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959244 No. 959244 ID: f57349

You're running through the grand salon, an oval room 60' east-west by 45' north-south. Eight thin white pillars encircle a colorful 15' square mosaic in the floor, a lens of pale yellow glass in the ceiling 50' above, and a chandelier suspended halfway between, consisting of glowing orbs hanging from the hilts of twelve upturned golden swords. Elaborate gilded-bronze vines decorate the walls, framing small balconies on two upper floors.

Your shortness of breath, overheating, and shaky muscles imply recent prolonged heavy exertion, but you have no recollection of the specifics. Given how thoroughly ice-encrusted your clothes are, at least part of that hard labor must have taken place in a blizzard, and since your most recent memories of being outdoors were late spring or early summer in a temperate climate, far from any snowcapped mountains, the gap in your memory likely encompasses at least half a year.

There's a howling creature in your way, with shaggy white fur, possibly something an ape-demon sired on a polar bear, brandishing a severed human arm with not only clear killing intent but alarmingly supernatural expertise. Maybe you should do something about that first, sort out more nuanced strategic details afterward.
Expand all images
>>
No. 959246 ID: 9aa12d

Whatcha got on ya
>>
No. 959247 ID: f57349

Discussion: https://questden.org/kusaba/questdis/res/120347.html and/or https://discord.gg/ZuGRZKD
Houserules and patches to Exalted 2.5: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10VAUEYEqWYWcQ9gz4bk9uok8OkAIYl1cy50KEw2y75o/edit

Everybody in the initial party should roll up two characters: a Solar, Abyssal, or GSP, and the Lunar mate of whoever's seated to your left. Anyone joining late, or replacement for those incapacitated or slain, defaults to an outcaste dragon-blood. No single player (other than the GM, of course) can control more than three at a time, or introduce more than one new character per week - in or out of game, whichever is longer. Any exalts left OOC unattended long enough that it becomes a serious inconvenience to the other players will revert to NPC status, and (due to the Great Curse, among other factors which will gradually become clear time) are to be presumed hostile.

As an alternative, you can pass off control of a character to someone else. If you know you'll be away from the game for a while (real-world problems, loss of interest, or whatever other reason), tying off the loose end by naming a successor is more polite than just ghosting.

Each post of consequential, mechanically-resolvable action earns one XP. If I can't figure out what you're trying to accomplish, or it's too trivial for a roll ("dice 60d10" in the e-mail field), it won't count. Something as simple as "Walk through the east door, look around, what do I see?" could be fine, since this is at least partly a haunted-house story, meaning you might find vital clues or stumble into a trap. Pictures are encouraged but not required - even a crappy MSPaint scribble can greatly clarify relative positions and other tactical necessities.
>>
No. 959255 ID: f57349

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YazvJrkSH1EqpACl267UzrVpVzhN_vcZmTZ22sBoM2g/edit
BP math for Noir looks alright to me, but there is no S in "reflexive," and the entire calculator tab seems to be leftovers from a previous character. Mote commitments should be 1 to the windblade (plus 10 uncomitted per hour of operation), 1 to the needle, and 10 to the armor - not to Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit, which isn't even on the list of charms.
>>
No. 959279 ID: d9acdc
File 158463571605.jpg - (98.12KB , 1024x929 , spider noir.jpg )
959279

rolled 6, 10, 1, 9, 10, 5, 4, 9, 3, 5, 10, 3, 1, 5, 2, 3, 9, 3, 3, 6, 6, 5, 6, 8, 1, 4, 3, 6, 3, 9, 4, 8, 8, 4, 5, 2, 9, 3, 7, 7, 10, 2, 3, 3, 3, 1, 10, 7, 10, 5, 7, 10, 5, 8, 4, 5, 8, 1, 6, 9 = 332

A rain of yellow glass announces the presence of Noir, a one armed man in all black making his grand entrance by smashing through the ceiling on his windblade. It is unclear how he got separated from his arm, given that there's no bleeding and it's currently fifty feet away being used as a teaching stick, but he intends to get it back, whatever good that will do.

Pledging five dollars a month on Patreon gives characters unconditional permission to act on OCC information, such as knowing that's your arm the blood ape ripped off. Further tiers with more powerful rewards are available as well.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4587981

Rolling to join battle, and enhancing it with the charm One Man Cavalry by spending five personal motes.

That's a Charisma + Ride roll opposed by the Blood Ape's MDV. If Noir beats it's MDV, it suffers a three dice internal penalty to all attacks against Noir/his windblade, and a one die internal penalty to all attacks against his allies, who the strangers below will inexplicably count as. This can be resisted for (six-target’s Valor)wp and provides immunity to the charm/it's effects for the scene.

That's wits three, awareness five, and stunt for join battle, then charisma four, ride three, windblade specialty three, and stunt for One Man Cavalry.

Currently at 4/19 personal motes (five spent on one man cavalry, ten on using the windblade for an hour), 28/40 peripheral (twelve committed), and 10/10wp.
>>
No. 959319 ID: f57349

>>959279
Technically it's a half-fiend yeti, not a blood ape. I'm planning to hold off on resolving those initial actions until other characters are ready (and you've finished details like intimacies and iconic anima), but for now I would like to note that not a single speck of glass from the lens makes it all the way to the floor - fragments swirl and orbit around the room, rising higher as they join up into larger segments, then by tick 30 (assuming no further disruption) the lens is good as new.
>>
No. 959339 ID: ac57f8
File 158467654255.png - (326.87KB , 600x800 , cb0a2ae21b1b66f81a0bf7e41def59b7.png )
959339

rolled 1, 6, 4, 7, 4, 7, 8, 2, 6, 7, 6, 6, 4, 5, 5, 7, 4, 4, 5, 10, 3, 10, 5, 7, 8, 2, 4, 4, 8, 5, 6, 7, 3, 4, 3, 6, 6, 6, 4, 1, 9, 2, 10, 4, 5, 2, 6, 5, 1, 6, 3, 7, 9, 2, 6, 6, 9, 10, 5, 2 = 319

"For thousands of years I have slumbered. Who dares disturb my slumber." The blue haired western woman said in Old Realm, then took stock of the situation, and immediately dropped several levels of aggressive as she sauntered up to the demonic yeti, not a trace of murderous intent in her.

In control at the moment was Thousand Blossoming Sunsets, first age Twilight and past life of The Adamant Strix. Of course, this body was fragile and had so little essence compared to the day that she was overwhelmed by her legions, and all of it was so thoroughly polluted, but she at least had some something to work with as she dipped into a stance.

(The Adamant Strix, Defiler Caste Infernal, Motivation: Build her own 5 Dot Manse, Urge: Organize Wavecrest into a truly self sustaining nation capable of throwing out the Realm. Intimacies:

She Who Lives in Her Name (A Shining Example to follow)
First Age Textbooks (Love to read)
List-making (Favorite Way to Start a Day)
Building Artifacts (Self Reliant Pride)
Amilar Kraik (Deep personal respect)
As of yet Unnamed Abyssal Character undefined
Noir (Interested Respect)
Desert Locust (Terrified Respect)
Clever Fox (Confused Respect)
As of yet unnamed Lunar character undefined

Thousand Blossoming Sunsets
Motivation: Read or Write a comprehensive history of everything that's happened since the Usurpation.
The Exalted Host (Mourning)
Sidereals (Righteous Fury))

Mechanically: Activating White Veil Stance (4m personal) and rolling join battle.

12/16 personal, 23/33 Peripheral (10m committed to Mind Hand Manipulation), 10/10 WP 3/3 Compassion, 2/2 all other virtues.
>>
No. 959340 ID: ac57f8
File 158467857127.jpg - (107.15KB , 564x846 , 36ebe52a7ef2d978c06bfb54063044b8.jpg )
959340

While everyone was looking at the demonic yeti, one member of the group decided to look in the opposite direction, taking a look around the room to see what they're all being distracted from with the big distraction ball in the middle of the room. She let her senses fall aside as she ran through a list of questions.

1. Why was the last thing she remembered sitting in a tea ceremony with her father back in Icehome?
2. Where was she?
3. How could she find a way out?

As long as she had those three anchors for her thought, she could keep focused. From her clothes, she had been outside in a Blizzard, so that would put them sometime in Ascending or Resplendant Air, so it would probably be a season before they could formally leave safely if it's that cold outside.

So, to answer question 3, wait out the storm and try and find an Icewalker tribe during the melting seasons, shorter term, she was going to need a map, or more likely to make one.

But, she's going to look in the meantime to see if anything could explain missing months of memory.
>>
No. 959573 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 7, 4, 1, 7, 7, 10, 3, 3, 10, 9, 8, 1, 10, 1, 10, 3, 5, 3, 9, 3, 10, 3, 9, 6, 1, 7, 2, 8, 3, 4, 8, 5, 8, 5, 4, 10, 3, 7, 4, 6, 5, 7, 9, 8, 2, 9, 7, 10, 3, 2, 3, 10, 9, 2, 6, 6, 6, 6, 10 = 351

>>/questdis/132404
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WZD8FrbKmwTCCkJOH07RQXLF-cVFNU10m8uKRs01Lac/edit?usp=sharing

Desert Locust doesn't know whats going on, but theres a... not so much a voice, as it is a feeling, an urge in her soul. Never flee. Never surrender. And with the woman in blue putting herself in harms way, now was absolutely the time to act. No one was going to lay a hand on her, not even a severed one. There would be time later to examine her confusing feelings towards the stranger, or whatever the ehll was going on with her legs for that matter; right now, she would need to spring into action.

Not wanting to waste time fighting against her own momentum while turning heel, she instead begins tumbling forward, planting her hands on the ground in front of her as if performing a cartwheel. Instead, she pushes off the ground, shooting straight up in a corkscrew motion. As her body began to rotate and face the beast, she lets her legs unwind into a roundhouse kick. Rolling to join battle.

Wits three, awareness three, and stunt.

If resolving an attack, she has Dexterity five, Martial arts three, and a one die specialty in kicking, in addition to stunt bonuses.
>>
No. 959612 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 3, 5, 8, 3, 9, 6, 7, 4, 5, 6, 8, 6, 3, 7, 9, 4, 5, 5, 5 = 111

>>/questdis/132387
Jan Do knew not where she was, not how she came to this place. She did not know how the enmity of the creature before her had been earned. What she did know was that she stood with allies (a familiarity she was certain of, if lacking on species), that a challenge had been clearly given, and that blood had been drawn. Honor could demand only response.

Just ahead of the entrance to the room, the samurai sets her sandals in a combat footing, places hand on a familiar hilt, and one smooth motion, draws her blade.

Rolling join battle. Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt

>alarmingly supernatural expertise
While she could not remember her immediate circumstances, one thing the Dusk Caste has not forgotten is the violet-hued katas of the martial art that slew her, or her own search for information in the period afterwards. Is this limb-rending art one such supernatural style she recognizes from her research?

Reflexive roll to attempt to recognize an Obvious martial arts charm / martial arts style. Intelligence 3 + Martial Arts 5 + (Possibly motivation resonant) Stunt. I'll also spend 2m personal to add one auto-success from the yasal crystal's Second Martial Arts Excellency.
>>
No. 959613 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 3, 2, 8, 6, 9, 3, 3, 8, 2 = 49

The No Moon stared in equal parts concern, anger, and impotent frustration at the tableau before her.

He was hurt again. That thing had taken his arm clear off! What is he even doing crashing through windows at a time like this- that injury needs immediate medical attention! And she can't even provide it with him flying around like a fool, or with that ape swinging the severed appendage like that.

No there's... nothing to do now. All she can do is wait, worry and concern gnawing at her, as she waits for her allies to bring an end to this madness. Then she can see to his injuries, call him the fool he is, and... figure out the lesser problem of where we are, or how we got here.

Drawing behind her buckler, she braces herself in the hallway behind Jan Do.

Rolling join battle, Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt. I'll channel a wp for an auto-success.
>>
No. 959614 ID: f57349

>>959612
With five successes on the academic knowledge roll, Jan could recite from memory everything the Wyld Hunt's own training manuals have to say about Infernal Monster Style - all the tactical necessities, and various historical trivia as well. No apparent gloves or glowing fist-scripture, so apparently the shaggy creature in front of you hasn't fully mastered the style. Unfortunately, with only two successes on Join Battle, those insights might be coming too late.

Jan also recognizes the use of Stubborn Monkey Hesitation, a technique from the (equally brutal and honorless, but less legendarily powerful) First Pulse Style. Having initiated this fight, it allows the user to automatically act on tick zero.

>>959339
You already have White Veil Form active, and the ice eater likewise has assumed Infernal Monster Form. Thanks to that penalty you're applying to everyone else present, the initiative counter currently looks like this:

Tick 0: Noir & Ice Eater
Tick 1: Desert Locust
Tick 2: Adamant Strix
Tick 3: Clever Fox & Doc
Tick 4: Jan Do

So, critical question is, what's that one-armed windblade-riding maniac going to do first?

>>959340
>taking a look around the room
>find a way out
Ground-level exits at all four compass points. North is the only one with significant light visible, and appears to lead directly out to a garden.
Balconies, likewise, at the cardinal points. Seven foot vertical jump (impressive for a mere mortal) would be enough to grab that cornice with outstretched hands and maybe pull yourself up; a six-yard jump (easy for any reasonably athletic exalt) lets you clear the railing and land on your feet.
Decorative vines are partly inset into the stone, not protruding like ropes, so the walls would be possible to free-climb but not easy.
Upper row of balconies are in the south only, have no railing, and withered brown vines - actual plant matter, not metal - spill out of them. Ten yard leap to grab the edge there, twelve to land on your feet.
>>
No. 959618 ID: d9acdc

rolled 1, 9, 10, 1, 7, 4, 8, 3, 1, 9, 10, 6, 6, 9, 6, 4, 4, 10, 4, 3, 8, 10, 8, 6, 9, 4, 3, 1, 4, 3, 6, 7, 5, 2, 1, 7, 10, 6, 8, 6, 5, 1, 7, 7, 9, 1, 5, 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 1, 6, 10, 1, 3, 3, 9, 9 = 338

>>959614
Taking notice of the creature's burning green eyes, Noir makes a mental note to keep his one remaining arm out of harms way. Taking care to interpose a large pillar and as much space as he can manage between them, he focuses his ears to keep track of exactly where the creature is, and makes a precision throw of his space warping needle. Let's see just how agile this creature is

That's going to be a two action flurry, first one being a thrown attack, second one being a ride control. He's then going to spend one extra peripheral mote to retrieve the space warping needle afterwards.

Attack is going to be dex five, thrown five, accuracy 1, multiple action penalty -2, and a stunt. Potentially counting as unexpected, or applying some sort of penalty to the defense as Noir attacks from a blind spot behind a solid wall? Hoping that Keen Hearing and Touch Technique will negate any penalties Noir would face for not being able to "see" what he's attacking.

Ride check is dex five, ride three, windblade three, multiple action penalty -3, and stunt.
>>
No. 959619 ID: f57349

rolled 4, 8, 5, 6, 10, 5, 9, 9, 2, 1, 3, 9, 3, 10, 8, 2, 8, 9, 8, 2, 5, 2, 6, 7, 5, 10, 5, 5, 10, 5, 7, 6, 6, 4, 2, 10, 6, 3, 10, 2, 7, 5, 9, 9, 4, 9, 3, 4, 8, 8, 3, 5, 2, 10, 6, 9, 5, 10, 4, 5 = 362

Three-attack flurry using Joyful Cessation of Restraint, targeting the doc. First attack is a leg sweep aiming to hook the severed arm behind your knees (enhanced with God-Smashing Blow, automatic knockdown if it hits), then a diagonal upward swing that might connect with the groin, ribs, chin, or hammer Noir's detached elbow into your kidneys, depending on how you deal with the first. Follow-through arcs back around in an overhead fient, distracting from a vertical slash with the off hand, aimed at grabbing the medical satchel - incidentally completing a midair tracery of Jupiter's sigil.

If doc ends up prone, the two extra attacks are kicks with the fierce blow modifier, hoping to use Fists of the Old Ones to launch the doc all the way across the Grand Salon... as a distraction, while it runs off with the bag that has the neck of a celestial winebottle poking out the top.
>>
No. 959621 ID: f57349

>>959618
Eight successes on that attack, and I'll say it does count as unexpected in this case. Rather than hiding behind one of the pillars, which are relatively narrow, it'd be simpler to say you went for a classic Tuxedo Kamen entrance: sudden projectile to interrupt enemy action, then only actually appear after the musical cue.

The shaggy beast takes one lethal health level of damage, but declines to activate Retribution Will Follow.
>>
No. 959650 ID: afdebc

>>959619
As the yeti barrels past those who actually meant to meet it's change, the doctor drops into a crouch while turning to the side, putting her left arm and shield in the path of the severed limb aimed at her legs, her right side and shoulder-slung satchels facing away from harm. She's not going to be able to patch anyone up if she (or her supplies) get pulverized!

If successful, that should mean the ground-shattering force of God-Smashing Blow is directed horizontally into Doc's shield, hopefully shoving her backwards out of range of further attacks, rather than shattering the ground below her feet. (Stunting GSB to not be an overhead strike cuts both ways). Either way, the severed limb slapping against the board should produce a fresh blood-spatter on the floor or wall.

Doc's got a base Parry DV of 4 with her exceptional buckler, plus whatever that stunt's worth. (And I count 5 attacks on the first 11 dice of that preemptive attack roll).
>>
No. 959654 ID: afdebc

>>959650
Doc is also going to reflexively commit 6m personal to the No Moon anima, which will impose an internal penalty of 3 on incoming attacks, unless the yeti has darkvision.
>>
No. 959662 ID: f57349

>>959654
>>959650
Stunt focused on shielding the medical supplies resonates with your Motivation, so five successes on eight dice bounce off of DV 7. For the second attack, though, visible anima power means the shaggy beast has realized it's up against potentially overwhelming opposition in the form of a celestial exalt, so it channels Conviction for a total of twelve dice. Your DV is also at -1 due to onslaught...
> 2, 1, 3, 9, 3, 10, 8, 2, 8, 9, 8, 2
Just barely hits, threshold zero. Raw (pre-soak) damage is 14B, and you're being launched up and to the left, most likely impacting the side of one of the southern exits, then falling back to the ground and down a very short flight of stairs (three steps) to a rougher gray flagstone floor.

On the other side of those three short parallel stairways is a squarish room, about 30' east-west by 40' north-south. East and west walls have bas reliefs of strangely elongated lions, south wall has double doors of bronze-bound stone, each 11' high and 5' wide (so the overall doorway is 10' wide) flanked by windows. Your group seems to have come from that direction, but the snowy footprints only reach about two-thirds of the way to the door.

Falling damage is relatively negligible, since you're barely covering more than two yards either time and have more than enough natural bashing soak, and that wall is apparently even sturdier than it looks so there's no crater, but everybody else within eight yards (except the monster) needs to check for knockdown at difficulty 3. You'll be landing prone, and at a further -1 DV from high ground thanks to the stairs... unless you can succeed at a Wits + Athletics roll to grab the wall you were flung into, in which case relative elevation will actually be working in your favor against the remainder of the flurry.
>>
No. 959671 ID: afdebc

Gonna redeclare my defenses against the second attack in the flurry, since ending up prone and pummeled to death would be a bad thing.

Wincing at the further damage to Noir's arm, the Doctor is driven backwards a step, away from the fleshly-splattered patina of blood decorating the wall, and an empty brass sconce. She desperately braces for the second blow (noting the increased fury in the infernal beast's eyes as she draws on her anima). She can't fall here, not while he needs treatment, mere yards away!

Channeling compassion, and adding one Solar Bond die to the pool, to enhance DV.

That brings base Parry DV to 6, +Stunt, -Onslaught 1.

(That puts Doc at... 6m committed, 2/3 Compassion channels, 3/4 Solar Bond dice, and 9/10 wp)
>>
No. 959672 ID: f57349

>>959671
In that case, the second attack is blocked by a comfortable margin, and nobody gets knocked down. Spending one willpower would've been enough, even without the virtue channel or solar bond. Third attack is effectively a called shot to disarm, but only at a -1 external penalty since large bag hanging off the shoulder is an easier target than a weapon in hand. DV is at -2 from onslaught but even on a hit you'll also get a roll to hold on.
>>
No. 959674 ID: afdebc

>>959672
Right, if we're carrying the same stunt through then,

Parry DV 4 + Stunt 3 -Onslaught Penalty 2 + Willpower Channel 1
>>
No. 959675 ID: f57349

The shaggy white ape has been stabbed with a needle, and wasted a lot of essence flailing ineffectually at the least battle-ready member of your group. Now it seems to be running away, arm still in hand, and at the current rate will reach those aforementioned double doors on tick two or three.

Desert Locust is ready to act. Noir could also be moving around with the windblade.
>>
No. 959710 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 9, 4, 9, 2, 6, 3, 6, 3, 2, 7, 3, 3, 10, 2, 10, 1, 10, 2, 7, 9, 2, 9, 7, 10, 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 5, 7, 1, 3, 8, 7, 9, 5, 8, 4, 5, 7, 8, 6, 2, 2, 1, 1, 3, 9, 6, 7, 9, 1, 9, 3, 6, 3, 8, 5, 2, 2, 3, 9, 4, 2, 8, 2, 6, 1, 3, 10, 1, 7, 1, 7, 5, 1, 1, 5, 5, 4, 3, 7, 5, 9, 6, 9, 1, 5, 6, 5, 8, 10, 7 = 523

>>959675
>at the current rate will reach those aforementioned double doors on tick two or three.

At the current rate, it will most likely reach nothing but the ground, as Desert Locust prepares to connect with a five attack flurry via Principle of Motion. There's a sense of calmness that it brings her, as foot spins into place, blade prepares to connect with bone; fighting to protect others feels almost natural, a sense of methodical rhythm to the movements and work ahead.

This calm is momentary, as she feels her legs tense up, wondering why she bothers with a fleeing beast when she stands in a place of power. Had she not already leaped in the air before it starting fleeing, she might have taken these complaints a bit more seriously. For now though, she's content to cleave a steady path down the creature's flank and work out the details of what to do next when she's back on the ground.

Five attacks each at dex five, martial arts three, specialty in kicking one, accuracy three, and stunt. Shouldn't be facing multiple action penalties, although her DV will be penalized by whatever the single highest source of a penalty would be, which I think is only a penalty of one? Yeti is presumably under the same penalty, although I'm not sure. Not having actually spent any motes yet, no need to activate Meat of Broken Flesh, no other supplemental charms that would be relevant I don't think.

Currently at 24/24 personal, 30/48 peripheral (18 committed) and 10/10wp.
>>
No. 959712 ID: f57349

>>959710
Twelve successes on that second attack, and plenty more for the damage roll. The shaggy beast is thoroughly incapacitated by some combination of blunt force trauma and endoskeletal liquefaction.

Soon as you all leave combat time, adrenaline rush wears off and delayed hypothermia slips in to pick up the slack. Hits like the equivalent of six hours hard labor: Desert Locust feels a bit chilly and winded but could easily keep going, Jan Do and the doc are mostly fine but will be at -1 from fatigue if they try anything else strenuous without rest, Clever Fox is shivering at -3 and near collapse, while Adamant Strix and Noir will be falling flat on their respective faces, out cold for at least an hour and possibly suffering further damage from some combination of frostbite and overexertion, unless a Conviction channel is spent immediately - which would, as it happens, be just enough to get both of them exactly back to the same 'near collapse' level as Fox, though that's only -2 for Ada and -1 for Noir.
>>
No. 959741 ID: ac57f8

>>959712
Ada took one step forward, and promptly fell on her face, passed out without the adrenaline keeping her going, leaving a small gash on her face where her forehead bounced off of the mosaic, but shallow enough that over the course of a minute it was already healed over.

Of course, then the muttering started, her mind working on the most recent problems she personally remembered, that being her work at Valkhawsen that had pushed her so far now seeming trivial, so it seemed like her plan to force an Exaltation worked, for the most part.
>>
No. 959762 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 1, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3, 10, 2, 6, 10, 9, 7, 9, 2, 9, 5, 3, 9, 9, 9, 10, 1, 5, 2, 10, 1, 10, 7, 4, 6, 1, 3, 4, 8, 5, 8, 5, 4, 10, 4, 4, 9, 6, 2, 2, 6, 4, 2, 3, 2, 5, 9, 8, 7, 8, 2, 2, 1, 3 = 318

>>959712
>>959741
Thanks to Master Horseman's trick, Noir is bit better off when his unconscious body glides gracefully to the floor, delivered neatly at Tasnim's feet by the windblade.

Desert Locust drags Adamant Strix over to the group of strangers, making the pile of unconscious bodies now number three. She begins to remove her dirty tattered poncho and take some supplies out of her bag, namely the spare parka and extra set of pants.

"Okay folks," she intones in Rivertongue-
"I'll be the first to admit that I don't know where we are, or what's going on. My legs seem to have a mind of their own, and given their appearance, i think there might be something wrong with them. I'm pretty sure I know this girl in blue, although I don't know why or how. Something tells me you all aren't here to swing arms around and knock people down, so maybe let's catch up and talk? I'm potentially going to pace around while doing so, I've got this weird feeling that I need to do something here."

Let last part trails off a bit, as she realizes the woman dressed like she's attending her own funeral and poor girl shivering in a kimono weren't quite grasping what she was saying.

"Let's just start by taking inventory, shall we?" she begings to mutter, partially to the woman with the medical bag, but mostly to herself. "Strange land, strange people, no one seems to be out to get you though. I've got boots, some clothes, some charcoal, really shouldn't leave that loose in there it's getting on everything, some wine and rice, that'll come in handy, don't mind if I do-"
she then interrupts herself to take a sip of wine, before continuing-
"and a bedroll, okay. Well, lets start by laying her out..."

And then Desert Locust begins to fuss about, trying to make adamant strix comfortable. Eventually, she'll realize that the people who don't speak rivertongue speak old realm, and that she also speaks old realm, fancy that, and names can be properly exchanged, everyone caught up to speed on not know exactly what's going on right now.

If possible, I'd like to make a check to attune to the Manse. I believe it was mentioned this was the hearthstone room, but I don't know for certain? Here's some dice.
>>
No. 959781 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 1, 9, 6, 10, 6, 9, 9, 6, 1, 4, 2, 10, 9, 9, 6, 9, 2, 3, 6, 10, 5, 7, 10, 1, 6, 5, 4, 4, 6, 1, 6, 10, 3, 6, 9, 3, 5, 3, 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 3, 10, 4, 9, 10, 4 = 296

Belated character sheet:
>>/questdis/132415

The Lunar doctor is wide-eyed, back against the wall, and still breathing too quickly. Gradually coming to terms with the fact that she made it through the assault unscathed, she gives her buckler an appreciative pat +1 scene towards forming a positive intimacy, and then quickly moves back towards the Grand Salon, and the assemblage of wounded.

...just in time to hear Desert Locust's lopsided and inappropriate priorities. While Tasnim may have sympathies for the casteless and her unfortunate predisposition towards spontaneous solar combustion, and appreciate the timely rescue, that tolerance has limits.

"We don't have time to indulge your feet!" she snaps back in Riverspeak. "It will take hours to attune to the manse, and our friends are bleeding now."

Doc's make a social attack, natural mental influence compelling Desert Locust to resist her urge and assist in the immediate effort, with the wounded at stake. Charisma 3 + Presence 1 + Stunt (likely resonates with motivation). No appearance modifiers, but Des' MDVs should be reduced due to her positive intimacy towards the patients she's being implored to help.

Assuming Jan's plan (below) goes ahead, Violette will begin performing Diagnose Patient actions to assess the condition of the wounded (Noir, Adamant Strix, Clever Fox, and potentially the Yeti) in order to determine how urgently care is needed, and of what nature. Should be several Perception 3 + Medicine 4 + Stunt rolls.
>>
No. 959782 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 2, 6, 10, 4, 6, 1, 7, 5, 6, 2, 1, 10, 3, 2, 7, 3, 10, 2, 6, 1, 9, 10, 1, 8, 2, 5, 3, 10, 9, 9, 5, 6, 6, 7, 4, 7, 7, 1, 2, 6, 1, 3, 10, 6, 6, 5, 1, 3, 2 = 253

After an awkward pause, before statements uttered in riverspeak are quickly translated into old realm and skytongue, Jan Do responds (in Old Realm), looking Desert Locust in the eye

"Indeed. Half our number are wounded or unable to defend themselves, we know not the environs, we have been attacked once already, and this room holds entirely too many entrances to be defended.

"You and I are the only warriors fit for combat- our companion is a healer. Please, stand watch over her and our companions, while I check the adjacent rooms. We cannot afford to overlook an enemy waiting in the wings, and we badly require a safer location which to retreat, to treat our wounded, and rest.

"You are welcome to attempt to lay claim to this place of power once these needs have been met. However, if the honorless beast we have fought already is any indication, I do not believe the lord of this manse will accommodate your request."

That's another Charisma 3 + Presence 1 + Stunt social attack. (Possibly they count as coordinated?).

Assuming Desert Locusts agrees, Jan Do is going to start checking each ground level exit to the Grand Salon, clockwise from the hallway where the yeti fought the doctor and the lunar dervish, seeing what lies beyond each portal. Not sure what to roll for scouting, but have a pile of dice.
>>
No. 959793 ID: afdebc

>>959782
Jan's going to commit 3m peripheral in order to activate Hearing the Unspoken Word for this scouting.
>>
No. 959794 ID: d9acdc

rolled 7, 10, 2, 3, 1, 8, 8, 1, 1, 7, 8, 9, 1, 2, 6, 3, 2, 9, 5, 2, 7, 6, 3, 5, 5, 2, 7, 5, 1, 7, 8, 8, 8, 2, 5, 7, 6, 3, 9, 6, 2, 9, 3, 10, 9, 6, 3, 8, 2, 8, 7, 6, 7, 7, 8, 4, 6, 1, 4, 3 = 318

>>959781
>>959782
>"You and I are the only warriors fit for combat- our companion is a healer. Please, stand watch over her and our companions
Desert Locust holds her arm at a right angle, and brings it down with an affirmative nod, somewhat like an inverse fist-pump.
"Got it! You guys can count on me."

As she steps forward, her form seems to grow, jointed arms split from her back, and a hard chitinous shell begins to glisten over her skin, a dull yellow dappled with black splotches.

"Okay, THAT'S new."

Shapeshifting into war form.
>>
No. 959797 ID: ac57f8

rolled 1, 3, 9, 10, 1, 9, 10, 6, 10, 5, 10, 1, 8, 9, 4, 7, 9, 10, 9, 7, 4, 1, 7, 6, 8, 4, 5, 5, 10, 4 = 192

Clever Fox, being lumped into the 'wounded' category didn't particularly mind that, though as soon as the others were out of sight, she decided that she should at least set something up if she was going to be left with the wounded, she might as well do something useful.

And so, she shifted her skin and bones, going from her current form as a woman in fine silken robes with a floral pattern into a strapping man from the east with a cloak made of leaves and a large crown made of branches.

And then, he quickly took off his cloak, and tore apart his crown, and proceeded to build a small fire-pit with the cloak as kindling and the branches as the fuel, tied up with twine for easy transportation into a new room.

Her work then done with that, she shapes herself into the form of a Hearthcat, and joins the resting pile of people less experienced with the cold, purring to help keep both of them warm.
>>
No. 959808 ID: f57349

>>959793
Apart from those you already know about, four empathy-pings below and to the southwest, one above and southeast, all fairly weak - no virtues rated 4+, not remotely hostile, near the limit of your range, possibly asleep. There's also a much more passionate mind, possibly partly concealed, spread out like the wind over the entire volume you can sense, or both, slowly spiraling inward and focusing angry attention on...
>>959797
Clever Fox, who has managed to produce a small pile of kindling, dry leaves, and a bow-drill seemingly from nowhere, and is shakily building a fire between the disabled yeti's outstretched legs, which have been molded into a more nearly circular shape like taffy but are still covered in fluffy white fur, suitable for use as tinder.

>>959782
Perimeter of the grand salon has black obsidian mirrors (large as doorways, but with no apparent way to actually pass through them) alternating with doors or arched niches. Any noise made in the first two niches you check echoes clearly through the rest of the room - presumably musicians could play there, leaving the center of the floor open for dance.

First actual new room you check, to the east, seems to be a dining area. Five circular tables of white marble, but only four chairs. Thirty feet east-west by fifty feet north-south, proper fireplace with a chimney and everything in the middle of the west wall.

You're coming in from the northeast corner, down a few stairs. Two other obvious exits in the south wall, one at the far end of the east wall, one in the west wall directly opposite where you came in. Tapestries cover the walls and ceiling, mostly in deplorable disrepair, might be concealing other routes. Alcove behind a curtain in the center of the east wall, opposite the fireplace, holds three humanoid figures with porcelain masks, decrepit hooded robes, and spindly brass limbs. They seem to be mindless and inanimate.

Northern exit from the grand salon initially appears to lead outdoors into an elaborate formal garden, but a patch of battle damage on the far wall spoils the effect, revealing the distant scenery as hyper-realistic paintings. Closer inspection reveals leaves and flowers of colored silk, shrubs of twisted wire, tree-shaped pillars supporting a sky of blue glass. The central fountain is real, but inactive, and filled with murky, stagnant water. Since the whole garden is saturated with architectural trickery, there might be dozens of hidden passages you'd need a thorough search to locate.

East door leads to another 30'x50' room, mirror to the dining hall but with less furniture (two knee-high padded platforms, suitable for someone to lay down on with the thick segment at one end as a headrest, plus a single large chair with a protruding footrest held up by oddly articulated bars), broken glass and crockery strewn across the threadbare carpeted floor and ornamental ledges on the walls instead of tapestries, and a large locked cabinet in the alcove rather than three creepy butler-bots behind a curtain. Four other obvious exits and another fireplace, all in the same places apart from being flipped east-for-west.

Apart from the grand salon and the false garden, all the rooms you've seen so far have had ceilings about 12' high, though cloth hangings obscure most of the dining room above seven or eight feet.
>>
No. 959809 ID: f57349

>>959808
> First actual new room you check, to the east
Sorry, that should be "to the west."
>>
No. 959846 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 2, 4, 10, 2, 10, 7, 6, 6, 10, 10, 8, 4, 6, 7, 10, 9, 3, 1, 10, 1, 3, 5, 9, 3, 10, 10, 10, 9, 6, 2, 4, 3, 2, 3, 9, 5, 9, 5, 10, 3, 10, 4, 1, 10, 9, 1, 6, 2, 8, 2, 8, 10, 9, 9, 6, 10, 5, 9, 5 = 379

>>959808
Desert Locust currently has motes committed to amethyst awareness- can she see the malevolent force, or other immaterial forces? If not, I feel like we can assume Jan Do relays this information, even if I'm not sure how we can act on it.
>>
No. 959904 ID: f57349

>>959846
The Grand Salon is clearly the hearthroom of a powerful manse, so there's a tremendous amount of essence circulating through from adjacent rooms and even the surrounding landscape, but it's moving in patterns unlike any you or the Flea have felt before. The main thrust is earth-aspected, but intensely focused on finely tuned application of what would normally be subtle secondary or tertiary associations. Rather than straightforward eternal solidity, everything here turns inward.

The north passage out of the grand salon, down marble stairs to the garden, is three doorways with two approximately rectangular pillars between them. Both pillars have large obsidian mirrors, as part of the same equally spaced ring of sixteen around the Salon's entire perimeter.

Through the mirror on the left, you can see a figure vaguely resembling the Emissary of Nexus (although the mask is gold, rather than silver, and includes eyes) sweeping up snowy footprints in the south hall with a simple straw broom. Nobody's there when you look at the spot directly, though the trail really is vanishing.

Through the mirror on the right, the same figure is visible standing over Clever Fox, hopping and flailing in a frantic, but futile, effort to attract her notice without overstepping a servant's position. "Please, young master, don't invite your wild friends out here to start fires in the ballroom," or something like that.
>>
No. 959913 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 5, 2, 7, 3, 6, 5, 5, 2, 4, 3, 1, 7, 7, 10, 1, 7, 8, 1, 7 = 92

>There's also a much more passionate mind, possibly partly concealed, spread out like the wind over the entire volume you can sense, or both, slowly spiraling inward and focusing angry attention on...
>Clever Fox, who has managed to produce a small pile of kindling, dry leaves, and a bow-drill seemingly from nowhere, and is shakily building a fire between the disabled yeti's outstretched legs
The Dusk approaches her lunar mate, places hand on her a shaking shoulder and gently (without rancor or reproach) says "Not here."

>>959808
Of the three rooms explored so far, the false garden seems the least suitable for setting up camp, even if it does provide a source of (unclean) water. The dining room and sitting room both provide fireplaces, furniture upon which to rest, to use as work surfaces, and potentially act as barricades. Currently leaning towards relocating to the sitting room, due to the risk of the statues in the dining room being animateable.

Which way do our wet footprints lead? Jan would like to check beyond that door- if the outside world lies beyond that portal, she could plant the traveler's staff.

(Not rolling for anything in particular, but here's some dice in case).
>>
No. 959915 ID: f57349

>>959913
Double doors at the far end of the south hall open inward, gilded vines looping to provide handles - which would also serve as adequate brackets for the door to be barred shut. Outside (also visible through the stained-glass windows, though a complex pattern of angled facets between stone tracery slightly distorts the view) it's windy and there's a lot of snow coming down, so visibility is limited. First forty feet beyond the door seems to be the front porch, in two tiers with a few more steps between them, then at least a hundred feet (as far as you can see) of scattered rubble and boulders on a 30 degree downward slope.

If what you're really looking for is a place to grow plants, those withered vines and branches spilling out of the railing-less third floor balcony might be the better lead to follow up on.
>rolled 1, 5
Jan Do does not gain Resonance for the current scene's efforts at protecting and/or promoting life.
>>
No. 959918 ID: d9acdc

rolled 3, 10, 4, 9, 3, 10, 9, 2, 10, 10, 3, 5, 2, 6, 3, 10, 7, 4, 1, 9, 7, 1, 9, 2, 9, 10, 7, 7, 6, 6, 2, 6, 4, 10, 5, 9, 3, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1, 9, 3, 3, 10, 5, 2, 5, 2, 2, 9, 8, 4, 8, 1, 10, 4, 4, 8 = 334

>>959913
Desert Locust is happy to start moving bodies, although she's not the strongest.

"Jan, can you start preparing the room, clearing tables, helping Icicle here build a fire that won't upset the stewards? I don't know if you guys can see those weird masked guys in the mirrors, of if that's just me, but they don't seem to want a fire in the ballroom. I'll start moving people, but I want someone to keep an eye on the bodies- this place gives me a weird feeling, don't wanna leave anyone unconscious unattended.

Alright Doc, gimme a hand here, preferably one still attached to a body, I don't wanna make things worse by moving them the wrong way or something like that."

Spending one mote to figure out the time, and another five mote one WP to re-invoke Principle of Motion so I get those banked actions back, all of which are peripheral.

Currently at 24/24 personal, 24/48 peripheral (six spent, 18 committed) and 9/10 WP.
>>
No. 959927 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 1, 3, 10, 8, 10, 7, 8, 4, 4, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 2, 2, 6, 6, 10 = 112

>I don't know if you guys can see those weird masked guys in the mirrors, of if that's just me
Once made aware of the spirits in the mirror, Jan Do will formally bow in their direction, apologize (in Old Realm) for any disruption their intrusion or conflict may have caused, and that they request shelter and hospitality.

Activating Exquisite Etiquette Style for 1m.

>Jan, can you start preparing the room, clearing tables
Jan nods and accedes without complaint, pulling a broom from besides the large cabinet.
>>
No. 959937 ID: f57349

>>959918
It's three hours forty-five minutes past noon. The moon is full, but will enter the waning gibbous phase just over fifty-two hours from now, and for the next little while you also know the exact time precisely enough to count which fractional seconds you're stashing away with Principle of Motion.

Must have spent some other peripheral motes recently, because those six bring your anima up to the 8+ "aura bright enough to read by" level.

>>959927
Easy to spot the golden mask now that there's a decent amount of direct light. When Jan bows to one of the mirrors, it appears in her place when she looks up, but bowing far more deeply, as if to a venerable king. Gestures convey eager acceptance, along with a neatly symmetrical apology for any inadequacies in the hospitality it's able to offer.

Four successes on reflexive Read Motivation (from a combination of Exquisite Etiquette Style and Hearing The Unspoken Word) reveal that the spirit seems sincere, genuinely respectful rather than mocking with that bow, and overall desperately lonely, but also confused and frustrated by the “Shining Icicle Maiden” who... somehow turned into a cat just now? Well of course, nobody ever knows for sure what she's up to.

Image soon flickers and vanishes, but ambient sense of presence remains relatively constant.

>pulling a broom from besides the large cabinet
Broom's handle feels like some sort of ceramic rather than wood, bristles are slate-gray with an odd texture, but it's sturdy and functional.

Once kindling is transferred to a fireplace, it ignites easily, and not only burns brighter and warmer than you'd expect, but also consumes the fuel more slowly than should be possible. Amethyst Awareness reveals this as a result of power from the manse directed through inset slabs of stone imported from in or near the Elemental Pole of Fire in the uttermost South.

Where exactly are you setting up for rest and/or surgery? What furniture is being moved, and who's doing the heavy lifting?
>>
No. 959946 ID: afdebc

>also confused and frustrated by the “Shining Icicle Maiden” who... somehow turned into a cat just now? Well of course, nobody ever knows for sure what she's up to.
Hmm. Jan Do is fairly certain she was aware of the Immaculate tales that certain anathema were capable of assuming the shape of animals- even before she died and became one, much less joined a travelling fellowship of the same. What does it mean if the golden masked spirit is less familiar with such widely known teachings?

...Shining Icicle's transformation in particular though, feels rather more familiar. The samurai is certain this is far from the first time she's witnessed her companion in this shape.
>>
No. 959947 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 2, 1, 1, 6, 1, 6, 6, 5, 6, 7, 2, 7, 5, 3, 6, 5, 4, 7, 8 = 95

>Where exactly are you setting up for rest and/or surgery? What furniture is being moved, and who's doing the heavy lifting?
The 'sitting room'- east of the grand salon, and mirror to the dining room. If they're moveable, the padded platforms could be used as stretchers to carry those unable to move themsevles.

If they are moveable, it may also be a good idea to respectfully borrow chairs from the dining room, making clear our intent to return them to their proper location later to the watching spirits. (Probably a job for Jan or Des, as the Doctor is reluctant to leave her patients).

The doctor will assume her spirit shape- that of a great bear- in order to do the heavy lifting (carefully- she has no desire to harm her patients, and she is much stronger in this shape than as a human, and bears claws besides), assisted by Jan Do and Desert Locust as they are able.

Dice for dice's sake.
>>
No. 959953 ID: 11fd45

rolled 2, 2, 3, 7, 6, 8, 5, 2, 4, 3, 8, 1, 5, 6, 8, 2, 7, 4, 5, 8, 6, 2, 8, 10, 6, 4, 2, 3, 10, 4, 7, 5, 10, 1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 5, 9, 7, 1, 10, 4, 5, 9, 10, 3, 5, 4, 7, 5, 4, 2, 7, 6, 2, 8, 10, 7 = 322

Alright, there is a big white Yeti problem in the room and, since she's going to plan to take responsibility, she turns into a big as fuck snow lion and starts to drag the yeti by scruff into the sitting room.

As soon as she sets it down, and shifts back, this time into the shape of an emerald eyed man with black hair and an open green kimono, draping his arms on a table after they finished bringing the rest over.

"So, about the Yeti. I think we should keep it around. It's useful to keep a would be sifu for any strange martial arts styles that we can keep on a 'tight leash'. And I believe we can definitely keep this one on a tight leash."
>>
No. 959966 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 7, 5, 5, 10, 5, 10, 1, 8, 7, 5, 8, 8, 5, 9, 2, 6, 7, 4, 3, 3, 2, 6, 6, 9, 1, 6, 2, 4, 2, 8, 7, 8, 6, 7, 6, 10, 1, 6, 5, 4, 5, 3, 9, 6, 4, 1, 5, 8, 7, 1, 10, 2, 5, 5, 3, 8, 4, 7, 9 = 331

>>959947
>>959953
First thing Desert Locust does is insist that either her or Jan Do stay with the wounded and stand watch. Doesn't matter to her which does which, but she's not happy about the idea of ever leaving someone wounded or unconscious where someone more capable can't see them.

>"So, about the Yeti. I think we should keep it around. It's useful to keep a would be sifu for any strange martial arts styles that we can keep on a 'tight leash'. And I believe we can definitely keep this one on a tight leash."


As bodies, furniture, and lips start moving, Des finds herself agreeing with Icicle/Cat/mystery man?

"I kinda agree- what I'm about to say might not get a very warm response given the level of hostility we just witnessed, but I think we should let it be for now. When it comes to, it might be more receptive to helping us figure out what the hell is going on if it's not being treated like a prisoner, if that makes sense? I get that it might be smarter to tie it up but hey, I can't quite describe why, I just think maybe we treat it like the other wounded and hope for the best."

If it comes down to dice, that's just charisma two, no other relevant social skills. I imagine Jan Do might feel strongly enough to object, and not take that feeling to heart without more serious mechanical weight behind it.
>>
No. 960010 ID: f57349

>>959947
Chairs and lounges are heavier than they look, and the upholstery is surprisingly scratchy-feeling fabric, but by four hours after noon you'll be all set up and ready to start the surgery to reattach Noir's arm. Absent some magic or stunt to speed things up, you'll need to be working on that surgery continuously until three hours after noon tomorrow, and anyone providing a teamwork bonus will be committed to actively assisting during most of that time, rather than being free to rest or stand guard.

Whoever's arguing about what should be done with the Infernal Monster stylist, roll Join Debate, and try to keep the whole thing under fifteen long ticks if you want to avoid interrupting the surgery. If your dice pools seem inadequate, remember the option of channeling virtues, and 'aiming' with a monologue or by waiting for the right moment to interject.

Which paths are being scouted out further, which are barricaded?
>>
No. 960019 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 2, 6, 2, 6, 1, 8, 9, 5, 9, 6, 9, 10, 6, 10, 10, 6, 9, 8, 7, 2, 7, 6, 1, 6, 2, 4, 10, 6, 3, 2, 10, 5, 1, 1, 4, 5, 4, 1, 1, 6, 3, 3, 9, 5, 7, 9, 7, 9, 7, 2, 8, 10, 8, 10, 6, 8, 5, 1, 1 = 337

>>959953
>>959966
No languages specified- given that Desert Locust understood Clever Fox, and the only language they share is Old Realm, presumably that's what's being spoken. Jan will respond in kind. (Which neatly cuts the doctor out of the conversation, as the one person who would have the strongest objections to storing the yeti in the room, unrestrained, with her patients).

>>959966
Reckless disregard for the safety of allies / those in her charge would definitely be against Jan's code of honor, so her base Dodge MDV is 8 vs Desert Locust's attack. Also +1 modifier for going against several intimacies.

"I am afraid your compassion, while commendable, has taken leave of your better senses. In our short battle, our opponent demonstrated proficiency in the Infernal Monster Style- a martial practice promotes rage, loss of control, and the suffering of one's opponents as strength. To wield our companion's severed arm, the Hero Sundering Hands was likely used- a technique that mains a helpless opponent as a cruel child might a fly, accompanied by mocking laughter. When three warriors rose to the Yeti's challenge, it instead chose to attack a non-combatant. And when this attack failed, it attempted to flee.

"Our opponent is without honor, and cannot be trusted with the safety of our friends and companions. While we should not mistreat a prisoner, neither must we abdicate our duty to our allies, and leave a monster unbound to attack the helpless, or interrupt surgery."

"I would suggest we restrain the beast in the central hall, against one of the great pillars."

>>959953
Fox's argument seems to be simply for keeping the prisoner around- and as the alternatives are summary execution, or leaving a threat unchecked, is not something Jan Do disagrees with or needs to resist.

"I do not believe anything this creature has to teach is worth emulating, but a 'tight leash' seems apt. Are you able to provide one?"

>Actual mechanics
I'll spend 1XP to raise presence from 1 to 2 (no training time, favored).

Join Debate is Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt

Then a flurry of two social attacks, I think.

First is aimed at Desert Locust, natural mental influence (illusion-keyword) attempting to convince her of the folly of her proposed action, and that the yeti needs to be treated as a prisoner. Charisma 3 + Presence 2 + Stunt - Multiple Action Penalty 2. I'll also spend 2m on the Second Presence Excellency for an auto-success. Des' MDV is likely at a -1, as the argument is against playing fast and loose with the safety of people she has positive intimacies towards.

Second aimed at Clever Fox trying (likely futilely) to convince her not to pursue learning Infernal Monster Style and First Pulse Style from the yeti. Charisma 3 + Presence 2 + Stunt - Multiple action 3, and another 2m for an auto-success with the Second Presence Excellency. Not sure if her intimacies for Jan and martial arts conflict here (so net 0) or if they reinforce (so +1 MDV). She should suffer a -2 from Solar Bond.

Asking Clever Fox if she can provide a means to leash the yeti is not meant as an attack.

Committing 1m to Exquisite Etiquette Style, so Jan's appearance is effectively 4 for these interactions. This ties Jan with Clever Fox, and puts her one above Desert Locust.

Overall, that's 1XP spent, 4m personal spent, 1m personal committed.
>>
No. 960030 ID: d9acdc

rolled 2, 5, 6, 4, 1, 2, 9, 6, 8, 8, 10, 9, 9, 2, 7, 3, 5, 8, 6, 5, 9, 3, 2, 9, 9, 9, 7, 6, 9, 2, 2, 1, 4, 5, 3, 8, 2, 4, 3, 4, 2, 9, 4, 9, 4, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5, 6, 10, 6, 8, 8, 4, 3, 7, 4, 10 = 329

>>960019
>When three warriors rose to the Yeti's challenge, it instead chose to attack a non-combatant. And when this attack failed, it attempted to flee.

"Could be, could be. I don't know how far back you remember, but last thing that comes to mind for me was getting ready to check out of Nexus, go to greener pastures. I'm not ruling out the possibility that we were the ones in the wrong- could be we stole that guys wine, or that it has a sick friend, or that it just wanted to make a quick buck, rather than the whole "honorless attacking of the undefended" thing you've got on your mind. Truth be told though, you seem to know more about the whole mystical monster powers it's got going on, so I can't really say how those fit into the character profile. I think chaining it up or whatever is probably the move that's safer for us, so I'm not gonna try and disagree with you there. Waking up in chains would definitely provoke a more violent reaction in me though; anything in that style to break out of restraints or turn into smoke or something like that? Probably want someone keeping a close watch on it, isolated from the rest of the group, in case it can explode or something.

Not going to resist the social attack, although she may have to spend a WP for an "agree to disagree" scenario? Her Dodge MDV is seven, penalized to four for her previous attack, Jan's higher appearance, and something about an intimacy. If Jan Do got a three dot stunt (asking since JamesLeng reacted in the chat after reading it) then that'd be six success, meaning a two dot stunt or one WP would be enough to shake off the effect, so mainly I need to know if I spent the resource for book keeping later.

>>960010
Not sure anything is being scouted further- kind of want Jan Do to wait with Tasnim and the wounded, while Desert Locust waits in the hearthstone room with the prisoner and starts to attune.
>>
No. 960032 ID: ac57f8

rolled 6, 5, 1, 6, 4, 5, 5, 9, 10, 5, 1, 2, 5, 3, 1, 7, 1, 10, 2, 5, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 6, 2, 5, 9, 7 = 142

>>960019
"I disagree with the notion that anything in creation has absolutely nothing valuable to emulate. But, I'll concede your point if, and only if, you can satisfactorily explain the difference between your sword and the beast's martial arts."

He took a second to gesture to Jan, putting her firmly in the spotlight as she conveniently left out exactly what the leash was. After all, it was Jan's turn to have all lights on her.

Mechanics:

Join Debate is Wits 2+Awareness 3+Stunt

Going for Parry DV using Manipulation 4+Investigation 2 (Socratic Method +2) for base 4 parry DV, activating 2nd Manipulation Excellency for +2 Parry DV and the two intimacies absolutely are interfacing because she's both using this as a teaching moment about martial arts, learning martial arts, and she's playing up the rivalry if not the romance, so that's 7 -2 for Solar Bond plus stunt ratings for a minimum of 6 Parry DV.

Also making a Compulsion-Keyword NMI attack to get Jan talking about her code of honor and/or how it relates to her sword.

Manipulation 4+Investigation 2+Specialty 2+Stunt
>>
No. 960053 ID: f57349

>>960032
>>960030
>>960019
Let's play out the full social combat in the Discord server channel set aside for such purposes. Next scene probably picks up six hours later (four hours after sundown). At that point, Desert Locust has had time to attune to the manse, snow's stopped coming down quite so hard, 25% progress has been made on the surgery to reattach Noir's arm, various fatigue penalties are gone or at least reduced to a manageable level, mote pools are most likely refilled, fire has almost entirely consumed that initial handful of kindling, and the ice eater is starting to regain consciousness.
>>
No. 960077 ID: ac57f8

rolled 7, 8, 2, 9, 4, 3, 5, 7, 9, 3, 1, 10, 10, 10, 1, 8, 8, 6, 6, 9, 4, 10, 4, 4, 9, 8, 8, 7, 9, 2, 5, 10, 8, 9, 9, 1, 9, 2, 9, 4, 7, 3, 4, 1, 5, 10, 5, 4, 5, 4, 9, 5, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 8, 8, 6 = 350

>>960053
As soon as Ada wakes up, and upon hearing about the statues, she's going to take great haste in trying to see if she can get them working, enough that she trips over the Yeti's head entirely on accident, kicking him really squarely in the face.

(Dex 5+Martial Arts 5, probably at a -5 internal penalty since she genuinely is kicking him on accident.)

And after brushing herself off, she goes to the other room where the Statues are, and she's going to sit down, and all three of her eyes open up in a shower of emerald green light as she's going to analyze them to see if they are indeed artifact golems, and see if she could find some way to activate them under her control.

(Not sure what the dicepool would be, but Int 5+ Occult 4 or Craft (Lightning)/Lore 3 with a full excellency with the Twilightoid anima power and Essence-Dissecting Stare)
>>
No. 960243 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 9, 7, 6, 3, 10, 6, 3, 6, 2, 4, 2, 6, 3, 1, 10, 3, 4, 3, 8, 7, 5, 10, 7, 1, 3, 7, 4, 6, 3, 2, 5, 5, 6, 3, 1, 7, 10, 8, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 2, 4, 6, 1, 1, 10 = 255

>>960053
The social combat ends with Jan Do letting the compulsions past her defenses.

The warrior inclines her head in acquiescence. "It would be my pleasure to instruct you on such matters, as soon as the more pressing concerns of our security are seen to." This counts as a promise or oath, and it would go against Jan Do's personal code, valor, and temperance to break it.

Desert Locust's relic reveals the existence of its Moonsilver Razor Widow venom, as a means to restrain and disable the prisoner (so its host can get on with the business of attuning to the manse).

