Difference between revisions of "JesseLowe/PirateMonkeySession29"

Latest revision as of 21:50, 8 June 2010

• Back to Session 28

TonyC materializes out of thin air.

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Oook oook ack ack akkk!

jetman has arrived.

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Yo ho! )

TonyC [to jetman]: Hola.

jetman [to TonyC]: What's up?

You say, "Heya, all."

TonyC [to jetman]: Noteworthy events involve some vandals trashing the apartment complex's mailboxes. That tells you how exciting life here is. :)

jetman [to TonyC]: Better than earthquakes, volcanos or dogs and cats living together though! :)

The Storyteller is sorry if things seem a little slow getting off the ground tonight... It's been a rough day.

TonyC [to jetman]: Earthquake, thunder, fire, and dad!

jetman [to Apollonian]: No problem.

jetman [to TonyC]: All at once?

TonyC [to jetman]: Probably. It's the only explanation I can think of for Jesse's rough day.

TonyC [to Apollonian]: I recommend green tea. Hot. I also recommend habanero salsa and chips.

jetman [to Apollonian]: I would too, except I've rarely had the first and never the latter. Cheez Whiz and crackers?

Apollonian [to jetman]: Eeyargh! Cheez Whiz?

TonyC [to Apollonian]: On a completely unrelated topic.... X-Com: UFO Defense r0xx0rs.

TonyC had to tinker with it for a bit, but there's a healthy fan-community making sure that that old DOS game will run on current (PC) OS and platforms.

Fanboi rant over. TonyC is ready to play now.

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( I'm still caught up with Xenosaga Ep. II, myself. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Which had a very Exalted swordfight in the opening cutscene. )

TonyC [to jetman]: Eventually I'll get that game too. But one game at a time.

You say, "I'm working my way through Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, after having lost interest about a month ago. Not _very_ exalted, but quite cool."

jetman [to Apollonian]: Mario can smash blocks with his head and jump great distances! What could be more Exalted than that? :)

TonyC [to Apollonian]: .hack for me. It's the nearest I'll get to a MMORPG.

The Storyteller seriously considered World of Warcraft, but has since lost interest.

jetman [to TonyC]: How can a single player RPG simulate a MMORPG without jerky player killers, powergamers and 1337-speakers all over the place?

The Storyteller is getting coffee and answering a call of nature. Will brb

TonyC [to jetman]: But that's why I can stand .hack. It's all the power-up and none of the stupid people.

TonyC [to jetman]: So where were we last week anyway? Ah, right after the Calibration party. Bad news. Counsel.

jetman [to TonyC]: I've just been struck by an idea to make MMORPGs better... there's a sample quest to start it off, where you have a chance to play well with others, act nice or nasty and other things... it's a test, filtering powergamers to their own server and everyone else to another.

jetman [to jetman]: Yes, with a meeting with Suda after it gets out, and we ended with it getting out.

jetman [to TonyC]: Whoops, gotta stop talking to myself. :) Did you think of any high-level martial arts charms Monkey could be tutored in?

TonyC [to jetman]: Doesn't work. Or rather, it'll work until people figure out what's going on. Then you'll get gatecrashers deliberately rigging the sample quest.

TonyC [to jetman]: None. Barring unforeseen character development, we won't get Sidereal MA.

TonyC [to jetman]: My current long-term plan involves pursuing three different MA styles.

TonyC [to jetman]: Celestial.

jetman [to TonyC]: Ah. I was under the impression (with no evidence) that as masters of the martial arts, they had access to all sorts of charms, in a way that Eclipse Solars do.

jetman [to TonyC]: Which three?

TonyC [to jetman]: They do. But Jesse says in his world, they won't teach outsiders. It's their ace, so they're keeping it.

TonyC [to jetman]: Monkey. Violet Bier of Sorrows. Wolf And Raven.

jetman [to TonyC]: Was that before or after the MoW dragged an entire Field Force into the Underworld? Suda spilled her secrets pretty fast last time... the non Bronze Sidereals may be sweating a lot.

jetman [to TonyC]: I don't think the latter two are in any book I own... what are they like?

