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Story Three: Friends And Enemies

Session Nine: Going On Safari

IRL Date: July 11th, 2005
Start Date: 4th of Ascending Water

Things were calming down after the tourney, as a new ship came into port. The A Cappela, captained by the notable god-blood (read: sneaky Solar) Deckard Galway, sailed into port. Deckard learned that his totally legal goods (read: not legal) might have to be distributed slowly, as there was a bit of a gang war going on in the slums; someone had killed the leader of a major gang, and another was moving in to take over. Regardless, he settled back, hoping to have something cool to do soon.

Meanwhile, Penu's new guard captain asked him if he knew any desert guides. It seemed that Derrick Salmos, Penu's lord, was interested in going on a hunting safari with some friends, and wanted a local guide. Penu suggested Akee, and the captain gratefully went with it. As it happened, Lord Salmos was also looking for entertainment for his trip, and hired one dancer by the name of Inari. He hired a fast boat, the A Cappela under the command of Deckard Galway, and, with his friend Cathak Citrios and a few loyal guardsmen, and a guide, and some servants, and an entertainer, and a few comforts, set up to hunt greatcats.
The boat trip passed basically uneventfully. Deckard Galway regaled his passengers with a few stories about his travels, most likely heavily edited, and generally hit it off well with Citrios and the other passengers. However, Deckard noticed that an odd number of birds seemed to be following the ship. When he pointed it out, everyone else got concerned; Penu and Inari began trying to pick out a certain Lunar Tell, and even Citrios got concerned. However, the group resolved that they would just have to keep an eye out.
After spending a night in town, the safari headed out into the desert. The first day of hunting went well; although Penu showed up Akee by out-guiding him on his own turf. The first greatcat that they hunted was successfully brought down by the hunters, and they returned to camp happily. That night, the safari ate well, and Inari put forth an impressive dance.
The next day, the hunting party went out again. As they topped a dune, however, they saw a figure standing in the sand ahead of them. As they recognized him, the players (save Deckard, of course) gulped. Ten Stripes. The Lunar loudly declared his challenge against Citrios, and ordered everyone else to leave or die. Deckard swore that, being a god-blood, he would help Citrios. Akee also hinted that he might be a god-blood, and offered to stand beside him as well. Penu claimed that, being an archer, he'd be far enough back to help without being in danger from the deadly Anathema. Ten-Stripes growled, as as Salmos and his other guards retreated, leapt forwards to attack, transforming into a monstrous cat-man.
The battle was hard-fought, but in the end, numbers told against the Lunar. Akee slipped out his khatars, keeping himself between Ten Stripes and Citrios to keep Citrios from seeing them, and attempted to kill the Lunar, only to find that the weapons bounced off his foe and back to strike him. Ten-Stripes kept slashing at Citrios, who desperately defended himself; Deckard repeatedly sacrificed his actions to defend the Dragon-Blood. When Ten-Stripes turned his attention to Deckard, it was Citrios's turn to cover his defense. And all the while Penu fired arrows that stuck in the Lunar's hide. Finally, realizing he could not win, Ten-Stripes flipped backwards from the fray, transforming into a bird, and flew away, dodging the last few arrows that went winging his way. He was gone, but he would return. Eventually. The victorious heroes returned to camp, glad to have won the day.

End Date: 9th of Ascending Water

Quote of the Day:
"The Dragon-Blood is still talking to me. What. Does. He. Want?!?" - Deckard Galway has his first encounter with Cathak Citrios