While the Doctor beings surgery, Jan do will attempt to secure the room. Using what furniture is movable (possibly including borrowed chairs from the dining room), she'll attempt to block / jam the doors in the sitting room besides the one connecting to the grand salon. She'll attempt to lock these doors with the Thrice-Warded Gateway ritual (Dex 5 + Occult 1 + Stunt), using stands of hair, requested from Shining Icicle Maiden. "Would you be so kind as to lend me your favor in the defense of this chamber?" (Character hook, and making the fortification about her lunar mate).
>>
No. 960257 ID: ac57f8

>>960243
"It's said that the skill of a swordswoman is in her hands rather than her tongue." She reached up and undid the braid she had most recently put her hair into, opting to have golden blonde hair and a snow white gown with sheer accents, her unbraided hair falling to the floor in heaps.

"But that is not true for you, Fair Jan, for none have ever asked this maiden for a token of my favor such as this." She made a show of plucking five hairs from her scalp each measuring in at 20 feet, and carefully folded them up into a gossamer handkerchief, sealed with a kiss, passing it gently.
>>
No. 960408 ID: afdebc

rolled 8, 5, 2, 2, 9, 6, 3, 8, 8, 10, 9, 8, 5, 8, 7, 2, 1, 5, 7, 9, 3, 3, 8, 9, 1, 9, 9, 4, 6, 8 = 182

Resuming her human shape, Tasnim offers a parting shot to the scantily clad woman/cat/man fellow shapeshifter in skytongue "You are showing early signs of exposure or possible frostbite- warm yourself, for goodness sake".

The doctor then makes it clear to her allies she's going to need hours to get this right, and trusting them to see to security, turns to her makeshift surgical theater, and her patient resting on one of the two padded platforms, the contents of her medical bag emptied and arranged for ease of access. All she has to do now is reattach the severed arm of someone without the sense to fly away from danger, and hope no more monsters show up before she's done. No problem, right?

Rolling to attempt to reattach Noir's arm! Tasnim is going to throw everything she has at this. Full excellency, compassion channel, and her full pool of solar bond dice (might be 3 since I used one before, but if she got a three die stunt on any of her diagnosis actions >>959947 , the stunt award could have been used to restock to 4). Also spending motes on Flesh-Sculpting Art (as many times as is necessary) and using whatever consumables from her supply are required (a Wound-Cleaning Unguent will likely be needed, and it might be wise to use the touchstone to check for Infernal taint, with the samurai's report of the ape wielding "Infernal Monster Style").

If the No Moon power to speed up information processing is relevant here, she'll commit 6m to that as well.

Starting with personal motes, but she's plenty willing to flare all the way to iconic if needed.

Intelligence 5 + Medicine 4 + Stunt (Motivation-Resonant) + Exceptional Tools 1 + First Intelligence Excellency 5 + Compassion 3 + Solar Bond 3 (or 4).
>>
No. 960457 ID: ac57f8

>>960408
While she might have otherwise considered it in poor taste to call a formal gown, but she did accept that she had come close to frostbite recently, so she shapeshifted one last time, this time into Haslanti hunting clothes made out of caribou skin, opting for gloves instead of mittens since she wasn't out in the snow right now.

"If you're so familiar with Frostbite, you should know I could be naked and still get better since this room is warm enough to keep blood flowing. A hot bath would be nice, and probably speed the process, but you've got more important things than help me scrub, and we don't have a tub regardless."

Far be it from a Haslanti (even with Medicine 0) to not know anything about treating frostbite.
>>
No. 960499 ID: f57349

>>960077
Looks like the "statues" are a simplified, ruggedized variant of the classic Folding Servant - notably omitting ability to fold up into a cube for storage, toolkit hands, and most of the power supply. If the manse's essence flows were less disordered they might be able to operate indefinitely while within a mile, but as it is, somebody will need to charge them up through that inch-wide gold disk where the shoulders meet the spine.

Factory-new they should be able to hold a charge for a day or two of continuous operation, maybe more, but after sitting out there with no maintenance since before the Contagion? Safe limit would be five motes per butlerbot, at least until you've had a chance to check them over in a proper workshop, and don't count on staying active for more than an hour per mote - maybe as little as twenty minutes per mote for anything more intensive than they're really designed to handle, like heavy lifting, combat, or philosophy.

>>960243
The interior doors all slide into closely-fitted recesses or otherwise lie flush with the wall, and tend to stick in place. Opening or closing a door requires either reflexively spending a mote to 'lubricate' the decrepit mechanism, or a feat of strength - easy enough with a prybar, but slow. Holding a door half-open is possible, but without someone's active attention it'll start to wobble and soon slam fully open or shut. Thrice-Warded Gateway somehow links into preexisting defensive magic - invisible bars are still at 92% six hours later, when you'd usually expect them to be gone after one.
>>
No. 960505 ID: f57349

>>960408
Six hours in, you've managed to restore blood flow, bone's back in the socket and major tendons are at least approximately aligned if not exactly restrung, but even the finest tools Nexus can reliably provide are barely up to the task of splicing nerves, so there's a lot of delicate, tedious work still ahead. Making steady progress, though, and work so far seems to be stable enough that you could take a short break if necessary, though if the patient moves around much - even sitting up - chances are it'd tear loose and you'd have to start all over.
>>
No. 960532 ID: ac57f8

rolled 1, 6, 3, 2, 8, 10, 4, 10, 3, 2, 4, 6, 9, 1, 9, 10, 5, 1, 10, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 3, 2, 9, 8, 6, 4, 9, 6, 7, 8, 1, 9, 8, 10, 7, 7 = 229

>>960499
Well, in that case, she would need to repair them a bit more, since she definitely always wanted a robot ally.

But, she scooted back, and started chanting "She Who Lives in Her Name is the Gate and She Who Lives in Her Name is the Key..." and as she did so, she touched the golden disk with a mind hand manifesting as a small bolt of lightning, depositing 3m and committing it to the golem, and as long as it didn't immediately try and attack her, she's going to ask it for as complete a layout of the manse as is possible, pulling a small sheaf of parchment and some ink out to build a map.
>>
No. 960539 ID: f57349

>>960532
Mechanical waiter accepts the paper and ink with a bow, then promptly leads you out of the dining hall, up a flight of stairs, across a room with elaborate portraits on the walls, down a hallway, through a large long-abandoned bedroom, and into what's unmistakably an architect's studio, about 30' east-west by 40' north-south. Slant-topped draftsman's table up against the west wall, between a window and the door you came in through, 1/15th scale model of the manse and surrounding mountainside on the east wall. Another window to the south, other doors (closed) to the north and northeast.
>>
No. 960575 ID: afdebc

>>960257
For some reason this almost seems to catch the samurai off guard- she was not expecting so strong a response, perhaps?- but she quickly marshals her composure and accepts the token, using a portion of the over-long hairs to seal the doors.

>>960499
>Thrice-Warded Gateway somehow links into preexisting defensive magic - invisible bars are still at 92% six hours later, when you'd usually expect them to be gone after one.
This seemingly helpful interaction draws the Dusk's suspicion- does this supporting magic mean we might be unable to unbar sealed doors at need? Could someone with control of the manses defenses disable this magic- collapsing an entire series of wards we would otherwise believe would hold for hours?

For the moment, the forsaken opts merely to monitor the situation and not test if the wards would resist being unwound. It would not do to disturb the doctor if there were a violent reaction.

She will, however, bring matter to the attention of her more more mystically minded companions for investigation. (Adamant Strix or anyone with Essence Sight might want to examine what's going on in more detail).

>It's three hours forty-five minutes past noon
>Six hours in
When sunset approaches, Jan Do will break her vigil and approach Shining Icicle Maiden, staff in hand, and request assistance in accessing the third floor balcony, that she might find soil in which to plant it.
>>
No. 960576 ID: afdebc

>>960505
Preferring not to leave the matter to chance, Tasnim will not be taking a break from her task unless it becomes necessary.

(Stamina 5 + Resistance 1) means she can handle at least 6 hours before fatigue penalties start accumulating, and assuming a stamina excellency can modify that static value, that can be pushed up even higher.
>>
No. 960604 ID: ac57f8

rolled 8, 3, 6, 1, 5, 5, 1, 5, 10, 6, 1, 1, 7, 1, 8, 8, 6, 10, 3, 2, 8, 8, 9, 7, 5, 1, 5, 8, 5, 5, 4, 7, 3, 7, 6, 2, 5, 6, 4, 10 = 212

>>960575
"Yeah, I actually want to get a good feel for the geomancy of this place actually, since this place needs a lot of work, so figuring out if this place has a control room, and a whole lot of nasty surprises that a Manse like this could hide that are laid bare in their Hearthroom."

While she was waiting on the Golem to process her request, she might as well take a quick look while her eyes were open to the essence of the world, first to the door, and then to the Grand Parlor they first 'came to' in, looking to see what enchantments are on the door, and figuring out as much as possible about the manse.

Dice:

For the Door
Int 5+Occult 4+Stunt+2 Successes from Defiler Anima Power, maybe +3 for Master Degree (Geomancy) and maybe motivation resonant for 11-15 dice with 2 automatic successes.

For the Hearthroom
Int 5+(Lower of Lore/Occult)3+3(Master Geomancy Degree)+Stunt(Motivation Resonant?)+2 successes from Defiler Caste for 13-15 dice with 2 automatic successes
>>
No. 960611 ID: ac57f8

>>960575
"Well, I definitely can help get you enough mud to plant your staff in, but that will probably take a lot of playing in the dirt, for both of us."

She took a second to gauge Jan's reaction before she continued.

"So, I'll make the dirt for you, but you're in charge of collecting it and gathering it in a pile for planting. And when we find one, you owe me a bath."
>>
No. 960620 ID: afdebc

>>960611
Jan Do appears slightly nonplussed by the offer.

"I had hoped for your aid in ascending to the third-story balcony- growing things can be seen above already, and... I had an instinct that you had the means to take such a shortcut." she says, making reference to that strange sense of pervasive familiarity- of having fought besides someone until it became natural, their own capabilities as familiar groves as one's own's skills- despite the gap of memory.

With a small frown, she continues, "I would not ask you to sully yourself, nor deplete your reserves on such a task. Accumulating a tree's worth of soil here would be making a mess for our hosts, besides."
>>
No. 960624 ID: 028443

>>960620
“You would be right about the fact that I could go up to the third floor and collect dirt, but consider the following.

“One, taking the dirt from elsewhere in this manse and using it to grow a tree in a readily accessible location for everyone else isn’t less messy than creating the dirt Carte Blanche.

“Two, plants require a lot of conditions to grow, so introducing an entire Trees worth of root or taking dirt from there both run a lot of risk for those plants, and killing our host’s plants is almost certainly a bigger violation of hospitality than making a mess we can clean up.”

She wasn’t doing much to hide that she mostly just wanted Jan to give her a full body massage and to share a bath with her, but obviously she couldn’t ask outright since that wasn’t the kind of thing a lady could properly ask a knight first. And while that didn’t matter to her, she knew that kind of courtly manners did matter to Jan.
>>
No. 960626 ID: f57349

>>960604
>control room
After backtracking, butlerbot points out an array of small bejeweled buttons on the railing of the second floor south balcony overlooking the Grand Salon/Hearthroom. At the far end of the room with the portraits, there are eight waist-high marble pillars each topped with a head-sized ball of honey-colored crystal, which contain obvious latent magic.
>door
Which door?
>>960575
>accessing the third floor balcony
Stairs adjacent to the dining room continue further up and down.
>>
No. 960683 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 4, 2, 7, 2, 10, 8, 6, 2, 9, 9, 3, 10, 6, 4, 9, 8, 8, 5, 5, 2, 2, 8, 7, 9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 1, 5, 5, 1, 5, 5, 3, 10, 6, 5, 3, 9, 3, 6, 7, 9, 6, 6, 3, 10, 7, 8, 3, 6, 4, 9, 9, 1, 10, 9 = 362

>>960620
Locust taps on the door, her back leaned against it.

"Hey, I've been talking to my feet, and I think I can keep the big hairy guy under. You want someone to climb up to those vines? Cause I wasn't much for it when I was younger, but whatever is going on with me right now, I feel like it wouldn't be too much of an issue."

For a moment, she considers asking why no one's tried to drive her out with fire and strong language, but she thinks better of looking the gift horse in the mouth. Best not to talk politics if it's liable to get you run through with a pitch fork.

If Jan and Icicle are amenable, Desert Locust will grab that knife she had kicking around in her bag, and start making her way up the wall, relying mostly on her extra arms and bladed legs, occasionally stabbing the knife into the wall as a makeshift handhold when she needs to, not too worried about blunting or breaking it.
>>
No. 960689 ID: ac57f8

>>960626
> What Door?
The door that has the weird positive feedback with Thrice Warded Gateway that's led to it lasting roughly an estimated 77 times longer than it is supposed to.

> Control Room

"Alright, there is definitely a Control Room, and it looks like it's visible from here. I'm not actually good at climbing, or attuned to this Manse. I'm probably going to sit and attune to the Manse now, so I can get a better personal feel for the Essence Flows, any arguments against that?"
>>
No. 960710 ID: f57349

>>960683
Turns out the knife isn't necessary, you can just hop up from the floor, grab the balcony railing, scramble up to stand on it, then jump again to reach the withered vines.

Attic seems to have much the same layout as the ground floor, at least with regard to load-bearing walls, but the peaked roof gives it a higher ceiling with scattered upward-facing windows. Decorations are sparse or absent, and the floor is crowded with low earthenware tables overflowing with dry soil and dead plants.

Directly above the dining room (well, presumably some other room is in between on the second floor) there's a jagged-edged hole in the roof. Assuming you plant the Traveler's Staff under it and commit three motes at around the right time, upper branches and leaves of the resultant apple tree plug the hole, mostly stopping the cold breeze, and allowing snow on the floor to start melting faster than it accumulates.

>>960689
Four doors have been locked thus, with functionally identical results, at least within the usual tolerances of field-expedient thaumaturgy.

You're IN the control room, having been led there by a butlerbot, and can look down into the Grand Salon from the southern second-floor balcony. Any east-west traffic on the second floor would probably have to either pass through here, or climb along those narrow cornices in the Salon's walls.

Before you can even begin the relevant Soul Sea Meditation, Desert Locust hops up, mashing the banister-keyboard with three hands, at least one foot, and a knife, which sets off a veritable storm of multilayered essence-displays within - and even extending through air below - that cracked lens in the hearthroom ceiling. Then she leaps up and away, carelessly leaving the blade wedged upright between two rows of buttons.

When Adamant Strix starts to poke at the railing interface more cautiously, it's completely unresponsive. Every button and switch yields only a single synaesthetic feedback, somewhere between the shock of touching grounded metal after shuffling across carpet in socks, warning honk of a goose, and the flick of a courtier's fan as they pointedly refuse eye contact.
>>
No. 960711 ID: ac57f8

>>960710
Alright, since she saw all of that happens and still has Essence Sight up and motes still committed to the Twilightoid Anima Power, a number of questions, what did each individual button press trigger, playing the data that she saw over and over again in her head, focusing on the exact moment of impact with each of the three hands, the knife, and the foot with the control panels, and what it's doing when she touches it.

What she's trying to figure out:
> Is attunement necessary to work the controls (assumed yes)
> Is the denied noise because of my lack of being attuned, or was it broken in the flurry of activity
> Does removing the knife fix any of the above issues?
> Which button press caused which essence display
> Are the essence flows in this room out of focus, and how to fix them if they are.

I figure that each of those is roughly an Int 5+Occult 4+Geomancy 3+Motivation Resonant Stunt (studying a 5 dot manse up close is super useful for building a 5 dot manse) for 14-15 dice and 2 automatic successes to each roll. Since that's about 9 rolls and probably a hot minute of deep study that's a lot of dice.
>>
No. 960712 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 8, 8, 1, 9, 7, 10, 1, 3, 7, 2, 3, 6, 5, 4, 9, 1, 5, 10, 10, 1, 7, 5, 9, 7, 3, 2, 7, 2, 3, 9, 7, 8, 3, 7, 5, 4, 7, 2, 2, 10, 5, 9, 3, 2 = 241

>>
No. 960713 ID: ac57f8

rolled 10, 6, 5, 3, 6, 10, 4, 7, 5, 4, 9, 2, 3, 10, 9, 5, 6, 2, 6, 5, 3, 5, 4, 3, 4, 4, 6, 4, 7, 8, 1, 4, 2, 7, 5, 2, 10, 2, 5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 7, 5 = 235

>>
No. 960714 ID: ac57f8

rolled 7, 10, 2, 9, 10, 6, 10, 7, 3, 9, 7, 2, 3, 3, 8, 7, 1, 8, 2, 3, 8, 3, 5, 9, 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 2, 9, 4, 6, 4, 6, 3, 8, 3, 1, 10, 8, 4, 6, 3, 10 = 256

>>
No. 960715 ID: b621a0

I realized this after posting, but I’m going to make a quick timeline of the last 25 and change hours.
0:00 Sunset
0:30 Moonrise
6:30 Midnight
12:30 Moonset
13:00 Sunrise
19:00 Noon
22:30: Fight with Yeti
0:00 Sunset/Desert Locust mashing the buttons and planting the staff
3:30: Ada Wakes, current scene begins. Surgery 25% complete.

So disregard the above trying to figure out what each button did when pressed from above.
>>
No. 960717 ID: f57349

>>960711
> Is attunement necessary to work the controls (assumed yes)
> Is the denied noise because of my lack of being attuned, or was it broken in the flurry of activity
It'll be a lot easier to assess the severity of the damage once you're attuned, but there's clearly a non-zero amount.
> Does removing the knife fix any of the above issues?
No.
> Which button press caused which essence display
Too many buttons were pressed simultaneously, while an Essence 4+ individual was obstructing the relevant part of your visual field, to really be certain, but you've got some good guesses. Looks like a map of a mountainous region and associated weather patterns, on the order of dozens of miles wide. Hundreds of highlighted points scattered across the region, mostly clustered in valleys, some sort of color codes shifted more than once while feet were scrambling around.
> Are the essence flows in this room out of focus,
Yes.
> and how to fix them if they are.
That's not something you can figure out for sure in the time immediately available.
>>
No. 960731 ID: ac57f8

rolled 7, 1, 10, 2, 5, 1, 9, 6, 9, 1, 5, 3, 3, 5, 2, 8, 4, 5, 3, 7, 1, 5, 9, 8, 1, 9, 10, 7, 1, 9, 3, 10, 6, 4, 9, 9, 1, 8, 9, 1 = 216

>>960717
> Repair 3
> Needs Lore 5 Occult 4 Craft 4

Lens-work is Craft (Air) and I have Craft (Air) 2, Lore 3.

Both are favored, so that's 21(3+5+5+8) exp to get to the point where I can repair the lens and another 5 before I can do any big repairs to the actual projector.

> Looks at EXP

0/9 including this post. So, it will be a few hot minutes before I can actually do repairs, even ignoring that I'm presently without the tools to do such.

"Butler-Bot, can I ask you where the tools for maintaining everything in this Manse are? And if yes, where are the tools for maintaining everything?"

She should probably fix the problem of having naked hands to do repair work before she sits down for 5 hours to get attuned to start doing maintenance in earnest.
>>
No. 960740 ID: f57349

>>960731
You can ask. Butlerbot, however, seems to have strictly preprogrammed skills which do not include the technical details you're interested in, and loses all memory of events when powered down. Arguably that's a useful security feature: sensitive topics can be discussed over dinner without worry that a mechanical servant would later repeat what it overheard. In particular, butlerbot does not know where to find the sort of tools you're looking for.

Craft (Air) would be the skill for repairing a lens's physical structure, but circuitry and 'dry nanotech' are Craft (Lightning). Physical access to attempt such repairs may require going outside and clambering around on the roof at some point.
>>
No. 960743 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 10, 6, 4, 4, 6, 8, 3, 9, 8, 10, 7, 3, 6, 5, 9, 4, 9, 9, 5 = 134

>>960624
>She wasn’t doing much to hide that she mostly just wanted Jan to give her a full body massage and to share a bath with her, but obviously she couldn’t ask outright since that wasn’t the kind of thing a lady could properly ask a knight first. And while that didn’t matter to her, she knew that kind of courtly manners did matter to Jan.
The Dusk spends 1m personal on activating Exquisite Etiquette Style, and confusion quickly gives way to understanding.

"Perhaps you might accept an invitation to share a meal instead?" she attempts deflection and compromise- perhaps giving her companion the a start towards the opening she seeks, while staying on track with immediate concerns. "It appears, however, that we may require the use of the stairs after all" she finishes, in response to Adamant Strix's noises of protestation over the abuse of the manse's control panel.

>>960710
>Decorations are sparse or absent, and the floor is crowded with low earthenware tables overflowing with dry soil and dead plants.
>Directly above the dining room (well, presumably some other room is in between on the second floor) there's a jagged-edged hole in the roof. Assuming you plant the Traveler's Staff under it and commit three motes at around the right time, upper branches and leaves of the resultant apple tree plug the hole, mostly stopping the cold breeze, and allowing snow on the floor to start melting faster than it accumulates.
Assuming Fox accepts the invitation, the pair will head up to the attic via the stairs to attempt to plant the staff where indicated. I'm not sure what one rolls for proper magic-tree placement, but have some dice.

Before heading upwards, Jan will thank Desert Locust for scouting the room, and ask that she return to the first floor so the surgery is not unguarded in the Dusk's momentary absence.
>>
No. 960747 ID: ac57f8

>>960740
Damn, I wouldn't have expected useful knowledge like where tools should be to be considered confidential information.

But, that just means she's got to make a choice to make, and since there are other people looking to go do things, and she's already on the second floor, she's going to start trying to start exploring to try and find the tools first. After all, it would be super dumb to not keep tools in a place you would need tools to repair, especially this far out from most civilizations that would have been here even in the first age.

But, before she got too far ahead of herself, she got an idea. "If you can't tell me where the maintenance tools are, can you tell me where they are supposed to be independent of outside forces?" If that doesn't pan out, she's going to try and navigate to Clever Fox and Jan Do to see if they might trip along tools to do big repairs, and then if they didn't she would attune to the manse rather than go off exploring on her own.

"So, I've decided, I'm going to fix this place up, but I need a lot of tools, and I don't even know how long time wise, but I might as well try and tag along while you're out and about, since you might trip over a cache of tools I can use."

Mechanically:

Spending 5 exp on Lore 3-> 4, in caste so training time instant
Spending 5 exp on exp debt from 2nd purchase of 1st Pyrian Excellency, 3 exp debt left
>>
No. 960780 ID: ac57f8

>>960743
Clever Fox of course accepts, keeping a calm and level mood to help hide the fact that she was actually quite pleased with the deal (spending 2m to invoke mask of white jade if pressed).

She did, however, insist on holding hands 'for protection.'
>>
No. 960781 ID: afdebc

>>960780
>>960747
Jan offers the maiden her non-sword hand, and allows Adamant Strix to accompany them on their journey to the attic.

Committing 3m to Hearing the Unspoken Word as a precaution.
>>
No. 960782 ID: f57349

>>960747
It can direct you to the boiler, kitchen, forge, conjury, or rock-loom, as well as workshops for glassblowing, pottery, and sculpture, but when you try to explain basic magitech tools such as veblen arbitrators and hyperion keys it just tilts it's head like a lost puppy and "requests clarification" until the superficial description adds up to something it can plausibly interpret as, say, forge tongs or a salad fork, which it hesitantly suggests and offers to fetch for you.
>>
No. 960784 ID: ac57f8

>>960781
That's a good idea, since technically I think this is a new scene, Ada is going to double up on the Essence Dissecting Stare for 4m.

"So, full disclosure, I am going to need to attune to the manse before I can get any real work on fine tuning and fixing this manse up, but I want to stretch my legs a bit. One thing I'm not looking forward to is having to go up on the roof to get into the machinery of the big projector in the Hearthroom. Do you have any suggestions on how to get up there, and not die of a blizzard in the meantime?"
>>
No. 960845 ID: ac57f8

>>960782
I had missed this last night, but here it goes.
> Boiler
Not 100% sure what that has to do with crafting OOC
> Kitchen
Craft (Water) Workshop?
> Forge
(Fire)?
>Conjury
Sorcery?
>Rock-loom
(Wood)? I know out of character that it's a device for spinning rock into thread, but then working that rock-thread into normal clothes feels like it should be (Wood)
>glassblowing
(Air)
>pottery
(Earth)
>sculpture
???

So it looks like there are integrated workshops for each of the 5 mundane crafts, and a boiler and a sculpture room.

So, as soon as Ada helps with the apples and firewood, going to the sculpture room and the boilers seems like the most reasonable place to start.

Fortunately, having done a deep dive magical analysis on everything she could find, it was apparent that this was all pre-shogunate, so even in disrepair it should be as simple as just re-calibrating everything, and maybe replace a few parts designed to break as opposed to having to re-build entire components wholesale like a similarly delapidated shogunate era version of almost everything.
>>
No. 960933 ID: f57349

>>960781
No hostiles detected, though the attic presents an abundance of places to hide, from crawling under tables to shifting shadows among the ribbed-stone rafters. Only living thing up there (that you didn't bring with you) seems to be some sort of moss or lichen on the broken surfaces of that hole in the roof.

Remember to include a roll.

>>960845
>Not 100% sure what that has to do with crafting
Boiler room is where the plumbing and fuel-gathering tools go when they're not in use. Pottery is actually also Craft (Fire), while Craft (Earth) covers carved stone - but painting or other fine detail work on sculptures might be Craft (Air) instead. Butlerbot's description of the rock-loom sounds at least a little bit like an automated production line, which would almost certainly involve at least some magitech parts, and it's also the closest - right through a door to the south of the dining room. The most direct route to the boiler actually goes through there, while the sculpture studio is off in the opposite direction. So, which way first?

> deep dive magical analysis on everything she could find
Search for clues takes 15 minutes by default, assuming a specified target area comparable to a small room, and you need to be declaring it as an actual action. Essence sight and anima power provide bonuses, but neither negates the need for time and attention. You are not an elf with the ability to passively check for secret doors.

That said, yes, the manse and original furnishings are clearly pre-Shogunate, but this place was a rustic hunting lodge by the standards of the day, with minimal automation as a deliberate aesthetic choice, and also some unique design features which were likely never subject to rigorous testing and peer review because secrecy was the whole point. Possibility of core systems needing full overhauls shouldn't be ruled out. Truly thorough analysis, of the sort needed to sort out bugs inherent to the original design or build a functional copy from scratch, can easily take months or years.
>>
No. 960947 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 5, 3, 4, 8, 3, 9, 1, 4, 6, 5, 9, 1, 4, 9, 10, 3, 4, 9, 8 = 112

>>960933
With the attic reached without difficulty, Jan Do will plant the staff below the opening in the roof, as previously discussed, without releasing her lunar mate's hand, and committing 3m to grow the tree for her.

Gather apples and firewood to bring back downstairs would likely see hand-holding activities interrupted, however.

>Remember to include a roll.
Whups. There was an unused roll back here if you needed one >>960743
>>
No. 960988 ID: ac57f8

rolled 6, 7, 10, 8, 1, 7, 5, 5, 10, 5, 2, 3, 10, 9, 2, 2, 10, 9, 5, 4, 2, 2, 8, 4, 1, 3, 6, 2, 4, 3, 9, 10, 4, 9, 1, 1, 2, 6, 5, 6, 1, 5, 7, 6, 1, 4, 8, 10, 1, 10 = 261

>>960933
Well, since the quest to plant the staff was over incredibly quickly, she might as well go examine the rock loom first. Upon entering, she's going to take some time (30 minutes at the longest if she doesn't find anything interesting longer as decided if she does) to search the room, her eyes shining like spotlights illuminating every secret before her eyes, deep in study as she looks for both a tool kits, and insights into the manse itself.

Perception 4+Awareness 3+Stunt+7 Excellency (+Essence successes for anything magical)

Int 5+Occult 4+Stunt for any charm effects that come up
>>
No. 961000 ID: 5f0ee2

rolled 6, 5, 10, 6, 8, 2, 7, 10, 5, 8, 9, 2, 10, 2, 4, 5, 4, 4, 3, 9, 6, 4, 5, 4, 10, 7, 9, 8, 7, 8, 7, 5, 6, 10, 7, 1, 5, 3, 6, 2, 5, 8, 6, 6, 9, 6, 3, 9, 8, 7, 10, 5, 1, 3, 6, 8, 8, 1, 8, 8 = 364

>>960743
>Before heading upwards, Jan will thank Desert Locust for scouting the room, and ask that she return to the first floor so the surgery is not unguarded in the Dusk's momentary absence.
Locust pouts a little bit after her trip up the walls proves to be unnecessary, Jan Do brining the staff and a friend up via a staircase.

When she makes the trip back to the sitting room, she quickly realizes talking to the doctor while she works is a poor plan; it's unclear if that was meant to be a grunt or a growl, but obviously she needs to focus on the task at hand.

Not able to pace around, Locust fidgets for a bit, trying to think of what to do to occupy herself, and starts inspecting the doors with the unusual locks.

Does essence sight reveal anything unusual in the attic of sitting room? All mental stats are at three, as are awareness and occult, but lore is only at one.
>>
No. 961047 ID: f57349

>>960988
The room is filled almost literally wall to wall and floor to ceiling with machinery - for the most part badly damaged, but it looks like it should be relatively simple to repair, given a few weeks, particularly if you start by reassembling and translating those shattered clay tablets with what appears to be the instruction manual. Whole thing is arranged more like a tinkertoy proof-of-concept than a serious production model, clearly designed to keep core functionality visible and easy to adjust, even at the expense of absolute efficiency. One of the largest fragments identifies the inventor as Iatrixian the Weaver, an acquaintance of your shard's previous incarnation, and laments that such a simple and beneficial technique may be lost to the world, since this is the only copy.

Alternatively, you might be able to cannibalize the device (particularly sensors linked to indicator needles) into a serviceable set of basic magitech diagnostic-and-maintenance tools, but passing up such an obvious opportunity for absolute monopoly on a First Age industrial process would mean going against your Urge.

>>961000
In the attic on the far side of the hearthroom from the newly planted apple tree you find a few plant bits that are more or less edible (though extremely dry), a thumb-sized piece of silvered glass glued to one of the rafters, and two sets of stairs in the gloomy northwest corner: on the right, a narrow spiral leading down, and on the left, a broad, gentle ramp leading up.

The ramp is barricaded with what appears to be a jumbled pile of stone chairs, partially melted like warm wax and fused into the walls and each other. Essence sight confirms that this was not part of the manse's original design (nor were most of the skylights, incidentally, though far more effort went in to harmonizing them with the structure), and that the melted-looking stone truly is seamlessly connected - but no significant heat or other non-earthen essence (like what your feet do) was directly involved at any point. Something smoothly reshaped the stone without breaking or even softening it.

>>960947
While Jan's gathering food and firewood, who's guarding the prisoner?
>>
No. 961056 ID: afdebc

>particularly if you start by reassembling and translating those shattered clay tablets with what appears to be the instruction manual
OOC (as neither of my characters is yet aware of Ada's discover) but it occurs to me we may have the tools for that- either by learning Incantation of Efficacious Restoration from Tasnim's spellbook, or by using Blood Calligraphy Technique to rapidly transcribe the tablets onto paper.

>While Jan's gathering food and firewood, who's guarding the prisoner?
Plan had been to leave Desert Locust to stand guard while Jan Do ascended (hence the last line of this post >>960743 ) but if Des' exploration is taking place concurrently (and not before she returns to the first floor, or after Jan returns) this may have broken down. The prisoner has also been dosed with moonsilver razor widow venom, discussed in
>>960683 and >>960243 .
>>
No. 961064 ID: ac57f8

rolled 5, 6, 9, 9, 2, 5, 7, 9, 3, 10, 5, 1, 1, 9, 10, 8, 9, 10, 1, 5, 9, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 1, 7, 2, 2 = 169

>>961047
Well, re-assembling them seems like the harder part, but might as well start by trying to assemble them into one place to start trying to piece them together, and pull out a sheaf of parchment and charcoal to start making a rubbing as soon as I've gotten a tablet assembled.

And, I already speak Old Realm, so what would I be translating it into?

I'm not really sure what skill a rubbing would be, so here are dice.
>>
No. 961075 ID: f57349

>>961064
>I already speak Old Realm, so what would I be translating it into?
More familiar dialect (Solar Deliberative vs. present-day Malfean), technical vocabulary, filling in any gaps from shards you can't find, that kind of thing. Some of the best High First Age educational resources, like the Abscissic Guide, convey complex concepts to almost anyone with barely more than a glance, but this is not one of those. There's a reason it's "Iatrixian the Weaver," rather than "Iatrixian the Poet" or "Iatrixian the Clear and Concise Note-Taker."
>I'm not really sure what skill a rubbing would be
Craft (air), though the main challenge is reassembling it all like a jigsaw puzzle. Butlerbot helps enough with gathering the pieces to provide a teamwork bonus, fetches you a light meal (apples and a bowl of snow), then wanders off at some point while you're distracted.

>>961056
>The prisoner has also been dosed with moonsilver razor widow venom
Which wears off after an hour per dose.

Fortunately, when you get back downstairs, the beast is only just regaining consciousness. It's also been tied up more thoroughly than when you saw it last, climbing rope from somebody's pack binding arms palm-out behind with a pillar between the elbows, and is being watched by the butlerbot activated earlier, who bows before asking whether this prisoner is to be provided with food, water, and/or medical care.
>>
No. 961078 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 10, 2, 3, 6, 4, 2, 3, 9, 8, 10, 5, 6, 6, 1, 10, 9, 4, 9, 6, 10, 10, 1, 6, 1, 9, 9, 4, 8, 4 = 178

>>961075
Considering that I learned Old Realm from the Volkhawsen rather than Malfeas, I probably have Old Realm (Shogunate) but filtered with a Seatongue accent for speaking same as Riverspeak honestly.

>Rock-spinning can be learned as a Craft charm by any solar exalt or solar half-caste with Shattering Grasp and two dots in both Craft (Earth) and Craft (Wood). CNNT speeds it up and negates the need for a drop-spindle or equivalent tool as normal, while the cost remains 3m per hour, not per unit. Reverse-engineering the machine would be equivalent to inventing a master-level procedure in the Art of Elemental Earth

Since translating would be the training time to learn the charm but I'm not a Solar, does that mean that translating in this case follows the rules for inventing a procedure, and takes a total successes of Int+Lore at a difficulty 4 until I have 20 successes, or does having a mostly functioning proto-type speed that up significantly?

Or, does that mean that it would be the time to learn that Heretical Charms are possible, and then 6 days to learn Pelegrina's Fury and 3 weeks to learn a Heretical Combination of Mind Hand Manipluation and Pelegrina's Fury that would thus allow me to spin rock into thread?

Or, since I'm not a Solar who can learn craft charms, would it just be an Int+Linguistics check to try and translate the document into something I can use to reduce the time-scales of any of the above things?
>>
No. 961092 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 4, 10, 7, 8, 4, 5, 4, 9, 4 = 57

>>961075
>Fortunately, when you get back downstairs, the beast is only just regaining consciousness. It's also been tied up more thoroughly than when you saw it last, climbing rope from somebody's pack binding arms palm-out behind with a pillar between the elbows, and is being watched by the butlerbot activated earlier, who bows before asking whether this prisoner is to be provided with food, water, and/or medical care.
Jan Do takes note that the automaton defers to her, rather than the prisoner, suggesting the yeti does not have prior claim on the manse or its servants. That or the mechanical being is entirely feckless, and defers to her group only because Adamant Strix supplied it with power.

"Yes, you may provide all three" she answers in Old Realm, the same tongue in which the request was made. Even in war, proper conduct must be followed- even when it benefits those who hold themselves to lesser standards.

Jan Do will allow the machine to perform its ministrations, and delay questioning the yeti until after it has been seen to.

For questioning the yeti- do we want to treat that as social combat in discord? If so, here's join debate. Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt
>>
No. 961098 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 7, 2, 1, 9, 1, 10, 4, 10, 5, 2, 6, 7, 6, 2, 2, 9, 2, 10, 6, 1, 4, 1, 1, 3, 2, 6, 7, 10, 1, 7, 3, 7, 1, 7, 3, 10, 9, 9, 1, 1, 7, 7, 1, 3, 6, 9, 3, 10, 4, 6, 9, 2, 6, 4, 4, 3, 1, 2, 6 = 294

>>961056
>Plan had been to leave Desert Locust to stand guard while Jan Do ascended
Desert Locust would have neglected prisoner duty in favor of watching over Tasnim and the wounded, as described. Seems simple enough for Clever Fox or Jan Do to peer over the edge of the attic into the ball room to watch the prisoner while the other grabs firewood and fruit.

As for questioning the prisoner, Locust releases a silent breath of relief, intended to be private but probably easy for Jan to read into.

"Okay, so, if things get hairy, I think I can facilitate a discussion, like a sort of safe parley zone. Do you want to do this where you can hit it with a sword if it acts up, or in some sort of neutral ground? I'll be honest, I've never tried this before, not sure exactly how it would work, but I think it's some sort of instantaneous mental discussion- say whatever you want, as long as you want, and when you blink it'll only have been a moment but you'll still have a grasp on the whole thing."

Desert Locust is ready to join debate as well, and activate Worldly illusion if needed.

Wits three, appearance three, stunt>
>>
No. 961103 ID: f57349

>>961098
>>961092
How much preserved food did you bring along, and what do you seek to learn from the prisoner?

>>961078
Reassembled tablet (it'll be in usable shape around the same time Noir's arm is reattached, though Incantation Of Effective Restoration would aid legibility and make it much safer to transport) counts as a tutor for learning the relevant charm, though it's little more than a reminder of the existence of prerequisites. Broken machine counts as a suitable research facility for "inventing" that single procedure, which could occur concurrently with repairs to the machine itself, and reduces the roll interval for doing so to two weeks. Spare parts may need to be scrounged or fabricated, but that should be easy enough if you can locate any unnecessarily elaborate mechanical deathtraps.
>>
No. 961107 ID: ac57f8

rolled 9, 6, 10, 2, 1, 10, 10, 3, 8, 1, 8, 1, 1, 4, 2, 10, 2, 4, 4, 10, 4, 10, 7, 2, 7, 3, 4, 3, 6, 7, 6, 7, 2, 1, 6, 9, 8, 3, 10, 2, 10, 6, 2, 2, 6, 8, 3, 6, 5, 6, 4, 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 5, 5, 4, 1 = 308

>>961103
Ada works on piecing together the tablet, but as it becomes clear that it's teaching her a way to do it that she can never follow, or so her heart of hearts warns her, she decides that she's going to have to come back to this. She still will get the tablets together, but since she's reasonably sure at this point that it's less important, she's going to explore elsewhere.

Since Butler-bot abandoned her over the course of the ~hour she spent on the tablet, she was going to need a map, only she remembered that she was already shown something better than a map, and she navigates back to the Architect studio/abandoned bed-room in order to examine the model of the manse, and she was going to look for a way to pull the thing apart so she could examine the floor-plan.

Activating Perception 4+Awareness 3+Stunt+7 excellency dice (+2 auto successes vs magic) for examining the model

Int 5+Occult 4+(Geomancy +3)+Stunt to examine how the geomancy of the manse is supposed to be vs how it is today from what she's seen

Int 5+Occult 4+Stunt (+2 Successes) to examine any magical effects that I find.

Spending 4m on Essence Dissecting Stare, 7m on 1st Pyrian Excellency, and 5m on Twilight Anima Power as necessary, assuming that this is a new scene.

0/16 personal motes, 21/22 peripheral motes 10/10 wp all channels remain
>>
No. 961119 ID: f57349

>>961107
Scale model doesn't include those skylights in the attic, nor does it accurately depict interior rooms which lack windows. When you nudge one slightly out-of-place pillar, it triggers some concealed mechanism, causing the roof to fold up and reveal a coffin.

Inside, robes of orichalcum-veined marble frame a grinning skull at one end and bare toe-bones at the other, with the rest of the partially mummified corpse presumably in between, pinned under a massive memory crystal, broad as a kite shield and more than three inches thick.

"Use of Ambient Essence in Architecture, by Kal Bax"

There's a twilight caste mark by the author's name, and a further warning that mortals should not attempt to physically lift it unaided. Appears to be a comprehensive treatise, starting from child-friendly instructions on how to forge a hammer and chisel to square off stone blocks, continuing through the thaumaturgical fundamentals you're already familiar with, and then steadily on past local tweaks to the laws of physics into truly brain-twisting esoterica. Mechanically, it's a 4-dot artifact, counts as a tutor for Craft(Earth)(Fire)(Metal)(Wood), Lore, and Occult all to the 6-dot level, master degree in geomancy, and more, but can only be used by one person at a time and weighs half a ton.

There are two more butlerbots inactive back down in the dining room, and their dependence on the manse seems to come with instant knowledge of it's current floor plan despite their lack of episodic memory when fully discharged.
>>
No. 961131 ID: d9acdc

>>961103
>what do you seek to learn from the prisoner?

Primarily personal questions; those of interest to Desert Locust will be listed in no particular order:
-who are you
-why were you chasing us
-do you know anything about how we got here
-can you tell us anything about ourselves that you observed before entering this room
-what is this place
-are there any settlements nearby
-who is the local authority, what customs and rules would we be punished for breaking
-what would it take to get you to work with us instead of against us

Locust is unfamiliar with herself or the area, clearly most concerned with relevant personal or political details that might affect her. General pleasantries, like names, types of food you enjoy, the traditional sort of social ice breakers, would also probably be exchanged.
>>
No. 961161 ID: ac57f8

>>961119
That's probably less useful for me personally then it has any right to be, since Twilight Caste don't need tutors on any of those things (unless it can accelerate the 1st dot of Wood, Earth, and Metal to less than 3 weeks),and already having a master's degree in Geomancy, but you'd best believe that the noise Ada will make upon discovering this find contains an utterly inhuman level of joy.

But, for as much as I can interact with it, does it have any secret 1st age thaumaturgy rituals that Lookshy wouldn't have taught a foreigner, either because super secret or they just don't know?
>>
No. 961164 ID: ac57f8

rolled 8, 8, 4, 1, 1, 1, 7, 9, 4, 4, 6, 10, 2, 1, 10, 10, 3, 3, 2, 9, 7, 7, 6, 10, 4, 8, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 7, 10, 1, 6, 5, 4, 6, 4, 3 = 215

>>961103
This is likely going to take far longer than a single scene, but Fox is going to start work on building her 'leash' and forming intimacies of allyship and building a sense of shame over it's actions so deep that it would make a Catholic Priest look like a nudist.
>>
No. 961179 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 8, 2, 7, 6, 3, 1, 7, 2, 7, 10, 3, 2, 8, 7, 9, 7, 7, 5, 1 = 108

>>961103
>How much preserved food did you bring along, and what do you seek to learn from the prisoner?

>Tasnim's the strongest, when she goes mammoth
>Alright, then, you find 600 pounds of slightly frostburnt trail rations in a pair of oversized saddlebags, concealed under a thin layer of snow on the front porch.

All right, if we don't want to do the interrogation as social combat then Jan Do's questions are as follows:

-The prisoner's name, rank, and allegiance
-To explain itself. Why did it engage us in battle?
-What it is doing here
-Information about the local area
-If the prisoner is aware of or a member of any local forces or factions, information on those.

Rolled here >>961092 , here's more dice if needed.

>>961164
It seems like trying to start a long term conditioning campaign might get in the way of an interrogation?
>>
No. 962180 ID: f57349

>>961161
>any secret 1st age thaumaturgy rituals
Quite possibly, but there isn't a convenient "stuff the Seventh Legion doesn't already know" section in the index.
>>961131
>>961179
The beast's accent in Old Realm is atrocious, and all but admits that if you untie a hand enough to write, it'll be Join Battle time again shortly afterward.
>name
"Fisato" or possibly "Fisehto." Going by inflection this seems to be more like a job description: 'one whose hands inflict harm.' With radiant pride, it further claims a lineage of martial instruction traceable back to Gorol, First Iron Wolf of the Forty-Nine Chambers of Suntarankal.
>rank
Aspirant to citizenship, unconfirmed solely for lack of access to a suitable priest.
>allegiance
Cordial Slug-Mother of the Dal'sharr. Based on honorifics, seems to be talking about a spirit who can be summoned and bound, but not by just anybody, and who maintains an entire species of subordinate spirits as her personal retinue. Roughly comparable to a lesser elemental dragon? Not an individual you've ever heard of before.
>local authority, nearby settlements
Dal'sharr collectively have more-or-less undisputed control over territory outside this building for... some great distance in every direction. Multiple days on foot, but it's very rough terrain, and Fisto here isn't particularly confident dealing with numbers above three. They've got either a vast enchanted city, or a tiny glitzed-up trading post surrounded by a few tents (hard to pin down scale with so little basis for comparison), down at the far end of this valley. Twenty or thirty miles, maybe?
>why the violence
This manse is cursed, and a hateful quality of that curse extends to everything and everyone associated with it. There's a jade tablet hidden somewhere which must be manipulated in some manner and/or destroyed in order to break the curse. Doing so would earn the eternal gratitude of all Dal'sharr.

Also you seem to have food and medical supplies, which make good bargaining chips, since there's never enough of either to go around.

>>961164
Shame over having messed up and gotten caught is easy. Convincing Fisto the Yeti to forsake current allegiances and serve you instead might be trickier, but under the circumstances is more likely to come down to questions of cost/benefit rather than whether such a thing can be done at all. Talking an Infernal Monster stylist into regretting their history of violent assault on moral grounds, though? Definitely going to need to explain how you're framing that, and some plan to make sure the philosophy you're inflicting adds up to anything more than dust in the wind as soon as you're out of earshot.
>>
No. 962208 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 2, 6, 6, 5, 10, 7, 9, 10, 1, 8, 5, 9, 3, 5, 10, 3, 9, 9, 10 = 137

>>962180
So we are within the territory of a powerful spirit and her followers. The curse upon this house must be potent indeed for such a place of power to lie unoccupied and unclaimed in spite of this.

Can you tell us anything else about the manner of this curse?

>There's a jade tablet hidden somewhere which must be manipulated in some manner and/or destroyed in order to break the curse. Doing so would earn the eternal gratitude of all Dal'sharr.
This is the reason you are here then? Braving the dangers to prove yourself, or questing to destroy this jade anchor, that you might be rewarded?
>>
No. 962243 ID: ac57f8

rolled 10, 2, 9, 9, 3, 3, 3, 9, 5, 9, 5, 8, 6, 1, 5, 6, 2, 7, 9, 1, 6, 9, 5, 6, 10, 9, 6, 10, 9, 7, 7, 9, 8, 7, 2, 8, 1, 9, 7, 7 = 254

>>962180
I'm not looking to have him serve us and break allegiance, I'm looking to have him not attack us in the future and teach us (probably just me since Jan Do doesn't like dishonorable martial arts) both Infernal Monster Style and First Pulse style, and my first reaction was that shame was the best way to accomplish that.

But, there is another, better way.

"Well then, I suppose that it is a shame that you haven't a priest to teach you the right rituals to proclaim yourself a citizen, even here, and have none of the priesthood deny you, but in my travels and years a diplomat, I may have come across ways to integrate yourself into any society as a citizen, Malfeas included, paperwork be damned. Of course, my memory seems to be failing me recently."

So, she's opening up discussion aiming to get the Yeti to offer the only valuable things it had on it, the prodigious line of mentors that passed their knowledge on (and maybe some of its complementary knowledge of brutal martial arts, she doesn't want to be someone without a tool in her tool-kit)
>>
No. 962245 ID: ac57f8

>>962243
I forgot to add dice totals and mechanics.

Manipulation 4+Bureaucracy/Presence 0+Stunt (presumably 2) for 6 dice.
>>
No. 962611 ID: f57349

Who's watching the perimeter while you're interrogating the prisoner? If nobody's standing guard, the masked figure in the mirror might try to politely get your attention, pointing out another humanoid with white fur on the front porch, poking at the supply cache with some unidentified type of magical weapon.
>>
No. 962643 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 8, 3, 1, 6, 1, 1, 1, 5, 10, 5, 6, 8, 7, 10, 9, 1, 5, 2, 8 = 107

>>962611
Admant Strix is investigating the library and/or the tablet, Tasnim Violette and Noir are engaged in surgery, and Jan Do, Clever Fox and Desert Locust are in the main hall, questioning the yeti. No one is on perimeter guard, except perhaps the blizzard itself.

As Clever Fox has not finished her discussion with the prisoner and uninterested in cutting the discussion short, when the spirit catches their attention, Jan Do will bade her companions to remain while she investigates.

Heading to the porch to meet the interloper, 3m committed to Hearing the Unspoken Word.
>>
No. 962647 ID: f57349

Snowshoe Hare's daughter wakes up shivering, under a familiar travel blanket in an unfamiliar bedroom. It's like something out of a ruined palace: 20' square and 12' high with bare walls of beautiful blue-gray stone, narrow stained glass windows to the left and toward the foot of the bed, closed door in the middle of the right-hand wall. A broken-stringed lyre sits on a stand in the corner between the windows, floor is strewn with debris. Seems to be night outside, or at least very heavily overcast.

On examination, bedframe is one of those types that's actually a sort of wide, flat, slow-burning oven, keeping the sleeper comfortably warm without wasting energy on the rest of the room. Fuel must have run out while you slept.

>>962643
Window's angled facets distort images slightly, but you manage a good look at the newcomer: seems to be an albino gorilla, with almost antelope-like forehead horns. Apart from the coloration, it's clearly an erymanthus, type of demon commonly brought forth by sorcerers and bound to violence or brute labor. Doesn't seem to have noticed you yet; it's gnawing some of the meat off an elephant's thighbone held in it's right hand, left on the ground with three fingers wrapped around and through... is that a basket hilt? Every detail of the attached blade's appearance slips out of your memory the instant you look away from it, apart from the fact that it's almost ten feet long.

Opening the door would be a diceless miscellaneous action, after which you would be able to reach the blood ape with a 5-yard reflexive Move. Going out, attacking and/or grabbing part of the supplies (with a feat of strength), returning, and closing the door behind you all in a single tick might be possible as a flurry, provided one of those actions was Dash.
>>
No. 962652 ID: 0640da

rolled 2, 1, 1, 6, 3, 4, 9, 6, 8, 1, 5, 3, 4, 2, 7 = 62

>>962647
Patches in Reality rubs at her eyes with a paw, before springing to alertness... it's unclear how she ended up here, since before now she was perfectly upright, sitting at the trunk of a tree and sketching a building in the distance. She wasn't really confident she knew where she was then, and she certainly doesn't know where she is now. First her paws go to examine her artifacts, and on confirming she still has them she starts to relax... then she looks inside the Nibsplitter to check for her journals-- still there. Good. She does, however, deem that she's been resting long enough on the oven-bed, and hops right off and onto the floor... careful of debris, she makes her way over to the lyre. It looks damaged, but perhaps it just needs a restringing. Whomever found her resting wherever she was must really treasure this instrument. From what she could tell the instrument just needs new strings, but the repairs might need to be... more extensive than even that. (Rolling Craft (Air) 3 or Craft (Wood) 1 + Performance 1 to examine the instrument and determine repairs needed.)

With her back turned to the door, she might not notice someone coming in right away, but she's not so distracted she couldn't see someone trying to get her attention.
>>
No. 962657 ID: f57349

>>962652
>Intelligence 4, Craft (Wood) 1, stunt 2, darkness -1
>Dexterity 4, Athletics 0
>rolled 2, 1, 1, 6, 3, 4
Two ones and no successes is a botch. You gingerly pick up the ancient, brittle lyre, turn around and walk back toward the bed to sit down and examine it, then step on something small, round, and hard, which slips out from under your foot, ricochets off the bed, and beans you square in the forehead. 'Not the face' flinch response would have lifted the lyre up just enough for that projectile to snap something...
>Destiny 5
>9, 6, 8, 1, 5
...but instead it passed through a gap left by broken strings. You fall flat on your butt, flailing and juggling for a few embarrassing seconds, but nobody else saw that and nothing seems to be broken that wasn't already. Mark off a level of bashing damage in your -0 health box.

Lyre turns out to be carved from black ash wood (famous for it's resistance to decay), sixteen or seventeen hundred years old, and in surprisingly good condition apart from needing the strings replaced. Crossbar seems like some type of ivory, but on that you're less certain.
>>
No. 962662 ID: 0640da

>>962657
Patches groans and rubs her paw where she slipped... weird things like this are always happening to her. Little things she does turn into chain reactions that end up beaning her in the face with wayward debris. Rubbing her head now, she sets the Lyre to the side of the heated bed and decides that she doesn't really have the tools to fix this right now, and she'll just have to meet her benefactor in person to thank them directly... hopping off the bed, she pads over to the door and attempts to open it and head outside. If it weren't for her mutant fur, she might be chilly, she thinks...

"Hello? Anyone there?" Patches calls out. "I'm awake!"
>>
No. 962665 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 1, 7, 7, 4, 4, 2, 3, 5, 3, 3, 1, 8, 10, 1, 1, 2, 1, 8, 7 = 82

>>962647
Taking a moment to place herself in the same state of martial readiness as the interloping false-antelope, Jan Do pauses to ready her weapon in one hand, and then, with the other, opens the door.

Addresses the demon in it's native tongue, she challenges it in Old Realm. "Greeting, Stranger. It is custom to ask before inviting one's self to anther's hospitality, or to knock, at the very least."

Rolling Join Battle or Join Debate, depending on if the Bloop Ape responds with words or violence. In either caste, that's Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt. If Join Battle, Hearing the Unspoken Word adds 2 dice. Either way, I will also spend 4m personal on the Second Awareness Excellency for 2 auto-successes.
>>
No. 962673 ID: f57349

rolled 3, 9, 4, 4, 9, 6, 3, 5, 10, 10, 9, 7, 3, 1, 7, 10, 5, 8, 9, 10, 7, 10, 8, 8, 3, 6, 10, 3, 7, 6, 10, 2, 3, 3, 8, 6, 2, 10, 10, 2, 5, 8, 9, 8, 1, 2, 7, 5, 4, 7, 2, 8, 9, 7, 2, 6, 6, 9, 5, 7 = 373

>>962665
Apparently the demon is willing to talk, though hardly in a friendly tone.
"Was this meat meant as an offering or an insult? It's not very fresh, and some [obscene epithet] drained all the blood out!"

Literal translation of the word in brackets would be 'person who enjoys the taste of gold,' but it's clearly intended as a term of contempt.

Mechanically, the blood ape's going to start with a Monologue action, setting up a Manipulation + Presence attack to extort worship and/or valuables. Stunting off of the context of hospitality you established, and tying into own Motivation by way of literal thirst for blood.
>>
No. 962678 ID: f57349

>>962662
No answer, and the door seems to be stuck, but right next to it there's a bronze panel with a funnel surrounded by eight small knobs. Twisting doesn't seem to do anything, but pulling or pushing on them in various combinations changes the sounds audible through the funnel - mostly empty rooms similar to or larger than the one you're in, several carpeted or otherwise covered in something that absorbs echoes better than bare stone. At least one has a slow steady drip into a pool of standing water, probably large enough to swim in, and another sounds like it might be filled with some sort of dense clutter.