TonyC [to jetman]: Re: Before or after. Doesn't matter. If MoW starts bleeping in their radar, the Sidereal will send their own task force rather than teaching an unreliable Solar their secret trump card and hope than he'll use it according to their wishes.

The Storyteller is back.

Apollonian [to jetman]: Yah. Remember, the GC for the Siddies is that, well, they make really, really stupid decisions, especially when working together.

TonyC [to jetman]: Hmmmm, mechanically, the two are just the standard "hurt the other guy a lot."

jetman [to TonyC]: Nothing fancy like nerve/immobilizing strikes then?

TonyC [to jetman]: Flavor-wise I'd say Violet is simply "The Maiden of Ending says my time is not today, and yours is."

TonyC [to jetman]: Violet is the only one with an MA dice-adder.

jetman [to TonyC]: That could be handy. I think the Admiral's on the top of his game for attack charms already, and there's not much improvement possible.

The Storyteller . o O ( Argh. Stupid pollen. )

TonyC [to jetman]: Wolf And Raven has two branches, each following their particular animal. Mechanically, that style allows you to regain motes, wp, and HL. Quite attractive since I'll probably forego the Essence Gathering Temper route, and my soak's small.

TonyC [to jetman]: The Raven branch has one particularly noteworthy charm. It speeds up sorcery by one turn.

jetman [to TonyC]: How far up the tree is that?

jetman [to TonyC]: As the Admiral could use some close-combat skill or other, in case he's grappled, say...

TonyC [to jetman]: Pretty far. Tier four. I'd say.

Apollonian [to jetman]: The Admiral might want to stick to Brawl. No armor restrictions.

Apollonian [to jetman]: Plus you can combo Thunderclap Rush Attack for instant Initiative Win!

jetman [to TonyC]: Ah, good point there. Plus he has to get a mess of charms in Perform and more spells at the moment. Plus Super Delegation of Authority in Presence.

TonyC [to Apollonian]: MA has no armor restriction either. MA _charms_ might, but the ability doesn't.

Apollonian [to TonyC]: Yes, but it's Exalted -- what's the point in putting dots in an Ability if you can't get naff Charms? :)

TonyC [to jetman]: I'll agree that your Melee offensive is quite good. But your defense is weak.

jetman [to Apollonian]: Say, that would be handy, though he almost always wins init anyway due to his long sword. What I could really use for him would be something that beefs up movement in some way.

TonyC [to jetman]: Go follow the DSD tree until you get HGD and FFBS.

Apollonian [to jetman]: How d'ya mean movement? Gonna start looking at the Athletics tree?

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Oh, don't wait until we're finished gabbing. We'll never finish gabbing.

jetman [to TonyC]: FFBS would be quite useful for those long fights, or walking through an army. Especially with Solar Counterattack.

Apollonian [to TonyC]: Aight, will start actually setting scenes...

jetman [to Apollonian]: Yes, I've been looking at Athletics, though it's a lot of points... Finding Wings of the Raptor would be better. hint hint.

The Storyteller . o O ( But first... what do you do after the party? )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Meeting with Suda, correct? )

Monkey . o O ( It's a five day party! )

Monkey . o O ( At least to me it is. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Monkey's schedule for Calibration: Get drunk. Get laid. Get drunker. Repeat. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( And the Admiral gives a big speech when the news breaks. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. )

Monkey . o O ( Oh, did people see the link I added toJesseLowe/JesseLowe? )

Monkey . o O ( Mortar Headd )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( When Monkey gets to App 5, will he be as androgynous as a Headliner? :) )

TonyC [to jetman]: Very likely. It seems Storyteller models Legolas with App while Aragorn gets Cha.

TonyC [to jetman]: Monkey App 5 definitely qualifies as bishi.

jetman [to TonyC]: With Monkey getting to be a high profile figure of legend and daring in Creation, brothels and the like might start recruiting Monkey impersonators...

It is the night of the second day of Calibration. The day was calm, though dragons danced through the sky disguised as clouds and auroras. The Admiral's speech to his crew was a success, though the Marukani warriors were not entirely comforted. The morale through the rest of Marin Bay was less well supported, and the redoubt was quiet, if not morose. A second meeting with Taimyo Hane and her security chief was not entirely productive, but at least the plans are made for the season of Air. As night fell, storm clouds were slowly building in the north, flowing across the sky with rain in their skirts and lightning in their breasts.