Session Ten: A Series of Unfortunate Events

IRL Date: July 25th, 2005
Start Date: 9th of Ascending Water

Having defeated Ten Stripes, the heroes returned to camp and toasted their success. Citrios let slip that he didn't think Ten Stripes would follow them back to Zeretan, as "even the Immaculate Order couldn't ignore Anathema in the cities". He revealed that he was less than impressed with the Dynasty's general track record as far as helping most people go, but changed the subject before anything else happened. The next day, the safari was cut short and Lord Salmos returned to Zeretan with everyone.
Back in town, everyone split up, going mostly about their own business. Deckard was unloading supplies in the harbour when he saw a ratman floating in the harbour. Bravely ordering one of his men to go help it, he got the unfortunate creature on deck and moved to a cabin to heal, discovering that it had been stabbed and thrown in the harbour, but had not died. This was apparantly increasingly common since the assassin Empty Heaven killed a crimelord that had been using ratmen, and another crimelord was moving into his territory. Some time the next day, a group of ratmen, led by a ratwoman, arrived, and the woman asked if their brother could be returned to them. When he was, she thanked Deckard, and said that her people would remember his kind act.
Meanwhile, Akee, Penu and Inari settled back into their own habits and jobs, resulting in a lot of practice and work. Inari, at a party one night, discovered that Kendle was in town, posing as a foreign nobleman by the name of Ignatius. He agreed to meet her later and have a chat, catch up on things, and the like.
Akee and Penu were at home when there was a knock on the door. Answering it, they found Cathak Peldan and Ledaal Andir on their doorstep. Peldan interrogated them about their connection to Deedee and the circumstances surrounding the destruction of Wulian's Yozi cultists. Seeming satisfied with their explanations, he left, telling them to keep their eyes open. He also warned them that he suspected an Anathema named Kendle was working with the Yozi cultists, and that they should keep an eye out for him. He also thought that Kendle might be the assassin Empty Heaven.
On the night of the 14th, Inari, Akee, and Penu were talking to one another about Peldan's visit when Da'Sho Dex showed up. He said that someone had activated a powerful First Age weapon in the city, and it was going to destroy half the city if the characters couldn't find and stop it. He only knew that it was in the western mountain, although if they could find its location, he could shut it down. Only a Solar could have gotten it open. Any thoughts? After some discussion, the characters agreed that the mysterious god-blood named Deckard Galway or Kendle would almost have to be the Solar. Dex agreed to check out Galway, Inari agreed to find Kendle.

End Date: 15th of Ascending Water

Session Eleven: Gearing Up

IRL Date: August 8th, 2005
Date: 15th of Ascending Water

((OOC Note: This was a shortened session, due to IRL concerns that partially decimated our August sessions.))

Inari went to visit Kendle, and learned that he had opened the way to an old Solar Manse in the mountain for Yozi cultists. Kendle believed that the machine the cultists wanted to activate wouldn't work, and they would simply kill themselves; upon learning the truth, he decided to skip town. He told Inari how to get into the Manse, but also said that she should just leave, as well - no sense getting in trouble trying to protect a Dynastic city.
Deckard received a visit from a mysterious merchant, who wanted to arrange a careful transport. Arranging to meet him at night, Deckard visited him at a bar in the harbour, with a few crewmen on hand. The meeting went well, and Deckard shook hands over a nicely set-up deal. However, on his way out of the bar, he began to feel dizzy and tired, and when the merchant appeared again, sporting weapons and prepared to fight, Deckard began to worry. Just then, Dex showed up, and, after a terse exchange, the would-be assassin departed, promising that he would find a way to succeed. Dex brought Deckard back to the others with him, and revealed that the other was a Sidereal assassin. He admitted that the Sidereals were more or less divided into two groups, one supporting Solars and the other hunting them, but said that he didn't think this one would make an overt move now for risk of starting a war. Talk turned to the Manse, and the characters pooled their knowledge; Inari told them what Kendle had told her, and how to get into the Manse, and Dex told them how to turn off the power. The group gathered, and set off for the Manse. Dex wanted to come with them, but the Manse's energies were rippling through fate, and he was getting less well by the minute.
Slipping through the tunnels of the Warrens, the party found a golden barrier, and, flaring their anima banners, managed to get inside. As they reached the antechamber, they saw four statues, three facing a fourth, and froze in surprise, as some of the Solars recognized their own faces from the First Age, and suddenly recalled the moments of their deaths...

Quote of the Week:
"Destroy the city, you say. Well... I have a fast boat, and you're all welcome aboard." - The honourable and courageous Deckard Galway, upon learning of the impending disaster

Session Twelve: CHARGE!!

