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Exalted Session 10 of Gem City Watch

In which a Perfect Circle forms and is broken- of revenge long awaited and stolen Exaltations.

We begin in the night with the Captains nightmares- He dreams of riding through the desert on a coal-black steed, occasionally leaning forward to drink crimson nectar from its neck. Then a small adobe desert hamlet lies ahead- shuttered and closed for the night. The perspective of the dreamer moves through a shattered door, into a carnage where blood spatters mark the wall and screams rise into the night.

Awake, shaking, the Captain cannot shake the curious sensation of a hot liquid coating his hands. They are clean, nothing unusual to see, but they feel coated in slowly drying blood.

Alana too heads back to her lower- Shades crib, but spots a watcher observing her front door. Mustering her resolve, she confronts the drab little man. It turns out that her watcher is Brother Rat, who quickly calls over Brother Munificent Apostle of the Lightbringer and Brother Gatekeeper of the Pillars of Heaven. The three immediately begin kowtowing before Alana, praising her as a “Holy One, a Shining One sent by the Gods to usher in a New Age!”

Alana rolls her eyes as the 3 Cultists of the Illuminated keep bowing and scraping in the dust at her feet every time she speaks. The Cultists warn her that the Despots’ spies have surely seen her public Exaltation in the street and strange men have already ransacked her crib. (this turns out to be true)

Resigned, Alana heads for the Granite Watchtower, followed by the Cultists who keep insisting she is the Chosen One foretold by Prophecy. Alana tells them to bugger off, and the cultists start squabbling amongst themselves as to who offended the Exalted one.

Jak receives word that a mysterious stranger wants to hire the Black Mouse for a job. He arranges to meet the stranger (Orchid in disguise) at a garden restaurant in the Upper Shades on the following day. Otherwise he double-gulps Sweet Cordial and gets medical aid for his busted legs.

Orchid learns that her mysterious patron, the Inconstant Hierophant of Five-fold Adamant Pedagogy will call on her on the morrow. Brand heals up and the Lunar, Ravistsu attunes to his newly recovered direlance.

A new day dawns- 17th Descending Fire RY 768

Brand (concerned Jak might talk to the Immaculates) enquires after Jaks health and the knock to the head he’d received from the rolling boulder.

“How are you doing man, not to bad are you? Nasty knock to the head you had” says Brand

Jak “Fine sir, apart from my broken legs, just fine sir!” Hilarity ensues.

(Laughter XP point for Jaq)

The Captain discovers he has to write up the Crime Stats report for the Palace and promptly gives it to Jaq as desk duty. Botching the Bureaucracy roll, Jaq prepares a fantastic (but mostly accurate) report of the Watch’s activities that no one would believe.

Orchid and Alana play Bad Cop, Worse cop with the 2 Obsidian Guild thieves arrested on the 15th. Orchid tries erotic torture sans erotique to get the truth and the legbreakers implicate Desert Goat (money man for the Guild) as running the warehouse with the Firedust. The other, fearing Alana will cut too deep with her knives, mentions something about the fat slaver of House Khalid fronting some of the money.

Down in the Hot District Caravanaserai, Ravitsu, Brand and the Captain talk to merchants about the Firedust buying. Turns out that a lot of Firedust has been brought to Gem (instead of being exported as usual) and one of the big buyers is Ahram the Trader. He is known for having lost much of his fortune 3 years ago when 3 caravans were lost in the desert consecutively. Confronting him, he presents his Export licence for firedust, sealed with the authority of Lord Steward Valtess and the stamp of the Despots Office. The Captain takes a hard look at it, and concludes that, yep, that’s writing for sure, he’d recognise it anywhere! The non-illeterate members of the Watch then look at it, and it appears genuine, though Ahram wont reveal who his mysterious buyer for all the Firedust is.

The 3 also scout the Obsidian Guild warehouse but find it locked up tight, no one around. The Captain enquires of his Exalted companions about using their new powers to get in, but Brand and Ravitsu counsel against it. Ravitsu is prepared to sneak in in rat shape, but not during broad daylight. They decide to head back in the night. Rav also warns Brand that Mother Sahlak is gunning for him for the theft of the Golden Dreamstone, (http://exalted.xi.co.nz/wiki/wiki.pl?SJE/Session4http://exalted.xi.co.nz/wiki/wiki.pl?SJE/Session4) but Brand dismisses it with some trash talk.

At break, the report is quickly re-written by Alana, who has noticed that t portrays the Watch as a group of Walter Mittys with a strange fetish for the Black Mouse master thief. The new improved version is incredibly calligraphed and illustrated by Orchids ever suffering secretary.