Monkey . o O ( My Sol! I've become a fetish! )

jetman [to TonyC]: So naturally, some brothel owner will see Monkey visiting and want to hire him as a Monkey impersonator!

Monkey . o O ( Those storm elementals. Tsk tsk. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh. I need to know where all the crew and such are staying. Where? )

Monkey [to The Storyteller]: Wherever the current lover takes him?

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Akbar will be instructed to hire out all the inns closest to the docks and get volume discounts. The Admiral wants the crew close at hand and ready for emergency action. I presume the Legion offers the Admiral BOQ? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, so Monkey's frolicking in one of the inns that caters to non-Legion sailors. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. BOQ? )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Bachelor Officers Quarters. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( The military issue guest room for singles. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah. If he wants it, but the Unconquered Sun has comfortable staterooms for the officers... )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( If they don't offer, he takes the Sun's stateroom. )

The Storyteller . o O ( So, the crew and marines are quartered onshore, in the barracks and rooms of the inns closest to the docks. I'm going to assume that the captive sailors and marines are confined to ships, where they're more easily controlled. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Yes, exactly. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Gotcha. )

The Admiral is in his stateroom on the Unconquered Sun, mulling over a map of Iridia provided by Legion intelligence. It lies on the table in the center of the room, weighed down by his daiklave on one end and a pair of mugs on the other, and he stands over it, marking it occasionally with a soft pencil. As the darkness outside deepens with the rising storm and the patter of rain, he paces, his actions growing more and more agitated. At a sudden crack of thunder from the northwest, he raises his head and looks out the stateroom's windows, at the stern of the ship. The night outside is dark, lit only by the lanterns on the dock and the flash of lightning. As he looks outside, he sees the clear glass of the windowpanes streak with red. At the same time, he hears a panicked beating on the door and one of his sailors shouts, "Admiral! Admiral!"

The Storyteller . o O ( no respond yet. )

Monkey . o O ( David? )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( I'm not responding yet. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( I'm presuming that's what Jesse meant, that I shouldn't yet. )

Meanwhile, Monkey is enjoying the charms of Captain Taka, or Chiaki as she insists he call her. They've progressed from an informal sparring match in the exercise room of the Red Blade -- an inn on Water Street catering to marines -- to conversation over harin masoosh, a Great Forks delicacy traditionally eaten in bed. The patter of rain provides a soothing counterpoint to their words, and the occasional crack of thunder provides a reason to get closer. In the space of a breath, though, the masoosh rots, and Chiaki's skin feels like the parchment of a corpse. The two lovers jerk back from each other, and a shadow passes through the room. The candleflames gutter, and all but one go out. Outside, the rain patters on, unchanged yet now the beat of time and mortality. "What's happening?" Chiaki says, frightened.

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay, now you can respond. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Alas, poor Admiral... duty is his only bride. :) )

Admiral Kaizoku

Admiral Kaizoku

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( GRR! )

Monkey says, "I have no idea!"

Monkey looks at the rotting food. "Mask's agent?!"

Admiral Kaizoku's hand is on the hilt of his daiklave by the first call of his name and he is out door of his cabin by the time the second finishes. "What is it?" he barks.

Monkey gets out from the room and scans the area.

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. Monkey, you're in a hallway on the second floor of the Red Blade. The inn is rectangular, with an exercise room and common rooms on the first floor, private rooms and smaller rooms on the second floor. A kitchen abuts the common room on the north side. Water Street runs along the west side. The hall you're in ends in stairways on both ends, and runs the length of the inn. Several other guests, most of them Legion marines or SWF marines, are also standing in the hall, looking confused. Most are in some state of undress but holding weapons. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Admiral: )

The sailor, a recruit from the Hundred Kingdoms, says, "It's raining blood!"

Admiral Kaizoku says "Steady, man..." as he holds out his hand to inspect the rain, then peers skyward.

