SJE/Session24
Exalted Session 24
(a.k.a. the Musical Episode)
1:00am, 2nd Calibration.
So, Rav, Orchid and Alana (& Lucita the demon-child) are on the walls of Gem, witnessing Stanewald the Dancer (2nd Circle Demon) leading the Neomah in a magical dance. Deep below the ground stirs. Orchid recalls what she knows of Stanewald, She Who Surmounted the Navel of the World. Theres this stuff about how great a dancer she is, how she knows the 13 Efficacious Dances that can turn boulders to sand, drive the Elemental Dragon from an Earth Blooded, open chasms into the earth. Oh, and something about earthquakes and volcanoes…. Furthermore, Stanewald possesses the 13th Dance, the one that none know of.
Quickly joined by Brand and a surprisingly undrunk Captain (though he still smells like a brewery), Orchid relays this and they decide this is Probably Bad News. In the vain hope that the demons might settle for only half the city (Orchid’s Heart of Flint is calculating ‘acceptable losses’) the 4 Solars and Lunar go to visit the Demon Army. Talking their way over the walls (“Hah, we’ll see them off for your General! A single Watchman chased of the Paragonese didn’t she!” ) Orchid flashes her Caste mark at the demoms and seeks an audience with Octavian as Envoy from Gem.
Octavian (think a Neanderthal browed, elephant tusked beast slouching towards Bethlehem. Clancy Brown in Kurgan mode.) is an aggressive giant, towering over the valourous Exalts. He is the Living Tower, against whom all must fall. Slayer of Exalts, Eater of Gods, Lord of a quarter layer of Malfeas, and general of the Armies of the Yozis, hes a fearsome sight. Alana notices the withered head hanging from his belt used to be her own!
Orchid asks what he wants.
“THE DESTRUCTION OF GEM”
“Why?”
“OUR REASONS ARE OUR OWN, CHILD OF THE ACCURSED SUN”
“Could we come to some agreement to spare our people?”
“ONLY IF YOU THROW OPEN YOUR GATES AND HERD THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN OUT FOR THE SLAUGHTER. WE WILL ALLOW YOU TO FLEE AND LIVE A FEW MORE DAYS!”
Embassy at and end, the party bugger off, but not before Octavian belittles the size of the Captains polearm. “I WILL SNAP YOUR TWIG. THIS IS A REAL POLE!” (Equitable Resolution is a 12 foot high Malfean Iron staff)
The Captain bristles back and mockingly speaking to ‘Mr Hand’ says
“Whats that Mr Hand? Yes, he’s definitely compensating for something.” The Captain cocks his head at Mr Hand for a moment as if listening and then glancing up at Octavions crotch continues! “Yep, very, very small indeed!”
“FOR YOUR TEMERITY, I WILL CRUCIFY YOU FOR ETERNITY” shouts an enraged Octavion
And before Orchid can say “Oh clusterfuck” a duel is arranged for dawn. (About 8 hours away but the Captain is a traditionalist) Octavian is so incensed by the Captains mockery that he only narrowly passes a Temperance roll to resist attacking the Solar Embassy and so breaking the ancient pacts that protect Eclipses. (which would probably invite a 1,000 catastrophic botches).
The party head back to Gem- the soldiers on the walls are very disappointed that the demon army isn’t in full retreat already. (sotte voce. “But theres 5 of them and only 1 demon army. They’ve got the demons outnumbered!” ) So there is some talk of not letting them back in, but Alana gets imperious and a rope is lowered from the walls.
Stanewald is continuing her Dance in the midst of the demon army. The rumbling of the ground increases, the stone walls turning porous, even as the alien beauty of her graceful, floating waltzes entrance the soldiers on the wall. Truly Stanewald is the second best dancer in all of Hell or Creation after the Yozis (Michael Jackson as the best dancer after the Demon Princes one wag observes)
Back in the besieged city, Brand plays “dodge the Immaculate”, stealthing around to stay one step ahead of the Clouseau-like Tanaka. He gives his soulsteel Direlance to the Captain for the duel with Octavian. Cue Rocky style training montage as the Captain learns attunement in a few hours.
Jaq meanwhile sleeps in the Despots harem and then tries for another crack at the Jewel Room. It goes desperately wrong as 3 of the guards see through his Mental Invisibility and he takes a firewand to the chest. Jaq winds up hanging from the lee of a door as the Palace Guard scour the area for him. They even poke his area a few times, but he’s got Flow like Blood up and dodges while remaining perfectly still with Invisible Statue Spirit.
