SJE/Session15
Exalted Session 15
After a quick session of figuring out Power combat dice pools, we head back into the chase.
The blur of motion that is the Hunter is fleeing across the rooftops of Gem, the City Watch in hot pursuit, Keystone Kop style. The Hunter looks back and spots Ravitsu as the nearest target. Seeking to lose his tail (for Rav is nearest and yelling “Anathaema” at the top of his voice) he throws his recently recovered Soulsteel Gyro Chakram at Rav. Fortunately, the throw is poor and the Chakram sails past Rav with the howl of damned souls. Before it can alter its course and make another pass, Brand (who is also attuned to it- I treat Artifacts like Manses with multiple Attunements possible) reaches out with his hand and exerts his will. The Gyro Chakram gently spins into his hand and the ‘OFF’ button quickly pressed.
A market square looms ahead and the Alchemical makes a great Parabolic Leap, landing 40 yards away on the roof opposite. No mortal could make such a leap! Rav is next- as a Lunar channelling Lightning Speed, he jumps 24 feet to the central statue of the market place and then jumps again, losing some distance on the Hunter. Graveful Crane Stancing Brand (who always likes posing) lightly runs down some clotheslines, then plays Frogger across the stall tops, carts and heads of the marketplace throng, closing in on the Alchemical.
Orchid, Captain and Jaq are next. Jaq, while incredibly athletic, is at the back, concentrating on throwing knives at the optically shrouded figure ahead, giving up on that, he realises the alien must be heading for the Warehouse district at the bottom of the volcano. The only more direct route is to get down the Diamond Way, a steep, straight road that travseses the length of the city. So Jaq runs that-a-way.
Orchid takes one look at the market place and knows she couldn’t jump over it in a million years. Heading into the throng she is a lightning fast streak of apologies “Sorry”, “Just coming through here” nipping and diving through the crowd.
The Captain takes a different approach. Leaping down from the rooftop he commandeers a passing horse (pushing a rider off “In the Name of the City Watch, Citizen!” and pelts through the crowd, scooping up Orchid (much to her distress) along the way. Then he urges the horse up the stairs leading to he flat adobe roof, continuing the chase!
The alien races forward, its Chakram gambit expended. Plan B, Hide and Evade beckons. He leaps once more from a roof, crossing a 10 yard gap and crashes through the 4th floor window balcony of a large 5 floor apartment building. Rav and Brand run and leap after, Rav coming to a rolling stop on the 4th floor, Brand going short and crashing through a bedroom window on the 3rd floor.
Captain and Orchid are on the horse galloping across Gems roofs, easily vaulting narrow alley gaps. But as the race for the yawning 10 yard gap to the apartment building, the horse finally sees whats coming and puts the brakes on True Lies-style, its rear coming up as its front legs splay forward. Momentum vaults both Captain and Watch Thaumaturge high into the air, over the edge and toward the ground!
Thinking quickly, Orchid scampers up the Captains broad back and launches herself up and through the 4th floor window, landing next to Rav in an apparently empty corridor. The Captain meanwhile, thrusts his poleaxe into the apartment wall flashing past. It catches and his weight bows the pole down, then with a great BOING, it catapults him up and through the 3rd floor bedroom window, into a very surprised maids bed! (Behind them the horse neighs with malicious glee)
Brand tips his hat to the woman in the bed and races after the murderous monster. The Captain however turns, smiles, light catching his teeth with a near audible ‘Ching!’ , and informs the pretty woman that she’ll be safe at the Watchhouse, if only she’d hurry along there now, and the Captain of the Watch will be along shortly to question her as a vital witness! Somehow this audacious blarney works and the woman (Nesta the Maid) agrees! The table is in stitches as once more the lecherous side of the Captain expresses itself at just the wrong moment. We briefly redo the Shaft theme tune to fit the Captain, ‘cos clearly hes got that thing going on.
Meanwhile Jaq is surfing down the steep Diamond Way on a purloined fruit crate, dodging run-away chariots and jumping over crossing wagons as his crate skids under them, before landing back on it on the other side!
Back in the apartment building, curious residents are ushered back into their apartments as the watch search the corridors, roof, balconies and beyond. Somehow they stop the Captain from searching pretty womans lingerie. But the Alchemical is nowhere to be found, so they split up- Orchid and Brand taking the roof, the Captain the ground floor (where he acquires a bag of flour) while Rav retraces his steps.
At last Rav locates their prey. A subtle refraction of the light reveals that the Hunter is invisible, motionless, and hanging to the ceiling. Letting nothing show on his face, Rav ambles forward, spear loose in his grip.