He's spattered with blood, and as he talks to the Admiral, he wrings out his long hair, red drops spattering on the deck. Behind him, the rain dyes the ship in crimson. Above, the sky is dark, the clouds reflecting no light. The wind is picking up.

Admiral Kaizoku instructs the sailor "Go check the mooring lines, then double them up! Rouse the rest of the watch to the task!" He calls forth the power of the Sun to light up the darkness and reassure the men, reaching out with occult senses to see if anything more than the usual Calibration forces are at work.

The Storyteller . o O ( Using any Charms? )

Monkey turns and peeks his head into Taka's room. "Chiaki, we'll have to pick this up after I deal with whatever causing this," he winks. Turning around, he dives and crashes through the 2nd floor window, lands into a roll, and gets back into his feet running toward the docks.

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Spending a mote to make the caste mark flare, that's it for now )

think So Monkey's half naked, running through a rain of blood. Hm. V. gothy.

The Storyteller . o O ( So Monkey's half naked, running through a rain of blood. Hm. V. gothy. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Of course, I'm assuming he's only _half_ naked... )

Monkey . o O ( I don't know where Kaizoku is exactly, but I think going to the SWF is a good bet. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Admiral, make a Per + Occult roll. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( The Deathknight ladies will be all over him. More than usual. )

Admiral Kaizoku rolled 8 dice on Per+Occ and got 5 successes.

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( With that roll, it must be nothing! :) )

Monkey . o O ( Stuntworthy, except I don't have anything to use a stunt for. :) )

Monkey . o O ( And half-naked. One reason is our PG-13 rating. Secondly, Chiaki and Monkey hasn't gotten to the interesting part yet, which is why he says they need to continue after this. :) )

Apollonian [to jetman]: Definitely not Calibration stuff -- this is Underworld activity. It feels a little like the advance of Juggernaut felt when you were leaving Celeren, only the flavor of the air is different. There is a locus of energy somewhere on the shore, toward the quarters where the crew is sleeping.

The Storyteller will type something re: monkey in a minute

Admiral Kaizoku thinks a moment. The Mask SHOULD have targetted the irreplaceable First Age facilities first... or perhaps he was as well. In any case... He calls out "EVERYONE up now, and to arms. Watch the skies and send two Fangs of marines after me!" He vaults over the railing to the dock and takes off down the street, turning night into day in his passage as he tries to find the locus of darkness.

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh, btw. It is only about half an hour or so past twilight, so early in the night. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Twilight into day then. )

Monkey . o O ( Ah, likely Monkey will miss Kaizoku then. )

The Storyteller . o O ( No, it's full night -- just early in the night. Sorry 'bout the delays. Just had a pollen-induced sneezing fit. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( He is lit up brightly... that's hard to miss. )

The Storyteller is now trying to get snot out of his sinuses. Lovely image.

Monkey . o O ( 1 die stunt. )

TonyC [to jetman]: Probably about as dark as 8 pm your time.

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Fairly dark then. )

The Solar Wind Fleet is docked in approximately the center of the arc that describes the north harbor of the Marin Bay redoubt. The crew is currently quartered in the civilian section, which is bordered by Water Street to the west (across from which are the docks), Fire Street to the south, Lion Street to the north, and Courage Street to the east. The Admiral, then, is dashing along Water Street south, and will come to the intersection with Lion Street in a few minutes. Meanwhile, Monkey's running north along Water Street...

Monkey . o O ( Let me know when Monkey notice anything unusual, otherwise he'll go to the Unconquered Sun, likely meet the marines going after Kaizoku, and go with them. )

The establishments along Water Street are mostly taverns and inns, with a few merchant houses. At the moment, almost all of the inns are occupied by Kaizoku's crew and marines. Monkey dashes past the Broken Wheel, Sadae's House, the Three Fishes, and the Mark of Ragara (no relation) and has just reached Omen Dog Street when he sees the familiar sunlight of Kaizoku's caste mark three blocks away on Water Street. The blood rain has drenched his clothes and hair by now, and the rough flagstones of the street are slick with gore.

The Storyteller . o O ( Make a Dex + Athletics roll )

The Storyteller . o O ( And a Wits roll (no ability mod) )

Monkey rolled 10 dice on Dex + Ath and got 4 successes.