You'll need to roll to figure out a pattern to how the speaking tubes connect, or to contact the other PCs, or force the door open. In fact, it's preferable to always include a roll.
>>
No. 962679 ID: f57349

>>962673
>>962665
Jan Do wins Join Debate by two successes, and as such has two minutes (ticks zero and one) to act before the blood ape launches into that initial monologue.
>>
No. 962690 ID: 0640da

>>962678
Chk chk. Clunk. "Good morning!" Chk chk, clunk. "Good morning to you!" Patches opts at first for a 'try several combinations at random' strategy, pulling out a notebook from her inventory and recording the results for knobs in specific positions. If a knob is pulled, she writes a triangle, and if a knob is pushed, she writes a circle-- if she has it in between, she makes it a square. For each room she writes down what sounds she can hear, and in each room she contacts with the device she says 'Good morning!' and checks for a response. If there's a response, she writes down 'Success' and specially marks the combination for later, otherwise she just records what sounds she hears.

Once she's compiled enough data from the responses she's been given, she can start making inferences-- at least, that's the Whitewall academic way. First, record the world as it is-- then, make a hypothesis. Draw conclusions from testing your hypothesis, and follow ethical rules when running an experiment. Patches pauses. She's not exactly sure what the ethical rules are. She was kicked out of the program for exposing that murderer... well, no, not because she exposed them, but because she made her teachers look like idiots and ruined the image of the school while she did it. She's sure if she'd stayed in the program she wouldn't be where she is today, but now she's worried that she might be manipulating the experiment by saying 'good morning'. She clears her throat before continuing. "Ethical good morning!" That should do it, Patches thinks to herself. She moves to the next combination, pulling one knob at a time and keeping the rest depressed to begin, listening out with her superhuman hearing as she continues roll call.

(Investigation 3 is probably a good way to approach this one. Destiny too, but I think you just used it without me saying so and I'm not sure this qualifies as a second scene.)
>>
No. 962691 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 4, 8, 7, 9, 1, 8, 2, 4, 3, 1, 9, 10, 8, 10 = 88

>>962690
>>
No. 962701 ID: f57349

Midway through a delicate nerve-splicing procedure, Tasnim Violette is startled by a panel on the wall next to the fireplace making odd whooshes and clicks and then shouting "Good morning!" in Skytongue, with a Whitewall accent, despite the fact that it's clearly late evening.

>>962690
Squares seem to produce muddled mixtures of sounds, and the middle position isn't firmly defined, whereas the knobs naturally click into place when fully in or out. Furthermore, two of the knobs don't switch the connection at all - it's not clear what they're doing, if anything - and pressing all eight in at once yields only a dull disconnected silence, so you're pretty sure there are at most 64 panels in the network.
>>
No. 962704 ID: ac57f8

rolled 1, 2, 3, 10, 6, 7, 2, 2, 6, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 4, 6, 2, 5, 2, 6, 5, 10, 1, 9, 1, 2, 9, 1, 3, 6 = 146

>>962701
Geomancy, the art of understanding the flow of essence. It was quite possibly the least well remembered Thaumaturgy (at least if you would listen to Sohei Linweck, who had given this speech while they charted the 'safe' parts of the buried Anathema cathedral under the Valkhawsen). Divination, spirit controlling, the average person understands them, and they're useful in day to day life, every bit as much art as science. But Geomancy, much like Alchemy, required rigor, and a thorough understanding of both how and why what you're doing works, and that was why Ada had leaned so heavily into Geomancy during her time there. She had considered Alchemy, but that didn't lean as heavily as understanding the principles behind how to build maximally efficient circuits.

That sprang to mind as her study of Geomancy, from the perspective of a first age master of the craft rather than a master of this fallen age as she had as a mortal, was interrupted by a stranger who's words she didn't understand, drawing her attention to the intercoms system. She took a quick look at the 8 knobs, and then looked beyond the panel, at the magitech behind the panel, and armed with the information she'd just been studying, her own master's degree in geomancy, and the fact that she could see the essence running through the dry-nanotech circuitry, she was intent on forcing the tube to connect to the previous connection that had hailed her in a strange language.

"Sound off, 1-2." She said in Old Realm as soon as she was satisfied with her attempt to engage the proper comms channel, having taken a simple call and response she learned from some of the soldiers she was studying with.

Dice pool:

Int 5+Lore/Occult 4 maybe +3 Geomancy for 12 dice +Stunt, throwing 5 dice from 1st Pyrian Excellency at it for 14 or 17 dice+Stunt
>>
No. 962731 ID: f57349

>>962704
Rather than elaborate magitech wiring, essence sight reveals the speaking tube system as a thing of elegant simplicity: air-filled pipes connect through a rod-logic junction box somewhere deep inside the walls. You understand which combinations connect to which rooms, how to use the seventh knob as a silent side-channel, even how to arrange 'conference calls,' or a connection between two rooms you aren't in.

Assuming Patches accurately describes where she's stuck, particularly the relative positions of the windows and door, a quick comparison to the scale model confirms that there's only one place she could possibly be: the bedroom in the southeast corner of the ground floor, almost directly below where you are. Scale-model room corresponding to the one outside that bedroom door features musical instruments and at least one large cabinet, which might have been moved over as a barricade.
>>
No. 962757 ID: 0640da

rolled 10, 6, 10, 9, 3, 4, 1, 4, 4, 10, 3, 3, 9, 5, 7 = 88

>>962704
"Sound off? No, sound is on! Good ethical morning, friend! I am conducting an ethical experiment to deta'min the use of this device in information gathering and communication, yes'm! You are currently speaking to Patches, may I know your location and the whereabouts of this partic'lar knob configuration?" Patches' voice is clear and enthusiastic as she gets her first success on the channels, speaking back in Old Realm to the person on the other line.

Straining to listen to the other side, Patches takes her pen and flips to a new page, starting to sketch out the person she hears on the other end as best she can based on context clues. She's yet to determine who they are, but isn't this mysterious and interesting? Maybe if they speak more, she can even draw them accurately, but she's just going to draw what she feels they might look like.

(Patches would like to start Conducting an Interview-- Investigation 3. I think this is a social attack? I'm not quite sure this rises to that level yet, but I'm rolling anyways.)
>>
No. 962778 ID: ac57f8

>>962757
"That was military call and response, so I'm going to guess you're not from somewhere with a heavy military presence. As for the location of this room, if I'm right the tuning information on your side should be, '-1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, x, x' assuming that the system was built with efficiency in mind, and I'm not wrong on where the tubes are leading right now.

"Actually, it's pretty interesting that this whole comms system was developed in Ternary as opposed to the binary you'd typically find in magitech comms systems. But, give me a second and if you could tell me exactly where the window in the room is, I'll be there in person in just one second."
>>
No. 962781 ID: f57349

>>962778
The system isn't ternary, and it isn't really magitech. Six knobs, two positions, 2^6 = 64 proper room addresses. Pushing all the knobs in to the wall connects any given panel to only itself, so you can close an undesired connection by simply slapping the panel with your open hand or throwing something at it.

Middle-position trickiness only comes in when you're trying to connect to two different panels at the same time, effectively a three-way call.
>>
No. 962784 ID: 0640da

>>962778
This gives you pause. Strange voices talking about military and numbers. You're not quite sure if you want to meet them face to face-- but, then again, you are stuck and would rather seek assistance than starve, which you're quite sure would happen in a locked room. No adventure really came from a locked room, anyways. Even so, you should try to get more information out of your target before offering some of your own. "I'm not quite sure I know what ternary is, but I am sure that I intr'duced myself! You've done a fine job talking around my questions, but don't you think it impolite to not at the least greet me with your own name?"

You know the voice on the other line has done some digging with their questions, but they've actually given you quite little to go on, all things considered. Trust is earned, and you have a lot of trust to share, but you'd like some answers first. "I'm Patches, from Whitewall! Unt'n, t'be exact about things, which a number lady like you probably appreciates and all! So... if you won't tell me where you are without using fancy number words, can you at least tell me who you are and where you're from?"

(Pile of dice just in case because this seems like social attacks but again; not sure. I feel like calling out someone for being impolite is explicitly listed as an attack.)
>>
No. 962785 ID: 0640da

rolled 7, 5, 9, 9, 10, 3, 5, 5, 2, 4, 1, 4, 2, 8, 10, 6, 7, 4, 8, 10 = 119

>>962784
>>
No. 962813 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 3, 2, 1, 9, 9, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 7, 6, 1, 3, 5, 8, 8, 1, 6, 3, 6, 1, 6, 8, 4, 7, 5, 4, 4 = 149

>>962701
>Midway through a delicate nerve-splicing procedure, Tasnim Violette is startled by a panel on the wall next to the fireplace making odd whooshes and clicks and then shouting "Good morning!" in Skytongue, with a Whitewall accent, despite the fact that it's clearly late evening.

>>962781
>Pushing all the knobs in to the wall connects any given panel to only itself, so you can close an undesired connection by simply slapping the panel with your open hand or throwing something at it.

The cheery and twice ill timed greeting is met by a short outburst of cursing in riverspeak (the invective seems local to Nexus, somehow accusing the target of both obstructing trade and trying to cheat another at the same time), a dense cushion from one of the padded rests is thrown at the offending speaking tube.

Afterwards, the doctor does her best to salvage the situation, and continue the surgery.

Dexterity 2 + Thrown 0 + Stunt + 1 auto-success by channeling willpower for the cushion
Intelligence 5 + Medicine 4 + Stunt + First Intelligence Excellency 5 for continued medical efforts, if an additional roll is required after the interruption
>>
No. 962815 ID: ac57f8

rolled 7, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 5, 3, 3, 10, 7, 6, 9, 4, 2, 4, 5, 9, 6, 2 = 102

>>962781
Ah, I thought
> "Twisting doesn't seem to do anything, but pulling or pushing on them in various combinations changes the sounds audible through the funnel"
meant that they were either Pushed, Neutral, or Pulled, which is a Trinary state, even if the neutral position is only used for multi-room calls, and I'm actually super curious about the mechanics of how this works out from a mathematical perspective out of character when factoring complex fuckery.

>>962784
"Of course it's rude not to introduce myself by name, but it's also probably less than a smart idea to talk on an unsecured communications line, since until about 30 seconds ago I didn't know this thing existed.

"But, since you went ahead and took the risk of something nasty figuring something like that out, I might as well do the same. The name is The Adamant Strix, Sohei of Lookshy. Anyway, there should only be about 7 people, including the weird yeti that tried to kill us, in here, so I'm sure you'll excuse wanting a quick solution to figuring out what's going on and where everything is in relation to everything."
>>
No. 962816 ID: f57349

>>962813
Turns out that "pillow" is actually quite securely attached to the frame. Not too heavy to flip over with a feat of strength, though, since you're angry enough to get willpower involved.

Surgery room's speaking tube panel now has a piece of furniture leaning on it. Springiness of the padding means it will continue to automatically disconnect, and there's a further -1 external penalty to hear anything through the barrier even if a link is somehow maintained.

That interruption wasted almost an hour of work, and might cause further complications in post-surgical recovery, but probably nothing irreversible.
>>
No. 962823 ID: 343d06

rolled 3, 10, 7, 2, 2, 3, 8, 2, 5, 9, 9, 2, 3, 9, 9, 4, 1, 9, 7, 5, 5, 3, 8, 3, 3, 10, 1, 9, 7, 9, 7, 10, 1, 4, 6, 10, 6, 2, 2, 6, 9, 2, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 7, 4, 2, 2, 4, 7, 5, 2, 7, 1, 6, 7, 8 = 307

>>962180
>>962643
When the beast admits it's penchant for violence outweighs concerns for it's own life, Des frowns, and sits down on the ground about two yards away.
"Sorry, I really did think if we treated the guy like other wounded we'd have a better chance of getting it to work with us instead of against us. I would have made the wrong call, you were right to try and treat it as a prisoner."

When the unburried swordswoman gets up to leave, Desert Locust rises as well.
"Sorry Icicle, but I'm going to have to cut your conversation short for the timing being. If we've got other visitors out in the snow, I don't want to risk a distraction giving Fisto a chance to make his move. I'm putting him under for now, you can ask more questions about martial arts after the doctor lady is done doing medicine and we're relatively safe and secure.

Normally subduing a heavily injured and thoroughly restrained opponent wouldn't be needed, but something about this place has Locust on edge.

Mechanically, I imagine that'd be an attack with a called shot to incapacitate rather than harm, and to administer another dose of the Moonsilver venom so the prisoner is paralyzed.
>>
No. 962824 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 10, 2, 6, 1, 9, 2, 3, 10, 5, 2, 4, 1, 4, 4, 6, 6, 8, 5, 4 = 98

>>962815
"Oh! That sounds advent'rous, Lady Strix. Certainly worthy of observation at the very least!" You're not sure what a Sohei is. Maybe if you think about what you've read you might be able to pry more information out of well... history. But you're fairly certain you know what Lookshy is! Never been. "I would love to bear witness to this yeti you describe! You will likely find me in a room with broad stained windows and a harp, the door of which might be a little jammed... but surely a fearless mathematical genius, expert at fightin' a yeti or somesuch, has herself a key of some description to let me out?"

(Not trying to pry information about what a Sohei is because of the incredible difficulty for Patches, probably -3 from her Bureaucracy 0, but she does have Lore 3 if that's applicable. Beyond that, attempting to ask for help with Charisma 4 + Socialize 1 and the keyword Servitude.)

>>962813
While waiting for rescue, you continue to dial through channels until you get that response. The loud clunk hurts your ears badly, and you give a (now thankfully muffled on Tasnim's end) squeak and roll back on your butt. That smarts! You'll mark this room as a positive response, but a rather rude one... maybe you woke someone up who was sleeping.
>>
No. 962826 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 1, 10, 10, 4, 1, 3, 10, 6, 6, 8, 1, 8, 3, 4, 1, 1, 2, 4, 9 = 102

>>962679
>Jan Do wins Join Debate by two successes, and as such has two minutes (ticks zero and one) to act before the blood ape launches into that initial monologue.

"I see you sup at our table, and eat of our meat, though we have not yet been introduced. May I inquire, am I speaking with a careless guest or a thief in the night?"

Tick 0, Charisma 3 + Presence 2 + Stunt + 1 auto-success from the Second Presence Excellency. I'll also commit 1m to Exquisite Etiquette Style, for effective appearance 4 and an automatic read motive. Compulsion or Servitude keyword, I think. Trying to get the blood ape to make a formal apology or otherwise offer redress for the taking of food uninvited, and not following the proper rituals to request hospitality. Playing off the old traditions that taking more than your due or than is offered from hospitality imposes an obligation on the taker.

This is indented to give the blood ape the opportunity to be protected by hospitality law- at the cost of accepting an obligation to make amends for its slight. The alternative, of course, if the blood ape is not a guest who has overstepped, is that it is a thief.
>>
No. 962833 ID: ac57f8

rolled 7, 7, 2, 3, 2, 7, 8, 6, 1, 8, 10, 6, 5, 1, 3, 10, 2, 2, 7, 8, 9, 6, 8, 4, 10, 3, 10, 7, 4, 4, 4, 8, 4, 6, 8, 2, 6, 5, 5, 3, 8, 3, 8, 8, 4, 7, 6, 8, 6, 10 = 289

>>962824
"Well, it looked like an Erymanthoi sired a child with a Polar Bear, rather than a normal Yeti, but also I'm absolutely not fearless, or even much good in a fight. But I can tell you're about 20 feet from me based on that description, and I can probably get the door open."

That should probably be a compulsion keyword attack rather than a servitude, but that was something she was already going to do, so she doesn't apply her MDV to the attack as she leaves the Architect's Chambers and goes to the Music Bedroom, and places a hand on the door, and with her three glowing Emerald eyes (her Crown Chakra serving as a helpful third eye as her caste mark glows) and examines the door for any blockage, and how she could best non-destructively open it.


Int 5, Not sure what the skill is.

Posting from the discord for OOC explanation on some of the things.

I can't edit past posts, but I had misspelled Shonai as Sohei, that's my bad.

> Shonai: This enlisted class operates, maintains, administers and manages the Seventh Legion’s equipment and support personnel. They are also counted on to offer counsel, advice and solutions to support the command. Reports to chuzei, but is often called upon by officers of higher rank

Patch's lack of War would probably be the reason why she wouldn't know that it would be weird for a sorcerer-technician (minus the sorcerer part) to be doing this far north and by themselves.

Lore and Occult would probably indicate that she's a graduate from the world famous Lookshy School of Sorcery: The Valkhawsen.
>>
No. 962835 ID: ac57f8

rolled 1, 4, 5, 10, 9, 5, 3, 1, 8, 2, 1, 1, 6, 8, 6, 2, 4, 4, 4, 3, 8, 5, 2, 7, 3, 5, 5, 10, 7, 8 = 147

>>962823
"Oh no, you may have made the wrong call on the nature of the beast. But, incapacitating it right now shouldn't be necessary. Or do you believe that a heavily wounded chained enemy is dangerous enough that anyone watching them like a hawk can't put them back down if he truly does escape from the ropes?"

Rolling Manipulation 4+ Investigation 2 (Socratic Method +2) compulsion keyword social attack to convince Desert Locust that the Yeti is safe if she's watching it. She's going to spend 4 personal motes to fuel 2nd Manipulation Excellency for 8 dice+ 2 automatic successes + Stunt.
>>
No. 962909 ID: f57349

>>962826
The blood ape apologizes, somewhat reluctantly. and proposes an exchange of oaths: he to provide some narrowly-defined ongoing service (details negotiable) and otherwise trouble you no more, "may Sondok strike me down if I lie," if you in turn swear on your blade to seek and destroy a particular jade tablet so as to free his people.
>>
No. 963046 ID: f57349

>>962833
Northeast door out of the architecture studio leads to a semicircular stair down to the music room (and past a door to another bedroom, with a heavily vandalized label). Bedroom door you're interested in is labeled "Liwet Ohazia," and barricaded from the outside by a cabinet full of woodwind instruments. The cabinet is heavily enchanted, in fact actually intelligent (within a very limited scope) and capable of speech, but physically shoving it out of the way should be sufficient to access the door, which can then be trivially unlocked.
>>
No. 963156 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 10, 7, 5, 2, 4, 2, 1, 1, 8, 6, 8, 5, 10, 6, 4, 1, 5, 10, 2 = 100

>>963046

Assuming the cabinet weighs less than 550 (or however heavy she can push with Mind Hand Manipulation) pounds, Ada just pushes it out of the way, picking it up slightly so as not to scuff the floor, and unlocks the door.

She made sure to scan over the room, her eyes glowing with a burning emerald light shining spotlights on the room.

"A jolly good afternoon to you. Now if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here? Let alone as a human?"
>>
No. 963157 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 6, 2, 5, 5, 8, 9, 9, 4, 9, 8, 9, 1, 5, 1, 8, 2, 3, 3, 3 = 108

>>963156
"Lady Strix, you're the first person to call me a human! Not that I don't appreciate it, it's just usually people lead with 'freak', 'anathema-adjacent' or 'mutant', even when they're bein' polite and frien'ly and all..." Patches beams at Adamant Strix while standing up. "But the truth is I ain't exactly quite all cracked up to be there as they claim me to be, or I'd know why I'm in this place! Short of needing a plumber or a magician, can't see why anyone would abduct me when I was sleeping just softlike on my own under a tree..."

This mutant is a bountiful reserve of energy, walking up and offering a paw to shake-- taking a hand to shake herself if necessary. A picture she'd made of Strix without actually knowing what she looks like lay open in a book next to her on the floor... "So I'll just assume it's the spirit of adventurin' or somesuch which leads me in places like these, since it ain't no use fussing about how or why at this point in time. I'm sure all's for a good reason or something, right?"

After getting a handshake-- or trying to get a handshake, anyways, she goes to pick up her things and holster her Nibsplitter on her back. She wants to travel with Strix back where she came from.
>>
No. 963214 ID: dbae9d

>>963157
“Well, people that say that are pretty dumb. Except for the mutant thing, but that’s hardly a disqualification for humanity quite like being a full spirit. But, that’s a shame, since missing memories is kind of a theme right now.

“Anyway, I was mostly just looking for my tools to fix up some of the broken down everything in this place. Amazing what a few thousand years of nobody taking care of something will do when most of the time pre-shogunate stuff is damn near immune to falling apart from disuse.”

She quickly pulls out a piece of parchment and a grease pencil used in a lot of engineering capacities and jots down a quick map of the place based on her studying the geomancy and architectural model and crosses out the rockspinning room, grand hall, the dining room and sitting room, and architect’s room and the current musician bedroom.

“Those are all the places I know there aren’t tools. But, you said you knew plumbing, so we might as well grab some metal working tools and take a look at the boiler room.”
>>
No. 963240 ID: f57349

>>963214
If you're going to draw a map, include the actual map.
>>
No. 963248 ID: dbae9d
File 158765387290.jpg - (49.91KB , 602x397 , E0D5410E-2613-4637-9ED0-E38778E5646A.jpg )
963248

>>963240
Starting with the attic
>>
No. 963249 ID: dbae9d
File 158765390386.jpg - (117.41KB , 844x593 , 8F096FD7-6271-4697-AC99-436FF3495FEF.jpg )
963249

The first floor
>>
No. 963250 ID: dbae9d
File 158765396079.jpg - (92.17KB , 916x616 , F0452D8D-D5C6-4B2F-8E80-36D616D229A1.jpg )
963250

And the basement. Those are the only three floors I have, but I feel like I’m missing one.
>>
No. 963253 ID: f57349

>>963250
You're missing the second floor.
>>
No. 963257 ID: dbae9d

>>963253
Then I don’t have that map anywhere since I deleted the PDF as soon as I got those 3 maps out since I wasn’t reading carefully to avoid spoiling the module
>>
No. 963259 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 7, 7, 4, 7, 8, 9, 7, 7, 9, 2, 1, 7, 3, 2, 1, 6, 3, 3, 3 = 99

>>963214
"That was a hypothetical, Lady Strix. I mean, out in Unt'n I did plenty of work, includin' plumbin', but I don't know all that much about pre-Shogunate stuff. I mean, sure I've fiddled around and whatnot with the whozits and whatzits that make up the old machines in Whitewall, and it ain't like I'm not completely afamiliar with one of them magical-magnetical devil's boxes, but you sit me down in front of a box and I'd be scratchin' my head for hours figurin' out the ins and outs. I deal with pre-Shogunate plumbin systems that what been refurbished for lots of years, I think in all, but they're practically unrecognizable from what the originals were. They gotta be, what with the obvious cracks in the walls and the clearly different pipe materials used in different sections..."

Patches likes to talk.

"But since you mention it, there's still a lot of that ancient stuff that's still working, right? Pretty strange if you ask me. If I were in their shoes, makin' these devices, I'd give them a bit of spitshine, sure, but I ain't reckon I make a device that lasts a thousand years. Man don't live that long, so how could they predict that it'd keep so well? If you ask me, they what be time travelers or something back then, only way to explain how they made devices and materials that keep, because there ain't much other explaining beyond 'divine intervention'..."

Patches is going to keep her eye out for tools as they head to the Boiler Room-- there's no sense in not trying to help Adamant Strix on her roll to get some metalworking tools.
>>
No. 963272 ID: dbae9d

rolled 10, 10, 7, 9, 7, 1, 7, 6, 10, 10, 6, 9, 4, 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 5, 3, 3, 8, 7, 9, 1, 6, 9, 2, 4 = 190

>>963259
“Well, if you already have experience with Deliberative age plumbing from White Wall, it’s the same kind of job. Only instead of having been marred by the Shogunate to keep it going at full capacity, so probably easier.”

She would head through the crossed out spinning room into the forge room, looking around for tools that could be done to fix up any plumbing work.

“As for why all this stuff is built to last thousands upon thousands of years is because Exalts just live that long, and only a tiny handful have ever died of old age.”
>>
No. 963306 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 5, 2, 10, 1, 2, 5, 4, 2, 9, 2, 4, 4, 6, 5, 10, 5, 10, 10, 8 = 113

>>963272
"Y'all got some issue with them what Shogunate, Lady Strix?" Patches scratches her cheek. "Soundin' a bit like yoo thinkem responsible for all this or somethin'. Far as I can see all them fellers rulin Whitewall did keep em goin, which is more than I can say for them fellers that what lived for thousands of thousands of years. Far as I can tell even my da don't got no involvement in the city, not really, though everywho and podunk want their names on the city of Whitewall and say they made it who they is, right. Dynasts always comin in an out but bein real quiet like with their preachin, not that I haven't heard em talk none in the baths when they think nobody lookin, I just don't say their names cause it's all private, not my place. Then we got those Syndics run around pretendin' like they own the city, like they fixes the pipes and not us, and I ain't doin none favors tryin' to downplay their contributions and all, but it's clear that one feller got his name on the temples and they're all jus' tryin to eat somma that clout. Them Exalted fellas are the real heroes for makin the pipes in the first place, and our walls, that's what I think. Hey, wait, what side am I takin? Shoot, I think I just convinced myself otherwise."

Patches seems to have done a 180 from where she started-- she's a person very much rooted in the present, and a malleable mortal at that. She doesn't have a strong impression of gods or really any indication of their strength to one another, but she seems a little irreverent because she doesn't understand the distinction all that well either. Sure, she knows plenty from her studies and her time with her dad, but reading a bit about it in a book and hearing a few stories from her dad is really different from understanding what separates a Solar from a Lunar from a Land God.
>>
No. 963319 ID: ac57f8

>>963306
"To address your points mostly in the order they were brought up, I don't particularly have anything against the Shogunate, just that they didn't have the technical mastery necessary to do the repairs to keep the old devices running perfectly without repairs.

"Kind of like if someone built a device that turns trees into life-saving medicine, but only they understand how it works on a fundamental level. Then you kill that person, and kill all of the trees in the world. You can't properly keep it going, but you have a stockpile of wood, and you have grass and other things that don't work as well, and kind of jam up the system because it wasn't supposed to be used for that, and you don't understand how it works well enough to take it apart to un-jam it, so you need to invent solutions to fix the jam that makes the whole system work less well. Then out of nowhere 90% of all life dies and the remaining 10% are attacked by the unshaped masses of un-reality and in the fighting someone drops the machine that makes life-saving medicine from a big cliff and cracked something inside, but it's still ticking."

"That's basically how all of the pre-shogunate technology was treated, with the Shoguns not knowing how to do the minimal maintenance necessary, and inventing solutions that were more sustainable but less effective for a few thousand years, and then dying in the Great Plague and the Baloran Crusade.

"As for your other point, I'd say that the Exalted were powerful and great, rather than heros. They weren't knights in shining armor correcting every injustice by way of a shining sword. Some were, but they were more kings sitting on shining thrones shaping reality to their great whims with powers more than capable of razing all of creation into nothingness if they so chose. They were overthrown by the Dragon-Blooded for a reason, and that wasn't completely unjustified.
>>
No. 963411 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 4, 3, 3, 6, 7, 2, 7, 5, 6, 8, 6, 3, 9, 7, 10, 9, 4, 5, 3 = 110

>>963319

"Huh. Can I write this down? This would make fer a really good analogy when I tell my da' all about my adventures." Patches gives her brush a twirl and it tosses out a journal, which she grabs and starts writing in with her big brush... "Y'all really think the Exalted jerk kings? Cause you're the first to say so to me specifically, you don't mind me sayin' that stuff. I overhear things, but it ain't like I go seek out heretical knowledge on my own. Not that there ain't none wrong with heretics, I'm sure. Everyone's nice enough when yoo get to knowem, and I ain't met none fae or dead yet but we send em 12 of our citizens each a year so they can't be that bad." She sketches out a little illustration of Strix while she's at it, somewhere on the page. "...Great Plague... Baloran Crusade... raze Creation into nothin'ness on a whim..."
>>
No. 963418 ID: dbae9d

>>963411
“I wouldn’t use terms like ‘jerk’ for the ancient Solar kings. It’s more like they were capable of such enormous acts that you could scarce imagine it, since they were like humans, but infinitely more. To go to the example of a device that turns trees into medicine, they would spend a few centuries to breed the absolute perfect tree to make into the most potent medicine, but in the process breed a species of sentient beetles as self aware as any human who keep the tree alive through ritual mass death and rebirth, and neither of them would be less natural than breathing.”

“Honestly, engineering entire new species to automate processes was one of the highlights of the deliberative, but the Shogunate committed genocide on all of the Solars’ creations for fear that the Solars had programmed them to take revenge on any possible murderers, which was a not insignificant part of the reason behind the technological decline.”

“On the Fae, I say it was a whim, but that’s a bit of a lie. The Raksha don’t have souls, or emotions. They are cavernous gaping maws in the fabric of reality, but they put on masks to fake it, in a sense. One of the biggest threats to creation is the long standing grudge against creation for being hammered into consistency rather than inchoate madness like the Wyld. That was why the Solars invented all of the directional languages, and Jade currency to reinforce creation against their invasion, and built the Sword of Creation that the Scarlet Empress used to end the Baloran Crusade, and establish the Realm on the Blessed Isles.”

“And I’ll admit, I’m not entirely sure why the deal is with the dead. They were created by the murdered titans who created creation and were thus killed or imprisoned by the Exalted host, and they were studied, but results were less than conclusive.”

Patches may live to talk, but Ada loves to dump information. If she had her way, she would have to build a printing press and send out a history book with all of this information.
>>
No. 963446 ID: 0640da

rolled 10, 5, 7, 2, 7, 6, 7, 3, 8, 4, 8, 9, 5, 6, 2, 10, 1, 3, 3, 5 = 111

>>963418

Patches is writing this down furiously as Adamant Strix dictates for her... "Lemme focus this in a bit, y'all clearly know your stuff but maybe we're tryin' to swallow too many topics at once. Yoo sayin that the Raksha don't have souls or emotions? Is that conjecture, or do you have conclusive proof n all of that sorta deal? Seems like uh, a bit presumtive to be tellin some alien species from..." Patches checks her notes. "Outside creation? That their emotions and feelin's and all that don't matter none. Seems like what onna them people trying to unperson someone else would say and all."
>>
No. 963457 ID: ac57f8

>>963446
"Absolutely none of this is conjecture. A Raksha, in their most pure form, is an unimaginably large mess of essence that defines itself by it's shapelessness. They put on masks of emotions and play in elaborate games that have impossibly complex rules because when dealing with other Raksha, nothing matters. A Raksha in the depths of the Wyld can stab another Raksha to death for some perceived sleight that's in the role of mask they've donned, and the murdered party will only be dead so long as they decide to stay dead. They have a set of graces, which you could say represents the quality of their masks they put on, and they allow them to more convincingly behave like they can feel emotions, but ultimately, they feed on emotions, and buy human slaves to devour the souls of by the millions from the Guild, and then sell those emotionally and mentally dead humans back to the Guild to sell at a profit to people who need unskilled labor, or put them to work on their opium farms in the far east.

"As far as 'Out of creation' goes, that's also without any trace of either speculation or exaggeration. If you took one step outside of here, and started heading north until you passed the Elemental Pole of Air and the concept of north meant nothing anymore, you would be in a realm where the rules of creation no longer apply, and your very body would be torn apart because your un-mutable body and soul would be like a beacon of stability amongst hungry predators with a grudge against creation for being static and unchanging in their eyes.

"Of course, a lot of the actual hard information about the ultimate impossibility that was the Wyld was lost during the Usurpation. But, if you ever develop the ability to look at essence patterns, it would be quite revealing to look at a Raksha, since they are kind of like a blob with gnawing mouths all over their body, given shape in the minds of everyone looking at them according to the story they're playing."
>>
No. 963481 ID: 0640da

rolled 10, 9, 6, 3, 2, 4, 7, 3, 1, 8, 7, 9, 2, 3, 8, 6, 10, 2, 9, 5 = 114

>>963457
"Elemental... pole... unmade. Well, that's very informative-- I should probably get a Raksha's side of the story to be sure. If'n I just told my da what others told me without experiencing it for myself, can I really be said to know what I'm talkin' about? That bein said, some precautionary measures probably ought be taken' if I'm going to visit a mass of mouths that feeds on emotions, in case Lady Strix knows her stuff..." Patches isn't really making it clear if she's speaking to herself or the person she's talking to.

"Say, Lady Strix, that true what you said about the Guild? They'd really drain folks of emotions and use em to mine opium? That'n seeming a little sad, you know. I can't imagine smokin' something made with such terrible practices. Do you smoke opium? Gettin off track. It seems like somethin people would wanna know before smoking their opium and all. Is there any source of good in the Guild, or what is all their businesses like that? Ran by emotion-dead slaves?"
>>
No. 963483 ID: afdebc

rolled 8, 10, 8, 5, 2, 6, 10, 7, 8, 6, 1, 2, 9, 10, 8, 1, 5, 4, 2, 8 = 120

>>962909
>The blood ape apologizes, somewhat reluctantly. and proposes an exchange of oaths: he to provide some narrowly-defined ongoing service (details negotiable) and otherwise trouble you no more, "may Sondok strike me down if I lie," if you in turn swear on your blade to seek and destroy a particular jade tablet so as to free his people.
This draws pause from the warrior, both for the unlikely victory of polite conduct, and for the seriousness of the oath offered. Running her thumb along her blade she answers.

"On my sword, is it? No trifling oath is that; nor one I would make in haste or ignorance. But it sits ill with me to allow an injustice to fester. Pray-tell, what manner of curse afflicts your people? This is the second time today I have heard tale of this fell jade tablet, but I know naught of what ills it portains."

Trying to get additional information on the curse. Jan's leaning towards taking the deal- she's not inclined to leave a people cursed for no good reason, and the offer of service in exchange for heroic deed is something she understands. But she's not quite fool enough to agree to make a promise in ignorance- there are far too many myths of one who swears a mighty oath before understanding the terms.

Between Mastery of Small Manners and Hearing the Unspoken Word I should get a pretty good read on the story he offers.

Haven't gotten into the terms of the Blood Ape's service yet, but I think the most useful role would be as a sort of guide- we are in a foreign realm, ignorant of how we got here, and surrounded by the court of a powerful spirit. Someone who can provide information on the locals, who can provide introductions and directions, warn about local hazards, lead us from place to place- that would be invaluable. (And one advantage from the Blood Ape's perspective- that's certainly a good excuse to pick fights with those hazards in the name of doing his job).
>>
No. 963489 ID: ac57f8

>>963481
>>963481
"You could ask a Raksha their take on emotion, but you'd likely get a lie. After all, if you were an emotionless being who hungers for essence, and your very existence relied on successfully convincing both reality and yourself that you can feel emotions, have long-term goals, and behave like someone, and you've already lessened yourself from the beings in the Wyld that remain ignorant that creation even exists, and someone asked you to contradict your lie that keeps you from facing a fate alike to death, would you agree with them?

"Actually, I just thought of a nice human relevant way to describe a Raksha. Imagine if instead of fading away into nothingness when you wake up, your dreams lived a life of their own. They were no less temporary or less connected to reality, but still wholly independent of yourself. Now a being of flighty impossibility and impermanence is in a realm of permanence and cold hard reality, and reality is winning as it erodes them. To stave off that fate of being turned into one solid pattern. To fight that, they have to feed on the same ephemeral energy that makes up themselves wherever they can take it, and that typically is human souls, one piece at a time. They're not necessarily good or bad on their own, and some Raksha have played the part of a being that can feel emotions for so long that even they don't remember how to cross back over the threshold into shapelessness, but as a whole, Raksha despise creation for being everything they're not just as a dream would hate the waking world for being anathema to dreams."

"As for the Guild, they don't sell people to Raksha in order to get mindless humans who lack a Po soul or the capacity for higher thought for menial labor, they sell humans to the Raksha as slaves for impossible treasures and virtually endless wealth, the Raksha then devouring the human's dreams, virtues, and very soul, and then the Guild buys them back at a significantly lower than the Raksha bought them for, and then sell them again to people that need menial labor."

For once, she paused as she thought about how to respond to the last question.

"The question 'is there any good in the guild' is also a misleading one, since the Guild just is a group that exists with an almost untold amount of power in this fallen age, but good and bad only mean something in comparison to another situation, and the reality of economics when it's not being guided by the hands of a golden god capable of fine tuning markets for millions of miles by arranging populations and heaven itself over thousands of years is incredibly complex, but is it better to have one man of impossible power making sure that goods flow from far away locations, or a group of corrupt men who can be killed and replaced without plunging the world into a millenia long downward spiral if they overstay their hands?"
>>
No. 963498 ID: f57349

>>963483
"Once there was a great man, and like all great men he had enemies. So he came out here, fifty miles from nowhere, and built himself a little house which nobody else could see. Only, like most great men, he didn't actually want to do much of the work himself."

The demon sets that mammoth thighbone upright and mimes playing it like a cello, with the unidentifiable blade for a bow.

"So he whistled up some slaves. When they were done building and weaving, he knew if he let any of them go home, their masters would hear of his secret hideout, and if he killed a mother and her four hundred ninety-nine children in cold blood (there's never really been any other kind of blood around these mountains, not since the world was young) some shadows near the bottom of the well would hear of it just the same, which would be worse still. She was clever, to bring so many. Put him between a rock and a hard place. Instead, he carved a new law into that tablet, one which didn't let the Founders leave, and they've all hated him for it ever since. Turns out that law applies to me, too, after they called me up. Far as I know that's all a curse every really is, a law you don't like and can't get away with breaking. That's actually the reason why they called me, just to find that out - well, that and sex, which I'm the best at, 'cause Dal'sharr are all dickless. Buncha creepy smilers."

Seems to be telling the unvarnished truth, to the limits of his own understanding, and has no objection to serving as a guide or tracker. Would two months per year be enough, in increments of no less than five days?
>>
No. 963553 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 7, 1, 7, 4, 2, 10, 10, 4, 9, 9, 1, 1, 8, 8, 5, 8, 4, 5, 6 = 114

>>963489
"I don't... know." Patches has to think long and hard before she comes up with that response. "But if'n I were to make a choice of preference... I don't like corruption none. That's when what they use slaves and all to do their dirty work for them. I'd prefer if they weren't none corrupt at all... if there were some sort of golden bein' able to transfer all them goods, then they'd be pref'rble, right? But that got me thinkin a little. What if the god were corrupt, I mean? So it ain't none perfect answer to just put a god in charge. But I don't really feel none right puttin corrupt people in charge of who gets bread either! If'n there were some way to just do all that locally and not worry about havin' one group mandate all a Creation, wouldn't that be better than both the dumb alternatives you what been offerin? I know it ain't perfect, but then at least each of them groups what got interest over their community and try to do everything they can to help em, rather than the Guild dippin' its fingers in everythin'. For that matter, even though y'all mentioned jade currency bein a thing to ward off Raksha, which to be clear I ain't completely none sold on just quite yet, it seems like a step backwards cause that money keep'n some from havin' food. In my city we all got fed n sure, but Outwall nothin' not like that."

Patches taps the parchment with her pen, doodling a pretty little picture of the Guild getting chased away by a massive golden hunk flexing his muscles.

"So I guess my preference leans GOOD guys with vettin' watching over all these little communities to make sure they don't none screw themselves over and replacin' any representatives that what abuse their people. Understandin' there's gonna be conflicts, sure, and some blood may be exercised between rivals, but not lettin' em hurt noncombatants and all that whatnot. That make sense? I ain't really sure it's possible, but mortal hearts ain't exactly peaceful. We could sap them their free will, wot, but then aren't we no diff'rt from the Guild? So a representative theorcracy is, I dunno. I guess where I fall and all, and not one of them cap'tailist oligmonarchy."
>>
No. 963554 ID: dbae9d

>>963553
“Make no mistake, I’m not talking about loaves of bread and the like, I’m talking about things from distant lands that improve the quality of life, like medicine, drugs, luxury foods, all that. Creation isn’t industrialized enough to offload production of basic necessities to other places anymore, and when it was it was significantly more efficient to have one set of communities work on food 25/7 in 5 hour shifts and ship the produce all over a direction to other groups of settlements. People starving today is mostly due to things like droughts and unseasonal weather destroying crops, which didn’t happen in the first age as the Solars just commanded the weather not to do that and Heaven obliged.

“But, ultimately, the Solars did go corrupt. Or at least, their perspective was so warped and alien from having centuries of experience that corruption became indistinguishable from purity and madness the same as sanity. And so that same question had to be asked by a lot of people, and their answer was the opposite of yours, since while the scope of good that innately ‘less’ rulers could do, the same was true about absolute harm. And what followed was the second most bloody and destructive war of all time, leaving countless trillions dead, scores of species exterminated to the man, an unknowable amount of knowledge to be lost forever, and the Solars were sealed away in a jade prison and any that remained hunted down with extreme prejudice and branded Anathema to prevent them from ever rising to a position where they can do as much damage as they could have and almost had done to creation.

“And now we’re back in the world, in the long term it failed, and just as the Shogunate before the Realm and Lookshy are starting to wear out their stockpile of first age technology in internal and external conflicts while their need grows every day. So, what long has stood must fall, and what long has fallen must rise again to stop the cycle from continuing.”

“As for your actual preference, who does the vetting? If it’s a voting system, would you vote for a human who you know is no better than you, or an impossibly charming figure who can provide an honest claim to the sun personally choosing them to rule over creation, provide a quality education to the entire town and make them all able to fight like soldiers who have trained their whole lives in weeks, and just generally is more? Any vetting system you would come up with would have a hard time weeding out the chosen of the paragon of virtue, and they’ve already proven they will fall in the end.”
>>
No. 963631 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 1, 5, 7, 3, 4, 1, 1, 7, 10 = 44

>>963498
To enslave an entire people, forevermore, simply to hide. This strikes Jan Do of the Dusk Caste as the act of a coward, and not as a legacy she needs tolerate.

"I accept your offer."

Inverting her sword and taking a double-handed grip, she brings the tip of her blade down against the cold ground. "I am Jan Do, and this I do swear on my sword, the blade Dyed in Red- I will not suffer this accursed tablet to endure." As the last words leave her lips, a fell light springs up, and for just a moment, a blackened sun burns on her brow, before fading.

(Spending 1m to flare her anima, and then dismissing it shortly after).

>has no objection to serving as a guide or tracker. Would two months per year be enough, in increments of no less than five days?
Sounds good.
>>
No. 963645 ID: f57349

>>963631
The ape-demon recites a similarly solemn oath, cutting open his forearm with a claw, drawing the sigil of She-Who-Stands-In-Doorways in blood on the ground, then cracking loose a section of ice including the sigil and swallowing it whole.

Uneaten portion of the mammoth haunch is packed with clean snow, tucked back into the saddlebag, and the flap closed and secured. Mystery blade wraps around his waist like a belt, and nearly disappears beneath shaggy fur.

Assuming the first term of service is to begin immediately, he advises you to be careful not to allow anyone to channel essence into the orbs of gray glass set in many of the manse's interior walls - such light may be harmless to humans, but it burns demonic flesh like a rain of acid. Other than that, where are we headed next, boss?
>>
No. 963773 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 10, 6, 3, 5, 6, 10, 9, 5, 10, 6, 7, 3, 4, 7, 1, 2, 9, 2, 7 = 118

>>963554
"...now, this might sound crazy, but what if... wait for it... physics determined if you were good or bad or what? I know I know. Mathy stuff. But I don't mean none like math. I mean like... a points based system, yeah? And it goes 'does this improve sommat's wellbein', and if so then it gives it points, but if it was bad or whatnot it'd be 'nah', ain't that a plum pickled herrin', you don't get to do that none cause it violates the rules of bein as good as you give out an takin what reap be sowed'. Know what I'm saying? You get that, and you bunch it up, and you don't let none people interfere with it, just some sort a cold, amoral machine doin all the figgirin out. And then you make a machine, or do some magic, and have it watch the machine and let everyone know it ain't being tampered, but... darn, no, that's a nestin problem. This is hard. Can't we just rewrite physics?" Patches is really troubled by this.

"I guess if I can't rewrite physics I don't think votin' worked out all that well for the uneducated man. Seems like the only thing that worked well fer us mortals was killin a god, if'n you believe what you're preachin. So maybe a system where we just kill gods? I... iunno, Lady Strix. This is hard stuff."
>>
No. 963782 ID: dbae9d

>>963773
“Yes, this is an incredibly difficult thing to answer since reality isn’t set up with an objectively correct answer, and even the closest thing we have isn’t one of the Shinma that defines things by its opposition. So you can’t take an action and objectively measure how much it resonates with the concept of goodness, or how little it resonates with the absolute lack of it.

“As for rewriting physics, that was one of the things that led to the Usurpation. A great Solar Sorcerer by the name of Salina spent almost uncountable resources over decades with the help of the entire Deliberative and altered physics so that anyone who develops their essence sufficiently can learn sorcery by going through its trials. The act itself wasn’t what played a big role in the usurpation, but the fact that pushing it could have easily destroyed creation, so something needed to be done to stop anyone else from making destructive changes.”
>>
No. 963832 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 8, 1, 10, 2, 2, 3, 9, 2, 6, 8, 9, 3, 2, 3, 8, 2, 9, 2, 5 = 103

>>963645
>be careful not to allow anyone to channel essence into the orbs of gray glass set in many of the manse's interior walls - such light may be harmless to humans, but it burns demonic flesh like a rain of acid
A useful warning- especially as Jan Do is not sure whatever ethereal judge of the light would consider her companions or herself worthy. The Immaculate Order dose teach that anathema are demons.

>Other than that, where are we headed next, boss?
"Inside, I should introduce you to my companions. Tell me, are you acquainted with a martial artist by the name of 'Fisato'?"

Headed back towards the Grand Salon as we talk.
>>
No. 963834 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 8, 10, 10, 2, 10, 10, 6, 5, 2, 4, 9, 6, 3, 8, 3, 9, 10, 1, 10 = 134

>>963782
"Woah, woah, wait a moment, Lady Strix. Hold em up. You're telling me I, me, I could learn sorcery. Go around an', I dunno, shoot lightnin' out of my fingertips or something. Be a wizard. All I have to do is develop this 'essence' stuff and bingo, I'm a sorce'ror an all?" Patches' eyes shoot wide. "Heck, I could even stop doin' this plumbin' nonsense? I mean I'm good at it, I don't hate it none, but I been a plumber most of my life, when I ain't doin one of my other jobs or marryin' a prince or gettin embroiled in assassination plots an all. I thought adventurin' was a good idea, but Sorcery? Heck, that sounds like a great new adventure."
>>
No. 963836 ID: dbae9d

>>963834
“Oh no, anyone could learn to shoot lightning out of their hands by learning to ask air to do that. It would be a lot easier and a lot quicker than sorcery, especially since it’s extra hard for humans.

“No, Sorcery, even the limited grasp that most gods, humans, and even the dragonblooded Exalts can grasp would be casting open every door for miles, shaping the earth more quickly and precisely than a thousand skilled earthmovers, commanding ships to sail on clouds as though they were the seas. And it is an incredibly useful skill, you just need to refine your essence until it’s as strong as your mortal body can take before it burns away and you become a god, and pass the 5 trials of sorcery.”
>>
No. 963837 ID: 0640da

rolled 7, 10, 5, 1, 6, 6, 10, 7, 10, 1, 2, 1, 1, 8, 8, 1, 8, 2, 6, 3 = 103

>>963836
Patches lifts a finger and kind of opens and closes her mouth a few times, before her whole face scrunches up. "Five trials? I don't want to burn up and die so a god can take my place none, pretty sure my da would be sad if her daughter burned up and died from uh, essence. What's an essence?"

Patches resolves to start talking more to the wind, now that she knows it's listening. Maybe she could introduce herself and become its friend?
>>
No. 963838 ID: dbae9d

>>963837
“That is a REALLY complex question. The simplest way to put it is that essence is energy. But more than that, it’s the fundamental building block that makes up everything. In this case specifically, you need to take the essence that makes up the very core of your being, and build on its quality, generally through months of quiet meditation and an ascetic lifestyle.

“And becoming a god isn’t the result of failing the trials of sorcery, that would just be not passing the threshold and becoming a sorcerer. Becoming a god happens because the human body is designed to contain a relatively weak essence pattern as a trade off for being capable of sapience at a weaker essence pattern, so when you cultivate your mind and essence to the point where a god would be sapient, your spirit is too strong for your body to contain, so you stop having a body since it’s not necessary for anything anymore, and the only thing that is left is your spirit, which then is a god.

“To use a metaphor, think of your body like a wooden hut, and your essence like a fire on the hearth. The house helps to shield the fire from the polar winds and the fire warms the wooden house. As your essence grows, the fire gets hotter and larger, until at some point the house is holding the fire back, and is too small to contain the fire, so the house burns down and the fire rages eternal, fueled by the essence of the world. In essence, that fire is the real you, and your frail and prone to dying human body is the house.”
>>
No. 963845 ID: 9ff028

rolled 4, 5, 4, 7, 6, 4, 10, 8, 7, 1, 4, 10, 10, 6, 6, 6, 2, 2, 4, 6, 2, 8, 3, 7, 9, 8, 4, 8, 6, 8, 3, 7, 3, 4, 1, 8, 2, 8, 5, 4, 10, 1, 5, 9, 7, 6, 1, 9, 5, 2, 7, 4, 4, 1, 7, 9, 2, 9, 3, 4 = 325

>>962823
A painless jab of the foot incapacitates the prisoner before Des can register the Fox's request- "Icicle Maiden" attempts to intervene, looking to knock Desert Locust on her ass and admonish her, but the chitinous exalt flips smoothly away, dropping into a defensive crouch out of reach.

"You okay over there Icicle Maiden? I can't help but notice you're asking me to avoid knocking out someone who wants to hurt us, then getting a little pushy about it. I didn't hear you quite early enough to stop myself, and I do feel bad, but you're making me a little nervous."

Mechanically, rolling join debate:

Wits three, awareness three, stunt. Maybe other stuff is relevant- I don't remember exactly what rules might differ for join debate vs join battle.
>>
No. 963848 ID: 0640da

rolled 10, 6, 8, 6, 3, 7, 3, 9, 1, 10, 4, 10, 1, 7, 8, 6, 3, 1, 9, 2 = 114

>>963838
"Ohhh... Essence is this stuff, then?" Patches focuses, and breathes deep... before channeling her essence into the nearest structure with a strike of her palm. Pure white, snowy energy radiates from her like a glowstick, outlining her very clearly. "My da taught me to do this... not much else! I weren't sure what quite how to use it for... but yoo are sayin this here is my spirit and all? ...I don't gotta worry about burnin up, right?" Patches pulls back her palm now, shaking her paw because it hurts a little bit.

Patches is spending four motes and pushing it into the manse around her, but because of a mutation her essence (which, due to being godblooded, may or may not have a form) is now a small, candle-bright glow that is visible around her.
>>
No. 963896 ID: ac57f8

>>963848

"Yes and no, since like I said that's a super over-simplified way to put the whole thing. But you are right that that's the essence that your soul produces, and unlike most humans you have enough of it to actually use it.

"And while you don't need to worry about your own power burning you unless you use it in some really extreme martial arts that do burn you as a side effect, you don't need to worry about growing too powerful and dying, that’s normally relegated to people making a super dangerous first push to getting where you already are. You do need to worry about literal fire though. That will still hurt you."

"But, since you showed yours, I suppose I might as well show you mine" As she said that, Ada spends 1 mote to flair her anima to the 4-7 layer, a hellish green glow emanating from her, her caste mark of a pure white orb half filled in and with a flame inside emblazoned on her forehead even through the glow of her essence sight, clearly a stylized version of the mark of the Unclean anathema. The light, while no brighter, was definitely thicker and denser than the God-Blooded’s glow, like a blizzard vs a fog. The light reaching out to match the hand-shake, and feels like a more firm handshake than before.
>>
No. 963907 ID: f57349

rolled 6, 3, 6, 4, 6, 1 = 26

Jan Do, Desert Locust, and Clever Fox are back in the Grand Salon. The blood ape following Jan asks who has custody of that prisoner tied to one of the pillars, and without waiting for a response, challenges whoever it is to arm-wrestling - in mechanical terms, a quick contest of Strength + Larceny, similar enough to a feat of strength for the Full Moon anima to be applicable - with the aforesaid prisoner and a 'magic whip' as the stakes.

Meanwhile, Adamant Strix is in the boiler room, disappointed with the shortage of good plumbing-specific tools. Patches is fifteen yards away to the south-southeast, rooting through a disorganized cabinet in the smithy, and about to be stabbed in the kidney with a chisel. I'm rolling Dex + Stealth for the sneak attack, you should roll Perception + Awareness to notice it in time, and Valor to avoid panicking from the blood ape's shouted challenge (relayed through the speaking tubes) which the attack was timed to coincide with.
>>
No. 963911 ID: f57349

>>963907
Looks like that's a botch. No effective stabbing actually occurs; a chisel drops into one of the god-blood's back pockets, but when she turns to see who put it there, there's only a pile of jumbled spare robo-butler parts on the floor.
>>
No. 963913 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 4, 6, 3, 5, 5, 3, 1, 8, 5, 4, 7, 9, 6, 7, 9, 5, 6, 3, 1 = 103

>>963911
>>963907
Patches lets out a squeak when she hears a loud roar, and then she attempts to keep it together. The chisel, now nicely situated in her coat-pocket, does not help her relax. At all. She did not put a chisel in her pocket.

Patches rolls Valor 5, with no other modifications, to not suffer penalties from being near her phobia (of loud noises). This isn't channeling Valor, no Willpower is spent. ((If necessary, remaining dice are used for a Wits+Awareness check, with or without penalty from Phobia applied.))
>>
No. 963914 ID: 0640da

>>963913
*With a Perception of 2 and an Awareness of 1, adding in the penalty from her Phobia, Patches probably has no idea what's going on. Sorry for the Wits+Awareness typo.*
>>
No. 963915 ID: f57349

>>963913
Failed the roll, but getting away from that noise is as simple as slapping the speaking tube controls to disconnect, so you're basically fine after taking a few moments to catch your breath.

The forge badly needs to be cleaned and organized, but most tools one might want for working metal do seem to be present. Overall the space is the same size and shape as the music room at the other end of the manse. Pottery studio upstairs, kiln cleverly arranged to take advantage of furnace output rather than wasting heat up the chimney. Bellows pump under their own power when you channel essence into them - shame that doesn't actually move much air, since the leather part is badly torn. Altogether, a master's workshop for Craft (Fire), pending routine maintenance.

Southwest corner, rather than another bedroom, is a steel-barred cell. Manacles stapled to the wall have the distinctive glint of orichalcum, swirled together with... something else.
>>
No. 963920 ID: ac57f8

rolled 4, 1, 4, 2, 5, 7, 1, 1, 5, 4, 10, 1, 8, 3, 3, 3, 7, 1, 7, 1, 9, 8, 10, 2, 10, 2, 3, 9, 7, 2 = 140

>>963845
"I had been aiming to make it so you wouldn't forget the lesson to not act in haste and make decisions that impact other people without asking unless you're afraid of at least some retribution. I'd imagine you probably won't forget it."