Date: Still the 15th of Ascending Water

The group discussed their memories, as Deckard and Penu both admitted to knowing who these Solars were. Apparantly, in the First Age, the Solars had been a Circle here, and were killed by a Sidereal - the fourth stone statue. The Sidereal had activated a powerful spell that turned himself, the Solars, and the Manse to stone, saying that the Solars were a threat to Creation. Strange...
Putting the matter aside... for the moment... the group continued onwards. They found themselves on a stone bridge, suspended over lava bubbling a hundred feet below. Well above them, up a smooth wall on the other side of the bridge, was a platform of some sort; a pillar of stone sticking out of the lava made up the centre of the great room. Between them and the platform was a pillar of light, shining from above. Almost the entire bridge was covered; only a single inch on either side was untouched. A bit of experimentation by Penu discovered that the beam of light was deadly in nature.
Inari and Deckard, using their Graceful Crane Stances, crossed over the slim inch, carrying a rope. They fastened it to the other side, and the group carefully climbed across the side of the bridge. Despite some concerns, they made it safely.
Across the bridge, the characters entered the pillar. Inside, they found an almost featureless room, with a staircase in its centre and a door on each side. As the characters crossed the room, there was a hum of Essence, and they felt their Essence burning within them! Not only did this drain their Essence away, but it injured them in the process. As such, the party raced through the room, climbing the stairs posthaste. A few injuries were sustained, but they made it without dying.
The next floor up contained wide, glass-free windows, floor to ceiling, and six stone statues. Another staircase lay against the far wall, leading up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. The characters surmised that the statues would activate to defend the room, and everyone moved to defend themselves as Penu charged the stairs. The statues came to life, and the characters found it hard going to fight them; being made of stone, they were all but immune to the attacks levelled against them. Finally, Akee thought of knocking the statues backwards, sending them falling out the window and into the lava below. The team concentrated their efforts on knockback, and victory was soon assured.
Climbing the final staircase, the Circle was prepared for a battle with demonic minions. What they got was something different. Twenty corpses lay scattered about the top of the Manse, surrounding a raised dais upon which the machine they had come to stop lay. Standing in front of it was Sky. He revealed himself as Whisper of the Night Sky, Deathknight of the Unrepentant Sage of Vengeful Misery, and warned the characters to leave. He further admitted that he was planning to destroy the Manse, wiping out the poor and the ratmen, an event that would eventually lead to plague sweeping the city and ruining it. The players took offense, and battle was joined.
The battle became more difficult early on when Akee, lunging at his foe, discovered the hard way that Sky was using Stag Style martial arts - he was counterattacked, and nearly knocked off the entire platform. Only by slamming his khatars into the floor did he survive. The battle was further complicated by a pair of nemessaries, who began inhabiting the corpses and lunging at the players. As Akee and Penu burned the corpses, Penu also launching running shots at Sky, Inari and Deckard battled directly with the deathknight, who forced Deckard mostly on the defensive but found its persistant defenses slowly being compromised. Finally, the sheer numbers of the Solars proved victorious, and Sky was sliced in half - revealing only ribbons of leather and dried bones, which collapsed to the ground.
The Solars discovered, as they inspected the machine, that it was being powered by a strange shard of black rock, that left black powder on Inari's hands as she inspected it. Then, as they turned to leave, the machine deactivated, they heard something coming up the stairs. They prepared for battle... as Cathak Peldan came into view.
Peldan looked at the characters, all blazing with golden light, and frowned slightly. Then he stated that it was clear that the characters were god-bloods who had been affected by the demonic machine of the Anathema. He strongly suggested that they not talk about anything that had happened here to anyone, and he confiscated the black shard. Then he left, leaving the confused Solars grateful to be alive.

Quote of the Week: "Okay, as soon as whoever it is has their head appear, I hit it with my daiklave." - Deckard Galway very nearly makes a fatal error regarding Peldan.