Monkey rolled 3 dice on Wits and got 1 success.

Bare feet give the best traction, a lesson sailors and folk of the sea learn quickly, and Monkey's are no exception. Thus, when a screaming servant wench bursts into the street from the back door of the Horse's Tail inn, he dodges her adroitly. The woman -- girl -- is covered in gore, and she slips on the curb and falls at Monkey's aforementioned feet. Her eyes are wide with horror, and her screams have the raw edge of the freshly mad.

The Storyteller . o O ( You remember that the Horse's Tail is where the crew of the Corona -- well, part of it -- is lodged, along with the Marukani warriors. )

Monkey says, "Go back inside. It's not safe."

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay... make an Appearance + Presence roll... )

Monkey rolled 5 dice on App + Pre and got 1 success.

Monkey takes off to chase after the sunlight.

The girl can't hear Monkey over her screaming, and it fades behind him as he meets up with the Admiral.

The Storyteller . o O ( Meanwhile, back to the Adm. )

Monkey . o O ( I don't think Monkey will even think about the Marukani. I mean, this isn't something they can do anything about. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Though it wasn't raining blood inside Monkey's inn, while it was in theirs... )

Monkey . o O ( Honestly, I think someone's slaughtering the Marukani. However, I think between Kaizoku and Marukani, Kaizoku is more important. )

Monkey . o O ( I may yet regret this decision. )

think You feel something nasty moving around in the direction of the Transforming Crane. Make a Per + Awareness roll.

-Storyteller Disconnect, Reconnect-

The Storyteller . o O ( Grr. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Admiral, describe what you're doing, please. )

Admiral Kaizoku is moving down the street at just under a full run, trying to triangulate the nexus of the Underworld power as it curls its way through the city, caste mark burning brightly through the rain of blood and daiklaive reflecting that light. He also keeps an eye out for Legion constables. RE

The Storyteller . o O ( Roll Per + Occult again. Difficulty is three. )

Admiral Kaizoku rolled 8 dice on Per+Occ and got 3 successes.

TonyC [to jetman]: Giri giri safe.

The nexus of power is difficult to track, but the Admiral's able to maintain a feeling for its direction by running in the direction that makes his stomach churn the most. The streets are empty of all but the bloody rain, but a block ahead he sees a half naked figure running toward him. It is, unmistakably, Monkey.

Monkey . o O ( Let's do Graceful Crane Stance. Peripheral. )

Admiral Kaizoku calls out "Monkey, attention!" and points his sword back the way his #1 was running. "The Underworld is afoot, that way!"

Monkey . o O ( Because I anticipated exactly that. )

The Storyteller . o O ( You guys wanna handle describing things for a few lines? I'll interject when something happens. Oh, and admiral: Make another Per + Occ roll. )

Admiral Kaizoku rolled 8 dice on Per+Occ and got 7 successes.

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( OK. Monkey? )

Monkey did not stop and turn. That takes too long. Instead, he veers sharply to the right and before he hits a wall, kicks off and runs up the wall, making a circular loop on the wall and ending next to Admiral Kaizoku. "So, Admiral, afoot where?"

Admiral Kaizoku says "Close" tersely, more terse than normal. "The nexus is elusive... have you seen anything exceptionally unusual on your way here? Apart from the rain?"

Monkey . o O ( Wits? Int? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Wits. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Actually, Wits + Awareness. )

Monkey . o O ( How many successes needed? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Two. )

Monkey rolled 4 dice on Wits + Awa and got 4 successes.

Monkey thinks for a bit.

Monkey says, "The Horse Tail inn!"

Monkey . o O ( Bingo? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Yes. )

Admiral Kaizoku has not slowed down, expecting Monkey to fall in with him. "Show me!"

Monkey . o O ( Monkey Leap all the way to Horse Tail Inn, cutting time drastically. Peripheral. Extra mote to flare anima banner so Kaizoku can tell which place. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( This is where a movement charm would come in handy... )

Admiral Kaizoku breaks into a dead run down the street, following Monkey's glowing arc through the bloody skies.