>>963907
"That depends on one thing, what's the catch?
After all, I imagine you wouldn't want to risk something expensive and difficult to make like a magic whip unless you were either incredibly sure of the fact you'd win, or the prisoner is someone important to you, or more likely both."

Fox examines to make sure that the blood ape doesn't lie to her by way of a read intentions roll, turning her heightened senses to search for markers of nervousness that anyone who hasn't trained to lie well has, like elevated heart rate, a tell of some kind.

Perception 3+Investigation 2+Stunt
>>
No. 963921 ID: ac57f8

rolled 1, 7, 2, 1, 7, 10, 3, 2, 2, 7, 1, 1, 5, 3, 8, 5, 3, 3, 9, 4, 8, 6, 5, 7, 2, 7, 1, 2, 5, 1, 4, 9, 6, 10, 1, 3, 5, 7, 1, 10 = 184

>>963915

Alright, mental note of what needs to be done, in relative order.

Organize the forge room
Fix the Bellows (Learn enough Craft (Water) to tan an appropriate replacement. Maybe see if it's possible to fix rather than replace.)
Do general maintenance on everything that sorting out doesn't help fix right out.

Well, she might as well get to work on the first part, growing angry at her lack of progress on finding the right tools anywhere to do anything she wanted. So, she cracked her knuckles and starts using her mind-hands and her normal hands to start getting everything sorted and in its place just to keep busy and maybe learn something new.

As she did start doing the work of at least more than 1 person at sorting this whole place (not sure what skill attribute combo that would be) she does turn a quick bit of essence sight to the chains to confirm what she already thinks about them, considering that it's a place where only supernatural people would have ever set foot, the manacles would need to be built for supernatural people.

Int 5+Occult 4+Stunt
>>
No. 963923 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 4, 2, 5, 7, 6, 8, 4, 7, 2, 3, 6, 1, 4, 7, 2, 8, 2, 3, 10 = 95

>>963915
After calming down a little and getting a better look, Patches is delighted. She picks up some of the metalworking tools, swinging them a few times experimentally to get used to their heft, and then starts getting to work on maintenance right away. She lacks the leather to do a good job on the bellows, and she's not really that organized so there's no hope in trusting her to tidy up, so it's time to just look over her tools and clean them off, inspecting for damage and wiping away centuries of dust off nearby surfaces. She makes a big mess and starts sneezing as she tries to figure this out...

Rolling for standard maintenance of the room, not including repairing the bellows-- Craft (Fire) 2 and Intelligence 4, maybe? Otherwise, Perception 2.

"Hey, Miss Strix? Can I draw that mark thing I what saw on yoo not long before?" They're still glowing, I mean. "Seems kinda special n all."
>>
No. 963959 ID: f57349

>>962815
>I'm actually super curious about the mechanics of how this works out from a mathematical perspective out of character when factoring complex fuckery.
Imagine a simplified system with two knobs and four panels, A, B, C, and D. When panel A has both knobs pushed in, which is to say it's set to {0,0}, it connects only to itself - which is to say it's effectively disconnected from the rest of the network. Setting A to {0,1} connects to B, {1,0} connects to C, and {1,1} connects to D. Therefore, setting panel A to {0.5,1} connects partially to B and partially to D - and if you flip panel A from {0.5,1} directly to {1,0} with just the right timing, you can exploit the spring-loaded switchboard mechanism that normally resolves ambiguous connections, 'tricking' panels B and D into connecting fully to each other without touching either.
>>
No. 963985 ID: f57349

>>963920
He seems fairly confident in being able to out-wrestle somebody on the grounds that his arm's approximately the size of your entire body. Also, doesn't like that whip very much, might be looking for an excuse to get rid of it.

>>963921
Pyrian excellency and Savant background are both, separately, ideally suited to restoring order to a trashed first age workshop, and their benefits are cumulative. It's like watching a tornado in reverse, tools and spare parts swirl around until everything lands in it's proper place. Bellows can be partially disassembled to extract the damaged portion, might be possible to stitch up the tear and seal it airtight by mundane means but a casting of Incantation of Effective Restoration would be better.

Manacles are indeed an artifact designed for restraining essence users. In addition to supernatural durability, looks like they'd steadily drain motes and disrupt the focus needed to activate most charms.

>>963923
With the forge sorted out, you can get to work restoring the actual bath. Circular room directly north of the boiler has a green tiled floor and fresco walls which once depicted trees and shrubs, now obscured by mildew.

There are actually three pools: centrally located one is twelve feet in diameter, while two others, a foot higher and partially overlapping to the northeast and southeast, are each eight feet in diameter. Wall behind the northern pool has a scene of icebergs and distant mountains, and the bottom lined with unmelting ice that provides an eerie blue glow, while the southern is decorated like a tropical beach with actual sand in the basin. Overflow from hot and cold sections would feed the temperate 'forest pool' in the middle.

That pattern of three overlapping circles, with those specific relative sizes and positions, has something to do with the alchemical nature of water, and in this case it also forms a chevron pointing west from near the western edge of the manse, so whoever designed the place clearly knew their stuff... but then why is there mildew growing on the walls, and corrosion clogging the brass spigots? Harmonious essence flows normally prevent that sort of thing, unless there's some broader esoteric maintenance requirement that's being neglected.

Regardless, clearing sediment from the boiler, unclogging pipes, replacing spigots (fortunately there's a whole bin of spare parts), sharpening an axe to fetch firewood from the attic (?), and generally getting the baths in working order is all reassuringly familiar, straightforward work, but it'll be well past dawn before you're done.
>>
No. 963990 ID: f57349

>>963259
> "But since you mention it, there's still a lot of that ancient stuff that's still working, right? Pretty strange if you ask me. If I were in their shoes, makin' these devices, I'd give them a bit of spitshine, sure, but I ain't reckon I make a device that lasts a thousand years. Man don't live that long, so how could they predict that it'd keep so well? If you ask me, they what be time travelers or something back then, only way to explain how they made devices and materials that keep, because there ain't much other explaining beyond 'divine intervention'..."
Even in the modern day, dragon-blooded can and do slap around lesser gods the way a mortal might discipline an unruly dog. One of the main teachings of the Immaculate Faith is that the Anathema once bossed around dragon-blooded much the same way. It follows quite logically that divine intervention was not in short supply.
>>
No. 964007 ID: afdebc

rolled 8, 5, 2, 5, 5, 8, 6, 10, 7, 8, 7, 3, 7, 5, 7, 5, 7, 9, 8, 5 = 127

>>963907
While this turn of events is frustrating, Jan Do cannot fault her guide's actions. To try and rescue a comrade is the honorable course of action, and issuing a formal challenge (instead of attacking anyone) does not violate the horned ape's oath to serve as a guide. A challenge accepted is not unwarranted violence against a travelling companion or host.

After the initial impassioned declaration and pause, the Peacebringer steps into the awkwardness and introduces their new guide to her travelling companions, and vice versa. "Are either of you willing to answer this challenge? Your claims in this matter are greater than my own." Desert Locust was, after all, the victor who had bested the yet in combat and Shining Icicle Maiden had sought to become the prisoner's warden.
>>
No. 964009 ID: 5f0ee2

rolled 8, 7, 5, 9, 9, 9, 3, 8, 1, 9, 6, 7, 4, 9, 6, 3, 2, 9, 8, 4, 9, 10, 3, 1, 10, 5, 1, 6, 2, 2, 9, 10, 1, 1, 9, 8, 9, 8, 7, 4, 10, 6, 2, 3, 4, 10, 8, 5, 8, 2, 2, 5, 10, 10, 6, 4, 6, 9, 4, 1 = 356

>>963907
>The blood ape following Jan asks who has custody of that prisoner tied to one of the pillars, and without waiting for a response, challenges whoever it is to arm-wrestling - in mechanical terms, a quick contest of Strength + Larceny, similar enough to a feat of strength for the Full Moon anima to be applicable - with the aforesaid prisoner and a 'magic whip' as the stakes.

"A magic whip seems less than helpful to us currently, whereas keeping known threats bound and incapacitated is very much in our best interest. I'm glad you seem interested in talking things out, but I've got no interest in your proposal. I don't suggest you try to take me by force either, unless you've got friends in this room willing to help you, in which case he's all yours, no desire to get the shit kicked out of me for fistos sake. Might feel more comfortable if there were some assurance this wouldn't break bad for us, or if there was something on the table that met immediate needs."
Des scratches her head, looking pensive for a second.
"Would probably help if I could articulate what we actually need, but to be honest I'm not too sure right now. Kinda lost in a weird mansion stuck in a blizzard right now, so if you've got anything to help out there, that'd be appreciated."

Mechanically... inviting the blood ape to join debate I guess? Des and Fox never got their join rolls established so I'm not sure where we are in the tick order, so just have some dice, use 'em as needed.
>>
No. 964026 ID: ac57f8

rolled 9, 4, 10, 4, 7, 3, 1, 6, 4, 9, 7, 2, 7, 8, 4, 2, 4, 5, 9, 7, 5, 7, 6, 9, 3, 8, 9, 1, 9, 7 = 176

>>963985
> Manacles are indeed an artifact designed for restraining essence users. In addition to supernatural durability, looks like they'd steadily drain motes and disrupt the focus needed to activate most charms.

So 4 dot Manacles of Night from Oadenol's Codex?

> Harmonious essence flows normally prevent that sort of thing, unless there's some broader esoteric maintenance requirement that's being neglected.

Ada Grumbles as she has no way of knowing what exactly the precise issues could be, but she was going to need to do a lot of work already, and she couldn't help but try and do the conceptual calculations for what that could be in her head as to what exactly could cause the build-up of limestone as she did the otherwise mundane work, but she knew that was mostly a moot point until she attuned to the building herself, and could feel the essence flows around her.

Also, Ada is going to spend 3 exp on finishing buying off the 2nd purchase of First Pyrian Excellency.

EXP count (including this post) 13/27 EXP Debt 0
>>
No. 964046 ID: ac57f8

rolled 5, 7, 4, 8, 4, 7, 8, 7, 1, 3, 8, 10, 5, 6, 8, 5, 7, 1, 8, 3 = 115

>>963985
"That's a tempting offer, and on my honor, both as the warden of the prisoner and as someone who prides herself as skilled at arm wrestling, I'm implored to take up your offer. After all, you should be a fine enough teacher even if I lose."

She offers her hand, and as soon as the match begins, her arm immediately swells and turns into a talloned paw as she takes the form of a snow lion, contorted with the natural flexibility of a cat and the immense strength behind her in the instant that she was shapeshifting eclipsing even the strongest of Blood Apes, and pushing herself as hard as her muscles can go with reckless abandon.

Dice:

Str 9+Larceny 0+Stunt + WP for 1 auto-success
>>
No. 964158 ID: f57349

rolled 5, 2, 9, 2, 10, 3, 2, 9, 8, 5, 7, 8, 10, 3, 10 = 93

>>964026
>4 dot Manacles of Night from Oadenol's Codex?
Technically predating that book, but yes.
>>964046
The blood ape twitches and snarls with incoherent hatred, twisting his wrist for better leverage as acrid smoke rises from talons wrapped around the paw of what is, unmistakably, some type of cat.

Strength 6, Larceny 3, channeling Conviction.
>>
No. 964164 ID: f57349

Blood ape wins the arm-wrestling contest with four threshold successes, flipping the moose-sized snow lion cub over onto her side.

Everybody with at least three dots in Occult, or any specialized training at all in demonology, will recall that erymanthoi hate cats more than anything, and have difficulty calming down after battle without at least a small taste of blood.
>>
No. 964373 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 8, 3, 7, 4, 8, 9, 4, 10, 3, 10, 5, 1, 6, 3, 9, 6, 4, 10, 8, 2, 4, 4, 6, 4, 7, 2, 5, 2, 1 = 162

>>964164
In moments the samurai stands above the stricken feline, before the enraged Erymanthus. One hand on the hilt of her sword, tense but not yet drawn, and in the other, a bared dagger. Deliberately, she places the blade against the shoulder of the great cat and then drags it across her hide, drawing forth an offering of blood.

"Enough! You have your victory. The prisoner is yours- claim your prize."

So that's a two-action flurry.

That's a called shot with a dagger, against a prone opponent, pulling the blow to do as little damage as possible while still making Fox bleed. Dex 5 + Melee 5 + Specialty 3 + Stunt - Multiple action penalty 2 if we're rolling that / if Fox tries to apply DVs, with an external penalty of -1 for pulling blows, I think.

Followed by a Compulsion-keyword social attack against the blood ape, to back down before this turns into a fight, augmented with an offering of blood from the hated cat to try and sate its bloodlust. Charisma 3 + Presence 2 + Stunt -multiple action 3, Jan will channel Temperance for 5 more dice (she's advocated self control- it should apply), plus 1 auto-success from the Second Presence Excellency. Mastery of Small Manners is up, which makes her effective appearance 4, and provides a non-specific bonus towards following hospitality (which in this case, would mean not attempting to murder one of the blood ape's hosts, or overstepping the terms of the challenged arm wrestling). On the other side, the blood ape has an intimacy of hatred for cats boosting its MDVs, but Jan tried to invoke the prisoner- hoping a possible intimacy towards that creature might offset that. Might be a more potent virtue or motivation boosting its MDVs regardless. The Blood Ape is also likely under an Emotion effect, which will reduce its pools when not acting on that emotion.

All in all, not the best odds, but this may the best chance to salvage this before swords are drawn.
>>
No. 964407 ID: f57349

>>964373
Can't normally combine personal-combat and social-combat actions in the same flurry like that... but it is (just barely) possible to pray during personal combat time, and appeasing a spirit with offerings of blood clearly qualifies, even if the individual to whom you're praying happens to already be physically present. Only problem (apart from the obvious potential complications of stabbing an ally) is that would be a Performance-based roll, rather than Presence.
>>
No. 964586 ID: f57349

rolled 5, 7, 3, 6, 9, 10 = 40

Okay, regardless of whether it's an argument or an actual brawl, this situation is tense enough to warrant paying attention to the timing. Fisto's tied up and drugged, but everyone else in the Grand Salon (Jan Do, Desert Locust, and Clever Fox) should roll initiative. I'm rolling for the yet-unnamed blood ape hireling, Wits 3 + Awareness 3, not bothering to stunt it.
>>
No. 964589 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 10, 5, 8, 6, 5 = 45

>>964586
Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt, if whatever I last posted carries through. Doesn't really make sense to take another action.
>>
No. 964602 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 6, 8, 1, 1, 10, 7, 6, 6, 6 = 54

>>964586
Clever Fox started rolling the second she lost the arm wrestling contest. She had her plan to go ahead and dodge out of the way of any harm, which was coincidentally out of the way of the blade coming to try and blood-let her, quickly the feline transformation fading back into her 'true' form, with elaborate sashes, flowing sleeves, and an ivory comb in her hair.

Within a second she was in the air, and violence had started. Since, by all accounts, she hadn't violated the letter or even spirit of the challenge, and the Blood Ape had violated a binding agreement and gone into a murderous frenzy, she had a hunch that Jan's code of honor wouldn't let the demon live, and if it died, then he wouldn't be able to take possession of the prisoner, so nothing lost, and nobody would have the magic whip, so a net gain just as if she had won.

That just relied on everyone being capable of murdering the aggressor.

Dice:

Perception 3+Awareness 3+Stunt (2?)
>>
No. 964603 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 8, 3, 1, 8, 5, 4, 3, 1, 6, 3, 8, 5, 10, 7, 9, 2, 9, 10, 10, 5, 3, 6, 6, 10, 4, 10, 2, 8, 6, 6, 9, 9, 6, 10, 3, 4, 1, 4, 8, 5, 5, 3, 10, 4, 7, 10, 5, 9, 10, 8, 8, 1, 9, 3, 9, 8, 8, 2, 6 = 368

Seeing the new guide read to kill Icicle, Icicle ready to kill the guest, and Jan Do ready to pull a knife, Locust tries to intervene and give the nice lady with the nasty sword a chance not to use it.

Rolling to join... Whatever it is we're joining, and using Worldly Illusion.

That's five personal motes spent on Worldly Illusion, putting Des at 19/24 personal, 30/48 peripheral (18 committed) and 9/10 WP which I'd like to restock with a stunt reward if this counts.

Mechanically Join pool is Wits 3, Awareness 3, stunt.
>>
No. 964618 ID: f57349

rolled 7, 7, 10, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 10, 10, 9 = 93

>>964602
>the Blood Ape had violated a binding agreement and gone into a murderous frenzy
No, so far he's just growling at you in a feral sort of threat display and pinning your arm to the floor. Jan's the one pulling a knife. Roll (Strength or Dexterity) + Martial Arts for the clinch, at -2 if you're going for a two action flurry of grappling + shapeshifting. May also want to consider a rise-from-prone action at some point, since you lost at arm-wrestling hard enough to get knocked down. Blood ape has Strength 6, MA 4, an applicable +1 specialty, bought a success with the second excellency, and once again isn't even bothering to stunt.
> Perception
Should be Wits, which is only 2 for Clever Fox.
>>964603
Fox and the hired guide are both acting on tick 0, Des on tick 2, Jan on tick 6. Worldly Illusion can target four people apart from the user, so who are you bringing in to the timeout?
>>
No. 964623 ID: d9acdc

>>964618
Worldly Illusion includes Jan Do, Clever Fox, Blood Ape, Desert Locust... and let's also say Flea Upon the Flank of Pasiap. Deliberately not including the prisoner, although being unconscious might prevent participation anyways.
Since the antagonist needs a name, how about Floating Ribbon?
>>
No. 964630 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 8, 3, 1, 9, 6, 6, 4, 9, 5, 10, 2, 10, 3, 5, 7, 10, 7, 8, 10 = 126

>>964618
> Should be Wits
Sorry, that one is My B.

> Grapple
First of all. Fuck. Second of all, FUCK. Third of all, the Lion form, even if it is weaker than a fully grown lion cub, is more than stronger than the overgrown ape, and she's a better fighter. Her body twists and writhes in un-natural shapes as she starts to shrink and shift into a more humanoid shape, but as she does she uses all of her strength to break the hold of the Ape, her fluid form turning the otherwise ironclad grip into something she could hopefully deal with.

Strength 9+Martial Arts 5+Stunt (2?)+Valor 3-Multiple Action Penalty 2 for 17 dice
>>
No. 964633 ID: f57349

rolled 6 = 6

>>964630
Ten successes against fifteen, blood ape twists Clever Fox's arm around behind her and yanks at her snowy mane with his off hand, grinding horns against painfully contorted shoulderblades. In mechanical terms, two threshold successes to restrict the torso (applying a -12 internal penalty to her dodge DV and next grapple check), one to the right arm/foreleg (-6 dice to actions using that limb), one to limiting the range of motion of her neck, and one to crush - looks like soak reduces that to minimum damage, but thanks to Bane Weapon that one die is aggravated.

Not much else of significance can happen before tick 2, so Santova should describe the cosmetic effects of the time stop.
>how about Floating Ribbon?
The blood ape responds to this proposal with a look of confusion; Jan Do could use the reflexive motivation-reading from Mastery of Small Manners to note that he considers the name insufficiently macho, and will dislike the "magic whip" even more than he did before if he finds out that's what such weapons are formally called.

After a few deep breaths, he gives Clever Fox some awkward backhanded praise, claiming that if she hadn't "stopped being a cat," he would have been in some sense obligated or compelled to extract and consume all, or at least most, of her bone marrow, which he suspects his new boss (Jan Do) would have disapproved of. He claims not to want such a thing to happen, but frames the possibility as if he lacked any personal agency.
>>
No. 964662 ID: 343d06

rolled 3, 8, 10, 1, 5, 2, 3, 8, 5, 8, 7, 3, 1, 4, 8, 5, 1, 8, 3, 4, 4, 6, 9, 4, 10, 4, 1, 8, 8, 8, 10, 1, 7, 9, 7, 1, 1, 1, 8, 2, 10, 9, 8, 3, 4, 3, 10, 3, 3, 8, 9, 4, 2, 4, 10, 6, 5, 2, 10, 4 = 323

>>964633
The party finds themselves no longer in hearthstone room of a cold, twisted manse, but instead upon the hide of a great beast, too large to comprehend. Their fingers sink easily into it's flesh, and the pulse of blood flowing beneath the surface is as natural as respiring essence, encouraging all to drink through their skin, growing fat and bloated on power.
"How's 'Feasts on Lions Torment' fit your fancy then?"

Mechanically, I suppose I'll aim, waiting until Jan Do's tick to try and act simultaneously in support of her, doing the whole coordinated action thing. I forget what dice pools that requires, and would appreciate someone explaining how it work again if it's not frustrating to do so.
>>
No. 964818 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 5, 7, 8, 1, 3, 4, 7, 5, 7, 9, 1, 4, 3, 5, 7, 3, 7, 10, 6 = 104

>>964633
>he would have been in some sense obligated or compelled to extract and consume all, or at least most, of her bone marrow, which he suspects his new boss (Jan Do) would have disapproved of. He claims not to want such a thing to happen, but frames the possibility as if he lacked any personal agency.
"Indeed I would. Is the matter settled then? You are the victor in this contest, and custody of the prisoner is yours.

"What are your intentions regarding Fisato? If you intend to release the yeti, I must require you to either escort your prisoner home, or accompany them to the perimeter for guard duty. Unlike yourself, we have no accord with them, and I will not trust my companion's safety to the unrestrained whims of an Infernal Monster."

Just meant as dialog, but if dice are needed for social combat, have some.

>How about stationing the demonic goons out front as guards, and moving the food cache to the cold storage room in the basement, instead of bait for wandering monsters where it currently is?
>Stationing them out front as guards means they'll be more likely to get in a fight with some subsequent wave of intruders, rather than, say, already-wounded PCs.

>>964373
So it looks like the join battle and impromptu wrestling match interrupted Jan before she could do her bloodletting or make her plea- so I get that 2m for the Presence Excellency and the Temperance channel back, as they were never spent in the first place. Stunt award from join battle is another 4m restocked.
>>
No. 964876 ID: f57349

>>964818
Guard duty outside sounds good - sooner away from this place the better. He also says you should probably bring all that meat to the cold storage room in the pantry before it attracts more trouble. Heard there's a fighting pit down there somewhere, too, complete with some sort of demon-safe lights, if you want a rematch.
>>
No. 965035 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 3, 2, 5, 8, 9, 4, 6, 1, 8, 6, 3, 7, 10, 1, 10, 4, 4, 1, 6, 7, 9, 3, 4, 10, 8, 6, 9, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 10, 5, 2, 9, 10, 8, 2, 4, 3, 2, 9, 10, 5, 9, 2, 7, 6, 6, 1, 6, 2, 3, 8, 7, 2, 3 = 336

>>964876
"You really wanna drag Fisto, maker of bad decisions, out into a blizzard while he's paralyzed and unconscious? Given that both of you have all but admitted you'd come out swinging if given a chance, I don't really like the idea of pairing you two up alone and out of ear shot. Doesn't this strike you as a needless risk boss lady? I don't really want a mob of white haired demon baring down on us, especially when this cursed mansion is so inviting and totally safe to run around in."

Charisma two, performance zero, stunt bonus, and a WP expenditure for an automatic success.
>>
No. 965131 ID: f57349

>>965035
>You really wanna drag Fisto, maker of bad decisions, out into a blizzard while he's paralyzed and unconscious?
"Given that he's immune to cold, but obviously not to all the dangerous stuff in here, yes I do want that."
>>
No. 965219 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 7, 1, 7, 2, 3, 3, 5, 9, 3, 3, 9, 3, 2, 8, 4, 4, 9, 2, 6 = 100

>>965035
Jan Do raises one eyebrow in the direction of her concerned carapace'd companion.

"If you are concerned with either departing and seeking reinforcements, would it not be easier to watch for this in a single location?

"Besides, the Erymanthous has won custody of Fisato; it is not our place to separate them. Our guide prefers to remove its ward from the dangers of the environs, and I prefer to the danger of an Infernal Monster removed from my companions. This would seem to satisfy both parties."
>>
No. 965420 ID: a08df9

rolled 5, 10, 8, 8, 1, 5, 2, 6, 7, 1, 10, 4, 7, 4, 6, 4, 10, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 1, 6, 4, 9, 4, 5, 4, 7, 5, 1, 8, 1, 9, 2, 3, 3, 5, 2, 9, 8, 1, 4, 6, 4, 5, 6, 1, 5, 10, 7, 1, 4, 9, 4, 5, 1 = 301

>>965219
"Didn't seem like the infernal monster stylist posed too much of a threat to us once we had a chance to catch out wits and actually engage. Kinda feel like stationing a single sentry to watch the our friends who can get the jump on us and take the jade in a wrestling contest isn't much safer when we could be working as a group, watching eachothers back so no one gets ambushed.

And for the record, Tiger Wrestler extrordinaire, Fiasto doesn't have anything to fear from me if he behaves. I didn't want to tie him up in the first place, but it was clear that despite being thoroughly and easily overpowered, he'd rather throw his life away than act civilly. I'd wager that having extra friends watching your back would make him safer, at least safer than having his limp body dumped in a snow drift. You guys don't have to worry about blizzard monsters or anything like that? Rogue spirits who make their courts in storms, or whatever guards this place finding you and coming after you? I'd feel more comfortable if we were all on the same page and trying to help eachother, but if neither of you can control your rage issues, I worry about what you'll get up to out of earshot."
>>
No. 965456 ID: f57349

>>965420
>You guys don't have to worry about blizzard monsters or anything like that? Rogue spirits who make their courts in storms, or whatever guards this place finding you and coming after you?
You're talking to a rogue spirit, who explains that Fisto IS a blizzard monster - one of those things like Arad the Hunter or Genai or Mount Mostath, but younger and correspondingly less impressive. Until the jsde tablet gets dealt with, this frozen nightmare hellscape is all they've got.
>>
No. 966088 ID: dbae9d

rolled 7, 5, 1, 4, 1, 4, 6, 9, 4, 9, 1 = 51

>>965456
Coming back in strong with the relevant discussions on guard rotation, Fox offers that keeping them together isn’t a significantly dangerous risk, and they could reasonably be a good help since by all accounts two extra hands was better than 1.

The way that everything should probably play out is the ape, yeti, and Jan all help carry in the meat while Fox rests and Des watches the inside, since Jan can help work in the snow without worrying about the blizzard and it DOES need to be done.

That should probably take three to four hours, and then they swap rotations with her watching the inside of the base and Des standing guard with the Yeti and Blood Ape, then rotate like that until we’re all at operational capacity.

And as a final flourish she adds that it would be an impossible challenge for anyone to teach their martial arts to her as a compulsion keyword nmi effectively issuing a challenge to use Valor to her advantage with manipulation 4, Performance 2, pretending to be helpless 2 and 2 successes on with excellency and 1 from willpower.

Final dice total, 8 with 3 automatic successes.
>>
No. 966100 ID: f57349

>>966088
Social attack succeeds. Blood ape is willing to teach you First Pulse Style. Fortunately the initial day's training is almost entirely simple movements that can be effectively practiced while hauling heavy stuff through the manse: correct slouching, correct shuffling, correct breathing, correct swaggering, correct up-and-down-stairs, correct dumping-corpse-into-canal (or more generally how to handle a large object without wasting energy or hurting yourself), and something called "slicing the pie" which has almost nothing to do with actual edible pie.
>>
No. 966120 ID: f57349

Des could stand guard on the front porch, watching the horizon with snow-ignoring essence sight, thus keeping Fisto mostly separated from the blood ape but still technically free, while Jan Do stays closer to the wounded, with area-effect surprise-negators as last line of defense against anything sneaky already inside the manse.
If Fisto makes an unexpectedly quick recovery, Flea Upon The Flank Of Pasiap's combat charms would be fully effective, since that initial fight in the hearthroom was direct interference causing measurable delays in Des's efforts to attune to the manse.
Any objections? Other subjects to address before dismissing the Worldly Illusion?
>>
No. 966137 ID: d9acdc

rolled 1, 8, 2, 3, 6, 8, 6, 9, 2, 1, 2, 1, 7, 5, 9, 5, 8, 9, 9, 7, 5, 7, 5, 7, 7, 5, 1, 2, 10, 10, 2, 5, 3, 1, 10, 9, 6, 2, 3, 10, 4, 6, 6, 7, 10, 10, 5, 7, 5, 9, 2, 6, 8, 1, 8, 3, 6, 6, 10, 5 = 342

>>966120
"Alright big guy" Des says, gesturing at the blood ape as the illusion crumbles and fades "Looks like I'm outvoted, so I'll help you haul your buddy into a snow drift, or wherever it is you wanna dump his body, just stop pining Icicle there so we can get to work packing the meat into the kitchens. Jan Do, probably best if you take watch with Tasnim, and I'll stand guard out here. Icicle, you already took a nap right? Feeling up to some heavy lifting, or did that contest mess up your arm?"

Worldly illusion is dismissed, time continues as normal. If standing guard is perception + awareness then I've got a base pool of six before stunts.
>>
No. 966180 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 5, 10, 5, 8, 8, 5, 3, 9, 8, 7, 5, 1, 8, 2, 5, 2, 5, 5, 4 = 110

Want to get a move on, some have some quick non-dialog responses.

>>966088
>it would be an impossible challenge for anyone to teach their martial arts to her as a compulsion keyword nmi effectively issuing a challenge to use Valor
Well, it looks like Jan Do and Clever Fox are both already MA 5, and that Jan doesn't know any form type charms, so the claim is literally correct- nothing to teach.

If pressed, Jan will probably affirm a willingness to aid as she can, and perhaps present patience as a virtue.

>>966120
Sounds good. Here's some dice for watch, if necessary.

>>966137
>take watch with Tasnim
The good doctor is otherwise occupied with more pressing duties (surgery) and is not available to take turns in the watch rotation. (Jan will avoid discussing the details of our wounded and vulnerable allies until after the less trustworthy creatures have left the room, if possible).
>>
No. 966184 ID: 0640da

rolled 2, 7, 8, 1, 6, 5, 2, 4, 3, 10, 6, 6, 7, 8, 1, 5, 5, 9, 4, 9 = 108

Patches quietly slips into the Grand Salon after the exalted are finished dealing with the intruders. It's near dawn, and the predators have left the stage-- she walks into the northern end of it, near the False Garden, and starts trying to pry at floorboard and tile to access the pipes in there. This room is almost the last on her shortlist, besides some pipes in the Parlor which she hasn't touched for fear of messing things up and getting on that chucker's bad side again. She intends to kneel down and check the pipe, pulling out one of appropriate size from downstairs and halting the flow of water through this room so she can exchange the bad piping for one that doesn't... well, leak all the pressure out into the room below. Something's not pumping the right volume of water to the room north of here, if the pressure in other parts of the manse is any indication, and she's pretty sure if she fixes that up then she can get water flowing to the northern side of the room again... what is north? She doesn't know, but she's going to check it out when she's done here, see if she can fix that piping too. It wasn't high on her priorities list when she was getting the baths to work.

"Just that room with the angry chucker after this, right, got that throwing hand what hurt my ears and all..." She mumbles to herself, not really giving the ones on watch much attention as she works. "Can't be none mad, Patches, you were as polite and ethical as you could be what with the tools you were given... can't all be good and right, none of that..."

Dexterity 3 + Stealth 0 as Patches attempts to quietly murmur, pry away floorboards and get to work without attracting attention. She wouldn't want to draw attention to herself. Destiny is not invoked, yet. :o)
>>
No. 966191 ID: f57349

Alright, moving on toward midafternoon the next day when Noir's arm-reattachment surgery is finally complete. Hot bath and garden fountain are in semi-functional shape, but it'll take a few more days to scrub accumulated sludge and slime, tighten up various minor problems. Fisto is laying down outside and groaning in pain from time to time. Clever Fox and the blood ape tentatively identified as "Feasts on Lion's Torment" (or "Felt" for short) hauled more than half a ton of stuff in sixty-pound bundles: ten of smoked mammoth meat, one each of dry legumes, wheat, rice, oil, and candied cranberries, and five more of miscellaneous expedition supplies, including a 10' square leather tent and a set of windblade maintenance tools in a padded case with a fancy lock. Perishables have been stowed in a walk-in icebox in the basement, though the door to that room was left open long ago and is now jammed by accumulated frost. Fox has also gotten a day of training in First Pulse Style - one of three needed for the charm Lightning Mental Armament.

There's been some time to rest, a steady fire in the parlor/surgical theater, and fresh apples from the Traveler's Staff planted in the attic, but most of you are still tired, cold, hungry, travelstained, and a little bit disoriented.

Who's taking charge of food prep, and how much are you delegating to the butlerbots?
>>
No. 966207 ID: 5f0ee2

rolled 8, 8, 9, 4, 5, 1, 3, 4, 5, 4, 1, 7, 2, 3, 1, 9, 1, 2, 7, 7, 8, 2, 6, 2, 4, 9, 4, 7, 6, 10, 8, 8, 5, 5, 1, 7, 4, 2, 1, 9, 2, 6, 7, 4, 1, 8, 9, 1, 7, 6, 9, 5, 6, 6, 1, 1, 10, 5, 9, 1 = 303

>>966191
Desert Locust has no applicable skills when it comes to cooking- she's used to eating trail rations, bartering labor for meals, or simply going hungry. She is however very suspicious of the butlerbots and their food preparation. She keeps her own food separate from the stuff brought in from outside, and, after doing her best to clear the ice blocking to doorway so it's slightly more functional, will attempt to watch the food prep for any foul play. I imagine that's a Craft (Water) or Larceny roll, both of which she has at zero, so base pool of three dice from whatever mental stat is applicable, before adding stunts.

The comforting warmth of the fire is the first thing Noir reacts to as he awakens. He sees Tasnim, resting wearily by the hearth, and begins to quietly panic. He doesn't recognize his surroundings, or the other body in the room, and as such starts running through plans to escape. Medical tools nearby have clearly been used, but this seems unlike any temple or healers hut he's been too- a back ally operation then? Can't afford to be on the hook for whatever treatments they've done, or whatever they're planning on doing to him; organs are best inside their original bodies, he thinks. He's going to attempt to feign unconsciousness until an opportunity to slip away presents itself, making sure to listen closely for footsteps or hollow spaces to avoid wandering into rooms full of people.
That's probably a lot of rolls- Larceny and stamina maybe, to feign unconciousness? Perception + Awareness to scan for rooms to safely sneak into? Dex + Stealth to sneak away I feel confident on.
Mechanically, activating Keen Hearing and Touch Technique.
>>
No. 966252 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 2, 10, 9, 5, 5, 5, 2, 2, 8, 6, 1, 8, 4, 1, 7, 5, 9, 7, 10 = 112

Tasnim felt worn out. An entire day of nonstop delicate surgery was not nothing- and now, that she had finished, she was left alone with every burden she had pushed to the side. There just wasn't time for how she felt about him, the confusing mystery of why they were here, the holes in her memory, or her own close call against that fur rug.

When the damn fool finally woke, she rushes from her position by the hearth, weariness and other concerns forgotten.

Poking and checking, trying to assure herself she couldn't find any lasting damage, she begins babbling and berating her companion in skytongue "Oh you're awake you idiot how could you do something like that picking a fight with an arm-tearing ape do you have any idea how worried I was or how long it took me to put you back in one piece! If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times you need to be more careful not flying around on that fool board..."

Noir finds himself confronted with a familiar-seeming tied woman in spectacles, a blue dress, and furs (the doctor, evidence suggests) fussing over him and in-between what seem like medical checks, babbling at him breathlessly in a tone that alternates between worried consternation and frustrated scolding (his attempt to play sand-possum well and blown). A sense motive check would reveal these emotions to be genuine, but he, of course, can't understand a thing she's saying to him.

Dice for dice's sake.
>>
No. 966263 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 9, 3, 4, 10, 2, 7, 4, 1, 8, 1, 10, 2, 4, 5, 10, 3, 1, 5, 4 = 98

>>966184
>If Jan Do is standing guard at the east end of the grand salon, with Hearing The Unspoken Word active, and you haven't got some sort of magical stealth powerful enough to stop people from hearing you think, she notices more or less as soon as you enter through the west end.

Jan Do finds he watch shift interrupted by the largest rabbit she remembers seeing, carrying an assortment of tools and an oversized quill pen towards the garden-that-was-not-garden. The sight could almost be considered comical, but the Dusk knew well from her own companions that such creatures were not to be underestimated, and an artifact weapon remained potent no matter how fanciful in design.

Patches finds herself challenged by a pale woman, of short stature and dark hair, in loose clothes (fine and formal, but visibly worn) and wearing a sheathed sword. She speaks in skytongue:

"Your face is not known to me, and, despite other failings, I do not recall a fourth Lunar among our number. May I ask who you are, and what your business is here?"
>>
No. 966267 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 9, 6, 6, 7, 2, 2, 8, 6, 7, 8, 5, 3, 4, 4, 9, 10, 9, 6, 9 = 123

>>966263
"Oh, what me? Lunar? Awwh shucks, gonna make me blush an all with praise like that. I ain't not one of them gods like me da, I'm Patches. Put 'er there." She offers a paw, seemingly unphased by the danger in the room. "I'm a plumber. Been a plumber. Artist, really, and adventurer most of all, but I'm just doin' what passes fer plumbin in this fancy building and such fer now. Trying to suss out the source a them low water flow." She tamps the floor a few times with her paw. "I woulda made myself known sooner, but with them-- what did you call em? Erymanthous. Yeah, I listened in a lil, bad habit, sure, but I ain't doin' nothin illegal or somenot, just tryin a fix some pipes. Wasser name, then? Hope it's not Fisto, them that there's an awful name."

Let's try to make a good first impression! Charisma 4 + Socialize 1. She's offering a handshake, but doesn't need the Abyssal to take it.
>>
No. 966277 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 9, 6, 2, 10, 10, 2, 9, 9, 7, 9, 7, 3, 7, 1, 9, 1, 8, 8, 8 = 134

>>966267
The stranger introduces herself as Jan Do, and returns the ritual grasping of hands (hand and paw, rather) with preternatural poise and grace.

Exquisite Etiquette Style (in addition to helping provide a perfect handshake) provides more than enough autosuccessess on read motivation to confirm that, yes, Patches is earnest in her intent to repair the plumbing.

"May I ask, what turns brought a craftsperson such as yourself to this remote palace, situated as it is far from civilization, in the domain of a powerful spirit and beset by demonic forces?" The Dusk's own memories of reaching this location are conspicuously absent.
>>
No. 966279 ID: ac57f8

rolled 6, 1, 5, 4, 1, 8, 5, 6, 3, 1, 6, 5, 10, 7, 4, 1, 4, 2, 4, 3, 7, 3, 6, 6, 3, 9, 4, 9, 4, 1 = 138

>>966267

Finish pipes at shortly after dawn, so she takes 5 hours to attune to the manse, throwing an appropriate excellency at it for Int 5+Lore 4+Excellency 9.

So, around 5, Ada finishes up with that and decides to come back to the group, telling Jan as she comes around in Old Realm.

"There is now hot running water, found a way to communicate from almost literally any room of the manse to another, and I met a rabbit, and I'm willing to bet we'd disagree which one is the most important news." Then she notices that Patches is presently there. "Ah, good, I see you've met each other."
>>
No. 966296 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 4, 8, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, 8, 10, 4, 3, 9, 9, 3, 3, 2, 3 = 83

>>966277
>>966279

"That you'd think so fondly of me, Miss Strix, I ain't none worthy of what kind'ess supposed upon my persons." Patches politely lets go of the handshake, although she really wants to practice making a fuss with it. Her dad always told her if she read her book, she could apply her strengths in all kinds of ways. "I meant to add, Miss Strix, if'n it being you don't need me, I was going to suss out the low water pressure in the north. Ain't none sure what I'm doing here or what designs they had on me when they brought me here, but what I do know is that if'n there's pipes from ancient civilizations, I'm bein one of those most qualified to deal with them, what doin' so all my life. Your assistance... is not necessary, Miss Strix, as it's clear to me that this doin' is a waste of yer considerable talent. Better to let me do it so you can rest."
>>
No. 966298 ID: f57349

>>966207
Noir can walk, and flex the fingers on that recently reattached arm, but is suffering a total of four levels of lethal damage for an overall -2 wound penalty, that arm won't be back at 100% until those are fully healed, and is at a further -1 internal penalty from thirst. The room is large but sparsely furnished and lit only by a low fire, so stealth seems plausible even by mundane means, if you can avoid tripping on scattered debris. Several exits, but all of them turn out to be locked except for the one with an armed guard, which could reasonably be taken as a bad sign, or at least inconvenient.
>>966252
Assuming Noir powers up the armor's cloaking device the moment you're distracted, that's not enough successes to confirm his continued presence even if he was doing jumping jacks right in front of you in broad daylight.
>>966279
Soul Sea Meditation succeeds; unless Des vetos it, Ada is now attuned to the manse.
>>
No. 966301 ID: cea281

>>966296
“I disagree with your notion that my help won’t be necessary. First, because 2 hands between 2 people is faster than 1 person with 4 hands, as the saying goes, and it’s standard operating procedure to not do ANY kind of maintenance on a magical structure without someone who knows about the mystical side of things to double check that that work doesn’t damage the whole, and for this situation you need a master geomancer who can read the way the essence flows, or someone attuned to the manse who can feel where blockages in essence, and thus the pipes as well, are and I’m both of those things. So, you are stuck with me for the time being while we get this place into tip top shape.”

Spending 16 exp on E3, going into 8exp debt for the 3rd purchase of first pyrian excellency. 16 posts and 3 days remain until Ada has overcome her current hurdle of not having the tools she wants.
>>
No. 966302 ID: f57349

>>966301
There's a locked box full of magitech tools - specialized for Windblade maintenance, but some will surely have broader applicability - among the supplies Clever Fox hauled in off the porch. Forging a set of lockpicks would be Craft (Air), and using them would be Dex + Larceny, or you could try tracking down the original key, or just forcing the case open if you're feeling particularly reckless and impatient.
>>
No. 966329 ID: 0640da

rolled 10, 9, 3, 5, 5, 3, 5, 5, 1, 8, 8, 10, 7, 9, 5, 4, 5, 10, 10, 5 = 127

>>966301
Patch's face collapses into one of frustration, and she tries not to show her obvious displeasure at being told that she requires help to do her job. Even if it would be faster, she really does not believe she needs help. "Miss Do! Were't you doing anything that you would need Miss Strix's help with? As I'm sure your concerns are much'm more important than mine... I understand yer wish to help, Miss Strix, but as ye say, two hands are better than one. Ain't it better we accomplish two diff'rent goals fitting of our statures than y'all doubling in on a simple thing even a mortal like me could do? I ain't clueless about thaumaturgy and such."

Attempting a Charisma 4 + Socialize 1 'servitude' attack on Jan Do, hoping she invents a snipe hunt or something to distract the overbearing Exalt. Invoking Destiny for +5 dice.
>>
No. 966331 ID: cea281

rolled 3, 1, 1, 2, 7, 7, 10, 3, 4, 5, 9, 4, 2, 5, 1, 8, 3, 10, 7, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 8, 3, 9, 8, 4, 2 = 137

>>966329
“I understand that you’re used to working on pipes, and I can see why you might believe that doing pipe work is beneath me. But I have to ask if you’ve ever been in a manse capping a demesne this strong? You might not be able to tell, not being Exalted and all, but this manse is strong enough that it could legitimately change the balance of power in the north in proper condition. With that comes a certain risk of horrific accidents, like tornadoes of Orichalcum that can turn a human into ground meat in under a minute, or live wires of essence carrying thousands of motes that just melt you to death and subsume your soul by virtue of being more powerful, and with how damaged it already is essence overload is a serious risk. So at the very least, for safety reasons, any changes to the architecture of the manse have to be approved by me, and that includes fixing pipes and the methods that you’re using, since I’m at least a certified geomancer, and it’s really easy to build without being resonant to the local essence flows.”

Join debate: Wits 2+Awareness 3 (+Stunt?)

Charisma 2+ Performance 3+Stunt +Pyrian Excellency 5(compelling obedience and following basic safety protocols for arcane devices seems relevant)
>>
No. 966335 ID: f9af3e

rolled 4, 7, 3, 4, 3, 1, 4, 10, 5, 9, 10, 1, 5, 7, 8, 1, 1, 7, 6, 10 = 106

"...and ye see, she can't trust me, which is why I am asking for summat that help in calming her down and assuring I will not be trippin any one of these calcous tomatoes." Patches attempts to ignore Adamant Strix, and Joins Debate

Wits 3 + Awareness 1 to join debate!
>>
No. 966415 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 6, 2, 8, 7, 4, 6, 5, 3, 6 = 50

>>966329
>>966331
>>966331
>>966335
Right, if this is going to formal social combat, I'm going to roll join debate to see what order actions actually need to get resolved in before responding to either social attack, as Jan would be targeted by both of those.

Wis 3 + Awareness 1
>>
No. 966570 ID: afdebc

Okay so with two successes, Adamant Strix acts first on tick 0 with her performance attack, and with one success each, Jan Do and Patches in reality act on tick 1.

>>966331
Adamant Strix rolls 5 success on her attack, and her argument is one for restraint, caution, and adherence to responsible procedure as opposed to recklessness- that sounds to me like it resonates with Temperance, so Jan Do's MDV would be -2.

Which is good enough to beat my MDVs, unless I bolster them with charm, stunt, or reflexively turn on my anima power. Which I don't think I'm inclined to.

So, hit! The Dusk gives a polite nod of agreement towards the Defiler. (Although I think Illusion or Servitude keyword might make more sense here- since Jan's being convinced of something or talked on board with the cause of safe manse repair, rather than being Compelled to take immediate action).

Thanks to Gwen for counting success and figuring out tick order.
>>
No. 966578 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 10, 2, 5, 7, 1, 7, 10, 4, 6, 4, 2, 4, 8, 9, 5, 9, 8, 3, 3 = 110

>>966570
Patches has enough MDV (6) she can outright ignore Adamant Strix, but enough sense she realizes that there's no talking to her when she's like this-- and the Abyssal just sided with Strix as well, meaning her position is untenable. Knowing that, she sighs and decides to propose a different avenue of attack-- this time, at Lady Strix herself.

"You said yourself that if'n there was someone with geomantic instruction in their background OR bein' attuned to the Manse, that they'd be able to suss out the blockages without damaging the geomancy. So, I am willin' to give thbeneft of the doubtums if'n you give me an opportunity and let me attune to the manse." Patches walks over to the heart of the manse. "I ain't none stupid. This place feels powerful. Heart of the manse probably ain't none far. I could attune to it if y'all'd give me a shot'n all that. Then you can't go back on your word, right? I'd be followin' proper operating procedure, from that point on, and I wouldn't need supervision because I'd be Attuned. And since you worded it as an 'or' thing and not an 'and' thing, I suppose that means one substitutes for the other? So state your objections, cause I think that I found an adequate workaround and you should acceptin' it and such."

Attempting an Investigation (3) + Charisma (4) attack on Adamant Strix, abandoning her initial avenue of attack as the turn order has changed. However... as she is asking to attune to a manse-- something a mortal would rarely even get an opportunity to do, let alone something many powerful figures never get an opportunity to do-- I would like to appeal for her Motivation to apply to this roll as well-- to chronicle and experience wondrous and worthy stories (+3?).
>>
No. 966582 ID: ac57f8

>>966578
Motivation doesn't count as a dice adder, it counts as a +/- for MDV, but since it's playing off of existing.

Since that was at least a 1 dot stunt:
> 3, 10, 2, 5, 7, 1, 7, 10, 4, 6

So 6 successes compared to Dodge MDV 6+Stunt (when factoring in the penalty).

"No, that's a big security risk letting a mortal attune before all the rest of the Exalts, and I'm personally not going to allow you to attune unless you agree to follow standard operating protocol of making sure that any proposed repairs won't explode in your face like literally any third party contractor working on systems in a manse rather than like a petulant child throwing a tantrum that they aren't allowed to fiddle with the nuts and bolts of a doomsday weapon."
>>
No. 966607 ID: d9acdc

rolled 10, 4, 7, 4, 3, 4, 6, 1, 5, 1, 9, 3, 6, 9, 2, 6, 1, 3, 6, 2, 9, 6, 5, 6, 5, 3, 2, 4, 8, 6, 1, 9, 7, 10, 2, 3, 7, 5, 6, 7, 5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 6, 2, 8, 3, 9, 9, 6, 8, 5, 6, 6, 9, 6, 2, 10 = 316

>>966263
>>966298
As the armed guard leaves her post outside the makeshift hospital, Noir formulates a plan.
>>966252
Clearly this woman cares about him- she must have been the surgeon. He'd like to talk to her more, but, even ignoring the other potentially very relevant complications, there's no time right now to talk safely. His window of safety is closing quickly, and even if he has this strange feeling of trust, he doesn't know if she'll blow his cover, or get tracked by someone else- can't risk taking her with him now, not until he knows more.

Weakly, and somewhat awkwardly given that he clearly needs to avoid moving his other arm right now if he can, Noir attempts to pantomime food and water- when the Dcotor turns around to grab a bottle of wine from her bag, he takes his chance and slips outside through the previously guarded door, suit doing it's best to cloak him despite the as-of-yet unrepaired seam.

Noir is activating the stealth capabilities on his suit, and heading up to climb the wall into the attic where the fruit tree is planted. Initially he just wants to gain a better vantage point, watch whatever argument is unfolding from somewhere higher up, but he is pleasantly surprised to find something to eat at his destination of choice.
>>
No. 966610 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 5, 1, 6, 2, 1, 9, 9, 5, 10, 7, 8, 10, 2, 8, 8, 10, 1, 9, 8 = 128

>>966607
We she turns around, Celestial wine in-hand, the No Moon is greeted by the sight of a now-empty room, as her patient had apparently chosen this moment to fly the coop.

"Emissary take that idiot!" she curses in her native rivertongue. "I knew I should have stripped him out of that fool suit, or tied him down for good measure. Can't even stay put long enough for me to finish...!"

She hurries, moving quickly towards the door to the Grand Salon, hoping she'll be able to catch the Night between her and the others before he has a chance to vanish to who knows where.
>>
No. 966611 ID: 4bf9ee

rolled 5, 1, 8, 3, 4, 2, 7, 3, 4, 10, 4, 5 = 56

As JL has pointed out, I botched compassion somewhere in all of this. So, MDV fist in addition to Dodge MDV applies.

As Patches makes her argument, a tension that had been building quietly like water being raised by a fraction of a degree per minute broke, and a rope made of white hot fire snaked around her neck, pulling her as high into the air as she could manage.

“This isn’t a debate, and I’m choosing to treat you like a grown adult who should understand the basic principles of command chains and deference to expertise. You should also understand that ‘Don’t make changes to something that doesn’t belong to you without permission’ is one of those things that children around the world learn. So if you don’t want to be treated like a child, behave like an adult who is doing labor under an architect.

Join battle is

Wits 2+Awareness 3+Past Life 3+Open Palm Caress for 3 successes +Stunt+1 WP success and everyone watching has to have a higher dodge MDV to not think that patches started it, including patches.

Also spending 1 WP on suppressing delusion if it doesn’t beat my dodge MDV of 6 right now
>>
No. 966815 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 2, 7, 8, 3, 4, 1, 9, 4, 7, 8, 6, 2, 8, 10, 9, 4, 7, 3, 4 = 110

>>966611
Adamant Strix's megalomania compelled her to try and teach the insubordinate rabbit a lesson, but things may not have worked out for her as she'd hoped in the end. Her open palm caress confused one of the targets-- Tasnim, a doctor lost and confused in the chaos as she sought out Noir, who arrived late and left early, slipping out to watch and leaving with hoverboard in hand, injury not completely healed. Adamant Strix made good use of her powers to send psychic tendrils to capture her victim, but Jan-Do responded swiftly when she saw the code of honor was not being followed. Resisting the cries of the Neverborn, she struck out once, twice, a dozen times with her blade, trying to sever the connection with force-- and glimsed a past life where she had done just that. During the chaos, Destiny saw the threat the Infernal posed to her favored child and intervened in the only way she knew how-- with an explosion. This explosion disoriented Adamant Strix, but not as much as what would come afterwards-- in the bright demon-searing lights of the chandelier, the confused infernal tried to direct everyone with steps to seal the essence venting in the room, but made a critical mistake even a novice bricklayer would have noticed-- and did, before getting thrown out an open door. Before she could point this out, Tasnim made her own moves to end the conflict and seal the eruption, shifting into a giant mammoth and trying to snatch the bunny away from the psychic hold. Jan Do struck out as well, capturing the lost feeling of severing this force and giving control of the rabbit to the mammoth, who promptly threw the rabbit-- percieved to be the one who started this whole conflict. As she splashed into the slimy waters of the fountain, Patch's head became clear and she achieved a sort of minor enlightenment-- she knew the steps that could be taken to seal the venting essence, and also knew herself to be the only one who could do so.

-4 XP to buy Craft (Earth) to 3.
>>
No. 966816 ID: 533b4f

>>966611
Summary of the combat (possibly ongoing but there is a lot)

After the initial grapple, Ada lifted patches in the air, Jan tried to get in on the action and free Patches, failed, Noir scrambled up the vines, and then destiny conspired to make the manse explode kind of proving Ada’s point for her.

As Ada was going to use the far better example of why doing repairs without checking for how they hold up with the local geomancy, Tasnim turned into a mammoth and helped Jan pull Patches from the force choke, and threw the rabbit into the gardens before Ada was capable of expressing her feelings on the subject in a more eloquent manner.

And now the present.
>>
No. 966817 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 6, 10, 5, 1, 5, 10, 5, 3, 4, 4, 1, 6, 6, 1, 5, 6, 4, 9, 5 = 104

>>966815
Patches throws up her arms in surrender and tries to pull herself out of the muck. It's not worth getting into a fight about anything right now, she's got something incredibly dangerous to do and she might be the only one who can do it. Her movement is slowed by the pond slime but she hopes the fight doesn't continue.
>>
No. 966822 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 3, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 5, 6, 1, 4, 5, 4, 7, 10, 7 = 96

Seeing Adamant Strix recoiling in pain from the now-lit chandelier, the pachyderm moved her great bulk in front of the illumination, granting relief and shade. A trunk jab in the direction of the ongoing burn of the manse's essence, and a trumpet that was more an frustrated huff served to wordlessly convey the message to deal with that.
>>
No. 966954 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 2, 1, 3, 1, 3, 7, 10, 8, 7, 9, 2, 10, 7, 9, 4, 8, 8, 1, 9, 9, 9, 1, 7, 2 = 140

>>966822
"She ain't able to do it." Patches speaks up from behind the mammoth, moving by. "Ain't got the mindset for it. Somthin' you develop'n all after years of experience." Her paws leave mucky prints as she walks by, stretching her shoulder and rotating it. "I ain't seen nothin' like this before, but that don't mean I ain't none unfamiliar with what has been goin on. I hit my head a bit when you threw me, but I think it's clearer than it has no none right to be." Patches makes a gentle push on the beast. "Move it and take her to safety. I ain't want nobody hurt if I'm wrong..."