Then as he walks under the tensed Alchemical, Rav throws off the disguise of Civilisation, feathers sprouting, talons unfolding, transforming into a Deadly Eagle Warrior Beastman, his spear flowing into a moonsilver Direlance. Striking faster than a Mosqid, Beastman-Ravitsu lunges up, catching the Alchemical in the side and causing it to fall. As it does so, enhanced neurons fire, tactical analysis complete and the Alchemicals Soulsteel Direlance bites into Ravs wing, sucking the Essence from him.
Orchid, Brand and the Captain hear this commotion and come a-runnin’. Brand is first, sliding between Ravs clawed talons, his slashing sword glows with Solar fire as Brand invokes his deadly combo, pumping Essence into devastating strikes. But the near invisible Alchemicals Accelerated Response System compensates, dodging him out of the way as a brightly glowing brand sword goes through first a dividing wall and then a supporting beam instead!
The Captain then hurls his bag of flour at the Alchemical and throws himself under both Rav and Brand, sliding along the floor, firewand held up as he comes to a stop at the Alchemical feet. “Dodge this!” he snarls and triggers the firewand/flamethrower, catching the still falling bag of flour in the blast.
The Hunter doesn’t dodge this time, and burning firedust and flour turns his triangular mask into a fiery face of doom, implacable, unstoppable!
So its left to Orchid to save the day.
She too dives under Rav and Brand and comes to a stop on top of the Captain. Rising, her hem comes up, Charm-infused it has a cutting power equal to a windfan blade, but glances harmlessly off the Hunters soulsteel hide.
New round, and initiative is of incredible importance- with power combat, the direlance wielders have incredible advantages. But Ravs Eagle Warrior form has the edge in Dexterity and initiative is his. Pinions beat and Rav launches himself up into the air, talons and wings hugging the confining corridor walls. From over Brand’s head, Rav hurls her direlance, penetrating through the Alchemicals necks and down into and through its torso!
It collapses to the ground, sliding down the moonsilver lance, whose quicksilver surface holds no grip.
As it dies, its guttural, harsh voice mutters in Old Realm “BLASPHEMERS, THE SLEEPER AWAKENS! THE GREAT MAKER WILL EXTERMINATE YOU! EXTERMINATE!...”
Revealed it is a large creature, easily 7foot tall and 4 foor broad at the shoulder, powerfully built. A Triangular mask with small rectangular insets mark the eyes, nose and mouth-grille. Its made of a awful grey metal, small Scream faces bubbling up endlessly to its surface, screaming and fading away. It is clad in a strange black leathery webbing, interlaced with soulsteel wires and carries an extendible (or collapsible) soul steel Direlance (think Minbari fighting pike or Predator Harpoon). A circular Cog-gear shape is inscribed and enamelled on different parts of its body. One red symbol on its arm is slowly turning white, cog-tooth by cog tooth.
Brand succumbs to the eternal Twilights curse of tampering and opens up the Alchemicals access ports, tracing a white jade line from the arm to the central essence battery. Even as the oblivious characters chat about what has happened and what strange, unknown Deathlord Golem this must be, brand finds the internal Essence battery whining up with increasing pitch. Something definitely sounds bad. On the arm, nearly all the cog sybol has turned white. “vvvvvvvhhhiiiiiiiirrrrrrRRRRRRRRRR!!!”
“Aha, Got it!” says Brand as one lucky Craft roll detaches the wide jade conduit from the Essence store and averts a cataclysmic self-destruct sequence. Looks like the nameplate of this machine is “Solitary Lethal Hunter, born in the vats of Yugash Patropolis, 4758 DA”
As people start to re-open their doors, the party realise that Rav is still in Deadly Eagle Warrior form and Brand is glowing like a disco ball of the Sun. So, the mighty child of Twilight is unceremoniously pushed into a broom closet as Rav quick-shifts back to human shape. They then stand around the locked closet saying “nothing to see hear, move along, move along” as bright, sunny light streams out from the edges and hinges of the closet door.
So, the case of the Terror From Beyond Creation is closed. And despite it officially being a day off for these Exalted members of the Watch, they have left a trail of destruction behind them that will cause apoplexy amongst the ranks of the Despots accountants-
-One Watchtower level (Dept. of Forbidden Magics), burned down, half books destroyed, soot and smoke covering the rest. -One Sedan Chair, crushed beneath a falling Captain. -One Horse commandeered and un-returned to owner. - Multiple shutters broken on apartment building. - One partition wall and supporting beam in apartment building. -New paint job needed for corridor post firewand and Charm usage.
Still, at least McMurty and Old Tam have been avenged, the alien killer brought down and peace returned to the streets of Gem. And looting the Hunters body means soulsteel weapons all round!
So ends Session 15 & 20th Descending Fire
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