Monkey's anima flares in a bonfire of light as he makes several superhuman long jumps, ending up in front of the Horse Tail Inn. He kicks the door open, "Alright, Monkey's here! Whoever's causing that rain, make it stop!"

TonyC [to jetman]: Rough estimate says that I go roughly twice as fast as you are.

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Yep, that sounds about right. Are we in combat time Jesse? )

The door bangs open into the Horse Tail's common room. It is strewn with bodies, both Marukani and ordinary seamen. Most are lying on the floor or across their cots, heads at strange angles and limbs twisted, but a few are gutted, or pruned like young trees. The floorboards are streaked with blood, and Monkey can see the serving wench's tracks through the carnage. A low moan from near the kitchen door catches his attention.

The Storyteller . o O ( No, we're not yet in combat time. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Oh, but make a Wits + Occ roll. )

Monkey rolled 4 dice on Wits + Occ and got 3 successes.

Admiral Kaizoku rolled 8 dice on wits+Occ and got 4 successes.

Monkey . o O ( Puppeteers. )

think Admiral: It feels more and more like a shadowland the closer you get to the Horse Tail inn.

The Storyteller . o O ( Admiral: It feels more and more like a shadowland the closer you get to the Horse Tail inn. )

Monkey . o O ( That's my OOC guess anyway. )

Monkey . o O ( Tracks goes to the kitchen? )

Admiral Kaizoku catches up to Monkey and urges him back with a hand on the shoulder. "Cover the rear Monkey... demons can come from anywhere in a Shadowland" he says tightly, gripping his blade tightly to control his anger at the carnage.

The Storyteller . o O ( Come from the kitchen and out onto the street... where she's moaning. )

The Storyteller . o O ( need a recap? )

Monkey goes to the kitchen entrance (hopefully Kaizoku means the rear entrance), pops his head through the door, and looks at the source of the moan.

Monkey . o O ( the girl? )

The Storyteller . o O ( No -- the girl is out on the street. The other moaning comes from inside the common room, near the door from the common room to the kitchen. )

Monkey . o O ( So what's making the noise. )

Monkey finds the one survivor in the room, a sailor from the Corona. The man's legs have been broken, and it looks like he was thrown against the wall hard enough to break some of its boards. He's probably in shock.

Admiral Kaizoku moves to the common room where the noise comes from, daiklave up.

Admiral Kaizoku leans down over the man and says "Steady now... what did this?"

Monkey . o O ( I hope by "rear" you mean the rear entrance, which, I assume is the kitchen sidedoor. )

Monkey . o O ( Kitchen empty? )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( No, the Admiral's back, directly. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( The rear of the formation. )

The sailor looks into the Admiral's blazing caste mark. "Admiral... is that you? The captain... went berserk. He..."

Monkey . o O ( My misunderstanding. Probably doesn't matter at the moment. If the kitchen's empty, Monkey will be back guarding you. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Yes, kitchen empty. )

Monkey walks back to Kaizoku. "Kitchen's empty."

Admiral Kaizoku asks "Where is he now? Did you see?"

Monkey . o O ( I'll play safe and activate FLB, personal. )

The sailor coughs. The Admiral remembers him, now -- Novo, a man from south of Lookshy. "He left. Said something about seeing you. I... I couldn't really hear him over the screaming..."

Monkey . o O ( Which captain? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Do you ask him? )

Monkey . o O ( Nope. Memory. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Ah. Hydros is captain of the Corona, and was or is bunking in this inn. )

Admiral Kaizoku looks angrier than Monkey can ever rememer seeing him. "Good job..." he tells Novo, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder. "Rest now, relief is on the way. I will deal with this..."

The Storyteller . o O ( Admiral, roll Per + Occult again. )

Admiral Kaizoku looks over to Monkey. "A possessing demon, I'm sure of it..."

Admiral Kaizoku rolled 8 dice on Per+Occult and got 4 successes.

Monkey whispers conspiratorially to the sailor. "Seriously, just him did all this?"

The churning in the Admiral's gut has lessened -- at least, the churning from that touch of the Void. Casting his senses across the threads of Essence, he feels something dark moving north.