Rav takes a firedust grenade (from Brand) and uses his Changing moon illusion powers to look like a common worshipper. Getting close to the central area where the faithful seek re-assurance in this time of Apoclaypse, he firebombs the Immaculate Scrolls in the temple of the Five Harmonius Dragons. The worshippers run screaming, fearing demons are attacking, their faith and hope in the Immaculate Dragons shaken. Rav’s Limit goes up by one for this particularly non-Compassionate act.
Rav & Brand decide to sneak out the city and fly to the Forgotten Oasis from which the demons marched. Hopefully they can find the sorcerer who summoned them, or close the portal to Malfeas or something. That’s fine, they fly off there and find a strange collection of nautilus horn towers, organic Z’Bri-style buildings and a great green light shining up from the waters of the oasis. The place is apparently deserted, but the diaries of Arton Thule gives clues that this might have been the home of a Demon-blooded or Terrestial sorcerer…
6am, 2nd Calibration
Turning my attention back to the others, I’m slightly surprised to learn that Orchid and Alana have a Plan. They are worried about Stanewalds Dance and whatever doom it is going to unleash on Gem. So they want to devise a ‘Counter-Dance’. And they are going to need everyone in Gem to make it work.
Getting an obscene number of successes (9 or so) on their organise an impromptu musical production in the middle of the night roll, Orchid starts producing, “Wag the Dog”-style, Alana helping. Messengers are sent out to waken and gather performers, dancers and musicians. The Palace is told to roust the Gem Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from their beds and get down to the walls. The Watch get turned into makeshift towncriers to spread the word. Musicians are bribed, diva cat fights broken up with a single line from the cold hearted Orchid “Dance, or Gem dies tonight!” In the weird, fevered, End Time of Gem’s coming demonic Apocalypse, the people need hope, they need something, they need a concert!
Soon Gem is abuzz as dancers, musicians, singers, choreographers, stage hands and observers throng about the flat roofed warehouses next to the City Walls. Orchid is an island of icy calm as she sets about organising the masses. Alana plots strategy. Stanewald and her Dances are clearly anti-stone. They seek to destroy the walls and earth of Gem. So to counter this, clearly they need to make the stone stronger, more rocky. They need Music With Rocks In It. They need to Rock Around the Clock!
Alana begins on the drums, a fast, pounding beat. The first rays of light are creeping over the mountain and the Captain orders men with burnished shields to reflect the sunlight as makeshift spotlights! The citizenry of Gem have emerged from the lava tunnel bunkers and survival shelters and now throng the streets and roofs of the city, all the way up the mountain.
So its at this point that Jaq, intent on reaching Orchid and finding out what is going on, accidentally stumbles into the spotlight.
“Er… whats going on, Orchid?” says a confused and slightly dazed (from her earlier burns and scorpion sting) Jaq.
“Dance Jaq!” says a coldly detached Orchid. “Dance for Gem. Dance for your life!”
“Er.. Orchid, you are scaring me” quails Jaq under the eyes of all of Gem.
- Orchid activates Flurry of August leaves and her two long dress sleeves whip out to hit Jaqs feet. Jaq declares a Full Dodge*
*Snap* Jaq twists her hips and leaps right. *Snap!* Jaq dodges back left! You’ve heard of Swing? Well now Jaq has invented the equally energetic Dodge dance style!
“Dance Jaq! What would your brother do?” says Orchid playing on Jaqs inferiority feelings towards her brother.
“What would my brother do?” repeats a still-dumfounded Jaq.
“WHAT WOULD…YOUR BROTHERRR.. DOOOO!!!!” choruses a crowd of thousands, rock anthemn-style to the tune of “We Will Rock You!”
Alana is still on drums, “Boom-basha-basha-Boom-basha-bassha- BOOM!”
The Audience keep up the lyrics ““WHAT WOULD…YOUR BROTHERRR.. DOOO!!!!””
Gem has gone wild. This new music amplifies off the volcano behind it and blasts over the demon army. Stanewald dances closer, straining against the new rhythmn being imposed on her by the collected instruments and voices of 50,000 Gemites.
Everyone is joining in the lyrics, spotlights play across Jaq and Orchid and Alana and her Fedayakenettes backing drummers. Orchid joins the Dance, circling Jaq, thrash style, DPC form activated, her dresses punching out to the aggressive beat of this new sound. Then Orchid begins to break dance a little more, showing off moves that Stanewald tries to emulate.
Jaq finally seems to come awake, and realises that however good Orchid is as a dancer (and she is good! 15+ successes on the Perform roll), Stanewald might still be able to match her. But while Stanewald is an excellent dancer, she normally dances alone. A few dozen neomah cant match the numbers of potential dancers on Gems rooftops.