Patches pulls out her brush, and pulls out a cloth. She wipes off the bottom of her soles, then puts the cloth back into her brush and turns it a few times on the handle. There's a couple clicking sounds... the ink on the end of the tip turns a cool, shimmering blue, like a sky. Putting some of her essence into the area around her... "Mighty pologoies about them lights, Miss Strix. Didn't realize they was what was angerin' you and gettin you in a tiffy, but this room here's about to get bright. I need to see everythin' I'm doin, so if ya'll move to a safe distance..." She fuels the chandeliers a little more, making sure they won't go out during her patch job. Then she takes her brush and starts to move... delicately, she wishes. It would be great if she looked like she was dancing, but to the outside observer, it looks like a bunny taking a few steps, pausing, slashing at the ground a few times with a brush and leaving strange markings on the ground. She doesn't exactly inspire confidence... her fur glistens with sweat. She doesn't know what'll happen if she fails-- doesn't want to know. What's more important, right here and right now, is to run her brush against the surface of the manse floor, painting out diagrams-- soothing pictures, she thinks.

She don't know much about manses, but she knows about cities. The thing about cities is, even if you don't believe in that sort of thing, they breathe. Pipes take in liquid and move it somewhere else. Vents take in air and move it somewhere else. Cities breathe, they grow, they contract, they expand. Through mundane means, at times-- a man moves his business, destroys a family home, devastates a thousand jobs. A city sector, shuttered-- like it up and died. But sometimes, that sort of movement lets the city breathe, lets new life flourish, lets new faces take the wheel, makes room for smaller businesses-- revitalizes an economy, breathes it new life. And sometimes, just sometimes, art can have an influence on how things turn out.

When she was 7, she painted a picture on a wall. Her favorite baker, a nice old woman who'd give her bread even when her mother died and she didn't have any money to speak of, had passed. The neighborhood was in mourning. But she liked to think that mural she drew... she spent months on, it brought some comfort. It healed that neighborhood, averted the worst outcome. She doesn't know if that was the truth, that her painting pushed others through hard times, or if people just forgot... healed on their own. But she knows that it made her feel like the world was healing, and through her eyes, it felt like the rest of the world knew it too. She's hoping that maybe manses are the same way. Maybe, if you paint them just right, a calming picture, they settle down... that their essence vent-- essence vent? What a fancy word. Could relax. Get some time to breathe. Maybe not melt down half the manse, yeah.

When she finishes, a spiraling diagram of dozens of wildflowers, bushes and trees, reaching into the swirling vortex that made her skin tingle-- an offering, like the one in the garden that she saw, that inspired her with the answer. Someone made that beautiful garden out there that just felt so real... maybe a house like this needs a garden to feel calm. This might make for a poor substitute, but... she's hoping it'll do the trick.

Patches performs a Patch Job with the lowest of Intelligence 4 + Occult 3 / Lore 3 / Craft (Earth) 3, and takes on all the risks so nobody else needs to get hurt. Trying to interfere with this terrifying storm of essence might scare off lesser creatures, but she held no fear as she brushed against the sparking energy building up in front of her-- hopefully able to apply her Valor 5. And, if this is a new scene, why not Destiny 5 as well-- it's her own destiny that caused this rupture so much as will fix it, too.
>>
No. 966956 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 9, 1, 6, 9, 10, 6, 1, 3, 6, 2, 1, 4, 7, 2, 10, 4, 10, 10, 8, 6, 6, 1, 10, 10, 6, 2, 8, 5, 4, 3, 2, 8, 2, 10, 4, 6, 1, 10, 9, 8, 6, 7, 3, 6, 2, 2, 10, 6, 1, 8, 7, 6, 6, 7, 1, 6, 2, 1, 1 = 322

>>966610
As the wine-defending doctor carries her precious cargo into the grand salon, following Noir's tracks, he's thankful she gets distracted before finding her quarry. Not too quickly, so as to maintain a quiet profile (not realizing there's a certain Belle-Letterist nearby who can hear his heartbeat no matter how well hidden he is) Noir begins to lay some false tracks, heading towards the hole in the attict, then carefully walking backwards over his steps to return to a lower balcony with a better vantage point. Hopefully it will appear as though he has left the building, throwing off potential pursuers while he keeps an eye on things below, and finds an opportunity to restock his vital needs.

I imagine counter-tracking would fall under survival just as well as tracking would- maybe larceny applies though, for throwing people off your trail? Int or Perception seems like the natural attribute. Zero, four, three and five respectively.
>>
No. 966969 ID: f57349

>>966954
Patch job succeeds with a threshold of ten. Not only is the vent closed off good as new by marks on the floor that seem like an elegant extension of geometric motifs from the central mosaic, the whole manse's magical structure is slightly less tangled and turbulent now, and a thin trickle of (initially) clean water has begun to emerge from the fountain in the garden.
>>
No. 966970 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 8, 6, 7, 10, 8, 9, 9, 10, 8, 3, 7, 1, 8, 7, 2, 3, 7, 9, 9 = 136

>>966969
"...whew! Now weren't that one a real worrybother. Someone should probably help me make this mural permanent sometime, cause this thingamajig only buys us time as is and the paints ain't exactly walkway compliant." Patches finally lets out a sigh of relief and slides down against a wall next to Jan Do, trying to strike up conversation. "You like it, Miss Do?"
>>
No. 966972 ID: f57349

>>966822
That's either a failure or a botch. Mammoth isn't providing effective shade (probably neglected to account for the mirrors all around the perimeter), and may be inconveniencing other escape efforts.
>>
No. 966981 ID: de7d73

>>966972
Given that much, and the fact that she had little to worry about for the essence vent since she was aware that it was going to be done in the next few seconds, she quickly exited to the temporary hospital room/forward operating base in these unexplored territories, and since she’s basically burning fumes already, she quickly falls asleep to take a nap to start recovering from fatigue penalties and hopefully recover some motes while the people not being actively unmade did whatever they were intending on doing.

As per discussions in the discord, it’s being decided that Ada had retroactively attuned to the manse with the Stone of Acrid Understanding, as she needs to learn skills ASAP, and 9 weeks is untenable from a mechanical perspective to finish out the suite of mundane craft skills. Since it’s a 3 dot manse that is an extra 9 exp debt (as also discussed in the Discord)
>>
No. 966985 ID: afdebc

>>966970
>"You like it, Miss Do?"

>marks on the floor that seem like an elegant extension of geometric motifs from the central mosaic
>a spiraling diagram of dozens of wildflowers, bushes and trees, reaching into the swirling vortex

The warrior offers a respectful nod in the artist's direction, and answers in skytongue "I am not well-versed in the the criticism of compositions of this nature, but the work is well-done, elegant, and pleasing to the eye."
>>
No. 966994 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 10, 9, 5, 3, 8, 2, 8, 1, 10 = 65

The mammoth melts away, revealing an annoyed blonde in spectacles.

"Yes, how good of you to repair the problem you yourself caused, picking fights with my colleague. Who are you?"

That's one irritable exchange in skytongue (hopefully the rabbit speaks something other than old realm, or she'll be relying on Jan to translate), without making eye contact longer than a glare- as she is busy surveying the dull-creeping vines for signs of Noir's passage (doesn't seem like they'd get much sunlight in here, but growing things are persistent, especially with time on their side).

Perception 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt
>>
No. 966995 ID: f57349

>>966994
You spot a blurry silhouette up on the third floor (attic) balcony, about the size of your wayward patient but impossible to positively identify.
>>
No. 966996 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 2, 6, 10, 9, 5, 1, 9, 3, 10, 9, 2, 8, 1, 4, 9, 9, 6, 3, 3 = 115

>>966985
>>966994

She guesses they're speaking Skytongue now, and transitions over to her native tongue. "I ain't started nothin, as a mild rebuke to these asparagus you be castin'... not an explosion or a fight none. But I ain't here to bicker none, thems for impolite folks. Name's Patches, which is ironic cause I just patched somethin' up, but irony tends to be what how my life operates. Pleasure to meet livin' gods that what ain't my da." Patches offers her paw for a good shake. "Thanks much, Miss Do! I'm available for commission if ever you what wanted something pretty to wear to some ball or somesuch. Can't take all credit for this one though, it's based on them flowers and bushes outside. Didn't get a good look, but they're quite pleasin, you think?"
>>
No. 967149 ID: f57349

>>966981
Chandelier will stop glowing in at most three hours, if nothing else charges it up further. Could spend that time asleep or meditating, or get restless, search for a safer exit or at least something to amuse yourself. Also, how long has it been since you ate a decent meal?
>>
No. 967150 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 6, 3, 8, 1, 9, 5, 3, 9, 2, 8, 9, 2, 7, 3, 7, 4, 1, 1, 3 = 96

>>966996
"Asparagus indeed." Tasnim mutters, taking the proffered paw. "Please try to refrain from causing any additional disasters or distractions, I already have one wayward patient in need of care, possible two" she finishes, glancing between the lighting and the door Adamant Strix left the room through.

She release's Patches hand, and inclines her head in Jan Do's direction, clearing trusting her to handle the interloper as necessary.

>>966995
Tasnim spends 3 personal to change shape to a woodpecker, and then flies upward, heading for the distortion in the ornamental, artificial vines.

Not sure if that's going to be an opposed or not, so have some dice.

>>967149
Tasnim probably hasn't eaten since the surgery started.
>>
No. 967151 ID: afdebc

>>966996
>I'm available for commission if ever you what wanted something pretty to wear to some ball or somesuch.
Jan Do politely demures- explaining she rarely desires to appear other than she is, and that her manner of dress holds some symbolic and ritual significance.
>>
No. 967156 ID: 4bf9ee

>>967149
She’s taking a nap, since it’s been over 8 hours of labor since her last few hour nap, and it’s been 25-50 hours since she eaten of drank anything since she’s been so wrapped up in everything she just forgot to eat or drink. So she absolutely will be facing a -1 penalty from thirst, -1 penalty from fatigue, and a -0 penalty from hunger for a total of -2.
>>
No. 967227 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 4, 7, 4, 7, 8, 2, 10, 7, 1, 3, 9, 4, 7, 1, 3, 10, 4, 8, 9 = 114

>>967149
Patches shakes her Nibsplitter and removes a few herbs from it... she's running low. Not to mention she's out of vegetables... so she just has some tea leaves, basically. Nose twitching, she decides she's going to seek out a kitchen. "Miss Do, do you mind providing me some protection? I'm going to go look for food for us. If I have to, I'll graze..."
>>
No. 967286 ID: f57349

>>967227
The same stairwell (just east of the dining room) which Adamant Strix led you through on the way to the forge and baths continues down to the cellars, where an arched hallway 15' wide extends through almost the full length of the manse from east to west. West end is a massive pantry, 40' east-west by 50' north-south, row after row of floor-to-ceiling stone shelves, mostly bare except for those few new sacks of grain still dusted with snow from the front porch. There's a 20' square gap in the shelving around the northeast corner, where the floor is strewn with potsherds as thickly as a pile of autumn leaves.

Past the pantry is the cold room, which Desert Locust seems to have somehow locked themselves inside.

South of the cold room and west of the kitchen, directly under the baths, is a roughly 30' square room that's very dark and smells like soap.

North of the main hallway, between the pantry and the stairs, is a 30' square room covered in elaborate carvings, statue of a human figure in the exact center.

South, opposite the tomb, is a long room barely wider than the stairway with much cruder carvings on the walls.

The actual kitchen is about 30' east-west by 50' north-south. Two long stone counters with cabinets underneath, hooks and racks up above - mostly empty, but the minimal selection of pots, pans, spoons, knives, and other implements should be sufficient if there aren't any elaborate feasts scheduled, and you could always hammer out replacements in the forge. One bin is full of dried peat, usable as fuel for the fireplace in the southeast corner, and for those three large ovens with brass doors along the west wall, directly under the boiler room. Narrow spiral staircase leads up to a secret door in the south wall of the dining room.

Only unexpected feature of the kitchen is a gilded rack, almost like a small shrine, on the south end of the west wall (between doors to a small lavatory and the presumed wine cellar), holding four porcelain masks: a young woman with short hair and wide eyes, a pale woman with slightly curly hair and a serious expression, an old man with wide cheeks and bushy eyebrows, and a tired-looking woman with a small black star on her right cheek.
>>
No. 967300 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 8, 3, 8, 2, 10, 6, 1, 9, 10, 4, 1, 4, 8, 9, 7, 1, 7, 5, 7 = 111

>>967227
>"Miss Do, do you mind providing me some protection? I'm going to go look for food for us. If I have to, I'll graze..."
As the surgical suite is not longer in need of close supervision, the Dusk escorts the circle's guest to the kitchens (though, it turns out that of the two of them, Patches has better idea where said kitchens are located).

>>967286
>Past the pantry is the cold room, which Desert Locust seems to have somehow locked themselves inside.
The Abyssal gives the sealed portal a skeptical look over for traps or other complications that could have resulted in this situation (is the latch or lock on the outside?) and then, if she finds nothing amiss, tries the door.

Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt, I'm assuming. Plus more dice if any needed.
>>
No. 967318 ID: f57349

>>967300
Freezer door lock is indeed on the outside, and opens easily enough when you feed it a mote.

While Patches is unpacking herbs, a wax tablet slips out - something she picked up from the office upstairs. It's inscribed with highly formal strategic plans in an archaic dialect of Old Realm, only a single page out of dozens, but military jargon has suffered so little drift over the intervening centuries you can figure out most of the key words. Seems to be a plan for revenge against the early Shogunate, and, beyond the superficial grammar, represents reasoning about as coherent as Time Cube. Analyzing those logical flaws, cross-referenced with various tidbits of prior knowledge (including previously baffling minutia of the memory of your own assassination) would allow you to derive enough of the Scripture of the Expectant Maiden to learn the charm Secrets of Future Strife after three days of work.
>>
No. 967353 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 2, 6, 8, 7, 8, 5, 2, 1, 7, 3, 10, 10, 3, 6, 8, 6, 3, 9, 3 = 112

>>967300
While Patches does inventory on the pots and pans, she hears the portrait crack open and her fur stands on end... she immediately swings her weapon to a readied position and faces the door. "What's goin' on there, Miss Do?" She wants to take a closer look at the masks, but she's got her ass handed to her enough for one day and wants to act more proactively to deal with danger. At least have her maul out, anyways.
>>
No. 967354 ID: 0640da

Functionally readying weapon for a potential combat, even though I OOCly know it is not coming(?)
>>
No. 967490 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 5, 5, 5, 1, 5, 1, 10, 8, 7, 2, 2, 9, 9, 10, 1, 7, 10, 10, 6, 3, 6, 1, 6, 6, 5, 1, 10, 2, 9, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 8, 6, 6, 4, 9, 6, 1, 6, 3, 7, 5, 10, 6, 3, 7, 8, 7, 10, 5, 2, 8, 8, 10 = 338

>>967150
Silent as a mouse would be an understatement as Noir carefully skirted the unsettlingly canny pursuer. Hoping that false tracks buy a few minutes, he works his way around the walls, climbing from balcony to balcony until he's just above the makeshift surgery room again. Checking first to see if he's still being tailed, he listens carefully to the vibrations of the woman in blue's breath; steady, not too deep, slight whistle through the nose means she's sleeping, making it the perfect point to pilfer some parchment. He sneaks inside, makes use of her mapping supplies, and writes a quick note to Tasnim in flametongue:

"If you want me to trust you, tell your companions I am lost in the snow, and meet me alone behind closed doors. Don't worry about agreeing upon a location, I will come to you when you have safely avoided suspicions and found a secure spot away from prying eyes."

Dex five, stealth one, suit four, stunt, for sneaking away, and dex five, larceny four, stunt, for taking Ada's mapping supplies while she sleeps.
>>
No. 967496 ID: d9acdc

rolled 10, 8, 1, 9, 3, 4, 10, 3, 3, 3, 2, 6, 3, 10, 2, 5, 5, 6, 6, 3, 5, 9, 9, 7, 6, 7, 2, 6, 10, 5, 1, 2, 9, 1, 1, 7, 2, 6, 4, 8, 10, 2, 7, 5, 3, 3, 10, 3, 4, 3, 6, 4, 6, 9, 6, 2, 9, 9, 7, 6 = 323

>>967318
Des rubs her arms, teeth chattering as Jan frees her from what could have been an icy tomb.

"Thanks, I got careless trying to fix the place up so the butlers would have a good place to store food, let the door swing closed on me. If I had to bust the door down, that would have defeated the purpose somewhat. Who's your new friend? You seem to have a knack for accruing new expedition members."

Turning to patches, she calls out "That's an awful big pen you got there! You of similar disposition to blood apes, looking to swing at anything that moves, or are you more interested in deescalation?"

Des is using amethyst awareness to look around for foul play, checking to see if there's hidden mechanisms/doors in the ice box, some method of remotely closing or opening doors, a rogue butlerbot, or if she did in fact just get careless.
>>
No. 967499 ID: 0640da

rolled 1, 4, 3, 1, 1, 1, 10, 6, 10, 4, 4, 8, 9, 2, 2, 4, 6, 10, 8, 3 = 97

>>967496
"Ah! No, sorry. Just havin' what were normal luck, only my normal luck ain't involve gods after my hide." Patches lowers her pen and holds out a paw for a shake. "I'm Patches. You normally trap'n yourself inside an ice square pantry? Or did you get lost lookin for what em call freezy treats? Can't blame you, ice 'n all is delicious when what you add flavor. Learned a few recipes with alchemy in 'cademy fore the incidinite, what."

[b]Patches takes a look around the freezer as well, giving a helping roll to Des if she can.[/i]
>>
No. 967507 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 7, 9, 7, 6, 1, 2, 6, 1, 2, 5, 10, 9, 8, 1, 1, 6, 7, 5, 6 = 100

>>967496
Given the standard to which the palace has been built, Jan Do silently notes the inability to open the pantry from the inside as a deliberate omission. It seems somewhat more likely that an architect or craftsperson of this level of skill wanted the ability to lock persons inside than that they would make such an oversight.

>Who's your new friend? You seem to have a knack for accruing new expedition members.
"It is a knack that does seem to pair naturally with sentry duty" she answers wryly, in skytongue.

Jan do introduces Desert Locusts to Patches in Reality, and vice versa.

>>967318
The Dusk caste moves to catch the tablet before it can be damaged against any harder surface, and then finds herself momentarily engrossed, attempting to understand the fractured logic, and wrestling with the echos of her own memory. She offers distracted thanks to Patches for the find during this perusal.
>>
No. 967508 ID: f57349

>>967496
>>967499
The ice is more than an inch thick in places, too thick for essence sight to clearly see through, so Patches uses the chisel-hard tip of her enormous feather pen to loosen it up. Underneath, the walls are mostly plated with what seems like green glass - actually a form of ice from near the Elemental Pole of Air, so intensely cold it can't be thawed by anything less than a roaring furnace.

Speaking of which, there's also at least one gray crystal hemisphere set in the icebox wall which Patches "helpfully" activates. That light causes Desert Locust's exposed skin to erupt in flames - no damage from the first interval, miraculously enough, and there's plenty of loose ice and meltwater within arm's reach to start on extinguishing it if you dive out the door. Big room with all the shelves between icebox and kitchen is still unlit, but if Des did somehow stick around in thus-illuminated areas, the light would also be draining attribute dots at a rate of one per three actions.
>>
No. 967512 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 10, 10, 7, 9, 5, 10, 1, 3, 9, 6, 9, 10, 9, 8, 3, 4, 1, 8, 10, 10, 9, 4, 2, 3, 3, 6, 9, 5, 5, 8, 4, 3, 10, 2, 4, 1, 9, 3, 5, 3, 3, 9, 3, 8, 7, 1, 3, 9, 10, 7, 4, 4, 10, 10, 3, 3, 7, 2, 1 = 349

>>967508
Des bolts for the door, and thinks about running back to the main hall to grab her poncho, but wait nearby outside the light's baleful influence to talk to Jan Do and Patches first, explaining that she "doesn't do well with sunlight." Some kind of allergic reaction which often gets mistaken as a sign she worships monsters or brings ill to towns. She's never had truck with malign beings from beyond creation before, doesn't intend to bring famine and ruin and whatnot, although the newfound ability to turn into a bug monster and the talking claw skates grafted onto her feet are new and somewhat worrisome developments.

"I don't want to go without my poncho for much longer, in case there's any more surprise lighting incidents, but I'm worried that the mechanical servants around here are going tamper with the food, mess it up somehow so it's not safe to eat anymore. This place gives me the willies honestly, like there's something nasty lurking around just waiting to get the jump on us."

If it's safe to do so, I'll try and roll to find foul play in the food prep, and some sort of knowledge check on the figures adorning the gilded rack.

All mental stats are at three, occult is at three but craft water and larceny (both of which I imagine are relevant when looking to see if someone's poisoned your food) are both at zero.
>>
No. 967558 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 6, 4, 4, 1, 8, 5, 2, 2, 1, 3, 3, 2, 9, 5, 2, 6, 6, 5, 5 = 84

>>967508
>>967512
>>967507
Patches is becoming exceptionally good at turning on lights that harm people. She's a little worried if she keeps this up she'll end up 'god of harmful light' or something when she's older and has more of that essence stuff. "Anythin' else you're allergic to, stranger? I was about to prepare lunch fer all of us, although the selection's a bit lacking... only grains, as far as I can see." She wanders over to a wall panel to communicate with, punches in a few good guesses for where Tasnim might be, and speaks through the tubes. "Miss Mammoth, yer presence is requested in the kitchen. Maybe wrap things up and come what over? The contact information for this room if you wanna speak back the other what way is up-down-down-up-up-down-up-down. Thank you..." She pulls away from the panel. "But if it's tamperin' yer worried about, I gots me a solution what that could make things easier. Ever seen starch glue? I can make a modification, if I get me the ingredients... well, I ain't wanna spoil too many details, it's better y'all don't know how it's made and just how it works."

[b]Patches is going to make a few calls to some heavily trafficked rooms, based on the information Ada gave her earlier and cross-referencing it with the rooms she actually knows about, trying to call out to Tasnim. If she hasn't just used her Destiny up, I'd like to apply it here to make it go to the right room, luckily.[b]
>>
No. 967561 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 6, 8, 3, 9, 6, 10, 4, 5, 10, 9, 1, 3, 7, 1, 4, 6, 1, 9, 4 = 109

>>967512
>Speaking of which, there's also at least one gray crystal hemisphere set in the icebox wall which Patches "helpfully" activates. That light causes Desert Locust's exposed skin to erupt in flames
Jan Do will attempt to deactivate the light, if such a thing is possible without outright destroying it, or somehow withdrawing the mote of essence bestowed upon it. In the case an "off" switch is not available, covering the offending fixture with one of the surviving pans might be sufficient to ward off further accidental exposure. If successful, this should allow the casteless lunar to resume her search.

>>967512
>She's never had truck with malign beings from beyond creation before, doesn't intend to bring famine and ruin and whatnot, although the newfound ability to turn into a bug monster and the talking claw skates grafted onto her feet are new and somewhat worrisome developments.
Desert Locust's earnest attempt to reassure her companions is met with a wry chuckle.

"We are all monster here, I'm afraid. Anathema one and all, to the eyes of the Immaculate faith." Her amusement fading, she muses on the matter at hand. "The demon warned the lights were harmful- it is odd they are also selective. By whatever means this light tells friend from foe, it has so far only seen fit to sear two of our number."

>I was about to prepare lunch fer all of us, although the selection's a bit lacking... only grains, as far as I can see.
The Dusk interrupts, and directs the god-blooded hare's attention to the oversized saddle bags >>961179 that had been moved to the kitchen for storage the night prior.
>>
No. 967968 ID: f57349

>>966956
Wits 3, Survival 0, -2 wound penalty, two-die stunt, one success.
>>967150
Perception 3, Survival 1, no stunt for the actual tracking, also one success. It's a tie. Tasnim isn't fooled into wandering out onto the roof, but diligently following Noir's footprints around all afternoon will bring her no closer to catching up with his current position.

>>967490
When Tasnim next checks through her inventory, this note is tucked among the medical supplies, ink still wet, scribbled on a scrap of high-grade vellum in some baffling foreign language.
>>
No. 967982 ID: f57349

>>967561
One success on Intelligence + Lore isn't enough to find an off switch. The light tingles unpleasantly on Jan Do's skin but not injurious. Covering it up with a frying pan or debris is easy enough, and ice soon holds the cover in place. Dimmer glows from beneath the thick crust of mundane ice suggest other light sources further back in the freezer, which apparently produce no heat.

>>967512
> knowledge check on the figures adorning the gilded rack.
> rolled 5, 10, 10, 7, 9, 5, 10
They're naturally material spirits, but not elementals. Former humans, somehow transfigured into an entirely novel category of being. Direct prayer or other donation of essence would probably be sufficient to wake any of them up.
>>
No. 968313 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 4, 10, 1, 10, 1, 3, 1, 10, 4, 10, 1, 8, 10, 10, 2, 2, 10, 4, 1, 7, 6, 8, 8, 3, 5, 7, 8, 3, 8, 5, 7, 2, 6, 7, 10, 7, 4, 10, 3, 1, 5, 8, 10, 2, 6, 2, 9, 5, 7, 4, 6, 5, 2, 5, 1, 3, 9, 4, 10 = 334

>>967982
Desert Locust, once again the first person to become aware that some unseen force is present and potentially listening, makes the nature of the statues know, and in a hushed tone worriedly suggests they might want to avoid unnecessary prayers given in their direction. If the uninvited-guest-turned-guide is to be believed, which Des thinks is wise given the unpleasant feeling of tension following her, then a malevolent force has twisted this place, and whatever dwells within represents a bit of a threat.

>>967561
"Do you put much stock in all that? The texts I mean. Immaculates have never done me any favors, don't much care for people with big sticks telling others who's fit to live and who needs to be run out of town."

Des makes it known she wants to make her way back to the main room before being informed the lights are a problem there as well. So, she instead searches for an alternate way back to the surgery parlor that doesn't go through the grand salon.

Probably an Intelligence + lore roll for navigation? Survival would normally apply, but lore is the skill for geomancy, which seems more relevant inside a manse than wilderness skills. If I'm correct, that's Int 3, lore 1.
>>
No. 968317 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 7, 1, 1, 9, 9, 10, 8, 10, 1, 6, 2, 2, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 9, 4, 6, 1, 5, 5, 3, 7, 4, 3, 5, 9, 7, 2, 7, 6, 2, 9, 2, 8, 9, 2, 9, 6, 7, 6, 5, 7, 5, 9, 5, 2, 10, 1, 7, 5, 6, 3, 6, 7, 8, 8 = 349

>>967968
Noir, in the process of trying to actually shake Tasnim, overestimates his ability to break away, and catches himself trapped in the same room as her, trying to stay as still as possible while balancing on top of the door frame the medic "reading" his note now occupies.

A sleeping Ada mumbles something to do with a "sloped qaf" and the itchy rock she found there, although only Tasnim actually understands the barely intelligible somniloquy.

Dice for holding still in the corner of the ceiling, stealth and maybe athletics?
>>
No. 968329 ID: f57349

>>963250
>>968313
The room in the basement directly under the parlor/surgical theater has more elaborate tomb-engravings on the walls, and remains of a statue which was apparently tipped over and smashed. Under the former pedestal is a four foot by seven foot vertical shaft, thirty feet deep. The moldering remains of a rope dangle from a crude pulley attached to the ceiling by an iron spike. There are at least two dead bodies down there, one of them wearing what appears to be a jade ring.

As for routes leading back upward, there's the ash-pit under the parlor's fireplace, which is a bit too narrow for anyone with a human-standard skull but could easily accommodate a swarm of insects - provided they didn't mind crawling through ashes and maybe magically intensified fire.
Alternatively, the next tomb to the north (whose statue appears to be intact) includes a spiral staircase leading upward to some yet unexplored area near the parlor.
Or, you could just take the main stairs back up to the level with the entrance hall, same route by which supplies were hauled to the freezer, but turn east instead of west. Currently that door into the parlor is still magically locked and barred, but it's a fairly sloppy low-level sort of warding, sustained by the same manse you're attuned to, so you've got plenty of plausible options for bypassing or breaking it.
>>
No. 968334 ID: f57349

>>968317
Nobody can see you. Now what?
>>
No. 968415 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 2, 3, 10, 5, 3, 10, 6, 5, 4, 7, 8, 3, 3, 4, 6, 4, 6, 10, 9 = 117

>>967561
"Ah... I weren't be considerin' that, sorry." Patches looks bashful. "I'm so used to makin' food for myself... vegetarian. The meaty stuff gums up my workinans that all you need't know. But it's true y'all got them what something to eat with this."

Patches pads over to the meat, grabbing a knife from the selection-- possibly not one suited for cutting meat, but it makes no difference to her. She takes a chunk over to the counters, plopping it down on a plate while she clears some space, and looks for kindling for the stove-- unless that's powered by motes too. They have some kindling in the forge, so she might have to make a trip there. "If'n Miss Mammoth gets back to me and I can get what I need from her, I think I can make... eh, well, melted cheese patties on bread. Kind of like a... cheese sandwich, usin' minced meat. Maybe with some kinda sauce. But for now, meat sandwiches for everyone."

Patches is going to increase her familiarity with the tools and run through how she'd use them properly... right. If she does this and that... maybe this isn't so hard after all, huh? Cooking by the book won't do, so she'll just work from chemical assumptions and raise Craft(Water) to 3 for 4 XP. She's also going to pull out some peat to put in the stove and start it, delighted to find it here. Time to start some water to boil as well, perfect for making dough with the bags of grains found in the pantry and from there, bread to combine with the minced and cooked meat. Just normal hamburgers for everyone here... and bread for herself to eat. Better than starving.
>>
No. 968433 ID: f57349

>>968415
Making everything from scratch, and having to catch up on assorted kitchen maintenance as you go, means the big meal ends up being closer to dinner than lunch. Worth the wait, though: you manage to combine a limited selection of herbs and other ingredients into a completely new type of sauce, which pairs nicely with the flavor of those steak sandwiches, despite the fact you've never eaten meat yourself. Good hearty meal for everybody (except the obligate herbivore, though leaves from that magic apple staff might be worth investigating further when it's re-planted at sundown) and some leftovers which can either be saved for breakfast, or shared with those two demonic guard-apes out on the front porch.

As for the longer term, you've got just under a hundred pounds of meat per exalt, but it's not all prime cuts. Some of that weight is water, bone, connective tissue, and other indigestible stuff, and even the actual muscle is somewhat tough and stringy until it's been softened up by a long, slow cooking process. That's what you get from wild-caught mammoth as opposed to, say, veal. Seems to be a frozen wasteland outside, so it'd probably be unwise to count on any useful amount of forage unless someone develops magical powers to help with that. About forty pounds per exalt of dry fruit, legumes, and grain, plenty of oil, magical ration of firewood and apples, Patches might be able to survive on a diet of mostly leaves... looks like the food situation is firmly under control for at least the next month or two. With reasonable rationing and some further culinary innovation https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/craproot you could make it three. Best case scenario still leaves everyone half-starved (not to mention sick and tired of apples) well before the spring thaw, though, unless somebody can bring in more supplies.
>>
No. 968506 ID: d9acdc

rolled 3, 10, 3, 5, 6, 9, 1, 9, 9, 7, 3, 10, 10, 2, 6, 8, 7, 3, 6, 1, 6, 7, 7, 9, 6, 5, 6, 3, 10, 3, 2, 5, 3, 9, 1, 9, 1, 6, 6, 7, 4, 7, 7, 8, 10, 1, 4, 6, 8, 6, 10, 7, 3, 5, 3, 7, 6, 6, 8, 9 = 354

>>968334
Hungry and in pain, a wave of light headedness hits Noir; overcome by dizziness, he reaches out to support himself, then yelps in pain as he remembers why he wasn't putting pressure on his injured arm. Balance disrupted, his foot slips and he tumbles unceremoniously from the dark corner into a heap in front of Tasnim. He smiles weakly, attempts a wave and immediately regrets it with a wince.

Rolling to read motivation.

>>967286
In the hours before Noir and Tasnim re-unite, the man in black followed the trail of food and waited for the right moment to steal a meal. As soon as the bug-woman turned her back in the ice-box, he closed the door on her and snuck past into the kitchen, making off with a few handfuls of the dried fruit and apples stored there.
>>
No. 968518 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 10, 4, 7, 7, 6, 5, 10, 5, 10, 6, 9, 3, 4, 4, 7, 6, 10, 9, 3 = 129

>>968313
>Desert Locust, once again the first person to become aware that some unseen force is present and potentially listening, makes the nature of the statues know, and in a hushed tone worriedly suggests they might want to avoid unnecessary prayers given in their direction. If the uninvited-guest-turned-guide is to be believed, which Des thinks is wise given the unpleasant feeling of tension following her, then a malevolent force has twisted this place, and whatever dwells within represents a bit of a threat.
Jan Do perceives the somnolent statues as less of a pressing threat than her companion, but agrees that it seems wiser to wake the beings at the time and circumstance of our choosing, rather than while engaged with other tasks.

She will make a preliminary examination of the sleeping spirits, activating Hearing the Unspoken Word and Exquisite Etiquette Style in support of a Read Motivation attempt.

>"Do you put much stock in all that? The texts I mean. Immaculates have never done me any favors, don't much care for people with big sticks telling others who's fit to live and who needs to be run out of town."
"I have had the privilege to read some of the Wyld Hunt's own training manuals- whatever their beliefs, they have accumulated useful knowledge on many supernatural dangers. But no, I was not a member of the faith in life, nor afterwards. As I said, their order would have little love for any of our number."

>>968415
>"Ah... I weren't be considerin' that, sorry." Patches looks bashful. "I'm so used to makin' food for myself... vegetarian. The meaty stuff gums up my workinans that all you need't know. But it's true y'all got them what something to eat with this."
"It was not my intent to cast aspersions on your own practices, merely to bring to your attention what you had overlooked."
>>
No. 968531 ID: afdebc

rolled 8, 10, 7, 7, 4, 3, 5, 4, 10, 1, 3, 2, 10, 10, 7, 1, 9, 10, 2, 3, 8, 6, 2, 7, 2, 9, 10, 2, 4, 9 = 175

>>967558
>"Miss Mammoth, yer presence is requested in the kitchen. Maybe wrap things up and come what over? The contact information for this room if you wanna speak back the other what way is up-down-down-up-up-down-up-down. Thank you..."
>Hmm, @Gilly , why did Patches want the Doc in the kitchen?
>Mammoth Milk
Since destiny was invoked, I'm going to assume Patches used skytongue, so that could be understood.

Tasnim, interrupted in her pursuit of her wayward patient by a noisy wall panel, this time deigns to answer instead of tossing furniture at the offending ornamentation.

"You want what? Is anyone injured down there? No? Then I have more important matters to attend to. Goodbye."

>>967968
>Tasnim isn't fooled into wandering out onto the roof, but diligently following Noir's footprints around all afternoon will bring her no closer to catching up with his current position.
After several hours of following footsteps, the doctor's level of concern and anxiety slowly rise. She hasn't found him yet, and he's apparently intent on running around in that fool stealth suite until he collapses, or worse. This isn't working. Maybe she needs to get the others to help-

>>968506
>Hungry and in pain, a wave of light headedness hits Noir; overcome by dizziness, he reaches out to support himself, then yelps in pain as he remembers why he wasn't putting pressure on his injured arm. Balance disrupted, his foot slips and he tumbles unceremoniously from the dark corner into a heap in front of Tasnim. He smiles weakly, attempts a wave and immediately regrets it with a wince.
Surprise, relief, and frustrated anger make their way across the doctor's face as her quarry falls, almost literally, in her lap. In moments she is crouched down besides the fallen Night, examining him and speaking rapidly in skytongue.

"Are you all right- if you made this worse- what were you thinking running off like that! What kind of foolhardy idiot can't hold still long enough for a surgeon to close him back up, why are you like this, you never listen to..."

An awkward pause ensues.

"...you don't understand a word I'm saying, do you. How could I remember the way you act, but not that we couldn't speak? Ugh. This doesn't make any sense. Your dressing down is going to have to wait until I can get one of the others to translate, right now you need a dressing on that. Come with me."

The bespectacled doctor in blue attempts to help Noir to his feet, and begins attempting to lead him back to the parlor, and her medical kit. If he doesn't resist, she's going to finish the wrap up of the surgery she couldn't before, and dose him with celestial wine to restore lost health levels.

Rolling Intelligence 5 + Medicine 4 + Stunt + First Intelligence Excellency 5 for treatement.

>Rolling to read motivation.
I'm counting at least two successes on your roll, and Tasnim isn't trying to hide anything, so:

Noir's presumed doctor appears genuinely concerned for his well being, although frustrated and exasperated with his attempts to evade her care and their inability to communicate.
>>
No. 968541 ID: f57349

>>968506
I'll leave it to Tasnim's player to describe exact current feelings, but that's more than enough successes to pick up on her intimacies of professional responsibility toward medical patients in general, and anxious protectiveness toward Noir personally.

Also, technically, even after clumsily falling off the door and down a few stairs, noticing Noir's presence would require four successes on Perception + Awareness unless the cloaking device either broke down or was deliberately deactivated. Six, with anima power active.

For similar reasons, Larceny-based action goes smoothly too, though those dried berries are almost painfully sour - not rotten, just intense enough it's probably meant as small portions to spice up a diet of bland starchy staple grains, rather than for stuffing your face all at once.

>>968518
These are almost certainly that same group of four you noticed earlier. >>959808 They seem to be domestic servants, with a clear internal chain of command: despite a youthful appearance the curly-haired woman has overall chronological seniority, but orders from the man with bushy eyebrows will take precedence in matters of food preparation (and, by extension, general kitchen management) due to his training as a chef. None of them seem even slightly prepared to initiate real violence, or respond to it as anything other than awed spectators or terrified victims.
>>
No. 968580 ID: d9acdc

rolled 10, 1, 5, 5, 7, 8, 6, 1, 10, 3, 7, 5, 1, 3, 6, 3, 1, 9, 4, 4, 8, 2, 1, 1, 3, 1, 5, 5, 5, 4, 8, 5, 10, 1, 1, 2, 1, 10, 3, 6, 10, 1, 1, 1, 8, 4, 4, 7, 8, 4, 1, 7, 3, 7, 9, 5, 10, 5, 3, 6 = 285

>>968531
Following like a scolded puppy, Noir almost shrinks, his imposing silhouette momentarily appearing smaller in tow behind what might aptly be described as a force of nature. As she finishes dressing the wound and plying him with wine, he begins to attempt charades, drawing what amounts to a house and a question mark, trying to gather information on where he is and what's been going on. Eventually he mimes for Ada's bags, trying to go through them for clues as to what's been going on, or at least conversational aides. He finds the partially drawn maps, and begins studying what he can of the layout, looking for potential

Not sure what kind of roll that is, maybe doesn't even count as mechanically resolvable/consequential, but gathering intel based on your surroundings, looking for secrets based on architecture, and rummaging through people's belongings to find out information on them all seem like reasonable things to attempt with potential interpersonal fallout.
>>
No. 968615 ID: f57349

>>968531
First dose of celestial wine heals 3 levels of damage, eradicates an infection which Tasnim's diagnostic skills can easily confirm had already taken root in the wound (Stamina 1 + Resistance 0 + Deprivation Penalty -1 + Wound Penalty -2 = Bad News), also incidentally curing any and all other diseases in or upon Noir's body, mind, and spirit, no matter how subtle or persistent. A single dose won't guarantee lasting immunity, but on the other hand, it's also not enough for intoxication penalties. Assuming Noir manages to avoid combat, heavy exertion, or further injury, that level of lethal damage remaining in his -0 health box will sort itself out in at most twelve hours - or six hours with proper rest.

The wine also tastes great, and is potentially addictive, just like mundane alcohol but more so. Bottle has two more doses. Replacing a dose using Scorpion And Toad Mastery will cost 10m.
>>
No. 968699 ID: dbae9d

rolled 2, 3, 3, 6, 2, 2, 8, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 4, 9, 4, 3, 9, 1, 9, 7, 8, 3, 9, 2, 1, 3, 4, 1, 1, 10 = 126

>>968580
Well, the first thing you notice as you start to pull Ada’s satchel away from her is that she has a telekinetic grip strength of several hundreds of pounds as she sits up and holds out her hand for him to let go.

“Please don’t touch my things without permission, Rainbow in the Dark. I’m also more than qualified to answer any questions that you might have on my own.”

The things that are easy to see from the bag, regardless, are some rolls of parchment, the symbol of the Falkhawsen, and a few small mapmaking and Geomancy tools that have their own dedicated pockets, like a compass and a compass.

She was, naturally, speaking in Old Realm.
>>
No. 968730 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 10, 1, 6, 4, 4, 2, 9, 6, 2, 2, 5, 2, 10, 1, 2, 6, 6, 5, 4, 9, 2, 9, 1, 1, 7, 10, 7, 9, 9, 9, 1, 6, 8, 2, 10, 9, 2, 9, 2 = 214

>>968580
>he begins to attempt charades, drawing what amounts to a house and a question mark, trying to gather information on where he is and what's been going on
Information gathering via charades are rather less than successful, as the physician doesn't know where where they are, how they got here, or what is going on. (Well, they appear to be in the North, at least). The concept of "forgetfulness" or "amnesia" seems like it would be tricky to get across with charades, but given they are both experiencing the condition, perhaps her attempt to try and convey an empty will get the point across.

Via crude drawings, she manages to convey there are... seven? of them here. 3 figures with suns on their brows, 3 with moons... and a rabbit. Apparently. That's one more than Noir remembers from the battle against the yeti.

I'm going to guess trying to convey simple concepts across language barriers via charades and drawings is performance, so rolling Charisma 3 + Performance 0 + Stunt.

>>968615
>Assuming Noir manages to avoid combat, heavy exertion, or further injury, that level of lethal damage remaining in his -0 health box will sort itself out in at most twelve hours - or six hours with proper rest
Good. So long as he follows doctor's order (not that he can understand her) and keeps his more foolhardy impulses in check (ha!) he should recover. Perhaps healing the last of the scratches naturally will teach him some caution.

>Bottle has two more doses. Replacing a dose using Scorpion And Toad Mastery will cost 10m.
No time like the present, or reason to let motes dwell unused in reserve. Tasnim, apparently unconcerned with modesty in Noir's presence, spends 10 motes personal and milks another dose of Celestial wine from her flesh, removing any debate as to whether the bottle was two-thirds full or a third empty.

>>968699
>She was, naturally, speaking in Old Realm.
The No Moon mutters something unfavorable in skytongue about people placing more value in being able to speak to spirits than each other.

"You are awake? Good, I want to see if that searing light did any lasting damage. And ask him not to run off again, if you would?" she addresses Adamant Strix, still in the northern tongue.

Tasnim is going to attempt diagnosis patient, so Perception 3 + Medicine 4 + Stunt (Motivation resonant). With extra dice, in case it's another roll to try and puzzle out a shaping effect (trying to discern the problem, and possible means to treat the Dexterity damage if discovered, or puzzle out preventative measures). If Ada is willing to translate, Tasnim will pass on her doctor's instructions to Noir (avoid combat, heavy exertion and further injury and you should be fine- just don't do anything foolish like getting an arm ripped off or running off while you're still being put back together!).
>>
No. 968735 ID: f57349

>>968730
Three successes on the diagnosis is just enough to rule out any conventional sort of nerve damage and recall some fragmentary references to "McFly Syndrome," mostly in the context of horrific industrial accidents involving damaged reality engines. Given that Ada isn't wailing in agony, or collapsing into a translucent silhouette, the condition seems to be stable. An exalt might recover on their own, in time, but any treatment to ease or hasten that process is beyond your current ability. "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not an ontologist!"
>>
No. 968736 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 3, 6, 2, 10, 9, 9, 8, 7, 9, 9, 6, 3, 4, 8, 7, 7, 6, 8, 9, 7, 2, 6, 2, 4, 7, 5, 1, 6, 8, 6, 8, 3, 3, 3, 9, 5, 6, 3, 6, 4, 6, 5, 9, 2, 6, 4, 3, 5, 8, 4, 5, 10, 7, 1, 6, 8, 1, 10, 1 = 344

>>968730
>If Ada is willing to translate, Tasnim will pass on her doctor's instructions to Noir
Noir is willing to receive, and performs much head bowing and hand clasping towards Tasnim, but is clearly reluctant to use her as an intermediate himself.

>>968699
>The things that are easy to see from the bag, regardless, are some rolls of parchment, the symbol of the Falkhawsen, and a few small mapmaking and Geomancy tools
He does however want to ask her about the dried fruits in her bag, which she's somehow only just noticing- luckily they're not getting too much juice on her mapping supplies.

Rolling to plant/have planted stollen food on Ada without being seen.
>>
No. 968738 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 9, 6, 10, 2, 10, 7, 6, 6, 9, 1, 10, 4, 9, 6, 7, 10, 10, 8, 5, 7, 6, 7, 9, 10, 7, 3, 7, 9, 6, 9, 3, 9, 2, 8, 2, 10, 9, 8, 5, 7, 2, 10, 2, 5, 7, 9, 7, 3, 1, 10, 10, 7, 7, 7, 9, 6, 7, 5, 10 = 407

>>967558
> Anythin' else you're allergic to, stranger?
Aside from sunlight and fire? I have similarly bad reactions to stab wounds, kicks to the head, pitchforks, axes... really almost all of the stuff falling into the "deadly weapons" box. I don't particularly like mint, but that just makes me nauseous. Normally I've been pretty good roughing it on the streets, got a pretty Hardy stomach after living off what I could find or earn. Also, it's "Desert Locust", not "Stra"- wait, did I just say Locust? I mean Lilly. My name is Lilly, short for Lillian."
She mutters under her breath, looking down at her feet "Is that your fault? Where did that even come from...?"

>>968415
Des attempts to politely decline and deflect, stating she'd rather wait a few hours to eat. The fact that her stomach is growling and she's visibly drooling is "just a thing she does, don't worry" apparently.

Once the lights go out and everyone is back together, ready to eat (mostly) Desert Locust will go look for Fiasto and Felt, the chaotic essence of the two hot-blooded snow monsters easy enough for her to spot despite the unrelenting snowstorm. She wants to both keep an eye on them as well as invite them to dinner- unless of course Jan Do objects for security reasons, wanting to keep them stationed outside?

Searching for someone seems like it'd fall under perception+survival, so that's four dice plus stunts.
>>
No. 968739 ID: ac57f8

rolled 2, 10, 6, 10, 2, 6, 3 = 39

>>968736
Ada has no idea what Des is saying, and says as much in Rivertongue, recognizing some of the symbols on her bags as from Nexus, and a hell of a more likely option to talk to her than Seatongue. After all, she doesn't look at all like she came from the west.

"I'm going to guess that you don't know Old Realm, so is your medical knowledge self-invented techniques or just a hodgepodge of tricks and the like developed since the fall of the Shogunate?" She might have lacked tact on that one, but she was interested, since as best she was aware her not knowing Old Realm essentially served as a block from reading first age technical manuals and all of the nice knowledge contained, but she was an Exalt, and she could presumably make the kinds of techniques in those books from scratch. Now that she thought about it, so could she if she set her mind to it.

>>968736

I count 8 successes on 10 dice minimum, so I'm going to assume she doesn't notice you slipping them in there.

"What are you talking about? I don't keep fruit in my bag full of paper and other easily crushed things, that would just be silly and poorly organized. I HAD some Magitech repair tools on a frame pack that I think had some food in there, but I have no idea where that is right now."

She swapped back over to Old Realm to talk to Noir about the fruit he was asking about.
>>
No. 968747 ID: afdebc

>>968739
>so is your medical knowledge self-invented techniques or just a hodgepodge of tricks and the like developed since the fall of the Shogunate?
"I earned my medical license in Nexus, thank you very much. If you need require a further testimonial to my ability, you might recall he had only the one arm, the night prior."

Still intending to pass along the same info discussed in the last paragraph of >>968730 , only in rivertongue, as that's the language Ada and Tasnim share.

>>968735
After her examination, the Doctor shares her unfortunate diagnosis, and that while stable, Ada's injury is beyond her ability to treat. She advises avoiding the lights, and taking precautions against accidental exposure, such as wearing heavy clothes. We may need to take measures to block or obscure the lights if we're going to be trapped here for a prolonged period.
>>
No. 968772 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 5, 7, 9, 5, 5, 2, 5, 7, 5, 10, 4, 1, 4, 10, 9, 5, 7, 9, 7, 5, 2, 6, 9, 5, 3, 1, 8, 2, 2, 6, 1, 2, 7, 8, 3, 6, 7, 1, 1, 10, 7, 2, 3, 8, 8, 7, 7, 3, 2, 4, 1, 2, 7, 5, 8, 9, 4, 3, 2, 3, 9, 3, 4, 10, 6, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 1, 10, 6, 4, 3, 9, 2, 7, 8, 9, 7, 9, 9, 9, 4, 4, 5 = 472

>>968747

> Still intending to pass along the same info discussed in the last paragraph of >>968730 , only in rivertongue, as that's the language Ada and Tasnim share.

She does.

> "I earned my medical license in Nexus, thank you very much. If you need require a further testimonial to my ability, you might recall he had only the one arm, the night prior."

"I'm not intending to cast doubt on your ability, but for what it's worth the Nexus Licensing Board is a hurricane of corruption, and means almost literally nothing when it comes to your skills outside of how well you can bribe politicians from what I remember in a trip I had to take to that nightmare hell city for supplies.

"But, the fact that Rainbow in the Dark had previously did have his arm attached is the reason I wanted to ask, since if you're not able to speak or read Old Realm, that means you either had to learn it from someone who could and likely learned it from a first age treatise on human anatomy and advanced surgical procedures, or invented the technique yourself, both of which are really interesting sounding stories that I'd like to hear some day if now is an inopportune time."

But, with her diagnosis complete, she stands up, and stretches out from sleeping on a stone floor, she had been really tired before, and her parched lips proved to her only that she was still incredibly thirsty.

"Well, that might be a slight problem to avoid the lights. But as long as more haven't activated yet, I am going to the kitchen to see if the pipes are running potable water yet and getting something to drink if they have, since I need some water a lot more badly then I need to stop-unexisting. Care to come along the both of you? Strength in numbers and all that."

She more or less says the same paragraph in both Old Realm and Rivertongue, as it would have been rude to ask if they both wanted to go to one person.

Rolling Perception 4+Awareness 3+Stunt dice for awareness as she circumnavigates the Grand Hall to find a downstairs path to the kitchen that isn't awash in disintegration light.
>>
No. 968804 ID: afdebc

>>968772
"It is harder for the unqualified to bribe their way into positions that negatively impact the powerful and the rich than you seem to believe. Your continued insistence that all medical knowledge is somehow contained within a single language is both incorrect and insulting."

Whatever's Ada's intentions are here, as far as Tasnim is concerned, she has already explained the source of her expertise and is growing increasingly frustrated with her baffling preoccupation on a dead language, especially when she already aggravated on the matter of language barriers.

>Care to come along the both of you?
Assuming Noir agrees to accompany Ada, Tasnim places a hand on his (uninjured) shoulder and changes shape, becoming an ermine perched upon his shoulder instead. She chitters, sounding almost scolding, and settles in to ride.
>>
No. 968818 ID: afdebc

While Patches (and possibly Desert Locust Lily) prepare the meal >>968433 , Jan Do will spend her time in meditation and contemplation, studying the wax tablet >>967318 . By dinnertime, she bears incomplete fragments of poetry, immaculately scribed on scraps of paper, in what looks suspiciously like blood.

Once, there was a maiden…
…who was always looking forward to the way things would be.


Putting one day's training towards Secrets of Future Strife.

>>968738
No objections.
>>
No. 968972 ID: f57349

>>968772
From the parlor, you find a semi-concealed passage in the north wall leading to a room about 20' east-west by 30' north-south, bare apart from eight small sleeping platforms. Hall continues westward into the garden (behind some fake shrubbery) and there's a spiral staircase wide enough for two people to walk side by side leading both up and down.

Assuming Ada takes the stairs down (since much of the garden has LOS to that chandelier and the kitchen is, after all, in the basement) she soon meets Des coming the other way. >>968329
>>
No. 969129 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 9, 8, 3, 8, 10, 10, 2, 8, 7, 7, 2, 7, 8, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 10, 8, 1, 9, 10, 8, 9, 6, 6, 6, 6, 2, 2, 7, 4, 5, 10, 10, 4, 4, 9, 8, 4, 1, 7, 7, 6, 2, 9, 2, 1, 3, 5, 10, 4, 4 = 340

>>968804
Noir follows about thirty paces back, Adas blue hair and heels barely in view as they travel down the twisting staircase. He continues to keep his distance all throughout dinner, sitting with his back to a wall watching the others eat from afar; unlike Desert Locust, he does take the free meal, muttering an awkward thanks to Patches in the only language no one else present understands. He starts slowly, testing the strange food with a tentative chew, before scarfing it down, half chocking in the process, pawing at Tasnim to help him find water.

While the others savor their meal, he licks his hands cleans and begins to slink towards >>968329
the basement, hoping to leave unnoticed with the exception of Tasnim, who he does not attempt to prevent from joining. Keeping the pressure of the new stitches and dressing, he slowly descends down the shaft with the moldering rope, and explores what lies at the bottom.

Rolling for climbing and searching:
Dex five, athletics one, specialty three, stunt, perception five, awareness five (or would that be investigation five? I've got a two dot specialty in "while unseen" that may apply) and stunt.
>>
No. 969130 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 10, 4, 3, 3, 2, 9, 10, 7, 10, 4, 3, 6, 5, 6, 8, 2, 9, 7, 5, 8, 6, 6, 8, 1, 10, 3, 2, 1, 9, 1, 2, 10, 2, 9, 6, 9, 8, 6, 8, 7, 4, 2, 6, 2, 3, 8, 2, 9, 9, 9, 10, 1, 6, 2, 6, 10, 6, 3, 8 = 350

Desert Locust and Adamant Strix have properly met for the first time again- Des immediately opens her arms for a big hug, only to stop somewhat confused in the middle.

"It's so good to see you again! It's been... ah, wait, sorry, I must have mistook you for someone else. I swear, you look exactly like someone I know...
Anyways, awkward introductions aside, I'm about to head outside and gather the sentries for dinner, you all should wash up and make sure we've got a nice secure place to have a meal.

Since, OOC I imagine this is going to involve social combat, here's some dice for join debate:
Wits three, awareness three, stunt.
>>
No. 969146 ID: f57349

>>969129
Scything blade trap is still sharp, edge glittering brilliantly under your visor's analysis, but the mechanism has been permanently jammed by crusty brown blood. Rope can't safely bear any useful amount of weight, and it's remaining length would be consistent with both ends having being cut off by the blade near the top of the shaft.

