at the horsemen for a while, and seemed ready to take action, hopping to be out of line of sight when it was low enough down to shift forms and jump down into the fray

Silk puts up the hood of his cloak and produces a mask to cover his face. With ears sharpened by Essence he listens for the cries of the mounted killers while examining them with his eyes. Who are they and what is their allegiance?

Kuros: You do not understand their language, no sign of allegiance, and the people fleeing are just poor looking villagers.

Kuros: The agatae buzz down, and as you approach, they look up. There is a moment of stunned silence, then they reach for bows. There are several dozen of them, and you see several of them have wolfish features, including snouts and ears.

Kuros: (Join battle)

Thelaos lets Son of the Metal Flame direct the demon while he recovers the bow from his back and nocks an arrow. He grits his teeth and seethes at sight of the slaughter, but focuses only on the butchers.

Astrid hops off the back of Silk's Agata, shifting forms as she hit the ground below, landing in a three-pointed stance with a cold look at the wolfmen

Kuros: (There are about 20 barbarians)

Silk brings 'his' agata down behind Son's, letting it hover at a height of perhaps 5 meters between the fleeing people and the mounted archers

Silk: (Guard, activating Monkey Leap Technique)

Thelaos tumbles off the demon, landing on one knee, and looses an arrow at the skull of the attacker closest to the fleeing people.

Kuros: The barbian grunts and tries to move to the side as the arrow flies at him

Kuros: Your arrow punches through his chest, and he screams turning and charging toward you

Alyssa took a deep breath, preparing herself for battle and waited for an opportune moment to dismount from the Agatae. (Guard, activating Monkey Leap Technique)

Kuros: Ten of the barbarians raise their bows, and unleash a hail of arrows at the two agatae

Alyssa: Alyssa whips her staff out and flicks it back and forth trying to block the arrows and avoid hitting the Agatae's wings.

Silk: "Up, up!" Silk cries, hoping the demon may escape injury through that maneuver.

Astrid: Astrid rose to her full height suddenly, moving like a bullet as she leapt towards another of the charging wolfmen, kicking off another tree on the way up as she sailed into the air, head pointing directly at the ground by the apex of her leap--and at the moment she had gotten ahead of her target, she swung the foot upwards, delivering a nerve-shattering crescent kick to her target.

Kuros: She knocks one out.

Silk: Some measure of conflict seems inevitable, Silk decides. Best to end it quickly then. Moving with preternatural speed he leaps forward, his feet no more than a light touch on the agata's head. His multi-colored cloak flutters ominously behind him as the arc of his flight brings him down directly in the path of the charging barbarian leader.

Silk: At the last moment he starts to spin, adding to the combined momentum of his strike as he brings the pommel of his dagger down against the beastman's temple.

Kuros: The barbarian leader slumps to the ground, unconscious, bleeding slightly from the wolfen ears.

Silk stands over the fallen form of their leader, both knives held high and fixes the oncoming horde with a steely stare.

Kuros: Five of the barbarians loose another flood of arrows, at Alyssa's agatae

Kuros: One of the arrows penetrates the agatae's skin, making it shriek and thrash about.

Kuros: Tick 4, no one. Tick 5, barbarians

Kuros: Who release a rain of arrows at Silk

Silk whirls on the spot, letting his cloak conceal his form and catch any arrows that come too close

Kuros: None hit, Alyssa, go

Kuros: (Son acts...we'll say he kills one with his claws)

Kuros: (Down to 16 barbarians)

Alyssa: Alyssa jumps from the injured Agatae, landing between two barbarians and lashes out left and right with her staff at them. (Move, then a flurry of two attacks)

Kuros: They try to duck underneath your staff.

Kuros: Two more barbarians are knocked unconscious

Thelaos rises from the kneel, dropping his bow and tearing his daiklave from its sheath as the riders' horses bring them closer. He steps toward the one closest to him and wordlessly delivers a powerful slash into its chest, rain and (hopefully) blood spraying behind the blade.

Kuros: He dies!

Silk: Still standing triumphant over the fallen barbarian leader Silk calls out to the remaining archers, his voice like thunder: "Your doom is at hand. Flee now if you want to live!"

ExBot: Silk rolled 16 dice and achieved 12 successes. [ 6 10 4 9 10 4 8 9 6 10 9 2 5 8 9 6 ]

Kuros: As their members fall all around them, Silk's booming declaration seems to break the rest of them, and they wheel their horses, turning to flee.

Thelaos: (how about that.. *I'm* the only guy killing people this time :P)

Kuros: The remaining people have scattered into the forest, leaving their dead behind

Thelaos squints through the rain at the fleeing beastmen and turns to survey the area (looking for wounded humans in particular)

Kuros: There are one or two the barbarians cut down who haven't died.

Alyssa moves to secure the two she knocked out.

Silk: Once the horsemen are sufficiently distant to be no threat anymore Silk puts his weapons away and examines the unconscious leader, trying to determine what state he is in.

Kuros: And we'll end here.

Kuros: Next session Saturday, 1PM PST

Kuros: 7xp

Kuros: I'll see you guys next week