So Jaq stunts, turning to face Orchid, the music slows, the spotlights close in. The whole city, the whole mountain quiets as suddenly Jaq’s legerdemain produces a set of finger cymbals. And with a “TING” and smile, he and Orchid (DPC turning dress to Sari) turn to their audience and go into a Bollywood Musical Spectacular! A hundred colour and gender co-ordinated choreographed backing dancers appear behind the two leads, cymbals and chimes clashing the music changes beat and tempo and a lipsynched pop beat starts up! “Beat It” perhaps?
Gems population starts Riverdancing, clogs going Zaitochi-style. Enter the colour co-ordinated Immaculate monks stage left- the Blue robed ones, dancing towards the saffron robed ones before meeting and whirling away in dazzling smear of colour!
Against this new Dance, Stanewald has no defence. She cant beat the walls of Gem, not against Music with Rocks In It and the populism of Bollywood melodrama. So she joins in!
Stanewald leaps over walls, defying gravity to land lightly before Orchid. Offering her elegantly graceful arm, her look challenges Orchid to dance the mysterious and never-before performed 13th Dance!
Stanewald begins strongly, a strong, dominating waltz, attacking Orchid, forcing her to step back, again and again. Orchid tries to make it more peaceful, less destructive, a gentler, softer dance. The Captain starts commentating, <>iStarsky & Hutch</i> style.( “Busting some moves, Stanewalds coming in fast & aggressive. Lets see what Orchid can do” )
Orchid backs across the flat warehouse roof, Alana trying to slow the beat, as the strangely beautiful dance continues, Gem enraptured. At the very edge of the roof, ( “No one puts Orchid in the corner” mics the Captain) Orchid suddenly twirls, and now it is Stanewald, leaning back over the precipice!
Thin arm straining, Orchid pulls Stanewald back from near horizontal, and the 13th Dance continues. Concentration strains each dancers face as they both strive to establish tempo, lead and direction while co-operating in creating this pattern, this graceful arrangement of form and movement, a thing of sublime beauty. A bead of sweat appears on Orchids perfect makeup as small cracks form across the roof, a maddening green light seeping up…
“You cant harm me…”whispers Orchid as the two dancers waltz in close together
“No… but your skill deserves to be seen…. In Hell!” whispers back Stanewald.
The two break apart, then come twirling back, each seeking to define the Dance. Both are supremely graceful, beautiful, composed. Each dance slightly differently, Stanewald with passion and aggression, Orchid with serene calm and peace. Alana tries to slow the beat of the music to support Orchid’s artistic interpretation.. it’s a close, close thing….
BOOM!
The Portal Opens. The cracks race out, forming together into a depthless green hole, deeper than Creation. Mad green light lens-flares across everyones vision. Orchid and Stanewald are sucked down into Malfeas in the blink of an eye!
…
…
…
Everyones in shock.
How could this have happened? Orchid was dancing incredibly well. But Stanewald really is the the second best dancer in Hell (over 3 rounds of Extended contest, Orchid got 33 successes to Stanewald “Performance 11”’s 37! It could have gone either way!)
“AHEM”
The Captain turns on the wall to literally come face to face with Octavion. The sun has risen high above the mountain now.
“TIME TO DIE, CHILD OF THE ACCURSED SUN!”
“Be there in a moment” mutters the Captain, and grabbing his new Direlance, starts grumbling as he marches out to meet his death. Spotting a still shell- shocked Jaq, the Captain exclaims “Couldn’t you nick his staff or something?”
Think a 24-style 4 way screen split. Top-Left corner, the Captain marches out the Gates of Gem to face a 20 foot giant, tusked, 2nd Circle Demon Against Whom None Have Prevailed.
Top Right, Alana and her Tiger Warriors stand openmouthed. Jaq is in shock, tears down her face as she stares at the now sealed back warehouse roof from which Orchid has just been sucked into Malfeas!
Bottom Left- A horrified Orchid looks up between black basalt and brass organic skyscrapers at a mad, green sun, the din and throng of Malfeas surrounding her. She is alone and lost in Hell!
Bottom Right- Brand and Rav explore the organic tower of Arton Thule at the Forbidden Oasis. A sound catches their ear and they peer out an eye-lid window. Stepping from the flat green surface of the portal, a gracefully beautiful dancing demon emerges. Her eyes flick up, and spot the investigating Exalts!
8am 2nd Calibration.
Tick- Tick- TICK!
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