This gets sent to the Palace, who then request the Captain give a presentation on it. Huffing and puffing, and incredibly handsome (the light zings off his polished white teeth every time he smiles now) the Captain exchanges venomous jibes with Major Whymmes of the Palace Guard and is admitted to see Lord Steward Valtess.

Valtess has many concerns. He’s worried that the Watch is harassing legitimate businessmen such as Ahram and interfering in trade. He also wants the 2 thugs in jail let go as affidavits of their good character have been received from their lawyer (Golden Amphora) and temple. The captain kinda doesn’t disagree. Valtess also demands to know how the Captain could present such a fantastic, unbelievable tall tale as in subsection 23-a of the Report?

“Ah, Subsection 23-A.” murmers the Captain, concealing he doesn’t have a bloody clue.

“How can you expect me to believe this nonsense!” shouts Valtess

“What is your problem with that subsection?” says the Captain, still playing innocent.

“Well frankly ….. I cant.. cannot.. believe, you mean to say, Gem was… was.. under threat from….” Stutters Valtess in apoplexy

“My ….lord?”

“CLOWNS!”

(cue hilarity and the players awarding the GM a laugh XP point!)

The briefing over, the Captain is ready to leave when Valtess, almost absent mindedly, asks about the new recruits. “Which new recruit?” asks the captain. “Constable Alana, could you send her up to the Palace?” asks Valtess. “As soon as operational requirements allow” says a now suspicious Captain.

Back on the street. Alana is still being followed by the bumbling cultists who genuflect every time they see her spot them, much to her annoyance.

Brand too feels followed. Engaging in some counter-surveillance and doubling back through alleys, he spots a very ordinary man who might be looking for him. Or he might just be some guy, its hard to tell. Hungry, Brand nips into the Market for dinner to get samosas and dates. Unfortunately he misses the other ordinary man slipping a few extra dates into his bag….

Orchid and Jaq finally have their long anticipated surreptitious meeting- Orchid stops cross-dressing and disguises herself/himself as a noble lad. Jaq dons her gender-concealing ninja suit and speaks with a low, husky whisper of the Black Mouse. Neither penetrate each others cunning disguises and the two plot to open the last lock of the Thrice Locked Box- the Thief will need excellent tools to open the Box and Orchid will need to provide money and information on who might wish the Black Mouse harm (as Jaq/Quiet Whisper tries to discover who killed her brother Swift Shadow, the original Black Mouse)

Brand isn’t feeling too good. In fact his stomach is killing him.

Literally.

Botching a Resitance roll on the way back to the Watchhouse for stake out duty on the warehouse, he knifes over as his guts start doubling up in pain. Crawling to the nearest alley, he tries to make himself sick, realising he has been poisoned. But its no good, the healer cannot heal himself and the poison courses through his system, crippling him, shutting down his organs, limbs, nerves, blood welling up his throat, unable to vomit the poison out. Desperately he invokes Body Mending Meditiation, but all it can do is lengthen his pain, not clear the poison.

Orchid meanwhile has raced back to her home to meet the Inconstant Hierophant. Just when she is ready to leave, he calls upon her. Appearing this time as a thin, blond, androgynous Aryan, s/he offers once more to help Orchid and her new friend with their problem.

“My friend?” wonders orchid

“The thief. I have a gossamer lock pick that might prove useful.”

“the Cost?” asks Orchid of her mentor.

“A change in your lifestyle. An elevation to a more ….. Exalted position”.

“You can… Exalt me?”

“For a price. The Heavens are all abuzz with the activity here in Gem. I can help you.. join your colleagues. But it will be dangerous. You will learn the answer to the most dangerous question in Creation. Think on it, before you accept.”

Orchid takes a moment. Several moments…

Half an hour passes.

She accepts.

“I ask only for Three Favours in return for this.“ says the Hierophant.

“Of course.”

“Now, your Exaltation!”

Orchid is caught, elevated in a pillar of white-hot golden-bright light, burning her, penetrating her, atomising her.

”ARRACK OF NORTHHOLM, DO YOU SWEAR TO SERVE ME AS MY AMBASSADOR IN THE LANDS MOST FAIR AND FOUL” booms the voice of the Unconquered Sun, apparently addressing some Northerner called Arrack.

“I do” screams a puzzled Orchid.

And she is reborn in white-light, a new being, golden circle within golden circle upon her brow, remade with a stolen Exaltation as an Eclipse Caste.

Her best parlour, now sun-bleached white is empty of light and life save that of the smug Hierophant.

“Now know this, the first favour I ask of you Floating Summer Orchid” Orchid is all ears

“There is trouble in Heaven. The Loom of Fate, which many guard but few understand has suffered a terrible accident. The fate of Gem and the Fate of Creation have become intertwined. What affects one now affects the other- if Gem falls, then so does all of Creation, if Gem stands, then so does all of reality!”