Interlude: Hayyoth Emblazoned With Fury

IRL Date: Late August, 2005
IC Date: During the Month of Ascending Water

Travelling south, Hayyoth Emblazoned With Fury kept an eye out for a chance to do good. He found his chance in a small town, where, in the bar, he overheard a man talking about how he was never returning home. Upon inquiry, Hayyoth learned that the locals were vanishing one by one, and determined to go southeast and investigate.
The town in question was a small one, located well off any ordinary trade routes, and few people visited. It didn't take long, therefore, for the locals to learn that Hayyoth was there, and that he wanted to help with the disappearances. Hayyoth learned that people were vanishing right out of homes where other people lived, without a trace. Investigating with the permission of the mayor and the help of the guard captain, he discovered a trail leading across the desert and into the mountains. The guard captain accompanied Hayyoth and Martel as they followed the trail.
In the mountains, Hayyoth was advancing when he heard something strange - flute music. Investigating, the trio discovered a young woman, barely more than a girl, wearing mourning clothes and playing a bone-white flute. She paused as they approached, and introduced herself as the Harvester. She told Hayyoth that she had been charged to watch the souls of the dead, and collect those which were worthy, but that she would not interfere. Hayyoth told her that if she wasn't going to help, to stay out of the way, and pushed ahead. Further along, he found a cave mouth, and left Martel and the captain outside while he slipped in to investigate.
Inside the cave, Hayyoth was startled to discover strange armour-clad demons, four of them, and even more surprised as they fought him to a standstill, using perfectly-timed group tactics to allow some to block his blows while others struck back. Forced to flee, Hayyoth ran from the cave, with Martel and the captain following him, his anima blazing. The three ran past Harvester, who deftly leapt backwards off the cliff face as the demons pursued.
Hayyoth spoke with the guard captain, and convinced him (barely) that being Anathema didn't make him evil, and to use his discretion about who to tell. Waiting long enough for his anima to die down, they returned to town, only to discover that an Immaculate monk had arrived. The captain went ahead and discovered that the monk was specifically looking for Hayyoth and knew that he was an Anathema, so Hayyoth was forced to leave town quickly. He went out to the plains, hoping to catch whatever was taking the townsfolk.
While waiting, Hayyoth was approached by Harvester, who offered her assistance. Apparantly, her lord, the Unrepentant Sage of Vengeful Misery, had agreed that while she could not stop this, the two of them together might, and had allowed her to aid Hayyoth. The two found a fair folk (!) with its own bodyguard approaching the town, and set about fighting. Harvester drew her bone-white powerbow and fired from a distance, and Hayyoth destroyed the creature. He learned, furthermore, that there was a human thaumaturge working with the Fair Folk, who had summoned the demons.
Returning to the mountain in the morning, Hayyoth drew out the demons (which he now knew were called Wardens, the Shimazu), and he and Martel battled them while Harvester provided ranged support, firing at the weakest shimazu to try and destroy them. Finally, the tide turned, and the four demons lay dead at Hayyoth's feet. As he entered the cave, Harvester bid him farewell, saying that she didn't care to go in.
Inside the cave, Hayyoth found the thaumaturge, and intimidated him into a full confession. The thaumaturge admitted to having helped the Fair Folk, and that he was taking money to protect the Fair Folk while it created horrible monsters out of the townsfolk, in order to turn them loose against other towns. This was designed as a plot against Lord Cortua, the lord who ruled the region. Then Hayyoth heard others approaching, and told the thaumaturge to leave. He paused to try and destroy the comatose fleshcreatures, which unfortunately woke them up. Hayyoth started running, but didn't get far before realizing that the monsters would attack the party entering. Turning, he got back to the cave, and saw a dragon-blooded woman defending the mouth from twenty of the monsters, while town guardsmen fled. Hayyoth entered the fray, drawing off many of the creatures and killing others, and giving the dragon-blood time to destroy the others. There followed a short standoff as the two considered each other. With an impassioned plea (12 successes on Charisma + Presence!), Hayyoth convinced the Dragon-blood, Peleps Teswen, to at least come to Zeretan and see what Hayyoth was doing before she tried to kill him. Having just had her life saved, she agreed, and said that she would claim the Anathema as dead - for now.
However, as Hayyoth was leaving, he heard a scream from the front entrance. Racing that way, he arrived to find Teswen lying on the ground with arrows in her, and Harvester about to finish her off. Lobbing a spear at Harvester, which she dodged, he demanded that she leave. Sounding annoyed, she agreed, saying she was just trying to help. Hayyoth said he didn't need that sort of help.
Hayyoth returned to town carrying the Dragon-Blood, and quietly deposited her with the guard captain. He hoped that, when she awoke, she wouldn't come after him, and he headed back to Zeretan. This Deathlord was a new development, and one that was unwelcome...

Quote of the Week:
"*sigh* It's my fault, I'd better go back and save the lady who was trying to kill me." - Hayyoth has a crisis of conscience

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