There are actually four bodies at the bottom of the shaft. Ordered by apparent time-of-death...
1: Decades-old mummy huddled up against the wall with the previously observed black jade ring (a 1-dot artifact, beyond your ability to fully identify but probably mostly harmless, seal is the mon of House Peleps) whose knees were broken and then healed improperly, implying survival for at least some weeks after the injury rather than prompt expiration by blood loss or thirst.
2: Mostly skeletal remains cut in half at the solar plexus, presumably by the scything blade. One rib is actually split cleanly lengthwise like a celery stalk, which shouldn't be possible for a cut inflicted by any ordinary metal, stone, or glass. Severe post-mortem injury to the thighbones, not consistent with a fall, and many other bones disarticulated. Scratch-marks in connective tissue on joints match #1's teeth.
3) Dry crumbly skeleton sprawled out on the floor, at least a century older than the previous two, imploded skull and shattered cervical vertebrae, consistent with someone already in poor health falling from near the top of the shaft head-first.
4) Shockingly well-preserved corpse inside a stone coffin set into a niche in the long side of the shaft - at first glance, you almost think it's a wax statue rather than an actual body. Face matches one of the portraits in that room directly above the entrance hall. A thick gold disc is on the body's forehead, which you can't quite reach, because the lid of the coffin can only be lifted by about the width of a finger before it hits the top of the niche in the wall.

Dragging that coffin halfway out of the niche would make it easy to open, but in such a tight space there's no good way to do that with only one hand - at least not without additional tools - and it would be exactly the sort of work which might dislocate a weak shoulder. Fully repairing your stealth suit's exomuscular fibers will also significantly improve the margin for error.
>>
No. 969195 ID: 0640da

rolled 2, 10, 6, 4, 5, 5, 3, 3, 5, 1, 10, 2, 7, 9, 3, 5, 8, 10, 10, 4, 6, 2, 1, 3, 1, 1, 10, 4, 7, 7, 8, 1, 8, 3, 1, 1, 9, 3, 7, 4, 8, 2, 3, 1, 9, 8, 8, 9, 9, 2, 5, 8, 2, 9, 8, 8, 7, 2, 2, 3 = 312

>>968433
Patches sets the table for everyone to arrive, having made some excellent food and... she's honestly not sure how good it is, but it smells dandy, even if she's totally allergic. Scent and taste tend to be linked, so she assumed that by making it smell good it would taste good-- and she was right, funny enough. She fully expects up to 10 visitors, so she makes places for 10 but also notes she should discuss the food situation with them before they get too high and mighty. Desert Locust, whom she will prefer to call Miss Locust, because she seems like a Locust and not a Lilly, was definitely hungry, and she knows that psycho bitch friendly exalt (she hopes she can't read thoughts) hasn't eaten since... well she's been around her for 25 hours by this point. She's had some leaves, and will continue to have some leaves while everyone else eats fancy, but this can't continue.

She flicks onto some known channels on the communicator and sends a simple message-- 'Dinner is served'm up. Get down here fore you break'm somethin, ya'll needs food.'

Then she waits. While she's waiting, though, she strikes up conversation with anyone here. "So... my name's Patches, but I ain't exactly afraid to say my pa's ain't named Patches. He's more of a Bramblethorn, which is why I thought my name was Patches Bramblethorn up til' 12, but accordin' to my pa, that ain't my name, it's Patches in Reality. He says it ain't a name he picked, what got chosen for me by some god or somethin' as part of a gamble or deal, he ain't quite sure which cause it's fickle an all that. But I ain't asked how y'all got your names. Any interestin' stories?"
>>
No. 969197 ID: f57349

>>969195
The available tables are large enough you could almost have ten people dining at one of them, but two tables pushed together would allow much more elbow room.

What's the actual seating chart look like, in terms of who will be next to who? Also, how are you going to deal with the fact that the dining room only seems to have four usable chairs?
>>
No. 969199 ID: 0640da
File 159159805502.png - (21.94KB , 960x540 , unknown[1].png )
969199

rolled 9, 5, 1, 3, 3, 5, 2, 5, 1, 10, 7, 9, 9, 8, 2, 10, 1, 4, 7, 7, 6, 4, 5, 1, 3, 10, 5, 6, 6, 3, 7, 7, 6, 7, 5, 1, 10, 1, 3, 4, 8, 3, 4, 3, 8, 1, 6, 8, 2, 3, 9, 5, 4, 3, 1, 2, 1, 8, 2, 4 = 293

>>969197
Ada can't sit next to Patches, and Jan Do can't sit next to Ada. Locust and Jan Do get along. Doc and Noir have been looking for one another, but Noir doesn't want to be near Doc, although she's going to sit them next to one another because all she knows is there was surgery and the surgeon and patient should sit together. Clever Fox is an unknown, as are any additional guests.

Ada gets the Parlor chair because it makes her feel important and in charge.

Jan Do and Locust will sit on the bench next to one another, and Patches will sit on her own chair so she can get in and out and bring the Exalted things. Noir and Doc will also share a bench. The unknown number of guests will sit in the 3 remaining chairs, including Clever Fox and possibly the two blood apes, although if the blood apes are present, present Patches will be not. Patches is also willing to change places with Jan Do if she finds the seating inconvenient, although she doesn't know the rest of the cast well enough to be willing to trade places and sitting where Locust is would not only put her in view of the blood apes, but in range for Adamant Strix to do weird things again. She wants to avoid that. For now.

So she'll set up two tables in separate rooms in that scenario-- one table for outer guests in the west main stairwell, like the blood apes and any unknown guests like ghosts and spirits, and one table for inner guests, like the exalted.

The two benches will flank the inner table, with the lavish parlor chair opposite the two regular chairs used in the inner table, and the outer table will be set up for the blood apes-- with additional settings.

Full diagram: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458535618876801035/719433855454412800/unknown.png

Patches resolves to make more chairs, a more fitting table and real chairs soon, although she may have other things to do in the meantime. For example, talking to her guests. That somehow doesn't seem like the right framing, but she more or less set up the dining hall, so let's go with it for now.
>>
No. 969201 ID: ac57f8

rolled 8, 4, 8, 9, 6, 5, 9, 6, 9, 5, 8, 1, 10, 4, 10, 10, 10, 1, 9, 5, 7, 5, 8, 3, 1, 8, 1, 6, 4, 5, 8, 10, 10, 1, 4, 7, 10, 7, 10, 5 = 257

>>969130
"That sounds fairly unlikely that you'd mistake me for someone else. After all, most westerners have more greenish hair and eyes. Anyway, magical amnesia tends to not touch emotional feelings, like when the great king Sunrise Over the Mountain had his memories sealed in a crystal orb by his circle mates for the sake of a bet that even without his memories he would serve as an implacable bulwark as his love for his kingdom transcended his memory as it's king. A bet that he won, and launched a pretty in depth study into the effect of memories in the formation and retention of emotional attachments and actually led to an underhanded tactic of Solars using high end sorcery to steal certain confidants' memories to observe their naked genuine emotions towards them when they couldn't trust their own charms to pull the truth from them for a good few centuries until the deliberative banned the practice since it was mostly being used on other Exalts. But, food, that sounds good. Especially water. I can't forget what I'm coming here for."

As she says that, she almost immediately forgets what she's coming here for as she recognizes that she's in a tomb, and activates her Essence Sight for 4 motes and Twilight anima power for 5 motes (both personal), taking a look around for hidden things, looking for things that she could gather without arousing the hungry dead, since that would not be a fun encounter as she takes 15 minutes to root around in the tomb for items, almost forgetting that she's incredibly thirsty and pretty hungry as she gets lost in her work, pulling out a piece of paper and meticulously taking notes and forming a list of everything that she finds. She had just woken up, so this is arguably the start of her day, so making this list counts as 1/3 of her desires for the day and presumably there aren't any books or artifacts to build.

Perception 4+Awareness 3+Stunt dice on finding things

Int 5+ Occult 4+Stunt+3 automatic successes on identifying artifacts

Wits 2+Awareness 3+Stunt for join debate, though that seems more likely at the actual dinner table.
>>
No. 969202 ID: f57349

>>969201
For the sake of minimizing time paradoxes I'm going to assume Noir helps Ada search the tomb immediately rather than waiting until after dinner.
>>969146
No lingering po soul ("zomby goast," in the vernacular) or other guardian is in evidence. Possibly it was already dealt with long ago, and the mortal remains and grave goods of the former Twilight Caste Larquen Quen can be plundered without fear of spiritual retribution; possibly it is simply somewhere else at the moment, or concealing itself unusually well.

Ada identifies the "gold disk" as an orichalcum hearthstone amulet, and the bits of flaky gray debris piled on top of it as the remains of a hearthstone. Telekinesis makes extraction trivial.
>>
No. 969243 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 3, 10, 4, 9, 5, 3, 5, 10, 1, 10, 5, 4, 6, 6, 5, 6, 10, 1, 3, 4, 3, 2, 2, 4, 1, 7, 4, 3, 7, 6, 2, 7, 6, 2, 6, 5, 6, 8, 1 = 196

>during Noir's search of the crypt
>>969146
As her companion moved with practiced delicacy, surveying the long-ago crime scene with practiced skill, Tasnim's small eyes came close the black jade ring as Noir knelt to study the desiccated mummy (Dragon Blooded? The ring and and mons suggest as much, but aspect marking would be hard to recognize in a cadaver so far along, and in poor lighting, and were far from foolproof even in the living).

Rolling Intelligence 5 + Lore 3 + First Intelligence Excellency 5 + Stunt to attempt to identify the ring.

>at dinner
969129
>He continues to keep his distance all throughout dinner, sitting with his back to a wall watching the others eat from afar; unlike Desert Locust, he does take the free meal, muttering an awkward thanks to Patches in the only language no one else present understands.
The No Moon gives her solar mate a displeased look, with little patience for these antics, and attempts to prevent him from moving so far as to be out of conversational range, with ready access to translators.

I don't have specific dialog for it, but I'd like the player characters to exchange information, so they all get caught up on each other's discoveries so far (unless there's anything anyone wants to specifically conceal?).

If anyone does try to hide anything, here's a Perception 3 + Investigation 1 + Stunt roll to attempt to see past it.

>But I ain't asked how y'all got your names. Any interestin' stories?
Doctor Violette doesn't have a story to share behind her name- it's her name, the same she's always had. Unlike her contemporaries, she did not adopt a new name on her second breath, or when she left her previous life behind.
>>
No. 969244 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 5, 6, 2, 1, 8, 3, 10, 3, 6 = 49

>>969199
If the Dusk is disappointed to not be seated with Clever Fox, she is too polite to show it.

>>969243
>I don't have specific dialog for it, but I'd like the player characters to exchange information, so they all get caught up on each other's discoveries so far (unless there's anything anyone wants to specifically conceal?).
Jan Do will share what she's discovered so far (the masks in the kitchen and the arrangement with the Blood Ape and Yeti seem pertinent) and isn't concealing anything.

If Jan Do needs to sense motive, that's Perception 3 + Socialize 2 + Scrupulous Politeness 2, with bonuses from Exquisite Etiquette Style and Hearing the Unspoken Word.

>>969195
>But I ain't asked how y'all got your names. Any interestin' stories?
Jan Do relates that she was once a samurai, sworn to the service of her kingdom. She held true to that oath until her death, where she fell in honorable battle against an intruder armed with a breathtaking blade style that haunts her memory to this day. As a ronin, and one of the dead, she caste aside the name she bore in life, taking on her people's appellation for an unknown poet.

The swordswoman relates the story of her own death in a calm and serious manner, and gently spreads a scrap of paper (described here >>968818 ) against the table before her.
>>
No. 969245 ID: f57349

>>969243
> identify the ring
If you specify an individual by speaking their name or title aloud and spending two motes while pressing the mon into a seal on a document, and then anyone other than that individual breaks the seal, the document will be erased. Typically used in wax or clay, but it can actually work with any material which would be softened or dissolved by boiling in vinegar, including e.g. limestone. Only softens up a roughly obol-sized piece at a time, though. Intended for securing sensitive messages being sent on untrustworthy courier systems, but you can also use it for tamper-evident seals on other containers, or make knots harder to untie by fusing pebbles into the rope or ribbon.
>>
No. 969280 ID: ac57f8

>>969199
After having finished helping load the mammoth meat in the freezer, Fox quickly retired to taking a nap in someplace warm and cozy, and wound up in the entrance to one of the tubes for the intercom system, waking up for the food that she had come to the dining room, all of her senses snapping into focus on the portent of bad luck to come, and the clear evidence of one of the trio of dreams violating their place and taking a more hands on roll in the life of someone.

> -2Natural Enmity (Predatory carnivores and superstitious Northerners)

> Clever Fox: Fox (Predatory carnivore), Nationality (Haslanti)

> Roll 4, 5 (in discord since I needed to know the answer before I wrote this)

With all of the grace of a courtesan not wanting to reveal her deep distrust, distaste, and dislike for the abomination against the natural order in front of her, she politely declines the offer to sit next to her, preferring instead to sit next to Jan (admittedly as a win/win since she doesn't have to be physically close to Patches and does get to be close to Jan), and she's willing to hear no argument to why she shouldn't change places with Des, quietly weighing her options of trying to convince everyone else to take action against her, or if it would be worth it to see her served on this table next under a mask of white jade if anyone decides to try and read her intentions, placing her desire to sit next to Jan at the forefront as a mask.

> But I ain't asked how y'all got your names. Any interestin' stories?

"I was found as a fully formed infant from an icicle illuminated by the northern lights outside of Ice Home by my parents, but was otherwise a normal child with a knack for diplomacy. Thus, Shining Icicle Maiden." She was, at present, wearing a caribou fur dress going down to her feet and had snow white hair elaborately braided into a snowflake pattern on her back, held wide by braids of hair coming around her arms from the front of her head.
>>
No. 969342 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 2, 2, 10, 9, 7, 2, 9, 9, 10, 4, 10, 2, 1, 5, 9, 6, 8, 5, 5, 8, 5, 7, 8, 5, 1, 8, 10, 8, 9, 4, 2, 4, 5, 1, 6, 4, 6, 8, 4, 4, 7, 5, 7, 2, 7, 7, 5, 5, 9, 8, 10, 6, 4, 1, 7, 4, 6, 6, 5 = 349

>>969280
>>969244
Patches Reads Motivation on Clever Fox to be sure, but she assumes that they're sitting away from her because of the obvious implications and it only makes her feel a little bad. Hearing Jan Do's story makes her even more sad.

"Y'all died? That's so sad, Miss Do... well, if it's any consolation, you don't even look the least bit dead!" Patches says something reassuring, worried that the ronin would feel self conscious about it.

"To be clear, since I'm not one of them anathema pushin' yokelberries n' all, you're all what I'd call the Exalted, yeah? Hero gods an' whatnot? Seems mighty saucepan ya'll found yerselfs what in this location, all at once. Course I ain't one for talkin, crazy stuff happens all the time 'round these'm parts n' all, but this what does take'ms the cake. Six gods in one room. Probably not seein' this many cept in wars. Shame it ain't 5, 5's an aspen number too, just one knot an all from a full tree." Patches decides to confirm, just in case she's imagining things.
>>
No. 969343 ID: f57349

>>969130
Six successes.
>>969201
Nine successes, since I'm treating the identification as automatic which leaves the Join Debate pool lined up with that string of 10s. Ada acts first on tick 0 while Des is on tick 3. Treasure has already been retrieved by this point, they could reasonably argue while walking toward the kitchen or main stairs.
>>
No. 969442 ID: ac57f8

Alright, I'm running high and dry on actually figuring out how the conversation would get started on whether or not to feed the spirits of the house since that's something we all kind of realized needed addressing and that we had diametrically opposed opinions out of character and this whole join debate got started because we assumed we would wind up here, so I'm going to spend the first three ticks monologuing to establish pre-emptively setting up a retort regarding feeding the spirits. Strictly speaking, she'll take that position for 4 ticks even if the max is +3 in order to let Des get into a position where she says something and penalizes her DVs first.
>>
No. 969512 ID: 5f0ee2

rolled 6, 8, 9, 5, 4, 10, 8, 7, 8, 8, 3, 7, 2, 9, 3, 3, 2, 4, 5, 5, 10, 5, 7, 5, 7, 6, 10, 2, 4, 7, 10, 6, 2, 10, 4, 4, 4, 8, 9, 4, 2, 10, 4, 9, 5, 3, 7, 8, 3, 5, 1, 10, 5, 10, 5, 7, 1, 3, 2, 7 = 347

>>969442
>I'm running high and dry on actually figuring out how the conversation would get started
>>969130
>Anyways, awkward introductions aside, I'm about to head outside and gather the sentries for dinner

The sentries outside she was referring to are the Blood Ape Felt and the ice eater Fiasto- Desert Locust begun the conversation by declaring her intention to invite them inside.

As the mention of dinner causes The Adamant Strix to begin lecturing her companions on the virtues of hierarchy and proper resource allocation for those in charge, Desert Locust stays quiet, politely nodding along; she's spent a long time learning how to stay out of trouble as best she can, and step one is usually making sure you don't challenge anyone with a strong dogmatic worldview. Usually they've got more unreasonable friends than you have reasonable ones, and are a lot more willing to stick their necks out and prove it. When they get to the Grand Salon, she gives a curt "yes ma'am" and heads outside.

Mechanically, she's defending, then leaving the building. Someone will either have to actually make a social attack or physically stop her if they want to avoid having her go outside.

I rolled to search here: >>968738
but here's more dice if you'd prefer.
>>
No. 969516 ID: 5f0ee2

rolled 3, 5, 4, 3, 8, 8, 10, 8, 7, 1, 10, 3, 8, 1, 9, 5, 6, 4, 10, 9, 1, 8, 9, 10, 10, 7, 10, 2, 2, 9, 4, 5, 1, 1, 2, 1, 8, 6, 7, 2, 7, 4, 7, 10, 7, 2, 1, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 2, 6, 4, 9, 8, 10, 9, 10 = 338

>>969243
>The No Moon gives her solar mate a displeased look, with little patience for these antics, and attempts to prevent him from moving so far as to be out of conversational range, with ready access to translators.

Noir reluctantly hangs by the fringes, trying to slink off every now and then when he thinks she's too distracted to stop him. A firm grip on his collar causes him to cough a bit and rub a sore throat, but discourages him from trying too much funny business. When he changes tactics, trying to slowly inch further and further a way, Tasnim just hooks a leg into his which helps put an upper bound on how far away he can wiggle.

When prompted to share, Noir shows off the ring, letting Ada explain it's function, along with that of the amulet found in the tomb. He also gives a more general introduction, although someone has to translate for Tasnim.

"So, I don't particularly like long talks, but I'm uh, from Gem, way down south. I'm a little nervous being around so many people I don't know, so I'm going to do my best to stay out of everyone's way, but I'm pretty good at gathering up supplies from hard to reach places, so i might be able to offer some services. I don't have much of a story for what I did back home, everyone called me Noir because i spent a lot of times in chimneys and didn't have a lot of chances to wash up afterwards. H-happy to make your acquaintances, as it were, everyone."
>>
No. 969532 ID: f57349

>>969442
>>969512
The most direct route to the front door from that tomb where the two of you met doesn't go through the grand salon, it would be up the east stairs to the entry hall. Des is faster than Ada, but not by enough to be out of earshot here without taking an actual Dash action. Unbolting and opening the front door and formally inviting a demon in through the wards is a miscellaneous action in long ticks, which Des has already committed to starting on Tick 3 (penalizing Des's MDV accordingly) but not completed when Ada physically catches up and verbally brings the monologue to a climax with something along the lines of "Stop, you'll doom us all!"

Gimme a stunt and dice roll for the actual social attack, and specify what resources you're spending to boost it. Motes for the excellency? Willpower, virtue channel?
>>
No. 969550 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 9, 8, 3, 7, 3, 7, 5, 6, 2, 10, 1, 1, 1, 7, 1, 8, 6, 7, 8, 8, 6, 6, 2, 5, 9, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 4, 8, 4, 6, 8, 5, 7, 7, 8, 5, 2, 8, 2, 7, 5, 2, 9, 6, 10, 4, 5, 7, 7, 1, 1, 7, 9, 2, 3 = 335

>>969516
"Gem, huh! Long way from home! Don't look none what down on them that there virtuoso del hard work, Noir!" Patches beams back at Noir. "Them what makes smooth as silk those rough edges what city folk sanded over. Even this meal we're eatin', it's the result of good ol' fashion engine grease and ingenuity, an' the hunt made possible by your efforts. You shouldn't be ashamed of such'n noble birth and work." Patches punctuates that with a smile and puts a leaf in her mouth. "But on the topic of that which food... y'all want what can pass as good news, or is bad news more yer first'm taste?"

Patches gives the rundown-- they've got, at most, 3 months of food if they ration well. This isn't good. Out in the north, 3 months of food is nothing, she insists. They need to scrounge some new things up, and do it in a less-than-leisurely fashion, or the menu's going to be 'gorillas thin what have as water'.

"So what's our plan fer food?" Patches takes another sip of water, since she got thirsty explaining.
>>
No. 969566 ID: ac57f8

>>969342
Fox activates Mask of White Jade in response to the read motivations, so she comes off as wanting to just sit next to Jan, and as 100% someone who was birthed from the ice.

>>969550
"I'm inclined to agree that we should probably get as much in the way of supplies from the surrounding area as possible. Fortunately, while I was never an exceptional hunter, I know the basics of hunting in the snow."

Fox is going to go ahead and spend 5 exp on buying Survival 3-4 bringing spent EXP up to 15 (10 on the Lightning Mental Armament, the first charm of Fist Pulse Style, and 5 on Survival.)

"So, as long as you're not particular to caribou and anything else I can get, we should hopefully be fine with just 7 people."
>>
No. 969599 ID: afdebc

>>969342
>you're all what I'd call the Exalted, yeah? Hero gods an' whatnot?
"I'm afraid you are mistaken. The exalted are not gods, and I make no claim to be either. I was fortunate enough to come across some of the Wyld Hunt's own training manuals in my research, and my own circumstances closely align with that the descriptions of the Foresaken."

>Fox activates Mask of White Jade in response to the read motivations, so she comes off as wanting to just sit next to Jan, and as 100% someone who was birthed from the ice.
Do Ada or Noir have essence sight active, and if so, do they react to the use of this charm in any way?

Another OOC question/prompt for Ada: when the group shares information about discoveries so far, is she going to reveal the tablet she discovered, or is she going to try to keep that to herself?
>>
No. 969616 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 2, 2, 8, 3, 4, 10, 10, 5, 4, 3, 7, 7, 10, 9, 3, 5, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 5, 10, 4, 9, 8, 7, 10, 2, 3, 2, 7, 6, 1, 10, 8, 9, 6, 1, 1, 9, 6, 1, 1, 7, 6, 1, 8, 6, 6, 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 10, 4, 9, 5 = 329

>>969599
"Listen, sam-manna-thema, mancanathena. The immaculates ain't right about everythin', just look how they treat spirits an' Lunars. Y'all are Solars and/or Lunars, dead or not, and sure sommat y'all burn in the light of day like demons, but only two of y'all have tried to kill me since I got here what and it's been 24 hours. Mine respect what havin' for that which y'all are can't be any higher, and I feel like friendship ain't outta reach." Patches (mostly) lies about having high respect for EVERYONE here, although Patches tries to put a reassuring paw on Jan Do's hand. "I think we should close this' meetin out with a prayer to whatever god y'all feel necessary, and then get some rest. It's been a long day fer most of us... but we should meet like this once a day, to eat'n make sure we're communicatin' proper. This place might be dangerous--" She glances at at Desert Locust-- "And some of us might feel' like there be what forces or robbits, not bein' confused with rabbits, who would make what have the difficulty of communion among us. And I think that's valid, but y'all can't trade the danger of the unknown for the known danger of missin' sleep and fillin' belly. If anyone would like to lead a prayer today, I ain't none against it, but otherwise we can all do our own thin'."

Patches wants to prompt a prayer circle and schedule another meeting for the same time tomorrow. If she had to pray to her own god, she'd probably pick someone at random here-- although the one she respects the most is Jan Do, who has been very kind to her today, and the rest have yet to earn it to the same degree. If anyone is reading her motivations, they can tell she only has respect for three people here, although which three (Jan Do, Noir and Desert Locust) might be hard to tell. Towards the others, she only feels fear or uncertainty.
>>
No. 969777 ID: ac57f8

rolled 6, 1, 4, 5, 4, 10, 2, 5, 6, 1, 2, 9, 7, 4, 7 = 73

I think I'm going through a bit of creative burnout right now, and I had written up a small post, but then everything crashed and it didn't copy to the clipboard about how giving the spirits is a dangerous prospect when we have so little food that we're going to realistically die if we don't basically cut down to bare minimum consumption and that you can give spirits the same kind of satisfaction of eating with a tiny blood sacrifice and a small prayer (with an emphasis on it being just a payment for services rendered), but when I killed Firefox, so I'm just going to throw dice at the issue and not try and get a stunt bonus.

Charisma 2+Performance 3+WP+Excellency 5 for 10 dice 1 automatic success
>>
No. 969812 ID: f57349

>>969777
Indomitable Hedonism Drive means that if you've managed to build up an intimacy of desire to personally eat your own fair portion of the food reserve, that counts as a Motivation for stunt rating purposes, so the stunt would upgrade to 3-die. Unfortunately you only rolled fifteen dice, rather than the sixteen that would imply. "Please stop to reconsider, you're making a terrible mistake that will doom us all" might be aligned with Desert Locust's Temperance, which (if so) would be penalizing Des's MDVs by an additional -2 on top of the -2 for taking a miscellaneous action. I think that puts you at 6 successes vs. a Dodge MDV of 3. Probably a hit. Step two declarations, Santova? It's not actually mandatory to resist, you could accept the argument and re-lock the door.
>>
No. 969937 ID: d9acdc

rolled 7, 9, 1, 8, 8, 1, 2, 7, 1, 8, 10, 2, 9, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 7, 2, 5, 10, 7, 5, 10, 8, 4, 7, 6, 9, 8, 7, 6, 9, 6, 3, 9, 1, 2, 5, 5, 8, 1, 2, 5, 9, 3, 3, 2, 6, 4, 8, 2, 6, 7, 4, 7, 7, 4, 6 = 333

>>969777
>we're going to realistically die if we don't basically cut down to bare minimum consumption and that you can give spirits the same kind of satisfaction of eating with a tiny blood sacrifice and a small prayer
>>969812
>It's not actually mandatory to resist, you could accept the argument and re-lock the door.
If the social attack amounts to "Don't give them people food, feed them from blood and prayers, which are resources we aren't as likely to run out of." then Desert Locust will agree to not to share dinner with them, so long as they're still being invited inside to receive alternative sustenance.

Upon the sentries return to the mercifully darkened room, Desert Locust explains the agreed upon rationing system:

"We have limited food, and with the weather the way it is, the others think it's pertinent to avoid unnecessary waste, and avoid feeding people who don't actually need to eat. Seems rude to me to to kick you guys to the curb though, so if you promise not to go all crazy with blood lust, start wrestling me to the floor or what have you, I'll offer up some of my blood and prayer as a meal for you two."

Only relevant dice I've got for a social attack is charisma two, and potentially a stunt, with the intention of convincing them to take a small amount of blood and prayer as payment without getting aggressive.
>>
No. 969939 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 6, 5, 5, 2, 9, 10, 9, 9, 7, 4, 3, 8, 6, 5, 6, 8, 1, 3, 3, 9, 7, 4, 3, 7, 2, 2, 4, 7, 6, 4, 6, 10, 4, 10, 5, 7, 5, 4, 1, 10, 2, 3, 9, 7, 8, 1, 4, 1, 9, 7, 2, 4, 8, 6, 5, 5, 8, 7, 2 = 330

>>969566
>Noir has essence sight and sees the charm
>>969550
"T-thank you, for saying such nice things about my work ethic. I did try very hard growing up to stay out of trouble, as the folks around town didn't take too kindly to kids like me. Getting m-mixed in with the wrong crowd could be pretty dangerous, especially if you didn't have friends you could trust. I never really had food like this either- I-i-i could hardly stop myself from chocking on it, I wanted to eat it so quickly! Can you tell us about how it was made?"

After seeing Patches' warm and easy to please nature, Noir attempts to layer it on a little bit more, and get her talking, to distract the group. While she chatters on, he attempts to somehow get the message across to Tasnim- the northerner in the fur dress is hiding something, and almost certainly lying to us about who she is and where she's from.

Probably a manipulation + presence roll to get Patches talking, or maybe people just need to read motivation to realize Noir is trying to distract them and subtly give messages to Tasnim? Really since he and Tasnim can't communicate, and this isn't a basic concept, I doubt a roll will help there, so mostly just avoiding trouble.
>>
No. 969960 ID: f57349

>>969937
Sun's mostly down behind the mountains to the west, and you got five successes on Stamina + Resistance, so you don't immediately catch fire. Definitely feels uncomfortable. Felt seems pleasantly surprised by the offer, but then hesitates. "Is that contingent on us immediately goin' back inside?"
>>
No. 969967 ID: d9acdc

rolled 3, 9, 5, 10, 9, 8, 10, 6, 5, 7, 8, 7, 2, 10, 10, 9, 1, 6, 5, 2, 7, 3, 9, 6, 3, 2, 3, 7, 10, 8, 3, 5, 9, 2, 5, 2, 3, 2, 9, 9, 6, 7, 3, 4, 6, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 8, 9, 9, 8, 2, 8, 5, 3, 8, 4 = 358

>>969960
From an awkward vantage point behind a pillar, doing her best to remain in shadow, she calls out "I generally consider dinner a group meal, yeah, but if you're not interested there's no pressure. I suppose I could come back out afterwards, once it's dark, offer some sup, but I'd feel better if we did it in a group. You guys did kinda mention self control issues and a penchant for violence, so I don't really wanna get jumped in the snow."
>>
No. 969970 ID: ac57f8

rolled 7, 10, 2, 10, 5, 6, 2, 2, 6, 7, 5, 5, 1, 1, 7, 6, 8, 8, 10, 4, 7, 7, 2, 4, 4, 7, 7, 8, 3, 5 = 166

>>969960
"Forgive my compatriot's lack of tact and for your confusion. She seems to be under the impression that spirits shouldn't be used as made to purpose servants that don't require any kind of sustenance or more than a word of encouragement every now and again with a job that you were literally built to and have a drive to do, and a small prayer is better for both parties than wasting limited resources like food when you can't even benefit from it, unlike an incredibly basic prayer. You're not required to immediately come in to receive what will effectively amount to your wages for services rendered."

Ada explained the entire context of what was happening to the demons, deciding really some time ago, but even more right now that she needed to play the part of the steely eyed military commander if everyone was going to survive. Her estimates were probably wrong on account of being warped by her own self perception and sense of self importance.

> Dinner since I forgot to post for that.

Ada doesn't challenge Fox, since sure it's obvious to her, but it's something small enough and trivial enough that it's well within what an Exalt can lie about in a group, according to her past life memories anyway.

"It might be because I taught her almost literally everything she knows about the Exalts, but I have to agree, that like it or not, we're all the chosen heroes of the Sun and the Moon, slayers of the titans who created existence, and the leaders of the former head of the most powerful government to ever grace the gargantuan expanses of creation before the Baloran crusade. I suspect some strange differences from dabbling in the abyss and the infernal in past lives that we never once considered, but in each of our hearts beats the soul of a hero destined for greatness."

She leads her own small prayer to the censor of the west in seatongue in supplication of the pantheon of the seas and westerly winds, and pointedly excluding the Storm Mothers out of spite for their existence, and a second prayer to the gods of Wavecrest.
>>
No. 969988 ID: f57349

>>969967
"And I don't want to get jumped inside there, so unless Jan Do needs my services as a guide..."

"But we gotta break that jade tablet!" groans a disembodied arm protruding from a pile of snow.

"Shut your face. Really wanna stick your hand in that meat grinder again? Been centuries, you can damn well wait until you heal up to walk there on your own, 'cause I'm not gonna carry you."

Seems they're not very interested in dinner.
>>
No. 970015 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 9, 5, 3, 3, 8, 9, 2, 2, 2, 10, 7, 3, 6, 1, 4, 7, 8, 5, 9, 1, 10, 8, 4, 5, 8, 3, 3, 10, 3, 5, 6, 3, 4, 5, 10, 1, 5, 5, 6, 9, 8, 6, 10, 2, 8, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 2, 4, 2, 6, 8, 2, 4, 3, 5 = 315

>>969939
>>969970
"Well, you did provide a rather extensive summary on the subject... taught me a lot, right, what lined up with what my Da' said. I trust your account, what bias nonwithstanding." Patches happily follows Ada's prayer, giving some worship to the chosen gods of the evening.

"If you're interested in learnin' about how I made what got plated for your mouth, Noir, you can help with cookin' tomorrow. Might inspire a recipe of your own, what if you sit down and learn the fundamentals with me? Anyhow, the way I did it was by... mincin' meat... you gotta simmer under, not over... the fats and grease cement together... prayer to the north... special pleadin... mammoths kinda look like them elephants, don't they? ...and that'd how I do... elk got them spiky horns..."

Patches happily yammers on to Noir for as long as they'll listen. Anyone with Craft (Water) might be able to glean the actual recipe from her chatter. She chooses not to resist the prompt to talk-- why would she? She's a chatterbox.
>>
No. 970044 ID: d9acdc

rolled 10, 3, 3, 1, 7, 3, 3, 10, 2, 8, 4, 4, 7, 5, 5, 2, 5, 3, 2, 1, 10, 8, 10, 2, 3, 9, 7, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7, 9, 2, 2, 8, 10, 6, 7, 1, 10, 6, 7, 1, 10, 5, 7, 3, 10, 10, 10, 1, 7, 7, 9, 1, 2, 2 = 320

>>969988
The matter of who's coming to dinner settled through mutual distrust, Desert Locust heads back inside, casting a look at The Adamant Strix as she talks over her, essentially just repeating what Des already said, but casting aspersions about her character at the same time. Still, she's been around enough powerful people who you need to let walk over you if you want to co-exist, so she's not going to press the issue of attitude now.

Instead, she asks one of the butlerbots to help her with hot water, following it back to the kitchen to grab a bowl and some utensils before making herself a basic porridge with the grain she brought and some of the dried flavorful fruits. Sprawled out on the floor but keeping in a rough circle with the others, she warms her hands on her bowl, a little disappointed not to be eating around a fire.

"So, we're all essentially snowed in here, in what's essentially a haunted mansion, and food is eventually going to become a problem. We could try to grow our own stuff inside maybe? Never tried gardening myself. Next step would probably be searching for that cursed tablet thingy, right? Break the curse, get outta here? What do you guys think we should do?"

OOC, I'm feeling sorta listless and uninspired, so if someone wants to take charge and give the group direction, I'd appreciate it.
>>
No. 970046 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 3, 1, 6, 2, 4, 10, 7, 7, 3, 8, 3, 3, 1, 5, 5, 5, 9, 5, 3, 1, 9, 10, 3, 8, 10, 10, 2, 4, 4, 3, 8, 10, 6, 8, 4, 5, 1, 7, 4, 3, 4, 7, 7, 3, 2, 5, 1, 1, 10, 6, 1, 9, 9, 9, 8, 2, 6, 3, 10 = 316

>>970044
"I'm gonna focus on food, personally. I'm an artist an' an adventurer, but I don't mind fillin' that culinary role for as long as y'all need what doin it for. Can't ask them nice doctor to do the work for y'all, but I would appreciate help gettin the garden and such sorted out. If I'm cookin', I won't have much time for plantin'." Patches puts herself on 'Team Food' and invites anyone who wants to help with food distribution to help her with that task. She'll be spending one chunk of the (five?) chunks of time every day (except fourth days, where she gets a break) cooking, and if you wanted to learn Craft (Water) she'd be more than willing to mentor you through it.

"An' we should probably map this place out, but I'm gonna defer to those with more'm experience an all. Puttin' aside that... what about sleepin and trainin? I'm gonna be workin my body after that experience. A mentor would be nice, but I ain't gonna trouble y'all if you're too busy... I have books from my Da to read." Patches removes a book on the Art of Enchantment and one on the Jade Mountain martial arts... those are her belongings, but she's letting everyone know she has them.

Patches, among other things, suggests everyone sleep for a normal amount every day, show up for meals on a regular basis, get training done and then do other things with the remaining free time. She understands she doesn't have much experience scheduling, so she'd like to Help Out anyone who'd be willing to make the Bureaucracy roll and take the lead there.
>>
No. 970052 ID: ac57f8

rolled 9, 5, 5, 2, 5, 5, 1, 2, 10, 4, 4, 6, 4, 2, 9, 6, 2, 2, 8, 2 = 93

>>970044
"Don't give me that look, spirits are barely sapient, and only have what little sapience they do have to better fulfil their assigned tasks without needing to be overseen 25/7 by their superiors who have better things to do, and increase the scope of things that can be automated. Sure, it's not like we're able to petition heaven to custom develop a god for purposes we need anymore since the Deliberative has fallen and we don't have legislative power over the day to day affairs of heaven anymore, and I don't think we have sorcery to bind demons right this second, but they almost certainly didn't need or expect an offering like that, and you didn't provide the context of why you were doing it."

She was reading a lot into the situation, if she were smarter at medicine she might have diagnosed herself with some kind of paranoid delusion, but she did basically imply incompetence of another Exalt, and that kind of thing could easily boil over to a thousand years of silent war if she didn't cull that.

"It's also hardly fair of me to expect everyone to know all these things about spirits and the like when Lytek probably... Cleaned... Huh." It hadn't crossed her mind in the about 30 hours that she'd had several centuries worth of memories crowd her head, but as she said the words she started to realize that Lytek should have wiped most of those memories of her past life, as he had for the millenia before going back to the primordial war.

She wasn't going to bring up that she was anomalous (outside of delving into the charms of the Yozi in her previous life doing something to her shard that again Lytek probably should have fixed.) for the time being, since she wanted to know exactly how anomalous she was.

> At Dinner

"Being trapped in this house by a Blizzard sounds about right, though I don't know how haunted I would call it since for the most part we have demons and gods, rather than ghosts. We have a month, maybe 2, of food remaining at this moment, hopefully enough for the blizzard outside to figure out if where in the year we are, and maybe find a way to any kind of nearby population, nomadic or permanent.

"In the meantime, maintaining a scheduled sleeping, eating, exercising, and socializing periods is a good plan, and outside of those times we should go room to room finding everything about this Manse that we can, since this is an unimaginably powerful manse built by a visionary of his time in the late Solar Deliberative so we can know exactly what and how to fix it up to it's former glory and know for a fact where and what any dangers we might face could be. We can start first thing tomorrow morning, work for 5 hours starting at Sunrise, take a break and prepare a simple lunch combined with socializing for half an hour followed by another 3 hours of work, private time for 8 hours, then a small dinner and another half hour of socializing before sleeping for 8 hours and waking up at sunrise on the dot. This is a first draft though and I'm open to suggestion, and only really supposed to get us to a point where we have this entire manse secured first."

She proposed her schedule, and gave the whole speech really, in both Old Realm first and Riverspeak first.

(Starting with 000 wake up to 500 for searching the manse and probably some of that Patches preparing food for lunch, 530 for finishing up lunch for 1/2 a day's food and spending time with each other, 530 to 830 for finishing any work for the day, 830-1630 for training with a small break for someone to plant the tree at 1200, and then at 1700 going to sleep for waking up at exactly sunrise to put it into actual time tables)

(Also, that probably counts as making a list, so 2/3 Obsessions filled, now she just needs to read a first age textbook)

Charisma 2+Performance 3 + Stunt (modified by obsession?)+5 Motes on SWLiHN excellency (organizing a group into a well oiled machine is in her themes) compulsion attack to try and get the group to agree to the schedule or point out a single flaw in it.
>>
No. 970162 ID: afdebc

>>970052
>action plan
>5 hours searching, 8 training
"I might suggest we spent more time exploring and securing our current location until the task is complete."

Especially since searching could count as training for skills, attributes or charms that were related to the search.

Jan suggests we start with the kitchen- if Patches will be making regular use of it, it would behoove us to remove any traps before they are found the hard way, or before our food supply is compromised. It also contains the living masks, who we should wake and question. As beings who have lived in this location for gods know how long, they may have useful information to share.

Also high on the priority list would be to search and secure the room(s) we plan to sleep in, as this is where we will be most vulnerable.

A second location we might wish to secure and search early might be the library- once we are confident it is safe, this will allow those of us so inclined to safely research and learn what can be learned there.
>>
No. 970185 ID: afdebc

Going to count the time spent today as training towards the First Perception Excellency. Caste charm, so 1 day's training, and 10 XP spent.

>I don't think we have sorcery to bind demons right this second
"We have at least one sorceress in our midst," the No Moon answers, her caste mark slowly coming alight for emphasis, "though I am not much inclined towards demon summoning."

Tasnim is going to raise the issue of cataloging and searching for useful tools and goods in the process of exploring the manse. Even those too broken or worn down by age to be useful- with the Incantation of Effective Restoration in her spellbook, such damage could be reversed.
>>
No. 970229 ID: c1606e

rolled 1, 8, 3, 7, 6, 6, 8, 1, 5, 10, 5, 10, 9, 1, 8, 10, 7, 7, 1, 1, 9, 5, 10, 5, 1, 5, 5, 6, 8, 7, 7, 10, 8, 10, 8, 10, 3, 2, 10, 3, 9, 5, 3, 6, 2, 5, 4, 8, 8, 8, 3, 5, 2, 10, 3, 1, 5, 1, 4, 5 = 343

>>970046
"If you're looking for someone to spar with, I wouldn't mind learning to cook; a little give and take seems like it'd be a fine way to pass the time while we're snowed in! Hot food and a dry place to sleep suit me just fine, and for the life of me I can't remember what I was doing before we got here, so if I had any plans, I guess they weren't that important!"
Desert Locust gives a bit of a half-hearted chuckle at her own statement, before continuing.
"I'm used to living as a bit of a vagrant anyways, moving place to place doing what I can to get by. Problem is, I don't really have any marketable skills, so I'm not really sure what I can do to help search and stuff. I'm happy to stay up while people sleep though, since I'm sort of a night owl by circumstance. I don't know how much of the story the locals outside told us is true and how much is sailor talk, but I get a bad feeling around here, and I don't think any of us should be taking risks we don't have to. We should have two people awake during the night on guard, and then two people as guards during the day, so no one sleeps without cover. At least two people should eat meal from a different source every day, in case there's food poisoning or worse. No one should have to work alone- buddies are good, by in think three to a team at all times is good, and four is better. That way if anything happens to one person, there's someone to stay with them, and others to go get help. Frankly, working in groups of five would be best, but at that point there's really no one left to actually run off an get, so we'll have to do the best we can with the numbers we've got.

>>970052
>Social attack
JamesLeng said OOC character we might want to avoid running this as combat per se, but Des is essentially stating outright she doesn't want to follow that schedule, on account of wanting to be active at night, and feeling like we should not all sleep at the same time, meaning we should then not all be awake and working at the same time.

>>970162
"I know you said the masks were seeming more scared than violent, but I'm still a little wary, and not too good at smooth talking anyways. Maybe you and Patches can try to make friends, and I'll stand by as back up just in case? If she's volunteering to spend her time down there then yeah, like you said, having as much information about our food as possible would be nice."

>>970185
At the mention of sorcery, Des goes quiet, and adjusts her position, scooting back before sitting upright and staring off into her bowl. Read motivation would indicate she's uncomfortable with the topic, and doesn't particularly enjoy the fact that she's sharing a meal at the same table as a sorceress.
>>
No. 970241 ID: c1606e

rolled 3, 9, 9, 5, 6, 2, 2, 3, 10, 9, 5, 1, 8, 6, 6, 5, 3, 7, 3, 10, 7, 6, 1, 7, 9, 8, 9, 5, 5, 6, 7, 4, 7, 10, 7, 5, 5, 7, 5, 3, 4, 6, 6, 2, 8, 5, 6, 3, 9, 2, 4, 3, 7, 3, 7, 5, 3, 5, 10, 9 = 342

>>970162
Noir lights up at the mention of a library, leaning in to listen more closely.

"I'll sw-w-w.. I'll search for traps! One thing- does anyone here know how to mend armor? I think my clothes are malfunctioning."
>>
No. 970362 ID: f57349

Library is about 30' east-west by 50' north-south, but you can't see the whole room at once. Northern half has aisles running east to west, open floor space around the two fireplaces may once have held chairs and desks, southern end has a single zigzagging M- or W-shaped path. Altogether there's about two thousand linear feet of shelving: nine or more rows between floor and ceiling, gray stone panels veined with pale green, bound together with more gilded vines, protruding segments forming oblique staircases. Might be a notably impressive addition to some Second Age university, if it weren't in complete disarray and two-thirds empty. Some loose sheets of gold foil, jade-infused silk, and stranger materials are stacked in neat (but apparently randomly shuffled) piles, while many others lie scattered like autumn leaves.
Only remaining book that's both upright on the correct shelf and physically intact is [b[Introduction to Sorcery (Second Edition) Volume 2[/b], by Brigid and Silur, better known as the Black Treatise. Various phenomena which only a sorcerer initiated into the Emerald Circle can fully perceive are enumerated in precise, easy-to-understand technical terms, then those concepts are meticulously assembled into usable spells. Each chapter comprises several hundred pages of the First Sorcerer's development notes (mostly pale blue Old Realm text on a black background) which are then summarized in a two-page spread of dense yet elegant Silurian diagrams. Invulnerable Skin of Bronze includes references to an early variant that didn't end automatically when the sun crossed the horizon; apparently it had intolerable longer-term side effects, which is in turn why Emerald Countermagic was developed. Chapter describing Demon of the First Circle mentions prehuman obelisks on the Blessed Isle as an inspiration, and briefly discusses personal vs. task binding, but has no information whatsoever on specific demon species or Abscissic Plates.

Following the path from the dining room straight west and out the other side of the library, there's a 25' by 35' room with a ceiling exactly 13' high, all the corners neat and square rather than elegantly curved, walls and ceiling engraved with a fractal morass of inward-facing runic wards rather than anything decorative. Floor is inset with three separate circular diagrams of orichalcum wire, carefully isolated from each other: one for summoning demons, one for elementals, and one unlike anything you've seen before.

Through a side door in the library's southwest corner, there's a small elliptical room painted to resemble a forest glade, with lacquered bronze branches for coat-hooks and glazed ceramic 'mossy boulders' shaped and positioned to be comfortable to sit on while changing clothes. West wall has a silvered mirror framed in the arch between two faux-trees, fully as large as actual doors to the north (conjuring room), south (baths), and east (back to the library).

Southeast corner of the library has a door to the rock-spinning room Adamant Strix explored previously, which is closed and covered with a heavy curtain made from black glass, physically intact but no longer magically soundproof.
>>
No. 970422 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 5, 5, 9, 4, 6, 2, 7, 5, 8, 5, 5, 3, 10, 6, 9, 9, 4, 1, 7, 3, 6, 5, 3, 9, 8, 2, 8, 6, 6, 7, 7, 9, 7, 2, 9, 9, 6, 3, 3, 7, 8, 6, 6, 8, 9, 9, 3, 6, 3, 1, 6, 3, 8 = 351

"Me an' Miss Strix prolly got the means to patch up your armor, but maybe not the materials." Patches suggests Ada take a look, while she finishes dinner and goes to follow the guests.

>>970162
"I gotta say, I hope them first age traps are better'n what sorry excuse for traps I be seemin all round. It's p, pathetic what how often really cool traps break down right 'fore gettin to the good part." Patches, you understand the 'good part' is your death, right? "Shoddy worksmanship, aye, not lick of discipline maintaining them what things. Who forgets to put spike traps in a spike pit? Course some just jam a gunk in the gears, but it's not like I ain't visited more than a few ragged maraudin' camps is all. Come to think of it, light traps seem workin' just fine round these parts, what geared for punishin' gods."

Patches has joined the retinue visiting the library, looking for a bedtime story. She picks an Old Realm book at random off the shelves, figuring whatever she does read will be good for passing the time until she passes out herself... maybe read one on watch? In either case, she wanders straight on up to the Black Treatise and tries to pluck it off the shelf, having a knack for finding the most dangerous reading material in a given location.
>>
No. 970443 ID: ac57f8

rolled 8, 1, 7, 4, 3, 8, 10, 7, 6, 2, 2, 5, 6, 10, 9, 5, 6, 9, 9, 7 = 124

>>970422
> Why do traps suck

"I think that's a bit of a misconception. I mean, sure, all of the traps with simple moving parts failed over the millenia because even least gods hate being ignored for long periods of time and jade magnets that pull unwary dragon blooded invaders into a net of Orichalcum wires that cut through everything like it was a white hot knife going through gaseous butter were dismantled carefully for raw materials, but the coolest and hardest to build traps should still be around. I mean, nobody's going to loot words carved into a wall.

"I think my favorite one was someone who built a dead end into their manse, and had the manse built to display shifting words, so occasionally as you walked through the end of halls would say words like 'Friendship', 'Strife', or 'Overthinking'."

As Ada was talking, she was concentrating on what all could feasibly be saved, or at least sorted into ready to fix piles for later where like was roughly sorted with like, unsorted pieces of reading material scattered through the room started flooding into the neat stacks, she would sort them out later, and if nobody else did separate them out and bind them for herself, maybe with a few absolutely critical pieces missing so she could keep the information to just herself if she gets that far.
>>
No. 970479 ID: f57349

>>970422
> rolled 6, 2, 3, 4, 6
The book isn't trapped, but if it had been, Destiny wouldn't have saved you this time. >>970443
Matching related texts together by style and content is far from insurmountably difficult at any given step, but the straightforward approach is close to O(n^2), with 10^5 items to sort. If Ada could read a page per second, after three forty-hour weeks of that she might be ready to start on actual reorganization. If you're in any sort of hurry, you'll need more workers, more swap space, and a better algorithm.

Anything else you'd like to search more closely? If not, where are you headed next?
>>
No. 970516 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 3, 2, 4, 10, 2, 1, 2, 10, 2, 6, 7, 9, 5, 6, 2, 5, 9, 2, 7, 2, 1, 3, 7, 5, 10, 1, 7, 4, 1 = 138

>>970362
"...I didn't expect to need to restock the contents of an entire library with the Incantation of Effective Restoration, but it that appears to be an option. If the entire manse is in this state it's going to be difficult to decide what's worth repairing."

>Introduction to Sorcery (Second Edition) Volume 2, by Brigid and Silur, better known as the Black Treatise
"That is a fortuitous find," the doctor comments, after the title is translated for her. "That doubles the spells available for study. ...or it would, if I could read it." she continues, shooting an irritated glance in Adamant Strix's direction, recalling their earlier conversation. "I suppose this means we do possess the means to bind demons after all."

>Anything else you'd like to search more closely?
Let's search the library for anything concealed, or that may have escaped the apparent wanton destruction that took place here. If we're going to use it as a library at and point, we don't want the people working here to be surprised by traps or attackers from secret passages, and there might still be useful concealed resources here that were missed.

Perception 3 + Awareness 1 + First Perception Excellency 3 + Stunt

Or Tasnim can add an assistive bonus die if someone with a bigger base pool wants to lead.
>>
No. 970534 ID: f57349

>>970516
Incantation of Effective Restoration can't replace individual missing pieces bigger than a lentil (approximately 6mm diameter, 1/15th of a gram), or target an item at all if you've got access to less than half the remains. Might be able to 'regrow' lost pages from a book, if the paper or magically-strengthened foil is thin enough, but you'd still need to do a fair amount of sorting first to assemble valid targets.

After two hours of careful poking, tapping, and measurement, with the full support of their respective excellencies and anima powers, Ada and Tasnim don't find any traps or secret passages in the library. Protruding stair-step shelves seem like they'd be a good spot to hide small cabinets, and at least one was previously broken apart in apparent efforts to reveal such a thing, but to no avail - extensions on either face of a given shelf segment are matched with concavities on the other. One hollow-sounding space turns out to be part of the speaking tube connection for the conjuring room, mechanisms positioned more deeply in the wall to minimize a possible vulnerability of the containment wards.
>>
No. 970646 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 1, 7, 3, 3, 5, 1, 3, 7, 9, 7, 7, 1, 8, 2, 1, 1, 3, 6, 1, 9, 3, 6, 3, 1, 5, 7, 10, 4, 7, 2, 1, 6, 2, 9, 9, 1, 10, 8, 2, 1, 10, 1, 1, 8, 9, 8, 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, 10, 10, 1, 7, 9, 4, 7, 6 = 302

>>970362
The man in black initially starts running around like a kid in a candy shop- spools of rare and magical materials, fine books which could be sold to an interested collector, and no organization means it's practically a treasure hunt, an exciting task in it's own right. Of course, after starting to try and figure out how he's going to make off with the treasure, he remembers where he is- stuck in an unfamiliar land, without prospective buyers or contacts to go to. He sits, kind of deflated, before deciding to leave the haul and saunter towards the previously found tombs and explore the rest. Activating Keen Touch and Hearing Technique (if it's not active already), he takes an unused shelf from the library, tapping it along the ground like a makeshift cane, listening for hollow spots and vibrations along the walls and floors, hoping to find and traps before they find him and avoid missing any hidden compartments.

Spending eight motes to purchase four successes with the second investigation excellency, then doing it twice more, as he searches the three remaining tombs, for a total of twenty four motes.

Dex five, perception five, wits three, investigation five, awareness five, larceny four, not sure if there's any other relevant bits.

Personal are now at 0/19. The rest will be peripheral motes, so thats three new committed motes (sixteen total now) and two spent, putting Noir at the 3+ anima flare level, with 24/40 personal available, and 10/10wp.
>>
No. 970693 ID: 0640da

rolled 1, 8, 7, 5, 4 = 25

>>970646
Patches tucks the book under her shoulder. "I can teach y'all how what readin' it, Miss Mammoth. My da' taught me how to speak like the spritzers do. Well, mostly, on what coun'tin my words do what them funny bignice. If I can be of help, I'd love to be of help." Patches beams at Miss Mammoth, before her attention turns to Noir. "Lookin' for secret passages and books? You sure the demons wouldn' a found all the secret passages already?" She sits down on a pile of paper scraps, leaning against a bookshelf and opens her book up. "...pretty pictures..." Patches yawns, already falling asleep just reading this book in the library. She might tuck it in early, even.

Patches leans hard against the bookshelf that, as written on the map, goes to another room... and (unconsciously?) attempts to invoke the 5-dice variant of Destiny to get an interesting 'coincidence'.
>>
No. 970721 ID: f57349

>>970646
In the course of scouting out the larger rooms of the basement, you find a total of ten other tombs, each with a similar design: four foot by seven foot slab, statue on top too heavy for you to lift, deep shaft in the floor underneath. The one in the wine cellar has been cracked open, leaving a gap in the slab just wide enough to squeeze through, but there's nothing of obvious value left inside. Remaining nine all appear to be intact. The one in directly under the chapel has crude letters hacked into the north wall spelling out "I WILL RETURN," and a slightly hollow-sounding spot behind them which isn't adequately explained by the storage room on the far side, but you can't find any seam or hidden latch to suggest a secret door - at least not at the basement level.

Door in the east stairwell, barely concealed, leads to stairs continuing further down. It's not in the blueprints Ada found, and butlerbots insistently describe it as a broom closet.