Novo says, "He threw me aside like a child... surprised us. Never seen him fight like that." He grimaces. "Probly never will again."

Monkey says, "You won't. I'll take care of it."

At that moment, there's the thump of booted feet on the street outside, and one of the marines shouts, "Admiral! Admiral, are you here?"

Admiral Kaizoku stands up suddenly. "With me, Monkey" he orders curtly, coat swirling around his legs. He calls down the street to the aproaching Marines, calling "Men down inside, get them back to the ships!" before he takes off to the north.

Monkey says, "Aye, Sir."

The fang commander bows assent. "Sir, yes sir!" The ten soldiers get moving, sorting out the dead, the dying, and those who might live inside the inn. The Admiral's pristine clothing is now drenched in blood, and he has to squint against the wind now blowing a charnel stink from the north.

Admiral Kaizoku says to Monkey "This may be how the Redoubt fell... from within, from demons controlling men" as he runs down the street into the wind.

Monkey says, "Hey, one man can move faster than many. How I about I go first and tie him up. Otherwise we might get more casualties by the time we get there."

Admiral Kaizoku thinks that over a moment. "Restrain Hydros if you see him, no matter what he says, but nothing more... the creature may be able to move from host to host. Go!"

Monkey says, "So... which direction?"

Admiral Kaizoku points his sword to the north, the way they are headed.

Monkey is no longer besides Kaizoku.

The Storyteller . o O ( Describe or do you want me to provide some desc? )

Monkey . o O ( You'll have to. I don't have enough to go from. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Got it. )

Monkey . o O ( For example, how far away is it? North one block is a different description from North ten blocks. )

Monkey . o O ( But I'll just leave it all to you now. )

As Monkey bounds ahead of the Admiral in great distance-eating leaps, he sees a commotion on the prize ship where the prisoners are being held. It looks like they're casting off! Beyond that, he can see the rest of the Solar Wind Fleet -- all look quiet, at least through the red rain and at this distance.

TonyC waits.

The Storyteller . o O ( You're in easy jumping distance of the prize ship, the Transforming Crane. Call it three jumps. A couple of hundred feet further to the triremes. )

Monkey . o O ( Yes, but where is Hydros? or It? )

Monkey rolled 4 dice on Per + Occ + WP and got 2 successes.

Monkey . o O ( 3 successes. )

The Storyteller . o O ( You feel something nasty moving around in the direction of the Transforming Crane. Make a Per + Awareness roll. )

Monkey rolled 4 dice on Per + Awa and got 1 success.

The Storyteller . o O ( You think you can see someone running toward the end of the dock, very fast. )

-Storyteller Disconnect, Reconnect-

Monkey jumps toward the Transforming Crane, trusting his gut feeling. Hopefully that's not the mashoosh talking.

The Storyteller . o O ( Whew, that wasn't too bad. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Oh oh. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Last thing I saw was me saying: )

The Storyteller . o O ( You think you can see someone running toward the end of the dock, very fast. )

Monkey . o O ( I already repeated the only thing you missed. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. )

The Storyteller . o O ( How much ground do you cover in a turn with Monkey Leap? )

-Storyteller Disconnect, Reconnect-

The Storyteller . o O ( Goddammit. )

-Storyteller Disconnect, Reconnect-

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( I wonder if one is in town. )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Oh, dear. )

TonyC [to Apollonian]: Hello back.

The Storyteller . o O ( But for how long, I wonder? )

The Storyteller . o O ( Connection is being a _real_ bastard tonight. )

The Storyteller . o O ( What'd I miss? )

Admiral Kaizoku . o O ( Monkey can jump 60 yards base. )

Monkey . o O ( The only important thing is that Monkey can currently cover 60 yards horizontally and can increase that by raising Str. )

Monkey . o O ( Once we realized your net connection is being flaky, we went to chat mode. )

The Storyteller . o O ( Okay. Also, my computer is also acting up, so if it crashes, I'll log on with my mac. If I don't log on, it's a connection problem. )

-Storyteller Disconnect, Reconnect-

The Storyteller . o O ( Right! Enough of this. We'll try again next week, okay? )

• On to Session 30