“What can I do? What will we face?”

“Never before has Gem and now Creation needed guards to protect it, to watch over it and keep it safe. All of Creations Foes are now arrayed against this city- the inchopate madness of the Fae, the corruption of Malfeas, the cold march of the Deathlords armies, the paranoia of a disintegrating Realm and the weakness of Man! For my first favour owed, I charge you with ensuring that Gem survives, that it stands for as long as it takes to save Creation!”

Now go, your friend will need this”

The Hierophant leaves, handing Orchid a slim case. Just as the door closes, Orchid blinks through the golden light shining from her brow and perceives the Hierophant differently No longer a man, the robes disguise a far taller, sinous creature with the head of a beautiful foal and the pearly, shimmering scales running down its draconic body..

The Captain, Ravitsu, and Alana assemble at the Watchtower to go stake out the Obsidian Guild warehouse. They wait a while, but decide the crazy maverick has gone off on his own case as usual and head off. It is only by the best of fortune, that they chance past the alley in which the poisoned detective is breathing his last, when Alana notices him.

Rushing him to the tower, they desperately try to keep him alive, but the poison is still in his stomach, undoing all the good his Body Mending Meditation is doing, killing him. Alana rushes to the Apothecarys for an anti-dote, but it is locked and shut. Brother Rat of the Cult of the Illuminated is still following her and offers to help the Shining One. Explaining her plight, Brother Rat exclaims

“Hey, I got a cousin downhill, works as a veterinary at the camel pens! I bet he can help”

The Cultist rushes off and is soon back with an acrid liquid in a brown bottle. Pouring this down Brands throat and applying all her medical knowledge, Alana is at last abel to induce vomiting in Brand to get the poison out of his stomach.

Brand paints the cell puce, (or puke) then falls back to unconscious health, swearing revenge on the Sahlaks and letting his magic heal his body back. (and gaining Limit from the back to the wall nature of the experience). Much as Alana tries, Brother Rat wont accept recompense from her- telling her that every Cultist ”Lives for the Shining One, will Die for the Shining One!”

Orchid and Jaq meet up again, at last with the Thrice Locked Box and gossamer lock picks together at last. Neither has seen through the others disguise yet.

”These are fine lockpicks, My Friend” says Jaq causing Orchid to look startled as the thief refers to her as friend for the first time, just as the Hierophant had predicted.

Jaq tries to open the box, concentrating all his craft on this.

Plink! The lock doesn’t turn.

“Arse!” exclaims Jaq, his confidence shaken. But he gathers himself together, gets Orchid to supply better light, calms his breathing, steadies his hand, hearing nothing but the sound of his own heart beating and the tumbling of the last lock. He has it… nearly there……

….

Nearly….

….

BANG!

Light explodes out of the box, spilling over the room, sweeping away the watching Orchid and coruscating around Jaqs silhouette! The Thrice Locked Box, early prototype of the Jade Prison opens for the first time in a thousand years, spilling out a Solar Essence.

“AT LAST- ONE WHO IS WORTHY TO BE CHOSEN!” booms the Unconquered Sun from Above!

And so, the last mortal, Jaq Exalts as a Night Caste, Chosen of the Sun.

As the debris settles and light subsides, Orchid moves off the ninja mask from Jaqs face and at last realises that the infamous Black Mouse is in fact the fresh faced Watch recruit she knows so well. As Jaq opens his eyes, he sees through Orchids disguise, recognising the noble lad who had employed him as one and the same as the Watch Thaumaturgist.

“I do NOT believe it!” – an upset Orchid.

At last we have a Perfect Circle of Solars- The Captain, Dawn Warrior. Brand, Twilight Investigator. Alana, Zenith Leader. Orchid, Eclipse Thaumaturge. Jaq, Night Thief. And Ravitsu, Lunar with memories of the First Age training of Solars.

But no sooner is our Perfect Circle plus One achieved, than it is broken.

Angry Tiger, the leader of the Cult of the Illuminated in Gem is more confident, more competent than his farcical followers. He comes to the Watch Tower where Alana tends the unconscious Brand. Angry Tiger warns her that her enemies are gathering, that she must leave Gem for a short while, to train and develop her most holy powers until she can return in the fullness of her radiant magnificence and sweep away her enemies like chaff in the wind. Alana is hesistant, unwilling to abandon her Circle in Gem, but if she stays she must face the Despot in the morning, and who knows when Cathak Anaria will wake?

So Alana and Tiger disappear into the night, fleeing for the training camps of the Cult at Kether Rock, sure to return….

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