Arena directly under the hearthroom has a thick layer of soft black sand across the lower part of the floor, and the arc of steps down could provide adequate seating for an audience. Each of the three niches holds a muscular bronze statue, like an androgynous caricature of some archetypal warrior, with a rack of gear behind them. The north has elaborately fluted plate armor, shields, axes, javelins, and wooden swords of various lengths. Southeast has longer limbs and a scout's high-collared jacket, rack holds a shortbow, blunt arrows, and oddly-shaped weapons mostly the size of knives, southwest has flowing robes and a jeweled forehead under the tall tapering hat of an exorcist and is equipped with staves, weighted chains, long leather strap studded by tooth-like projections, pair of wind-fire wheels, and an array of exceptionally poor-quality talismans and amulets.

>>970693
A shelf collapses under your weight. In the course of frantically trying to put it back and re-stack relevant papers, you manage to assemble a more than 80% complete copy of The Tale of Penarys, an earth-aspected exalt from before the Great Uprising who seems to have devoted her entire life to building a bridge across a single fjord, under siege by "the great tentacled one" all the while, then dies just as the project is completed, surrounded by sixteen generations of descendants. The chronology is kind of a mess; either there's some obscure allegory involved or the author legitimately couldn't remember how long a year is from one chapter to the next.
>>
No. 970749 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 6, 1, 1, 5, 8, 6, 10, 10, 3, 6, 2, 2, 2, 2, 10, 4, 1, 4, 8, 2, 9, 9, 6, 8, 5, 1, 8, 3, 10, 3, 6, 2, 6, 2, 9, 8, 3, 9, 2, 3, 9, 7, 3, 10, 6, 8, 2, 6, 4, 3, 10, 5, 7, 5, 1, 8, 1, 8, 9 = 325

>>970721
"Hey, Miss Strix, how'd them long what Dragonblooded live for? This book says 16 gen'rations. That's a long time, that's what I'm sayin'. Maybe assumin' early marriage, 20 gen'rations to a year makin 5. Numbers don't say that well but wouldn't that make em nearly 300 years old? If not more." Patches has a lot of fun putting together her new bedtime story. And she possibly learned something.
>>
No. 970761 ID: ac57f8

>>970749
"300 years was about right at the tail end of the deliberative, though things like blood purity and certain age defying medicines that were invented in the deliberative and a Dragon Blooded can easily live as long as 600 years, and one particularly strange case that I got to meet was in his early 3,000s and looked every day of it, but that's a strange case to be sure.

"Of course, I refuse to believe that's a literal account of what happened, since it's a bridge. Sure, it's not easy to make a big bridge, but you can take a few dozen Dragon Blooded architects and a few thousand laborers and maybe pop in yourself to oversee construction if it's a powerful artifact, adjust for length and width, and ship all the parts milled and assembled in factories for full assembly, and it can be built in less than a decade, and even the the combination bridge and flood control system installed in modern day Nexus only took just under a century from first breaking ground to finishing, and that involved building an entire city from scratch and several bridges with a lot of moving parts. And if there was some kind of creature attacking the production you can send a strike team to pacify whatever it is doing the disruption."

Ada really hoped that it was actually some absurd metaphor, since even if it was real it was clearly a horribly unreliable narrator.


>>970721

> Door in the east stairwell, barely concealed, leads to stairs continuing further down. It's not in the blueprints Ada found, and butlerbots insistently describe it as a broom closet.

If that's common knowledge, then Ada will 100% suggest exploring there, since that's the most obvious source of where any unexpected attacks would come. After all, while they haven't thoroughly rooted through every room to take complete inventory, there isn't much that they haven't been trunching through, and Patches does raise a good point that Demons probably would have found the traps and secret passages before now.
>>
No. 970765 ID: 0640da

rolled 1, 8, 7, 3, 4, 7, 9, 5, 9, 3, 3, 5, 10, 3, 9, 7, 5, 1, 6, 1, 10, 3, 6, 3, 4, 3, 10, 8, 9, 5, 9, 6, 1, 8, 7, 8, 8, 3, 5, 1, 6, 7, 10, 6, 6, 3, 7, 7, 10, 10, 6, 10, 1, 1, 9, 10, 6, 9, 3, 5 = 355

>>970761
"Well, if it's metaphor, then could the bridge posbilsy be, what? Them describin' such a thing which don't threaten the first agies none, or even threatens em so much they don't send a strike team, as ya'll n have it." Patches brings up a counterpoint. "You ain't sayin this is what, a bridge to the underworld or what have doin'? What reason would a... well, might be plenty reason for a mortal to want to unseat y'all, but I ain't makin' them moral judgements here. I'm just sayin', if we're t'take it as metaphor, this text bein' a lot more scary than you're givin' it thought. I can't see a bunch of first agies keepin a book like this around if it was poppycotton talk."

Patches puts it in the back of her mind to investigate this later, when more of the scraps of paper have been unshredded and sorted out. Something doesn't smell right about this... "I ain't doin' none more exploring." After fixing that shelf, she's got to go to bed. "Y'all be safe... I'll leave fancybook here." She drops off the sorcery tome and heads to the harp room, which she presumes to be her bedroom. She's going to take a load off and rest.
>>
No. 970766 ID: f57349

>>970749
> That's a long time, that's what I'm sayin'. Maybe assumin' early marriage,
>>970761
> Ada really hoped that it was actually some absurd metaphor

Roll for Academic Knowledge based on Lore, Craft (Earth), Craft (Metal), and/or War. Let's call it 20 hours of work for a once-over to skim through and check all the major facts. Involves First Age history, so the Savant bonus applies.

>Ada will 100% suggest exploring there
Marching order? Any noteworthy preparation or precautions? It's easily wide enough you wouldn't have to go in single file.
>>
No. 970782 ID: ac57f8

rolled 4, 9, 10, 2, 1, 2, 10, 1, 7, 5, 8, 7, 7, 7, 9, 3, 3, 3, 8, 2, 8 = 116

>>970766

> Roll for Academic Knowledge based on Lore, Craft (Earth), Craft (Metal), and/or War. Let's call it 20 hours of work for a once-over to skim through and check all the major facts. Involves First Age history, so the Savant bonus applies.

Alright, Intelligence 5+Craft (Earth) 0 (Past Life 2)+Excellency 5/7+Savant 4+WP automatic success for 16/18 dice and 1 success + Stunt (I'm not sure if the last post counts as one since she spent the whole time railing against it. I also don't know if the dice added from Past Life adds to the skill for the purpose of excellency or not)

>>970765

"Well, didn't threaten the High Solar Deliberative much and posed immeasurable threat to them is roughly the sum total of all of creation, though one of those categories is significantly bigger than the other, given that it took our Dragon Blooded advisors teaming up by the untold millions and throwing as many doomsday weapons we built as possible at a dinner party where it was gauche to have weapons or armor on followed by centuries of genocide against any creature that might have loyalty to us to overthrow the Deliberative.

"And I highly doubt that it would have been a bridge to the underworld. We actually had those in select shadow lands. After all, it would be pretty hard to collect taxes from the dead or protect them from shapeless horrors in the Labyrinth if we couldn't physically go there, or at least target it with doomsday weapons. Although, since you said that Whitewall paid tribute to the dead, that does seem to be a stark reversal from what I personally remember from my past life, and the records of political trade with the underworld in the years following the Usurpation wasn't a topic we covered too highly at the Valkhawsen, so I couldn't begin to know what happened there. Probably has to do with the Labyrinth though. Ever since Dark Whispers of the Nameless Void opened the first of the Neverborn's tombs to invent Necromancy and named himself that really stupid name it's always been annoying at best to keep under control."

"Anyway, it's probably a metaphor or an allegory for something, but I have no idea what it could be yet, so I'm going to figure out what it even could be about over the next few days. Anyway, you go to bed I guess, I'll tell you my thoughts on it when I have an answer."

In keeping with her own schedule, for the next 2 and a half days, she's going to read through this in detail, and cross reference it with knowledge that she personally knows about the first age, both from one life and the last (mostly the last honestly)

> Marching order? Any noteworthy preparation or precautions? It's easily wide enough you wouldn't have to go in single file.

Well, since it's 6 people (I'll post for Clever Fox tonight) she would suggest to go in double file, with Noir and Jan up front, herself and Tansim in the middle, and Fox and Des in the rear.
>>
No. 970784 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 6, 9, 5, 2, 8, 7, 8, 3, 9, 5, 6, 1, 10, 9, 7, 2, 8, 1, 6, 2, 8, 7, 10, 2, 9, 5, 9, 9, 9, 7, 2, 1, 8, 2, 2, 7, 3, 4, 7, 9, 7, 4, 8, 10, 1, 10, 8, 2, 1, 8, 7, 5, 6, 3, 5, 8, 8, 3, 5 = 349

>>970782
Desert Locust refuses- not because she doesn't want to go, but because she feels strongly that they shouldn't be packed together, doing the same thing like that. If it goes sour, then everyone's in trouble all at once. Noir agrees and stays behind, hoping Tasnim will stay with him and help him start putting the suit back together so they can check the contents of the other sarcophagi.
>>
No. 970786 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 5, 9, 3, 7, 3, 8, 9, 10, 9 = 69

>>970362
The poet is saddened by the state of the library, and the obvious disrespect of the vandals that reduced it to such a state.

>>970765
>Well, if it's metaphor, then could the bridge posbilsy be, what?
"That we are nothing without that which drives us, possibly. She endured and overcame her foes only so long as she had purpose."

>>970784
The Dusk caste replies that while spreading out to avoid the entire group coming under attack at once has its wisdom, we should perhaps not undermine the very attempt itself in order to hold forces in reserve. Noir is the most observant among our number; holding him back from the survey team seems counter productive. And Des is of course, uniquely able to spread out to avoid assault by use of her alternate form. If we search the crypts on the second day, Des can safely assume swarm-form for searching without inuring escalating wyld taint dice.

Jan will accompany the search time- while her eyes may not be as keen as some of her allies, she possess charms that may be raised in defense of surprises.
>>
No. 970787 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 6, 6, 2, 6, 2, 9, 10, 4, 8 = 62

>>970784
While Tasnim is actually very pleased to hear (second hand) Noir espousing a cautious position of holding back, and preparing equipment instead of charging headfirst into perilous scavenger lord archaeology, she is disappointed to have to inform him she lacks the necessary skill to help repair his armor when he turns to her for aid. Well, beyond getting in or out of it, or preparing an solution for cleaning it, perhaps. She has a doctorate in medicine and a degree in alchemy, not in magitech.

She's more than happy to attempt to persuade her colleague, Adamant Strix (who is rather more technically inclined) or the leporine plumber to offer their expertise. (Depending on what time it is / where we are in the schedule- it might make sense to try and schedule the repairs or maintenance on Noir's armor prior to exploring the tomb).

Rolling social dice if needed, I suppose.
>>
No. 970790 ID: ac57f8

rolled 6, 4, 3, 4, 1, 6, 7, 10, 3, 3, 7, 1, 10, 7, 4, 6, 1, 5, 9, 2, 7, 4, 8, 6, 3, 7, 2, 5, 1, 6, 10, 3, 9, 7, 4, 3, 8, 5, 4, 6, 10, 7, 10, 10, 5, 6, 10, 5, 6, 3, 10, 7, 2, 6, 1, 6 = 311

Since I kind of lost track of when I last posted for Clever Fox, I'm going to just kind of hard cut to the next scene, opting to not get too involved in the debate over time tables and the like.

But, to start going from the end upwards. Which in terms of things I can think to react to, is only one post.

>>970784

"There's definitely a case to be made for splitting up in the middle of an unexplored region of the unexplored manse that we don't seem to have on the maps. Although, if you don't mind me asking, why exactly are you afraid of all of us having to deal with trouble together?"

She looked at Noir right in the eyes, signalling him out since he just jumped on to Des's refusal to go down, and she was hoping that dissecting his motives for wanting to split up she would get an opportunity to point out the obvious flaw of splitting up in this situation.

Social Ambush: Manipulation 4+Socialize 2+Stunt
Join Debate: Wits 2+Awareness 3+Stunt
Social Attack: Manipulation 4+Investigation 2 (Socratic Method +2)+Stunt.
>>
No. 970793 ID: ac57f8

>>970787
"I'm more than happy to do repairs on the armor, it shouldn't even take terribly long, but it will take at least a few days to figure out how to make due without any actual tools, and any materials, but that will be easier to deal with than the lack of tools. Anyway, it should be fine for another few days even if we do go down, either today or tomorrow. Anyway, it is late enough to call searching a day and get started in earnest."
>>
No. 970842 ID: d9acdc

rolled 10, 9, 8, 10, 8, 3, 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 1, 9, 3, 5, 7, 10, 7, 9, 9, 9, 5, 10, 8, 3, 6, 2, 3, 1, 8, 9, 2, 9, 4, 4, 7, 8, 8, 5, 1, 9, 2, 10, 5, 4, 4, 10, 4, 8, 8, 2, 2, 4, 9, 5, 5, 1, 5, 3, 2 = 338

>>970790
> and she was hoping that dissecting his motives for wanting to split up

OOC, I'm just sort of eyeballing it, gonna assume three successes on the surprise doesn't catch him off guard. Four successes to join debate as well I think, but we can kind of freeform this unless you feel strongly?

Three successes on the attack, and a two dot difference in appearance; don't think Noir's motivation is relevant, and intimacies you could argue either way probably? Could be considered B&E which he feels positively about, but he also feels positively about planning, so holding off instead of jumping right in ticks that box. Gonna call it a wash overall, and use parry rather than dodge which is only five, penalized to three, but I should get a boost from stunts that negates the attack.

Noir sheepishly admits that all the talk of bound demons, traps, and worse have him a bit on edge. If you all think it's important to gear up for something dangerous, then that's somewhere he doesn't want to be. When the Adamant Strix mentions they could come back tomorrow, potentially after fixing his armor, well, how can he say no to coming back well rested and better equipped? He could even take first watch, although afterwards, when the shift changes, he'd like to have some privacy, maybe rest away from everyone else.

>>970787
> she is disappointed to have to inform him she lacks the necessary skill to help repair his armor when he turns to her for aid
When The Adamant Strix conveys this message, he' is visibly shocked- looking down at his "bad arm" he feels around the stitchwork, then looks confused at the artificial muscle fibers in the suit, left exposed where it was forcibly detached. She did such a good job before too, he was kind of hoping to actually watch her work this time. Oh well!

He gives a shrug followed by beaming the biggest smile he can at Tasnim, eyes screwed tight with the recently re-attached thumb stuck out and up in her direction; even with the language barrier, the message of "Good Job!" should be obvious enough.

As they head back to the parlor to start a fire and catch some sleep, he'll retrieve the wind blade maintenance kit, and apply Lock Opening Touch. If it counts as a new scene, that puts him from the 0-3 level back up to the 3+ level, but if not then he's at 8/16 anima flare... well, actually, if he's earned any stunts, getting back personal motes would keep that at the same level? Probably need JamesLeng to comment specifically on that, if it's strategically important.

Dice, in case there's magic contesting LOT.
>>
No. 970844 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 8, 1, 9, 6, 4, 4, 10, 5, 9, 2, 5, 5, 4, 10, 9, 6, 1, 8, 6, 7, 6, 5, 3, 6, 9, 6, 2, 1, 10, 8, 6, 6, 3, 6, 7, 2, 10, 2, 7, 10, 2, 3, 2, 3, 1, 10, 9, 8, 9, 10, 10, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 7, 3, 4 = 348

>>970786
Desert Locust doesn't mind being on team dungeon delving! The sooner they find the tablet, the sooner they un-curse stuff and... well, actually she's not sure what the next step is after that. Something to think on, for sure.

If Jan can prevent everyone from falling prey to the same fate, she'll take her word for it. The thought that a single trap could get everyone all at once though seems like reason enough to divide and conquer though, right? Plus, the plan to leave Patches on her own seems unnecessary; if they want to bring all the muscle they have to bear, lucky number seven does have a big hammer and magic bracers, right?

Regardless of who goes, getting some sleep before exploring creepy corridors and looking for danger is an idea she can get on with. Guard duty is also something she's more comfortable with than mmost of the other work that needs to be done around here- does Jan want to take one shift, and she'll take the other? No offense to the man in black, but the lady with the sword seems to have a pretty good handle on the whole "safety and forward thinking" thing.
>>
No. 970868 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 8, 2, 3, 6, 2, 9, 5, 1, 1, 5, 2, 8, 4, 5, 9, 3, 7, 10, 5, 5, 1, 5, 5, 2, 1, 9, 1, 8, 2, 9, 5, 10, 8, 4, 7, 3, 3, 1, 9, 10, 5, 4, 2, 1, 3, 10, 7, 9, 2, 9, 6, 6, 7, 4, 10, 9, 2, 6, 1 = 311

Patches rests in the broken harp room, heretofore affectionately referred to, with its heated bed and other creature comforts. She is nothing if not in love with heated beds, although she first inspects it to see if it's usable as long as she adds the requisite number of wood chippings from the forge room. Besides that, she's going to set down her artifact and generally not give much attention to who decides to sleep with her, except to cuddle them and steal their warmth / share their warmth. Her door remains open to any and all visitors, and her guard is generally at a low level, because the Exalted will handle it. Anyone who joins her in sleeping in here will likely have to do the guard shifts themselves, although she could be easily convinced to stay up a few hours-- she needs less sleep, after all, and has good hearing.
>>
No. 970893 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 7, 9, 5, 10, 1, 9, 4, 3, 3, 10, 8, 8, 2, 1, 9, 4, 5, 2, 5 = 115

The samurai agrees with the proposal to set up camp for the night, and is going to suggest the entire group set up camp in one location (Patches' suggestion of the music room seems workable) as they have yet to explore or secure much of the building, and this would be more defensible.

>he'd like to have some privacy, maybe rest away from everyone else
There appears to be a loft bedroom directly above and connected by stairs to the music room. That seems close enough to still allow defenders to respond while allowing a measure of privacy.

When Jan's turn on watch comes around, she will be committing motes to Hearing the Unspoken Word. And here's a Perception 3 + Awareness 1 roll for keeping watch.
>>
No. 970895 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 4, 6, 4, 10, 8, 3, 2, 10, 8, 2, 4, 8, 7, 6, 9, 9, 4, 1, 3 = 113

>set up camp
Works for Tasnim. She hasn't slept in... her memories don't actually go back far enough to be sure. More than a day, at least.

>>970842
The doctor gives a tired but pleased smile and returns the gesture.

When her turn at watch comes up, rolling Perception 3 + Awareness 1 + First Perception Excellency 3.
>>
No. 970902 ID: f57349

>>970893
>When Jan's turn on watch comes around, she will be committing motes to Hearing the Unspoken Word

There's someone hiding under the bed.
>>
No. 970903 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 2, 7, 4, 6, 2, 7, 3, 6, 10, 3, 1, 5, 1, 9, 4, 8, 8, 6, 5 = 98

>>970902
The Dusk caste gestures her companions away from the inviting bedside, crouches, and with one hand on her blade's hilt she uses the other to raise the edge of the patterned quilt overhanging the side, in order to check who or what is concealed.
>>
No. 970904 ID: d9acdc

rolled 2, 10, 4, 9, 7, 2, 10, 6, 9, 8, 1, 7, 8, 10, 9, 5, 5, 1, 1, 7, 3, 2, 1, 5, 5, 8, 5, 9, 10, 2, 10, 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 8, 7, 6, 1, 9, 2, 5, 8, 4, 4, 1, 6, 7, 5, 6, 5, 6, 6, 10, 3, 6, 9, 1, 1 = 322

>>970902
At the time Jan Do and The Adamant Strix were both awake, having just relieved Noir and Desert Locust. A quick word and the over sized, mud stained, torn and ratty poncho that covers Desert Locust makes it clear she's in the room- Noir however, is no where to be seen.

Noir is activating the stealth capabilities of the suit, I think that's four motes? Unclear how many motes he has respired, nor where his anima flare level is, will need ST adjudication on that front.

Both Desert Locust and Noir have essence sight, and are actively scanning for threats, since as I understand it they might be able to see through the bed, rather than peeking under it, if whatever's down there is noticeable enough.

Noir has Dex five, stealth one, camo four, stunt, for staying hidden in the room nearby. Then there's perception five, wits three, awareness five, visor two, stunt, investigation five, for identifying whatever's there and/or joining battle.

Desert Locust has perception three, wits three, awareness three, for a spot check and/or a join battle.
>>
No. 970905 ID: f57349

>>970903
>>962647
>On examination, bedframe is one of those types that's actually a sort of wide, flat, slow-burning oven, keeping the sleeper comfortably warm without wasting energy on the rest of the room.

With quilts and mattress out of the way, you're looking at a ceramic rectangle fused with the floor along three edges and a wall on the last, seamless apart from a lever on the wall to open or close the flue, and the shin-high fuel hatch which an adult human might just barely be able to crawl through, if they had narrow shoulders and weren't the slightest bit claustrophobic.

If you plan to open it up and peek inside, what are you using as a light source, soot-remover, and/or long-handled poking stick?
>>
No. 970911 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 5, 6, 6, 4, 4, 8, 6, 10, 9, 4, 4, 4, 1, 8, 8, 10, 8, 9, 2, 5, 5, 9, 9, 6, 8, 9, 10, 8, 3, 10, 5, 2, 1, 7, 3, 9, 8, 7, 8, 3, 9, 9, 8, 7, 3, 9, 6, 1, 10, 10, 10, 1, 6, 1, 4, 7, 9, 6, 4 = 379

>>970905
Patches decides to spend enough motes to burn at lantern-bright level, and use her trusty Nibsplitter to poke inside the flue-- brush works like a soot broom and nib like a poking stick, if you've got the know-how to use it. Her bright grey, sparkly aura illuminates the area around her in a most unusual fashion, seeing as mutant god-bloods shouldn't HAVE anima banners to begin with. This might ping as unusual to those who haven't seen it before-- Adamant Strix-- but otherwise unremarkable given she's an artifact-laden bunny who just landed in their lap. Unlike the Exalted, she really doesn't have a use for all these motes except to light things up, although...

She'll channel additional motes into Pillar of Marble Stance if they attack. Join Battle followed by Pillar of Marble Stance, preventing her from being moved by any physical force.
>>
No. 970921 ID: ac57f8

rolled 5, 2, 4, 2, 2, 4, 7, 1, 6, 2, 2, 2, 7, 3, 6, 3, 3, 8, 7, 3, 5, 1, 3, 9, 10, 2, 5, 3, 6, 2 = 125

Since the thread basically rocketed to at least one new scene, Fox's biggest qualm with taking a divide and conquer approach both to searching the building and the tunnels is that predators go after isolated individuals, so splitting up leaves everyone in danger of an intelligent predator that can take their faces, which she demonstrates by turning into Noir.

Obviously resting up is a good idea, and she agrees to take first watch since she had already gotten sleep for the day (everything between training and dinner). Perception 3+Awareness 3 to keep watch, she takes position laying on Jan's chest as a Hearthcat since she's apparently taking second shift (?) as she watches over the room with her cat eyes.
>>
No. 970925 ID: ac57f8

rolled 6, 6, 5, 10, 9, 8, 3, 8, 8, 1, 7, 1, 6, 2, 4, 8, 1, 4, 4, 5, 2, 2, 1, 6, 6, 6, 7, 6, 1, 4, 10, 8, 9, 6, 7, 7, 9, 1, 5, 10 = 219

>>970904
"Noir, stop hiding and take off your armor. I'll have it fixed as best as possible by morning." Ada was going to do some kind of work, since it wasn't like she was going to do nothing while she was on guard, and with Jan also standing guard with her, she was confident that occasionally scanning with essence sight would be enough.

> There's someone hiding under the bed.

Ada lets out a groan as she looks in the bed with her essence sight while everyone else was trying to poke at it with the Nibsplitter.

Perception 4+Awareness 3+Stunt
4 primary essence on Essence Dissecting Stare
15/19 Primary 30/40 Peripheral 10/10 WP
>>
No. 970948 ID: f57349

>>970911
>>970925
There's another porcelain mask entity similar to the ones in the kitchen. Looks like an older lady, maybe blind.
>>
No. 970953 ID: 0640da

rolled 1, 1, 6, 9, 3, 8, 7, 9, 8, 4, 1, 3, 7, 9, 2, 2, 1, 2, 7, 1, 9, 7, 4, 2, 9, 4, 9, 10, 3, 3, 4, 1, 8, 9, 2, 6, 5, 3, 1, 1, 8, 9, 9, 8, 8, 2, 10, 1, 8, 7, 6, 9, 5, 5, 1, 9, 2, 2, 10, 10 = 320

>>970948
Patches kind of looks at everyone quizzically, before turning back to the mask and speaking in Old Realm. "Sorry, ma'am, can y'all do what them movements say and get out of there?" Patches pulls her chisel back for now, not meaning to squish a spirit or... mask with her tool like that. She glares at the rest of the cast for getting her nervous-- it's just a mask spirit... thing. That's... alive, but she might have done that on accident letting her motes out. Her brief irritation is gone with a flash as she steps aside and out of the way, still glowing. "I was gonna fuel it and you're in them that fuselage doohickmajig. No place fer a person to be, an it's bigger outside. Much appreciatin' your cooperation."

Patches will make a request with Charisma 4 + Presence 1, and use the appropriate keyword for a simple request. She just wants some sleep...
>>
No. 970954 ID: f57349

>>970953
The spirit is asleep and unresponsive until and unless you channel motes into it.
>>
No. 970955 ID: 0640da

>>970954
"...it's asleep. Cold bed it is, cuddlin's on the menu." Patches sighs and clambers into the cuddle pile, which is anyone who won't immediately kick her off and isn't frigid. She makes herself sleep. No time for dealing with sleeping old blind ladies... nn... mmm.... snnzzz... drool...
>>
No. 970984 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 5, 6, 2, 8, 4, 3, 2, 5, 3 = 45

Jan Do bows to her companions, and apologizes for what was largely a false alarm. The fault was her own, that her charm could not distinguish an immobile and quiescent spirit from a more pressing intrusion.

The samurai will carefully lift the mask, and move it to the nearest shelf or cupboard, rather than leaving her strewn on the floor. Waking the sleeping spirit (and those in the kitchen) to speak can wait until after the group has had a chance to sleep.
>>
No. 970999 ID: f57349

One fine day you're hopping through a vividly colorful grassy meadow, bright summer sunlight shining through the rain onto the grimy gray cobblestones outside the window when a dame walks into your office. Ivory skin, raven-black hair, you immediately realize she's going to be trouble. Her mouth moves but no sound comes out. You accept the case and reassemble your sword, sweeping spare wires and sprockets into the bottom drawer of the bonsai tree. Across town, first lead is a rich, reclusive man wearing a cravat the exact color of the sky. As you come in, his high-backed chair is facing away from you, but his head isn't - he never looks elsewhere or blinks even as he paces around the room and tells you a story that's full of holes.

You're dreaming. The mean streets of the city are laid out like cracks in a dry riverbed, with fragments of idyllic rural landscape where the rooftops should be. Off in the distance there's an artistically gnarled pine tree, small enough to fit comfortably in one hand, yet simultaneously almost as tall as the Imperial Mountain and proportionately wide.
>>
No. 971000 ID: 0640da

rolled 10, 6, 3, 5, 4, 8, 3, 5, 2, 2, 8, 3, 10, 1, 10, 3, 3, 6, 2, 7, 7, 7, 3, 2, 7, 9, 10, 9, 3, 8, 1, 5, 3, 2, 5, 7, 1, 3, 3, 6, 4, 4, 10, 4, 3, 9, 2, 10, 9, 7, 3, 4, 9, 6, 8, 6, 4, 6, 6, 5 = 321

>>970999
Patches is definitely used to being in her own dream-- she's lucid enough, if not slightly... different when she gets proper sleep. But none of these images make sense. Memories she doesn't know about, can't account for. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, before muttering something under her breath. "If Da' knew I was suffering for lost fish under the sea, for sure he'd laugh at me... these bricks and cobble are stone under my feet. I walk." Reassuring herself, she stands up-- once you know it's a dream, you can walk. But she's in no hurry to walk. "Sometimes dreams take you where you need to go." Patches mutters again. "Last time I go without sleep for 2 days... Da' probably missing my prayers..."

Patches will go where the dream takes her, not out of a dislike for the dream, but out of curiosity. She wonders how she's going to write THIS one up to her dad...
>>
No. 971007 ID: ac57f8

> You're dreaming.

Fox was used to dreaming, what Haslanti wasn't used to dreaming. It was, after all, worse to lie about your dreams than it was to lie about real life.

She was, without the normal layer of lies in the waking world, was in a caribou fur jacket and pants, with seal skin mittens, and long platinum blonde hair (though less long than her braided hair from earlier, irrespective of the fact that she was in Hearthcat form previously.

She started by making sure that Jan was near by as she headed over to her Solar Mate, attempting to dramatically 'faint' into her arms, wanting to see how she'd react before going into a dramatic spiel about how long it's been since she's been able to gaze on her face.
>>
No. 971008 ID: ac57f8

>>971000
"So, we're in a dream? That... Is a relief." Ada gave a sigh of relief. If this was a dream, that meant that there was time to relax. Time for everyone to socialize without any threat.

"Okay, so, is this an adventure dream, or a nice calm party dream where we can just hang about for some time until we wake up?"
>>
No. 971019 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 4, 1, 10, 4, 2, 7, 8, 6, 10, 10, 6, 6, 2, 3, 1, 9, 8, 4, 3, 6, 10, 3, 1, 4, 10, 8, 7, 6, 1, 10, 3, 8, 8, 6, 3, 4, 9, 3, 8, 9, 5, 9, 2, 4, 8, 3, 5, 3, 4, 8, 10, 3, 4, 2, 3, 2, 9, 4, 5 = 330

>>971008
"Wait. Hol' up. I'm the lucid one here, you can't all be lucid ones." Patches pauses. "Wait, this ain't my dream. Wait, I ain't sure. How many of us are real right now and how many are hallucinations. Am I your hallucination? Is this the dream or is this the reality an' right now I'm dreaming about all of you on the wakeside. That would make a lot more sense." Patches takes deep, steady breaths.

"..." Patches is really troubled by her current train of thought. "I really hope I'm not stuck in what you might call a psychic quandary for the rest of my life, where I'm always worried about what's a dream and what's reality. Da' warned me about that, very unhealthy."
>>
No. 971105 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 6, 1, 9, 7, 8, 9, 5, 9, 2 = 59

>>970999
Cities were familiar to her. Perhaps not this one in particular, but there were familiar aspects, and cities followed rules, like any organism. Here- see it's beating heart, the life-blood of populace, the breath of trade, the spasms of life and power.

There was reason to be cautious, however. She had enemies in a place like this, and above all else, a single inexorable force that was never to be opposed. A white disk, pure and absolute.

>Across town, first lead is a rich, reclusive man wearing a cravat the exact color of the sky. As you come in, his high-backed chair is facing away from you, but his head isn't - he never looks elsewhere or blinks even as he paces around the room and tells you a story that's full of holes.
The detective's companion, the medic back from the wars, reaches into her bag and offers the liar a bribe, in the form of a ring of keys. Barely-visible threats radiate outwards from the keyring, passing through the walls and surroundings, each anchored in a distant fortress in the twisted city.
>>
No. 971110 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 6, 5, 1, 5, 5, 1, 6, 2, 3 = 35

>>970999
As the swordswoman rises from her desk, a figure (visible only for a span of moments) can be glimpsed behind her, standing in attendance. A young woman, dressed in tattered rags, wearing chains and a collar of red jade. She clutches a worn deck of cards in one hand, her bearing defiant and unbowed, despite her bondage.

Hovering around the swordswoman, always in the peripheral of her vision, hangs a persistent, violet hue, whispers and hints of something greater. It is familiar to her, for it has been there, lurking in her dreams, ever since the day she died. To focus on it, she need only look away from that which lies before her.

>>971007
>She started by making sure that Jan was near by as she headed over to her Solar Mate, attempting to dramatically 'faint' into her arms, wanting to see how she'd react before going into a dramatic spiel about how long it's been since she's been able to gaze on her face.
Before she can do her duty, and pursue the case before her (or turn away from her responsibilities to meditate on secrets died in lavender) she finds herself having to react quickly, moving to catch the dame before her, dressed in a furred coat.
>>
No. 971187 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 2, 4, 2, 6, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 9, 7, 8, 2, 2, 6, 2, 1, 3, 8, 7, 2, 9, 6, 10, 2, 9, 4, 9, 2, 3, 8, 9, 1, 3, 7, 7, 6, 8, 1, 1, 2, 5, 8, 3, 5, 3, 3, 2, 8, 5, 7, 7, 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 6 = 282

>>971105
>>971110
Given her panicking state, the fact two of the other gods seem completely immersed in the dream helps her relax. "False alarm, y'all. I think we're in their dreams or somethin'. Whew." Her breathing slows and she watches them work... "I'm gonna follow Miss Mammoth, she's obviously gonna hurt herself if she gets caught up in this dream. I mean, not that it matters, dreams can't really hurt y'all, I just don't want her to have a bad time." Mumbling something about it being her duty to keep people she's hosting happy, she scurries up to the plot and tries to assist. Something's fishy about this whole thing.
>>
No. 971253 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 4, 3, 1, 6, 2, 5, 6, 1, 1, 10, 1, 7, 7, 5, 9, 9, 1, 2, 10, 3, 3, 6, 10, 6, 7, 5, 7, 7, 10, 4, 7, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 1, 8, 3, 8, 2, 5, 9, 4, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, 6, 8, 3, 7, 4, 4, 6, 10, 1, 8 = 317

>>970999
On the outskirts of town, a stranger rides in, his steed made of steel and his hip made of iron. A long brown duster isn't enough to cover it, not while he's riding, but when he asks questions the locals know he's a savior, hope in a tattered stetson, rather than a bandit come to flash his gun and make life harder. See, the folk around here have been trapped for too long, and tyranny ain't something a lone rider like him can tolerate. If he wants to make an example though, he's gonna need to figure a way to draw the snakes outta then den first, and then make sure he can put 'em down and show the people that they don't have to be scared without letting anyone else get hurt.

Lets go ahead and roll to gather useful information about what exactly is wrong in this town and who Noir should go see to do something about it.
>>
No. 971255 ID: d9acdc

>>971019
Lilly, who is perhaps more familiar with this sort of experience than some of her other party members, rubs Patches fur in an attempt to help soothe her.

"Wanna take a load off? Don't think there's any more dock work to do right now, we can afford to sit down and have a chat, if you'd like. Here, have a sip-"

She offers a wine skin, although it's the cheap kind meant to cut water and make it safer to drink, rather than anything you'd get a buzz off of. Unfortunately, Patches doesn't actually recognize the girl in front of her. Pale skin, red eyes, and small horns are somewhat obscured by a heavy cloak, hood pulled up and over to hide her face.

>>971187
When she gets up to follow the doctor with the keys, the diminutive girl hiding under the cloak tags along, keeping her head down in the rain while trying to make polite conversation.
>>
No. 971265 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 7, 3, 9, 1, 5, 6, 3, 10, 5, 5, 5, 7, 6, 10, 5, 4, 2, 8, 5, 7, 4, 7, 1, 7, 4, 4, 6, 8, 5, 3, 3, 10, 1, 10, 3, 2, 10, 4, 9, 5, 9, 9, 4, 4, 1, 9, 2, 1, 4, 7, 9, 5, 8, 3, 6, 10, 2, 5, 1 = 323

>>971255
"I--" Patches pauses. She's not used to having her way forwards impeded. Especially not by friendliness. Actually, this is a first. She glances into the bottle... it threatens to swallow her whole, the way it goes down and down. She finds herself in cuffs before she can reach for a sip, and she shudders before the fingers knead into her body. "I'm s-sorry. Y'all, I'm not really... familiar with other dreams. I s'pose I should be, cause of what I'll have to do when I'm older, but..." The wine is a cure for all ills. It purges poisons, curses, loved ones from your memory, leaving only a longing for more. But you're afraid to drink it. "...I just don't know, dreamfriend. What is this nice thing you're doin' for me? I don't even know y'all and you're kind. Usually that ain't the case..." Patches leans against Des, not understanding. Even if she's lucid, nothing is clear...
>>
No. 971560 ID: ac57f8

>>971110
With Fox falling into Jan's arms, it seemed that the Samurai wasn't quite up to the task as they both fell into a pile.

"Well, it looks we really are falling for each other." She surveyed the young woman in chains and the strange violet whispers aura.

"I don't take it that you want to explain who your companions are?"
>>
No. 971561 ID: ac57f8

>>971187
>>971255
>>971265

"I don't know if I would call us dreamfriends, I mean, I'm pretty sure we're all still friends in the waking world." Ada followed the bundle of cloaks and Patches as they followed Tansim.

"Although, it's pretty adorable that you're getting flustered by people being nice to you." Ada rubbed patches on the head between her ears.

"Anyway, this is a nice dream, but what are we doing?"
>>
No. 971680 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 5, 1, 7, 1, 9, 2, 4, 4, 8 = 44

>>960032
>"I disagree with the notion that anything in creation has absolutely nothing valuable to emulate. But, I'll concede your point if, and only if, you can satisfactorily explain the difference between your sword and the beast's martial arts."

>>971560
>She surveyed the young woman in chains and the strange violet whispers aura.
>"I don't take it that you want to explain who your companions are?"
In the midst of trying to assist the fur-clad beauty back to her feet, the warrior wreathed in violet pauses, as if she had not been aware of her trailing attendant before she was brought the her attention. Considering, from their tangle on the floor, she replies.

"You asked me a question, once. She is part of the answer. The difference is respect."

So spoken, the samurai inclines her head in the direction of the least god of her soulsteel blade. The spirit, wearing the face of bones long dead, bows in return.

>>971561
>"Anyway, this is a nice dream, but what are we doing?"
"A mission was accepted, and must be seen through to completion."
>>
No. 971681 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 7, 10, 1, 2, 6, 4, 10, 7, 7 = 61

>>971680
>>"Anyway, this is a nice dream, but what are we doing?"
>"A mission was accepted, and must be seen through to completion."
"Currently? Attempting to persuade a source to share something useful", the medic replied, gesturing with her key-bribe in the direction of the man with the owl-like head. "I hear the sheriff approaching in the distance, perhaps his methods can shake something loose, if an understanding cannot be reached."
>>
No. 971689 ID: 0640da

rolled 1, 2, 7, 3, 4, 6, 5, 2, 9, 9, 9, 10, 8, 6, 4, 8, 9, 1, 9, 4, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 3, 5, 8, 6, 7, 7, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 3, 3, 9, 3, 9, 7, 7, 6, 2, 3, 6, 4, 3, 9, 7, 4, 7, 5, 4, 1, 8, 4, 7, 5 = 315

>>971680
"L, long and short, these fools is dreamin'. We sit back an' enjoy the ride, because it's a dream, and we don't interfere-- there might be particular omens and such we should be focusing our attentions on, in case this dream's a gift from my Da'." Patches squirms a little under the questioning. "No doubt this lady in question has information that is useful for our little band, so what you should do is play along and listen. You want to learn something, right?"
>>
No. 971839 ID: f57349

While Jan Do is standing watch with Hearing The Unspoken Word active, she finds that she can reliably perceive sleeping allies back in the bedroom, and thus would also notice intruders, from anywhere in the music room, two or three paces into the trophy room to the northwest, the southern half of the game room to the north, most of the architecture studio (but not the northwest corner) on the second floor directly above the music room, and of course the other bedroom directly above, as well as the three-segment staircase connecting them.

Hours of peace and quiet gives an opportunity to inventory some subtler, concealed or incomplete empathic presences:

The storage cabinets for musical instruments have engraved faces linked to both integral automata and partially-awakened least gods. Not fully intelligent, but capable of serving as a basic security system, adoring audience, and carrying on semi-coherent conversation within related topics. One of them is missing, carried off by raiders, and the others want to see it returned safe - almost like a lost sibling, though they lack vocabulary to express such concepts.

Ping you noticed earlier >>959808 is presumably a sixth porcelain mask spirit, and you can triangulate it's position to a specific room on the second floor, next to the east main stairwell.

The demon trapped in your pocket has been screaming incoherently, vaguely reminiscent of opium withdrawal, for... hours? Days? Long enough you'd started filtering it as background noise. Proper communication requires skin contact with the crystal, but proximity and attention is enough to discern the telepathic equivalent of distant yodeling echoes.

>>970842
>>970925
> rolled 10, 9, 8, 10, 8
Windblade maintenance kit has a fairly good lock, but not good enough to slow Noir down. Contents include tools suitable for calibrating and cleaning stealth suit subsystems. No spare myomer strips, though. Quickest complete fix would probably be taking the windblade on a supply run to the nearest credible city or rubber-tree plantation - Tasnim can brew up the necessary material from reasonably common feedstock (process also involves a basic workshop full of bulky, fragile lab glassware, but it only takes a couple hours so rental or burglary could be sufficient), while Ada knows how to form the correct contours and polarization as it congeals.
> I'll have it fixed as best as possible by morning
That counts as a deadline, keying into the phobia, and if anyone questions whether the standard you're holding yourself to is reasonable, that'll set off megalomania. Good news is, intimacy toward a specific item with an emotional context of "intent to repair" easily qualifies as a Desire for purposes of Indomitable Hedonism Drive.
>>
No. 971886 ID: 4de354

>>>"Anyway, this is a nice dream, but what are we doing?"
>>"A mission was accepted, and must be seen through to completion."
>"Currently? Attempting to persuade a source to share something useful", the medic replied, gesturing with her key-bribe in the direction of the man with the owl-like head. "I hear the sheriff approaching in the distance, perhaps his methods can shake something loose, if an understanding cannot be reached."

With a swish of gold and with a whirl of white a man with a golden mask and white robes blossoms into existence a scant few feet away from the Exalts.
He gives a short, but differential bow.
"Would you require any assistance in this task of yours? When you arrived I was just in the middle of tidying up, but I would be absolutely mortified if I failed to greet my guests, and not endeavor to make your stay here as comfortable and pleasant as possible."
>>
No. 971898 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 5, 3, 5, 10, 9, 7, 7, 8, 7 = 70

>>971839
>One of [the instruments] is missing, carried off by raiders, and the others want to see it returned safe - almost like a lost sibling, though they lack vocabulary to express such concepts.
>a sixth porcelain mask spirit, and you can triangulate it's position to a specific room on the second floor, next to the east main stairwell.
Jan Do resolves to share this information with her comrades when they wake. If we are to search the manse in detail, it will cost little to return these things to their proper places once found.

>The demon trapped in your pocket has been screaming incoherently, vaguely reminiscent of opium withdrawal, for... hours? Days? Long enough you'd started filtering it as background noise. Proper communication requires skin contact with the crystal, but proximity and attention is enough to discern the telepathic equivalent of distant yodeling echoes.
For a moment the samurai is torn. She has a duty to her companions, and she stands watch. To address this matter now could distract her from her task. On the other hand, despite the holes in memories, she knows what the yasal crystal is. The spirit bound within could only be in her service, or her prisoner, and in either case, her responsibility. Retreating towards the center of the room, placing her back to her sleeping allies and with her eyes on the entrances, the daughter of ash places one hand on the crystal and makes contact.

Rolling join debate, I assume. Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Hearing the Unspoken Word 2. Possibly at a multiple action penalty for keeping watch at the same time.
>>
No. 971913 ID: f57349

>>971898
The blood ape stops 'screaming' and chants off, fast as telepathically possible, like a crazed auctioneer, "Ten uses or 'til Calibration won't hit you or family after big fight counts as one if allowed a taste!"
Then there's a pause, a few moments of wordless pulsing, like the feeling in your ears when you try to breathe with mouth and nose tightly shut. He's half-expecting you to simply pull back your hand without a word, and when the next words come they're slower, hesitant - and in a painfully garbled approximation of your native dialect rather than Malfean Old Realm.
"Do we have a deal? Counteroffer? It having been proven that your grace maintain the intolerable status quo (lit. 'support the flat roof') longer than my worthless self were capable."
He's using extremely respectful honorifics, which from a more fluent speaker could be taken as an insult implying excessive pride on your part, but in this case seems like an entirely un-sarcastic (albeit ham-fisted) attempt to curry favor by direct flattery and groveling.

That promise to refrain from retaliating after being released is bullshit, but arguably sincere in the sense of self-delusion. He's not really planning to break it on purpose, but as soon has he gets loose he's almost certainly going to do his absolute best to kill and eat the very next meat-creature he lays eyes on without regard for allegiance. Probably wouldn't even remember how to recognize your family in order to avoid them.
>>
No. 971914 ID: ac57f8

rolled 8, 10, 1, 5, 8, 9, 5, 4, 6, 2, 4, 9, 7, 2, 8, 10, 4, 2, 2, 3, 5, 8, 4, 5, 1, 2, 7, 9, 3, 2, 10, 9, 10, 2, 3, 6, 1, 9, 5, 8 = 218

>>971839
Okay, step one for getting the everything to work is fixing the issues she already knows is wrong with the suit, and to do that, she needs someone who's a master at Alchemy, as much feedstock as possible, and speed. She was going to do a quick once over of the belongings of everyone to get everything packed into her big messenger bag, holding onto the wind-blade, frantically timing it out so that she could finish at exactly the length that it takes to attune to the artifact, operating as close to machine like precision as possible.

Wits 2+Lore 4+Savant 4 for 10 dice to force a full attunement to the Orichalcum Windblade.

Of course, with the Wind Blade set up, she was now ready to get headed out on two accounts, she needed someone to help read the map to get to the nearest town, and that person had to be Tansim. She did, after all, fit the bill for both of the two other people she needed on this journey, so she shook her awake if she had already gone to sleep.

"I need some quick help reading a map and your work in the chemical side of medicine for the emergency repairs I'm doing on Noir's armor. Just our luck that Kal Box didn't include a small scale factory for all of the things that might be useful for repairs, we'll need to take the Windrider to town and use an alchemy lab they should doubtless have there."

I would prefer to leave this out of social combat, but we can join if Tas would object to getting Noir's armor combat ready before we all go down into what may or may not be a murder death tomb.
>>
No. 971918 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 6, 1, 10, 5, 2, 8, 10, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, 10, 2, 8, 4, 3, 5, 7, 8, 3, 6, 1, 1, 7, 10, 1, 1, 6, 3, 6, 6, 5, 8, 3, 5, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 9, 5, 4, 1, 6, 9, 8, 8, 1, 3, 3, 8, 3, 3, 3, 5, 4, 5 = 308

>>971886
Patches gives pause. Her memory isn't great at the best of times-- patches of it are missing, more recently than not. But this dream construct is speaking too perfectly... still, her defenses aren't perfect, in a dream-- she lacks the mutation to receive benefits for her lucidity, after all. Trying to grasp what is real and what is not inside a dream is a fools errand-- one she can table for another time, although the figure almost certainly makes her question its relationship to the outside world. She focuses, attempting to burn it into her memory and record it, so she doesn't forget... she doesn't want another foggy patch where her memories were when she wakes up. Unbidden and instinctual, a book comes to her paw, and as she opens it the bindings and paper whisper to her. She sinks into the pages like ink, her shape wavering as her form falters, and she blinks twice-- dangerous. She almost touched on something. Looking down, words are written about a mask in gold... speculation, hearsay, fabrication.

"...certainly, fella. There's room in our little band for more. That said, apologies I ain't keeping tidy either. As a guest, my mind is usually... cleaner in my dreams." Patches mutters something about this violating the rules, but she doesn't elaborate further. "Fellow Masked in Gold, can y'all supply us with what you think?"
>>
No. 971923 ID: 955d3c

>>971918

"I am honored to be invited into your retinue, but alas, once this dream ends, I will remain a humble keeper. However, if it is your will, then I shall accompany you in this little dreaming journey."
The golden mask approaches Patches, and motions at the book in her hands.
"May I remark that that is a fascinating little book you have there, honored guest! But does the honored guest know that the written word is no replacement for Integrity? Words may be even more fickle than memories, and the Maiden of Secrets loathes returning that which is forgotten."
>>
No. 971924 ID: 0640da

rolled 7, 7, 5, 9, 4, 5, 4, 6, 2, 5, 10, 9, 6, 4, 5, 4, 3, 9, 7, 1, 9, 8, 4, 3, 6, 8, 5, 2, 9, 9, 3, 9, 9, 5, 1, 3, 4, 2, 6, 2, 2, 10, 8, 2, 7, 9, 1, 8, 6, 6, 4, 3, 2, 7, 10, 3, 5, 1, 3, 3 = 319

>>971923
"It's not a real book, I-- I'm sorry, maybe I'm pryin' where I ain't allowed." Patches rubs the back of her head, sensitive ears brushing back and forth. "I've just had trouble keepin' my memories straight, and I don't remember... you? No, that's all, nevermind." She mumbles. Glancing down at her dream book, she can tell this is an omen she doesn't want to read deeply into. No, she dreads looking into it-- almost dreads asking in the first place. "I think it would be better if I weren't told. Just an instinct. But, ah... thanks for the honor. I'm Patches In Reality, a pleasure to meet you fer the... first time?" She holds out her mutated paw, closing the book after letting some of her memories bleed out for a bit. She's hesitant. In the distance, a stag stares through an open window, murmuring.

"I'm not all that important, compared to these others... uh, but I wouldn't say this is the right time to introduce yourself to them. They're lookin' for something... can't pay much attention. Miss Strix is present... nominally."
>>
No. 971926 ID: 955d3c

>>971924

"It is as real as any metaphor, honored guest."
The robed figure takes the offered hand and shakes it. He then claps his hands together and in mere moments pulls out a orichalchum daiklave, a flamepiece, and a boquet of flowers. Each objects pops in and out of existence, in a matter of seconds.
"In a dreamscape such as this, I am quite capable. Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance, should you desire it."
With another clap, a table set with a variety of foodstuffs and teas unseen since the High First Age, and four chairs whirl into existence.
>>
No. 971928 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 7, 2, 6, 3, 5, 3, 7, 10, 5, 3, 8, 9, 3, 5, 5, 8, 6, 4, 4, 9, 10, 3, 4, 8, 9, 8, 2, 8, 10, 4, 3, 9, 3, 4, 7, 5, 5, 2, 9, 2, 1, 3, 8, 7, 3, 4, 8, 2, 1, 5, 5, 2, 6, 4, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1 = 296

>>971926
"You sound just like my Da'." Patches giggles, before pushing aside a chair and taking a seat... "Maybe one day I'll be as adept with these things as you seem to be, but... well, my da' said there's a time and place for everything. He'll teach me to work with dreams too..." She gazes off into the distance, a little. A large shape struggles to form behind her... memories of her father. But the connection is unclear and hazy... without the god in question having access to her dreams, she can't picture him clearly. For all her artistic merit, her imagination is lacking. "I guess it's just my instinct made manifest. I write down everything I see an' witness... I enjoy writing, maybe more than I enjoy art. It's a little hard to get them words to paper... they come out jumbled. But I used to be able to write long, flowin' script... poetry too. Miss Do would probably get a kick outta that." She shakes her head. "It's not worth talkin' about. What kinda hobbies do you have, my Golden Host?" She naturally changes the subject. It breaches too readily on one of her taboos, and she wants to learn more about the host. A paw reaches for some ancient teacup and gently pours the tea on top of her head.
>>
No. 971935 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 10, 3, 3, 3, 9, 10, 8, 3, 8, 1, 3, 2, 7, 4, 3, 4, 4, 8, 7 = 106

>>971914
The No Moon doctor blinks owlishly from behind her spectacles as she tries to process her companion's request.

"You want us to fly off to the nearest town? Strix, neither of us know how to fly that fool device. It's nighttime, in the middle of a blizzard. We have no idea where to find the nearest town, and from what the locals have said, we're in some kind of badlands ruled by a spirit that considers blood apes and yeti subjects- no mortal with sense lives near that. I literally cannot remember when I last slept."

Rolling for join debate if necessary, though I'm perfectly happy to work out how to deal with this with just RP and problem solving instead of social combat mechanics (ie, find workarounds IC to the obstacles Tasnim is raising).
>>
No. 971980 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 8, 2, 5, 3, 2, 8, 2, 1, 4, 8, 1, 6, 9, 5, 10, 8, 6, 4, 8 = 101

>>971913
From the references to the intolerable status quo, and that it is able to ape her native tongue, the blood ape has been trapped (negotiations stalled) for quite a while now. At a guess, it was taught politeness by cutting communication whenever it could not speak with respect.

>"Ten uses or 'til Calibration
The number of uses or until calibration model seem fair reasonable- months of service at the most, early release if more demands are placed upon it sooner. Instead of accepting the initial counter offer, perhaps a counter proposal of a higher value (20 uses?) and then haggle down to somewhere above ten. Not sure what dice pool would be used for that kind of action (a social attack trait? Bureaucracy?) so have some dice.

>after big fight counts as one if allowed a taste!"
So multiple charm activations only count as one in the course of the large battle, if the blood ape is allowed to taste blood? Important questions might be what qualifies as a big fight, or if the (desperate and dangerous) demon has to be released in order to allow it to feed, or if it is merely asking for the crystal to be placed in blood.
>>
No. 971983 ID: f57349

>>971914
Attunement to the Windblade succeeds, but if you're carrying a notably heavy or off-center load you will have zero dice in the pool for maneuvering (before stunts, excellencies, or virtue channels) and crash almost immediately as a result. Active coaching from your Coadjutor could mitigate some of the relevant penalties, but for that you'd need to lock in at least the first dot in the Unwoven Coadjutor background, after doing something in the dreamscape to justify getting back on speaking terms.

>>971980
Twenty is accepted without argument. Based on the blood ape's explanation, any time you use one of his charms, there's a certain amount of sensory feedback, so applying them to any attack that deals at least one health level of lethal damage to a creature with fresh blood (but not, say, a plant, certain elementals, or necrotech) would qualify as 'a taste,' and there's room to stunt in other possibilities. As for what counts as the same big fight, there are in-setting ways to define relevant ambient-essence conditions with contractual precision, but in mechanical terms if you roll Join War, whole scene probably counts. Main distinction that's likely to come up is if you're restocking Principle of Motion before blades come out or after wounded have been seen to, he'd prefer that be treated as a separate use from the actual fighting. This sort of agreement isn't inherently binding, it's possible to haggle over details after the fact. Dunking the crystal in the steaming entrails of something recently slain, or better yet slathering it in bone marrow, are not strictly required but would certainly be appreciated.

He's also secretly hoping you might screw up by putting him in contact with the flesh of some enemy who's not quite all the way dead yet, who might then choose to release him out of vengeful spite. Not pushing for that very hard, though.
>>
No. 972010 ID: 955d3c

>>971928
>"What kinda hobbies do you have, my Golden Host?"

"Construction, strangling demons, tea ceremonies, competitive flower arrangement, and meditation. A lot of meditation. Over 10 centuries of... meditation."
>>
No. 972046 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 5, 3, 1, 1, 10, 2, 6, 7, 1 = 38

>>972010
"...ensuring that trade is not obstructed?" the Nexus expatriate supplies, wary and suspicious of the sudden newcomer in their mask and pale robes.

Perhaps the color of the mask in question should have been reassuring, but hue was curiously washed out in this place, and appearances deceiving.
>>
No. 972048 ID: ac57f8

rolled 4, 1, 2, 2, 3, 10, 2, 9, 5, 4, 10, 2, 8, 3, 7, 8, 8, 7, 3, 10, 2, 2, 6, 9, 7, 1, 8, 9, 4, 3, 2, 6, 5, 6, 10, 9, 8, 2, 2, 8, 8, 2, 10, 2, 2, 4, 10, 2, 5, 3, 9, 8, 2, 10, 6, 6, 8, 7, 2, 3, 6, 5, 10, 9, 4, 1, 1, 5, 1, 10, 6, 5, 1, 1, 2, 4, 2, 2, 2, 4 = 407

>>971935
"Yes, it's definitely not ideal circumstances, but the parts I need aren't here, so I've got to hurry if I want to have any hope of meeting the deadline. If you're not willing to go, that does pose a serious problem, but I'm sure I'll work it out on the way.

Anyway, I'm leaving in half an hour, with or without you."

Feeling the balance of the Windblade, Ada decides it's best to pack lighter than normal, opting to only take the Windblade Maintainance Kit, the armor itself, and a small kit containing enough food and water to last 25 hours, and the heaviest clothes she could possibly find to weather the Blizzard with, and the signet ring that they found in the tomb earlier so she could sign an IOU if all of that wasn't enough to get competent help, all carried by Mind-Hand Manipulation behind her so it wouldn't disrupt the Windblade, and since she wasn't able to use the map, a basic essence compass with 5 needles, each attuned to the 5 different poles and their essence, a useful tool for both navigation and geomancy, that she had grabbed from Kal Box's bedroom. She tied that to her wrist with a crude leather strap so it wouldn't fall off.

And, at the end of the 30 minute mark, with or without Tansim, Ada asked the blood ape at the door both the exact coordinates of where they are standing, and distances relative to each of the relatively advanced cities where she would (presumably) be able to find what she's looking for.
>>
No. 972050 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 10, 5, 7, 2, 10, 6, 2, 10, 5, 6, 3, 9, 10, 9, 7, 6, 9, 5, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 7, 10, 7, 7, 2, 8, 6, 7, 1, 8, 2, 7, 4, 2, 9 = 245

>>972048
Of course, Ada was going to leave the manse without a map, but then she realized, she had literal centuries worth of experience reading maps and riding flying machines, and so she went back and re-packed the map that they used to get here, deciding to read the map between when finished packing and asking the Blood Ape for personal directions.

I can't find the actual dice reading maps, but I remember reading somewhere that you need survival 1, so:
Int 5+ Lore 4 + Stunt and Past Life in Survival to be able to read the map.
>>
No. 972096 ID: f57349

>>972050
Lore lets you understand the literal meaning of map details, pass a geography quiz or whatnot, but Survival skill is needed to translate that into strategies for efficient overland travel.

Thousand Blossoming Sunsets walks up to the second floor and, after shedding a few tears before the portraits of fallen peers, recognizes the control panel on the balcony railing as a scaled-up Atlas of the Unconquered General. That's more than enough successes to get it to display a realtime map of everything within fifty miles of the manse, including glowing dots representing the locations of any sapient beings in range not concealed by magic.

Unfortunately it looks like there's only one settlement in that area worth noting. Journal entries indicate you've already been there, it's full of demons, and they simply don't have the stuff you currently need. There's a human-run town further to the southwest, through Stone Maw Pass and across Dragonsbreath Lake, but it's far enough away you can't possibly make it there and back before dawn, much less transact any useful business.

However, based on broader knowledge of Linowan territory, you're pretty sure there's a major navigable river just twenty miles past the edge of the area on display - seventy miles from your current location, due north over some of the highest parts of the surrounding mountains - and on that river, a Guild hub town.

You fly off, over the mountains, buy the stuff (Guildsmen drive a hard bargain but they also respect your need to close a deal quickly), rent a lab for Tasnim to process it, fly back just barely on schedule and faceplant into some nice soft powdery snow right at the base of that rocky slope outside the manse's front door. Routine inventory check? New myomer strips not found. Spend willpower to resist UMI? Y/N
>>
No. 972104 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 10, 7, 4, 7, 5, 10, 4, 5, 1, 5, 4, 4, 8, 1, 8, 2, 2, 5, 6, 9, 9, 1, 3, 1, 9, 4, 6, 10, 3, 2, 3, 7, 7, 4, 7, 7, 5, 1, 10, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 9, 10, 10, 3, 4, 6, 3, 8, 8, 3, 6, 4, 10, 7, 8 = 321

>>972010
>>972046
"That's a lot of interestin' hobbies. Can't say strangling appeals to me, but I have been known to strangle time to time..." Patches zones out for a moment, her hands wrapping around the teacup tightly. Her dad told her if she's going to strangle something or someone, she might as well pick up the martial art for it-- and she did. A little. "Ah? You know this here fella with a mask of gold? Should have figured you gods had friends in high places. I mean, least ten thousand years, no slouch, right?" Patches smiles at Gold Mask.
>>
No. 972105 ID: f57349

>>972104
Ten centuries is only one thousand years.
>>
No. 972107 ID: 0640da

>>972105
Sorry, please correct my math.
>>
No. 972200 ID: ac57f8

rolled 5, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 1, 1, 6, 8, 8, 2, 8, 8, 10, 2, 10, 6, 5, 6, 2, 10, 9, 2, 10, 3, 1, 4, 1, 3, 2, 3, 10, 3, 5, 10, 10, 10, 2, 1, 3, 9, 2, 5, 6, 5, 3, 4, 7, 8 = 263

>>972096

That scene doesn't make any sense. Kal Box was a respectable man at the best of times, but at the worst he was a creep who now that Thousand Bounteous Sunsets knew that he had a secret invisible manse that apparently nobody in the first age was able to find, his suspicious money borrowing habits shortly before the Usurpation made a lot more sense. Actually wait, that doesn't make any sense since this place objectively doesn't have enough resources to survive in perpetuity, and he probably just got stuck here rather than intentionally borrowing a few hundred thousands of talents of magical materials with every intention to hide out here where nobody can find him, so maybe he actually needed the resources, probably for this very project, or some Manses elsewhere in creation.

Still, he was probably a dick for borrowing all of that money and not paying anyone back, her especially, and really he developed a gauche sense of decor. More than it had been during his height anyway, the bastard had always been over indulgent in his love for the classical stylings even if he himself invented those same classical stylings, if the paintings of himself and everyone else who had been trapped here depicting themselves as bigger than they ever really were right where a mural of the Unconquered Sun should be for proper worship.

That train of thought took a moment, as Thousand Bounteous Sunsets, no The Adamant Strix, realized she was shedding a tear for a gauche self-important windbag who owed her money, she knew that something was wrong, even if her newest incarnation hadn't sacrificed her ability to feel empathy in order to master the secrets of Adamant Sorcery.


So, WP to resist UMI? Spent.

>>972104


"I must agree, that's a pretty hefty list of past times, but I must admit, I have memories from about 2,000 years ago to my past life's death during the Usurpation some 450 or so years later, my own life up to a point where I have amnesia, and then coming to here. Anyway, what of your past, spirit?" She was looking at the strange person whose head was still facing them even as her body was facing the Golden Masked figure.
>>
No. 972216 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 3, 4, 7, 7, 4, 5, 3, 4, 3, 10, 2, 3, 4, 8, 5, 6, 6, 4, 5, 8 = 101

>>972048
Momentarily flummoxed by the abrupt dismal and arrogant pigheadedness of her ally, Doctor Violette is left to rail once again at the recklessness and foolish behavior of her companions.

Obviously she's going to need to do something to keep Adamant Strix from coming to harm, though at this point she is undecided if that means assisting her in the fool venture, or simply sitting on her to prevent her from leaving.

Tasnim spends the half hour she's been given hedging her bets- she collects her medical and alchemichal bags in case they will be needed, she visits Noir in his chosen bedroom and leaves one of her two bottles with him, just in case (she also says something disapproving about his loaning Adamant Strix the Windblade for this venture, not that he understands her words). She also makes sure to tell Jan Do what she is doing.

Finally, steeling herself again the storm (rolling Valor vs phobia) she heads out the front door to meet the Defiler on the snowy steps.
>>
No. 972217 ID: 5f3f48

> Whether Jan Do had left the blood ape with any explicit instructions about whether his services as a guide were available to her companions.
Yes, the Dusk would have made clear that the guide services were available to the group, rather than herself only. (There might be ambiguity or room for interpretation as to whether this includes Patches, as this bargain was struct before meeting with the moon rabbit).
>>
No. 972224 ID: 955d3c

>>972200
I am the humble keeper of the manse you currently reside in, honored guests. I was bidden by my creator to be this manse's keeper. My past consists of my hobbies and whatever maintenance I can provide to this manse. May I inquire if you are here on Deliberative business, or is this a pleasure visit?
>>
No. 972225 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 2, 5, 7, 4, 4, 10, 6, 4, 1, 6, 8, 3, 2, 7, 6, 6, 2, 7, 5, 2, 3, 3, 3, 7, 6, 1, 5, 3, 3, 5, 8, 3, 9, 2, 9, 2, 7, 2, 7, 5, 4, 10, 5, 2, 2, 1, 2, 9, 5, 7, 3, 3, 6, 7, 9, 3, 1, 1, 4 = 279

>>972224
"My da's not exactly what I'd call a 'deliberative' official, but these folks in the dream with us are certainly what you would call 'officials in training'... probably recently exalted, they feel a lil... unfamiliar with their circumstances. 'Cept Miss Strix, she's probably a trained agent of the Deliberative. Your assistance might be necessary, friend." Patches rubs the cup against her cheek, before pouring another cup of tea and gently drenching her shoulder in it. Controlling yourself in a dream is hard. "I have this antsy feelin', though. Call it intuition, or whatnot. I guess you could say I feel like this is the place we're supposed to be. But, then again... what with the machinations of heaven and fate, ain't we all exactly where we're supposed to be, Golden Fella? Ah, wait. You have a name. What should I be calling you?"

Patches trusts her intuition-- it's never led her astray before. It's the same thing telling her not to flirt with any of the solars, like the dead solar-- she has this intuition it won't go very well. For her. Knowing about the relationship with the moon and the sun does not make her feel better about trying.
>>
No. 972246 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 3, 8, 1, 1, 4, 7, 4, 2, 3 = 35

Having finished rising and assisting her companion to her feet, the Dusk caste quietly regards the arrival of the masked interloper, listening to the exchange with the hare.

>>971926
>With another clap, a table set with a variety of foodstuffs and teas unseen since the High First Age, and four chairs whirl into existence.
With a critical gaze, Jan Do notes the conjured seats and counts the... at least seven persons present, perhaps more. Even if this setting represents to real expenditure of real resources, and can seemingly be altered on a whim, this strikes her as rude and a failing on the part of their host. At worst, a deliberate insult towards some present.

>>972225
>May I inquire if you are here on Deliberative business, or is this a pleasure visit?
"We are not here as agents of the Realm, no."

Jan Do is going to commit motes to Exquisite Etiquette Style and Hearing the Unspoken Word (assuming such things can be done within this dream), as an attempt to assess the basic motivations of those present she is not familiar with. Namely, the rich man or "lead" with the reversed face, and the Gold Mask Clad In a Raiment of White.
>>
No. 972276 ID: d9acdc

rolled 3, 1, 3, 7, 8, 3, 7, 9, 6, 9, 4, 4, 9, 7, 10, 3, 10, 7, 9, 6, 8, 5, 1, 7, 6, 3, 8, 10, 3, 2, 2, 2, 4, 2, 10, 7, 10, 4, 5, 2, 4, 1, 1, 10, 10, 2, 4, 4, 6, 1, 6, 7, 1, 10, 4, 1, 9, 2, 5, 5 = 319

>>971926
>>972246
If Lillian, the girl struggling to hide her stubby horns and pale skin under a ratty oversized cloak, is bothered by the number of chairs, she doesn't show it. Taking a cup of wine and some fresh bread, she lays comfortably near the table, looking on quietly. Successful read motivation might indicate she is apprehensive; people who go around strangling demons for fun aren't always kind to her, but she keeps that to herself, along with her red eyes and race of origin.
>>
No. 972321 ID: f57349

rolled 2, 8, 10, 3, 3, 9, 9, 2, 6, 8, 5, 8, 7, 3, 10, 4, 10, 9, 6, 4, 6, 5, 2, 5, 3, 10, 9, 5, 4, 1, 2, 7, 9, 5, 6, 7, 5, 3, 8, 8, 10, 2, 10, 10, 4, 3, 1, 5, 2, 5, 7, 6, 10, 1, 10, 8, 2, 4, 10, 7 = 353

>>972200
>>972216
The erymanthus hireling who hastily knuckle-walks down the slope to render assistance agrees that you've been gone for hours. Tasnim can corroborate details of the events of the supply run, and is equally puzzled as to how the actual supplies you were most concerned with - which she specifically remembers having successfully prepared and packed up - seem to have vanished. However, when you focus your anima through the essence-sight goggles, there's a clear (though quickly fading) trail of warm turbulent air consistent with flying straight out the door before auguring into the snow, not the descent from further away that you remember.

Second attempt, paying much closer attention to every little detail of the scenery, you zoom up the cliff face into which the Invisible Fortress is set, and up and up for what feels like ages, but when you look back down, you've only made it about four feet past the roof.

Third try (it must be nearly noon by now, how is the sun still below the horizon?), on the way across that high ridge of mountains you find yourself threading your way through a chasm, about as wide as the Pilgrim's Road leading to Whitewall but twisting rather than straight, and uncomfortably close to rated maximum altitude. Winds are strong but steady, and moonlight on the icy walls is oddly serene. Fencepost-like upright stones protrude from the chasm's otherwise uneven floor in a tidy hexagonal grid, each precisely ten yards apart from all it's neighbors. Reminds you of an oversimplified training simulator for junior pilots the Legion isn't yet willing to trust with real hardware.

Up ahead, a woman with long dark hair is riding sidesaddle on a unicorn. Even from 250 yards away, you somehow instantly recognize her as the mute 'client' from that garbled detective-story dream. Chain of silvery runes begins to coalesce in front of her - an emerald-circle spell being shaped. Quick identification will probably be part of your... wait, who would be grading this?

Roll Join Battle.
>>
No. 972346 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 4, 3, 4, 2, 7, 1, 4, 5, 7, 6, 1, 1, 4, 8, 4, 10, 7, 1, 10, 9, 5, 4, 10, 4, 5, 3, 8, 3, 7, 5, 1, 9, 9, 4, 1, 2, 9, 7, 2, 3 = 199

>>972321
Poking a small furred head out from Ada's collar, the ermine sorceress takes in this sudden new threat and prepares to defend against arcane attack, beneath a cloudy sky (mercifully clearer than when they began at least, or else the sun wouldn't be visible at all).

Rolling Join Battle! Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt, plus 1wp for an auto success.

Since sorcery is Obvious, I would also like to make a reflexive Intelligence 5 + Occult 4 + Stunt attempt to try and identify the spell being shaped. I'll spend 4m personal on the First Intelligence Excellency to improve that roll.
>>
No. 972348 ID: f57349

>>972346
One success on Join Battle, seven on ID'ing the spell as Flying Guillotine. If Ada makes a hairpin turn immediately and flees at best speed, while that spell continues to be shaped without interruption, you'll still be just barely within that five hundred yard homing target-lock range when it goes off. It'll catch up at most four and a half seconds afterward, even around corners. Likewise, if you continue straight ahead, the spell will be cast just a heartbeat before you can close to melee range.

Assuming you're not still dreaming, this is almost certainly the first stage of a competent ambush. Feels like you're two moves away from losing in the semifinals of a Gateway tournament you didn't even realize you'd entered.

Fortunately, as a sorcerer yourself, you can meddle with spells before they're complete.
>>
No. 972352 ID: 2ccc2d

rolled 7, 6, 5, 10, 7, 3, 5, 2, 8, 5, 7, 4, 3, 8, 5, 6, 3, 10, 5, 3, 2, 6, 6, 8, 9, 9, 3, 3, 5, 8, 4, 4, 2, 4, 6, 6, 1, 8, 4, 6 = 216

>>972321
Dangerous mages, illusions. TBS wasn’t entirely sure if this was real, but she was done running. She didn’t have much in the way of the charms to move incredibly fast, but she DID have a strong desire to set everything right so she could fix this armor.

Perception 4+ Awareness 3 + Stunt since she’s been using essence sight this entire time to see through the blizzard, so if there is a charm baking up an illusion, she wants to figure out what it is.

In the mean time, she wasn’t going to not waylay an enemy sorcerer. She was trusting that the sorcerous Lunar riding in her pocket was already up to task on what her job was, so she was working on getting them to 13 yards, mind blades spinning around her in a wild dervish as she calculated the exact orbit they would need to be in so that the second she got to 39 feet away, they would all stab into the interloper’s head and resolve this situation as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Wits 2 + Awareness 3 + Stunt + Pyrian Excellency 5
>>
No. 972354 ID: f57349

rolled 10, 4, 9, 8, 8, 1, 3, 3, 1, 9, 7, 10, 1, 10, 1, 2, 6, 7, 1, 1, 2, 7, 8, 4, 8, 9, 7, 3, 5, 7, 8, 1, 4, 5, 6, 2, 10, 3, 8, 8, 9, 5, 7, 4, 8, 1, 9, 6, 4, 7, 9, 9, 8, 2, 10, 7, 8, 7, 2, 7 = 346

>>972352
Three successes on the piloting roll, which is just barely enough to maintain level flight in high winds at maximum speed. Might want to think twice about any fancy maneuvers. Four successes on Join Battle. Tasnim will technically act on tick 3, but it looks like the important action will all happen on tick 5. Let's declare actions first and then resolve it simultaneously.

The caster, obviously, is continuing to cast - four net successes (two if discounted by No Moon anima power) would allow a spell to be completed as previously scheduled. Rolling for that.

Meanwhile, the caster's inhumanly flawless partner will bound up into the wind and forward, stabbing just above center mass, mechanically a three-action flurry of jump-attack-attack, intending to traverse Mind-Hand range almost faster than thought and then pierce through Tasnim's tiny ermine body to Ada's chest vitals.
>>
No. 972361 ID: a39a42

rolled 3, 4, 7, 2, 2, 1, 8, 1, 9, 3, 10, 7, 9, 1, 4, 6, 5, 10, 3, 6, 4, 10, 4, 10, 10, 8, 5, 3, 1, 1, 8, 5, 9, 1, 2, 1, 10, 9, 10, 10, 9, 3, 5, 3, 1, 3, 8, 2, 4, 1 = 261

>>972354
Ada had no intentions of actually slowing down, or even stopping. She just had to make changes to the parameters of the knives as they changed at the speed of thought, one positioned just so that when the knife follows its intended trajectory it will slam into another knife and be thrown hopelessly off course while they were both moving too fast to stop a head on collision as she at least adjusted herself to be leading with her shoulder as much as possible to stop any crippling injuries.

They were both moving too fast to change course, and the opening strike might be the last.

Ride: I don’t actually know the way the dice pool is calculated, but since danger is inevitable and she’s taking the steps to minimize force and risk on her end while maximizing harm, that should fit the broad themes. So maxing that out.

Parry DV: Willpower 10+ Occult 4 base 7+ Stunt

Dex 4+ MA 5 and probably some modifiers for high speeds.
>>
No. 972364 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 3, 1, 3, 5, 3, 2, 10, 5, 10, 3, 3, 4, 8, 1, 2, 9, 5, 1, 9, 10 = 97

Ducking back down, magical darkness boils forth from the seams and gaps in the Defiler's clothes as Tasnim commits 6 motes to her anima and scuttles from the jacket's neckline towards an interior pocket on her right side. Drawing upon the untapped well of Sorcery in her mind, she reaches out with Essence, seeking to tangle and disrupt the delicate working taking place before her (for another 2m, 1wp), causing silver runes to drift out of position and unravel. For a morbid moment, she wonders if her medical skills will be needed shortly to piece a prisoner, her ally, or herself back together.

For Tasnim's action, that's Disrupt Sorcery, Occult 4 + Intelligence 5 + Stunt, and it's Excellency-proof.

Declaring defenses, Tasnim has dodge DV 3 (which will be altered by small size modifiers), and her anima power imposes a 3 die internal penalty on incoming attacks. The incoming flurry will also need to overcome Ada's DV with a called shot penalty.

I'll restock 1wp from my previous stunt, so totals are now 9/10 wp and 11/23 personal (6m committed).
>>
No. 972366 ID: 2ccc2d

Okay, I’ve been informed I can just roll out the ram in ride.

So, Dex 4 + Ride 0 - 1 mobility I guess + 4 from excellency + however much from stunt. I didn’t declare it, so no WP.
>>
No. 972370 ID: f57349

>>972361
Parry succeeds brilliantly, piloting roll does not. Tasnim and Ada will both be taking fifteen (pre-soak) dice of lethal damage due to hundred-mile-an-hour road rash while tumbling to a stop across jagged rocks. The windblade itself folded back up into a nigh-indestructible belt buckle before impact, and is most likely unscathed.

>>972364
Assuming Tasnim takes no more than four levels of damage from the crash, she not only successfully maintains concentration and delays the Flying Guillotine, but seems to be making slow progress toward cancelling it outright.
>>
No. 972372 ID: f57349

Wrapping up tick 5:

Ada takes five levels of damage, filling her -2 health boxes, and since ramming is Speed 6, will be acting again on tick 11. Until then, she's prone, but capable of defending herself more or less normally with Mind-Hands.

Unicorn will finish casting on tick 10, unless interrupted.

Tasnim takes seven levels of lethal damage, breaking her concentration and filling her Incapacitated box. She'll presumably be dosing herself with Celestial Wine and then immediately rolling Join Battle against the reaction count of 4. On anything but a botch, she'll act on or before Tick 9, and thus have an opportunity to resume interfering with the half-formed spell.

The woman with long black hair will be acting again on tick 10, but since there's more than forty yards of rough ground between her and the two fallen exalts, may have difficulty reaching them with reflexive Move actions that quickly.
>>
No. 972448 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 5, 3, 8, 10, 3, 7, 3, 6, 7, 5, 9, 9, 6, 1, 9, 8, 1, 4, 8, 1, 1, 9, 10, 8, 8, 4, 9, 10, 2, 8, 9, 3, 6, 9, 2, 7, 10, 3, 6, 5, 10, 3, 10, 4, 5, 3, 4, 8, 3, 10, 9, 2, 7, 10, 3, 8, 7, 5, 2 = 359

>>972246
"Y'all sure? Cause I don't remember anything, and I have doubts you do either... ah, I'm tryin' to talk to someone asleep, not gonna get a coherent answer." Patches sighs. "For all we know, we could be... nevermind. I don't wanna think about that." Patches shudders. She's never gotten involved in military affairs, but she's heard the rumors. All kinds of books are full of double, even triple agents, lying to others, even themselves... sometimes it's romantic. She loves when it's romantic. But it's definitely a little paranoia inducing, now that she's wondering about it. Is she embroiled in a conspiracy... it's ridiculous, but why else are all these gods here? Why's she getting mixed up in their affairs? "Point is we don't have a clear purpose in bein' here, Golden Host. Least of all me, I'm the one that definitely shouldn't be here, I'm thinkin'."
>>
No. 972467 ID: d9acdc

rolled 7, 2, 9, 1, 6, 10, 2, 8, 7, 1, 3, 2, 3, 10, 6, 9, 7, 2, 2, 4, 9, 2, 2, 8, 3, 10, 10, 6, 8, 10, 10, 6, 5, 4, 2, 5, 10, 9, 7, 7, 7, 6, 7, 9, 10, 6, 1, 2, 2, 2, 7, 3, 9, 8, 8, 2, 5, 1, 6, 5 = 340

>>972321
Noir, whom has since covered up a bit with the spare clothes desert Locust loaned him, and the woman in question herself, watch the comings and goings with some confusion. She's been sticking close to the nearly-nude night since he's still somewhat injured, what with the fresh stitches, and doesn't have as much in the way of personal defense while Ada borrows them for her supply run. Desert Locust also asked that Jan Do and Patches accompany them up to the front to see what the doctor and the woman in charge are [/i]doing[/i] because if ever there was a time for the demons to attempt to extract revenge, now would be it, so she figures there's safety in numbers. She spent the morning training with Patches, as requested, trading lessons in martial arts in exchange for cooking advice.

Mechanically, spending 3xp on the first dot of Craft (Water) and examining what exactly is going on with Ada and Tasnim.
>>
No. 972498 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 5, 3, 8, 10, 5, 3, 1, 6, 9, 7, 2, 3, 8, 5, 6, 1, 9, 7, 7 = 115

>>972372
Bruised and bloodly, a small bundle of fur, wedged between battered buttons, an equally abused human body and cold hard frozen soil gasps as wounds close and seal themselves, somehow healing from her own injuries. A snow colored head, head, emblazoned with the glowing sigil of the Full Moon, peers skywards from her momentary concealment and companion.

Assuming she remains conscious, Adamant Strix begins to smell something acrid, as if her crashed vehicle had been burning soporific herbs for fuel rather than essence.


Okay so, that's +4m recovered with DV refresh from stunt awards.

Then that's -20m to activate Scorpion and Toad Mastery twice, each time reflexively creating and metabolizing an internal dose of Celestial wine. That restore 6 health levels, leaving only her -0 box filled with bashing damage.

Then rolling join battle, as concentration was broken and Tasnim is no longer casting. That's Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt, and I'll channel a wp for an automatic success.

Totals: 0/23 personal, 39/44 peripheral, 6m committed, 8/10 wp, and anima banner at 5/16. Caste mark and Tell are both fully apparent.
>>
No. 972500 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 6, 8, 1, 6, 7, 6, 2, 4, 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 5, 9, 7, 10, 6, 3, 6, 9, 3, 6, 3, 8, 5, 10, 8, 7 = 180

>>972467
Mechanically, building up her Martial Arts towards the next dot-- 1 day of 3 weeks required to learn from a real master, but that happens later in the day. Her other time slot-- her morning time slot-- would normally be spent cooking, but it looks like she's going to travel with Miss Do and Miss Locust to see-- hear what the hubub is about. "Them what be quiet." She whispers. "I'm usin them that there ears I'm havin' to do quiet talk knot listening who how... got it?" Patches holds out her left ear to make a Wits 3 + Awareness 1 + Mutation 2 roll to listen in on what's happening as they walk around, looking for their roommates.
>>
No. 972543 ID: f57349

>>971253
> gather useful information about what exactly is wrong in this town
Bagrash Köl's heir-designate (whose name begins with an M, but no two people can seem to agree on the exact pronunciation) is missing. So far as that sorcerer-king is concerned, all the rest of this city can be replaced but she cannot.

Door to her personal suite was forced - from the inside. Unnatural corrosion, frayed traces of something that was used like a wire saw. Sages at the University of Tree confirm that it's a fresh, albeit badly damaged, strand of Time.

Burning brass-skinned dwarves of the undercity claim the only time-strands they've sold recently enough to be plausible went to the man with the sky-colored cravat. Distracting his blind secretary for a peek at the appointment book, you find "restaurant reservation, mad scientist's beautiful daughter @ Shell Beach" penciled in on the evening she was last seen.

Haven't been any respectable restaurants open on Shell Beach since the ferry shut down. More decrepit warehouses than anything else, these days. How would someone even get there so quick?

At least half a dozen syndicate heads - Wallport Rabbits, Purple Fountain, Forsaken, Clockmakers, Rockbreakers, and Southside Foxes - are meeting with the Emissary, discussing strategy to set aside their usual quarrels and resolve this crisis before the Eye does. Invited or not, you'll be there too. One of them has answers.
>>971926
>>
No. 972559 ID: f57349

>>972498
Up ahead, there's a shrill cry from an avian silhouette with a spark of blazing fire in it's beak. First guess is you're about to be struck by a successfully-cast Flight of the Brilliant Raptor, and rising panic sets the remaining portion of your blood (that which hasn't been spilled, steaming, across icy rocks and replaced with a like volume of heavenly liquor) pounding through your tiny ermine brain. Miraculously, this cures a severe concussion, then clarifies the entire situation. That newly arrived spark moves too slow to be a garda-bomb. Might even be friendly, able or willing to carry you and Adamant Strix the rest of the way to... grandmother's house? No, no. Some marketplace.

Six successes means you can act immediately, and incidentally escalate the reaction count. Might want to resume efforts to stop the Flying Guillotine from being cast. You came to a stop about 20 yards past the unicorn, while the woman with long sharp fingers landed on her feet. She'll be acting again on tick 10, and can't get any closer to you than the unicorn by then.

>>/questdis/133430
A rabbit-god visited Viatrix Senta during her first night of proper sleep in over a thousand years. Apparently his beloved daughter missed a scheduled check-in, and he'd take it as a personal favor if such an exalted personage as yourself should deign to investigate the matter.

Far out in the northeast, in or near the areas worst affected by Operation Wyldhand, by the side of a certain river there's a town - Clam Shore or something. Snowshoe Hare showed you exactly what it looks like from the sky, which was enough. From there all he could say was "due south" - into a rocky ridge of mountains high enough to be nigh-impassable. Threading your way through one barely navigable gap, you stumble across a battle in progress: another of Luna's chosen, blazing amid bloody wreckage, menaced by a pair of wyld-spawn, both in their own way as beautiful and cold as the surrounding snow.

Horizon Silver, Unmanned Warbird should also roll Join Battle, 300 yards away on tick 5.
>>
No. 972560 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 7, 3, 6, 6, 8, 7, 8, 9, 1, 2, 8, 2, 6, 8, 7, 10, 9, 9, 8, 1 = 125

>>972559
Tasnim fervently hopes the new arrival isn't hostile, or is at least indifferent. Rescue would be very nice indeed but things were going badly enough in a fair fight, they're only going to get worse if outnumbered and outmanuevered.

Well, she can only handle one problem at a time. She'll try to keep the caster down, hopefully Ada can handle the other one (or two).

A few swipes of a damp paw, and a sigil of unmaking sits in the snow, drawn in the tiny sorceress' own spilled blood. Returning to her perch in her companion's torn jacket, the No Moon begins to concentrate and throws herself once more into a battle of wills with her equine opponent.

Previous stunt award of 4m goes into personal, which I'm immediately spending 2m of on Disrupt Sorcery. Occult 4 + Intelligence 5 + Stunt
>>
No. 972578 ID: 4424d1
File 159502661249.jpg - (49.24KB , 600x776 , 99b3e376a5c1f20a9bfdd5bb90b06d07.jpg )
972578

Oh no, a Chosen of Luna in peril! A fellow chosen of Luna! Viatrix finishes the thought with more excitement than she feels appropriate considering the situation.
Her fresh off the course piloting skills thankfully irrelevant, she lets herself act on instinct,
Shutting down thrust and dropping to almost a foot directly on top of the beleaguered stranger before engaging the reactor again, engines screeching as hot air billows from cooling ports down on the ground and wings folding around the other Lunar in a protective shield.
Deafening static crackles from underneath the craft before turning into the sound of a mostly Human voice of a young, anxious woman.
“Uh, hello! If you can move, use the rails to climb into the vehicle. I’ll do my best, but I’ve bever been in a fight bef-”
The voice cuts off with another burst of static, and a low hum sounds off from the vehicle's beak.

Rolling Join Battle
Wits 1 Awareness 1+ Stunt
"dice 4d10"
>>
No. 972579 ID: 4424d1

(apologies, I mistakenly placed my dice roll in the post instead of the correct field)
>>
No. 972581 ID: 4424d1

rolled 10, 3, 3, 3, 1 = 20

>>
No. 972608 ID: f57349

rolled 9, 8, 2, 3, 1 = 23

>>972578
>>972581
Two successes, so you'll be acting on tick 9. Takes a few precious seconds just to process the scene before you start to respond effectively. In warbird form, for more or less level flight, you can move 30 yards per tick or dash 60. Starting from 300 yards away, taking your first action on tick 9, you'll need full speed if you want to get into fire lance streamer range before the biped closes to melee, and won't be close enough to provide cover or let them climb in any sooner than tick 14. Fortunately your main gun has Rate 2 in that mode, so you could try shooting both the wyld-spawn with a three action flurry, dash-attack-attack. Then again, that would also mean you'd be more likely to miss one or both shots. Might be preferable to deal with the unicorn in a more controlled manner - lots of valuable parts in there.

>>972560
Rolling for the opposed spell-shaping.
>>
No. 972609 ID: f57349

Six successes against two. Tasnim's got four net successes, a quarter of the way to winning, and this pointy-faced horse is apparently all beauty, no brains. Probably no formal training, either.
>>
No. 972632 ID: 4424d1

rolled 8, 9, 10, 2, 9, 3, 1, 9, 7, 8 = 66

Erring on the side of caution, Viatrix lowers her flight to near ground level, skimming over it and leaving it shimmering with vapor as she passes, aligning The Warbird's beak with the unicorn's movement, a unified disc of fire puffs out towoards it in a leading trajectory.

Viatrix spends a tick aiming while moving towards the battle, firing a fire lance fan as soon as she gets in effective range of the unicorn, but using no charms to attack, activating Instinctive Dexterity unity for 6 motes, instead. Rolling 10 Willpower first against the unicorn's Sacred Mien
>>
No. 972633 ID: 4424d1

rolled 10, 10, 6, 9, 2, 10, 6, 8, 5, 5, 9, 2, 10, 3 = 95

Rolling for attack
>>
No. 972634 ID: 4424d1

attack being Dexterity 5m Archery 2, Fire Fan accuracy+3, and aim +1, plus stunt.
>>
No. 972700 ID: f57349

Seven threshold successes beyond Dodge DV 4. Unicorn's spell is disrupted; it gallops away through what looked like a solid wall, smoke billowing elegantly from still-burning mane and tail. The lady who used to have ivory skin and long dark hair lands awkwardly, face-up, with a smell like grilled pork and no visible breath. No further ambushing force makes itself known.

The fight appears to be over. Now what?
>>
No. 972701 ID: afdebc

>>972700
>The fight appears to be over. Now what?
Sorcerous contest disrupted, Tasnim darts over to the discarded windblade belt buckle, grabs it, and then darts back to Adamant Strix. Small paws press against her face and shoulder, encouraging her to rise, looking between the charred body, and the fire-spewing flying machine.

She's not sure their opponent isn't playing dead, or that their unexpected rescuerer isn't about to fire on them next.
>>
No. 972707 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 10, 3, 3, 10, 4, 3, 4, 5, 5, 10, 7, 1, 5, 8, 3, 5, 6, 6, 1, 7, 4, 10, 4, 4, 7, 10, 9, 9, 5, 10, 9, 6, 8, 3, 8, 6, 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 5, 7, 1, 7, 10, 1, 1, 4 = 303

>>972701
I have been scolded for my lack of mechanical rigor

Okay, +4m personal from my last stunt.

That's Perception 3 + Investigation 1 + First Perception Excellency 3 to try and locate the missing belt buckle. (She does not want to fail to bring that back to Noir!).

Perception 3 + Medicine 4 + First Perception Excellency 3 to try and diagnose (at a distance) if the burned woman survived that conflagration.

Perception 3 + Investigation 1 again for read motive against the mysterious flying machine. No excellency because the previous 2 uses just got her personal mote pool back to zero, and she's prioritizing putting supernatural oomph on the two actions she thinks she's the most qualified to address.
>>
No. 972712 ID: f57349

>>972707
Belt buckle located with minimal delay, sense motive successful with threshold zero.

Burned woman... face seems relatively intact, including both eyes. Couple of fingers are obviously broken but no major structural bones. Less visible fluid leakage than you might expect from comparable burns on a living mortal, which could mean she's healing like an exalt... or that her heart has stopped. If she IS playing possum, that would imply some astonishing pain tolerance. Those probably aren't long-term survivable injuries for anyone without a supernatural healing factor, and she did not utter so much as a groan or squeak of surprise.
>>
No. 972713 ID: a39a42

rolled 3, 7, 1, 6, 8, 6, 1, 2, 8, 9, 6, 10, 10, 7, 7, 1, 3, 2, 1, 3, 4, 2, 3, 3, 1, 2, 1, 8, 4, 7, 4, 7, 9, 1, 1, 2, 10, 3, 3, 5 = 181

>>972712
If they weren’t dead, several knives entering her neck and rotating like an inward pointed circular saw should do the trick.

Ada started to push herself off of the rocks that she had been impaled on in the crash, muttering words that Tansim wouldn’t understand. (If Viatrix can hear her, she’s reciting the exact steps required for properly tagging out, diagnosing, and doing routine maintenance on first age machines, starting from a small clockwork golem to, if she gets there, proper engines and the like that were used in airships.)

As she got up with difficulty, she examined the body and their savior. “Even if they were hit with an a Warstrider class fire fan, it’s better safe than sorry. And I am sorry that you got hurt because of me. Very few deadlines are worth someone getting hurt over, and fewer at are worth friends getting hurt, and this is firmly in neither camp. That said, is that an anti-infantry Warbird? This is a surprise to be sure. A welcome one, but a big one, almost as weird as the lack of production numbers. I’m incredibly sorry if you’ve already addressed this, I’m a bit woozy right now, but assuming there haven’t been any major changes made to the blueprints, would you mind taking us to whatever air field you’ve got to keep your ship in such fantastic working order?”
>>
No. 972720 ID: f57349
File 159514352329.png - (233.55KB , 704x528 , rose.png )
972720

>>972713
Shimmering blade of mental force descends, then abruptly shatters. It's never done that before. For a few crucial seconds Adamant Strix was unable to directly apply any useful amount of force outside her own physical body.

Door-sized patch of translucent icy wall ripples like a flag in the wind, or the surface of an inexplicably perpendicular pond. Unicorn's scorched horn protrudes from it, surrounded by the postdrome of Emerald Countermagic, which narrowly edges out Demon Of The First Circle as 'most widely-known spell in the world.'

Snow and gravel fall from what seemed like an unremarkable point up on the edge of the chasm, then another... half a dozen, each precisely ten yards apart. At least one has a longbow.

The three of you narrowly escape with your lives (perhaps it would be prudent to consider alternate routes for the return trip) and arrive at the outer walls of Shell Beach precisely two hours after midnight.

Local alchemy wholesaler isn't usually open for business at this hour, but, like any good Guildsman, would surely overlook minor personal inconvenience for a sufficiently generous bribe. What are you willing to offer in exchange? Or... http://nonadventures.com/2015/08/22/carry-a-big-schtick/ ?
>>
No. 972732 ID: 4424d1

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to help yourselves up, friends. I, uh, literally can't come out to give you a hand" Viatrix' voice buzzes to life over the speaker system, the Warbird's canopy retracting, tiny lights along the craft's front indicating where a service ladder had emerged.
As they climb aboard, Viatrix' passangers are greeted by glowing essence display screens and the scent of fresh leather seats, but not another living soul in sight.
>>
No. 972735 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 5, 9, 8, 3, 6, 1, 4, 4, 5, 6, 4, 5, 1, 8, 1, 2, 8, 1, 9 = 94

>>972732
After Adamant Strix has climbed aboard and the vehicle departed, the ermine doctor climbs off her companion in favor of an unoccupied seat and resumes human form.

>"I'm sorry, but you'll have to help yourselves up, friends. I, uh, literally can't come out to give you a hand"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_BU5hR9gXE
Tasnim regrettably still does not understand old realm.

She sighs and speaks in rivertongue, "Ada, the magic flying machine is talking to you. I thought I healed that concussion already." as she begins to dig in her medical satchel for her bottle of celestial wine, two doses of which will be needed to restore the green sun princess to health.

"Thank you for apologizing, but let's not do that again anytime soon."

>>972720
>Local alchemy wholesaler isn't usually open for business at this hour, but, like any good Guildsman, would surely overlook minor personal inconvenience for a sufficiently generous bribe. What are you willing to offer in exchange?
Glancing over the man's pudgy face and furs, the doctor tries to gauge just how much this is worth to him. Less concerned with overpaying (celestial wine, after all) so much as possible consequences if she made a stir in doing so.

Not sure what to roll for that? I'm guessing Bureaucracy 3 + Some Mental Attribute? If it's something I have an excellency for, I'd like to buy 3 dice on top of that.
>>
No. 972811 ID: ac57f8

rolled 4, 6, 6, 9, 8, 8, 10, 5, 6, 3, 1, 6, 5, 10, 9, 3, 8, 8, 2, 1, 9, 3, 3, 7, 4, 9, 3, 10, 9, 6, 3, 7, 4, 1, 10, 5, 4, 3, 10, 3, 10, 3, 4, 2, 2, 6, 4, 6, 5, 8, 9, 10, 8, 8, 4, 5, 7, 4, 9, 1, 4, 8, 4, 1, 8, 1, 6, 4, 1, 6, 7, 10, 9, 5, 5, 1, 7, 3, 2, 7, 7, 6, 6, 1, 5, 10, 1, 10, 8, 2 = 501

Okay, I got too wrapped up in doing the trail of everything with Ada, so I'm finally going to try and get caught up with Fox.

>>971680

"Alright, so if the difference between your sword and even the most brutal martial arts is respect, allow me to ask this as a follow up question. If your situations were reversed with the yeti, and you wielded the severed limbs of your enemies with the same strong hearted respect that you have now, both for your art, your allies, and yourself, while the yeti wielded an immaculately crafted sword with no thought of honor or respect? Would you believe in that position that nobody should take up the sword?"

Making another social attack: Compulsion: resolve the contradiction between the two viewpoints presented so far:
1. That Infernal Monster Style isn't worth using because it's practitioners are typically brutes and monsters.
2. That the only difference between Infernal Monster Style and Jan Do's own sword is respect.

Manipulation 4+ Investigation 2+ Socratic Method specialization 2+Stunt

If she can resolve it in a way that still keeps the assertion of 1 in tact, then she does intend to keep her promise of not learning it (at least not anytime soon.)

>>972467

Even if Fox wasn't asked to join, she was lazing in cat form watching everything happen, and she jumps down to stride next to Jan, turning back into the same white haired Haslanti woman that she had been in the shared dream, and offered a hand to hold.
>>
No. 972905 ID: f57349

>>972735
An ideal bribe would be something worth no more than Resources 3 (excessive generosity might make you seem like a fool, or bait for some sort of con game, and in any case could distort the local economy in unpredictable ways likely to be inconvenient during subsequent visits) that also somehow by the nature of it's value hints at a plausible reason why you're in such a hurry, thereby playing on the guildsman's pride in being able to recognize such a hint.

If you're paying in celestial wine, or something else excessively valuable, best way to set it up might be that you're not giving the thing away; it's collateral on a loan, opening a line of credit, Guild only gets to seize the actual "pearl of great price" if you disappear without paying off the balance. Such a proposal would only seem plausible if someone put it formally in writing and both parties retained a copy.

You mostly need a couple pounds of high-quality liquid rubber and a few drops each of various catalysts, worth Resources 1 altogether, but it might be expedient to purchase larger bulk quantities and leave the rest behind. Reserving a warehouse for such purposes (or section of a warehouse, potentially in increments as small as two side-by-side barrels for a month) would also provide you with a local mailing address, useful if you plan to conduct any ongoing business in the ares.

Renting the appropriate sort of lab for an hour might also be a Resources 1 purchase for someone known and trusted, but raising that to 2 could account for the risk of a clumsy amateur trashing the place - or higher if they had specific knowledge of your departure from Nexus.
>>
No. 972909 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 10, 6, 10, 6, 7, 9, 6, 2, 3 = 60

>>972811
>"Alright, so if the difference between your sword and even the most brutal martial arts is respect, allow me to ask this as a follow up question. If your situations were reversed with the yeti, and you wielded the severed limbs of your enemies with the same strong hearted respect that you have now, both for your art, your allies, and yourself, while the yeti wielded an immaculately crafted sword with no thought of honor or respect? Would you believe in that position that nobody should take up the sword?"
The syndicate head of the forsaken seems caught off guard- as if not expecting a profound moment sharing sacred truths to be met with a flurry of words rather than quiet contemplation. She rallies quickly though, apparently enthused to debate philosophy and untangle the riddle presented, as ice-lilies begin to bloom and gather (despite their current indoor location).

"An interesting idea- a martial code where a warrior honors worthy enemies by collecting trophies, and forging these trophies into a relic worthy of battle? I am not familiar with any such warrior code, but I could see how such a thing might be internally consistent. This is not the behavior of the infernal monster however- it is a style which shows reckless disregard and disrespect for one's self, opponents, and weapons. A warrior who wields a sword but no understanding of honor, on the other hand, is much easier to imagine. Those who think power flows from a blade rather than from within, the arrogant who think they deserve dues they do not pay unto others. Such individuals are regrettably all too common, and I have slain no few myself."

"That there are those who do not deserve a blade does not mean, however, that none should. The failed examples of others does not mean one should not strive to be better. Nor does one's environment excuse who we become. Ultimately, whatever one's culture or upbringing, one's choices are one's one, and must be held to account for those choices."

>Making another social attack: Compulsion: resolve the contradiction between the two viewpoints presented so far:
>1. That Infernal Monster Style isn't worth using because it's practitioners are typically brutes and monsters.
>2. That the only difference between Infernal Monster Style and Jan Do's own sword is respect.
I'm... less sure what to do with this? Jan presented respect as a foundational difference between the infernal monster and herself, and their respective philosophies, while I think what this is trying to imply is that she is as much as much brutish monster who just happens to also feel respect on top of that? No contradiction, because premise 2 is a misrepresentation.

I don't know if Jan's dialog would mechanically be considered a parry? Maybe more of a dodge, because she seems to be overlooking the implication Fox called her a monster and is eagerly trying to discuss philosophy with her.
>>
No. 972912 ID: ac57f8

>>972909
> Mechanics from before

To get the biggest bugbear out of the way, I suspect that there's a breakdown of communication, in no small part because I explained it like garbage from a mechanical perspective. But, I think you kind of twigged to what I did want to actually say with the hypothetical scenario, and made a pretty effective parry. Her stance is that the lack of honor in the style is in the user's heart rather than inherent to the style, while Jan is holding to the belief that the lack of honor is inherent to the style(and there is also the unstated assertion that respect is the foundation of honor, since that's already both a big part of eastern philosophies that are baked into the system of Exalted and a big part of how Jan carries herself.)

And to make this easier to read and lay out all of the notions that Fox is working with:

> Nothing in the world is inherently worthless or damning to learn

> It's the heart of the wielder, not the violence of the action, that
determines what is honorable

> Jan Do's answer to the question "How is the Yeti using Infernal Monster Style different to you using your sword?" is respect.

The third point ties into the second starting position that it's the heart of the Infernal Monster, rather than the violence of the style, that determines a user's worth and affirms her line of thinking, which is where (from Fox's position at least) there is a contradiction in Jan's reasoning for hating the style itself that she's trying to explore and resolve.


> Dialogue

"It seems we're alike of mind, but different in opinion. After all, one could say much the same about the Infernal Monster Style. That so many who are inwardly focused and cowardly would seek out a style that magnifies their weaknesses for all to see is tragic,

"But, just as with the blade, an honorable soul with respect for both others around them and the harm that violence can bring would be able to soar where so many fail and would be the person to write that code of honor, and work on dredging it from the history of wanton treachery and dishonor that stains it black in the eyes of many, and while it might not be as important right this second, I believe that we, or at the very least I, should do that."
>>
No. 972950 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 5, 8, 7, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 3, 6, 10, 6, 2, 3, 1, 8, 10, 4, 8 = 107

>>972905
Reaching into bag, Tasnim removes a vial, filled with a transparent liquid and not a single bubble of air, cap carefully sealed with wax. The viscosity is wrong for water, and a label, marked in two languages and with an alchemical symbol, warns that the contents are pyrophoric.

Offering a vial of firesnake venom as a bribe. The consumable supplies seem like they could be bought with jade coin. The more expedient means of purchasing more than needed and leaving it behind seems acceptable. (If available and affordable, snagging a bottle of tannin for Gilly's request also seems reasonable).

Also rolling Occult 4 + Intelligence 5 for the rubber-making thaumaturgy. Since she's had two hours to regain motes, I'll also apply a full intelligence excellency 5.
>>
No. 972951 ID: 0640da

rolled 2, 5, 1, 1, 8, 7, 4, 1, 4, 3, 7, 1, 4, 9, 9, 9, 6, 5, 1, 3, 2, 8, 6, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 2, 8, 3, 9, 3, 6, 6, 3, 6, 3, 8, 3, 9, 8, 7, 9, 1, 4, 4, 6, 6, 3, 7, 1, 5, 7, 2, 1, 7, 8, 1, 2 = 285

>>972912
Patches turns her head so fast it's on a swivel, trying to follow the conversation and contribute. "If I ain't bein' mistaken, you're sayin that the style don't have none bit of bearin' on your moral bearin's... waoh." She feels a flash of inspiration. "It's all about the user! But the corollary bein' that those who are trash usin' treasure make it worthless and cruel... so there are those things which are worthless to learn, right? And those things not worth learnin. But for someone with honor, it don't matter what one iota?"

Patches may have missed her train of thought and clocked in on the stupid express somewhere down the route, but she has a point. If you make a hypothesis that the user determines the virtue of something, and therefore nothing has intrinsic virtue or utility, the corollary would in fact be there are garbage people out there who make everything worthless or immoral.
>>
No. 972986 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 3, 2, 5, 5, 10, 5, 8, 1, 6, 7, 7, 7, 10, 3, 3, 5, 5, 8, 7, 9, 9, 8, 4, 1, 9, 2, 2, 3, 3, 1, 10, 8, 1, 4, 1, 9, 1, 5, 9, 6, 9, 9, 9, 8, 5, 8, 7, 4, 1, 7, 9, 9, 8, 10, 9, 2, 8, 2, 2 = 343

>>972559
The staff at the door take his steed and stable it willingly- they know who their master is, and they know what the Stranger is here to do. By the time he enters through the front door, they've already moved two streets closer to home, intent on packing their bags in case they bet on the wrong horse.
He sweeps into the office, and his duster moves ever so slightly out of the way, offering a glimpse of the weapon he's carrying. The man with the cravat is always watching- such a "mistake" won't go unnoticed. The heads- well, the heads of all but one, turn to see who's arriving late the party. A sidelong glace at the various representatives sizes up each. He know's he'll have an ally among the purple fountains, so he just needs to make sure the rest of the room turns with him. Wallport Rabbits seem like a good starting point.

"...I do humbly apologize for interrupting the proceedings. I understand you all are coming to some very important negotiations here. Though, my arrival should come as no surprise to you, sir."
Noir tips his head in a display of deference, but does not remove his coat, a clear sign of his intentions.
"Now, I'd like to come to some sort of agreement here, as I'm sure the rest of you would. I do understand the sensitive nature of your gathering, but if you'll allow me to make my bid here, I'd be interested in bartering for control of Shell Beach. As I understand, the Wallport Rabbits do have substantial interests nearby, and look after their community well, so we'd be something of business partners, if I were to move in. May I offer the floor to the rest of you fine important folks here?"

The stranger from out of town the moves to pour himself a drink, first setting out glasses, then beinging to tip the fine square bottle, stopping just before the amber liquid spills outward.

"Ah, pardon my forwardness. May I?"
>>
No. 972996 ID: f57349

>>972950
Myomers are formulated, congealed, sculpted, and packed in a suitable container without incident, and seem to flex appropriately when energized. Alchemy wholesaler in Shell Beach is now under the impression you are Seventh Legion deserters, reorganized as a Nexus mercenary company, working in the political-assassination business. When you express interest in leather goods, she attempts to upsell. For just an obol and a half more, you could get a bag made from the entire hide of an ox (which would be more than enough pre-tanned leather to repair the bellows) packed full of 'battlefield salvage' from the Tepet Legions: broken swords, mismatched and/or blood-stained scale armor, sturdy camp furniture, dry rations from the Blessed Isle with original seals intact, and much much more. Haltans and the Bull picked over all the really good stuff before they left, of course, but when you're traveling light, there are all sorts of things you don't realize you need until it's far too late to go back to the quartermaster, no?
>>
No. 973038 ID: afdebc

>>972996
The bag of battlefield salvage seems a good deal. If we need to prioritize stuff to take:

-several armors in the light weight range, as we have people with no mundane or artifact armor, and some of them have MA comparability to worry about.
-Basic tools, like shovels
-that bottle of tannin Gilly wants
-stuff that could either be repaired or turned into raw crafting materials: metal, wood, textiles.
-probably some of the rations to augment the vegetarian's effects to feed the group.

Broken is better than mismatched, since we can fix the former with Incantation of Effective Restoration, but mismatched can only be repurposed.

Camp furniture seems of lesser importance when there must be stuff in the manse to use (even if not every room has enough chairs) though might be good to take some to have wood to work with.
>>
No. 973053 ID: ac57f8

Working backwards from most recent to most distant:
>>973038
Ada actually has a different opinion on what should be prioritized.

We can build basic non-artifact light armor from leather they make with the Tannin and the Metal if they want it to be especially good, but that's really the only point that Ada would have an argument against, since she mostly does want raw materials and food, even if her experience in the 7th Legion Sorcerer Engineer funnel taught her that MREs were 3 lies for the price of one on the handful of occasions that she used them to bypass needing to stop studying to eat.

So, her list would be mostly food, raw materials like wood, metal, and textiles packed as neatly and efficiently as possible since it's a volume based transaction, and then at the bottom where the inefficient packing can be made up by the more efficient packing of the feed are things like tools (mostly just shovels for everyone, since a good military shovel is basically a Swiss army knife).

Any leftover space left over for armors, as Ada pulls out 2 Obols.

"Keep the change, and consider it a forward on a healthy relationship."

>>972735

> She sighs and speaks in rivertongue, "Ada, the magic flying machine is talking to you. I thought I healed that concussion already." as she begins to dig in her medical satchel for her bottle of celestial wine, two doses of which will be needed to restore the green sun princess to health.

> "Thank you for apologizing, but let's not do that again anytime soon."

Ada accepts the celestial wine under some protest, since she does want to be at the peak of her game, and moping and wallowing in self pity is self-indulgent and would betray the sentiment of her apology.

"I can only promise that I'm going to try to avoid jumping headlong into danger, and to better prepare so that future trips headlong into danger will be significantly less dangerous."

>>972732

Ada switches almost instantly to Old Realm. "This is a large pleasure. I know that technology has largely backsled over the last few millennia, so it's a pleasant surprise to find out that not only is there an airfield that hasn't been destroyed that can still field not only a war-bird, but is capable of entombing full AIs capable of fully autonomous operation."
>>
No. 973080 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 3, 8, 2, 9, 1, 3, 5, 9, 3, 7, 2, 2, 9, 2, 4, 5, 6, 1, 10, 2, 4, 8, 7, 6, 2, 6, 8, 8, 2, 2, 6, 5, 9, 2, 9, 10, 5, 2, 9, 6, 2, 5, 10, 9, 9, 2, 4, 2, 9, 2, 10, 2, 1, 5, 1, 4, 3, 3, 2 = 303

>>972986
"It's no issue..." Patches sighs, interrupted. "But I ain't sure I can just let ya into my warehouses... can't ya give me some face, fella? I need to be sure our interests are protected..."

Patches may have been born in the League, but she was raised in Whitewall... being tasked to support Wallport, she feels a little alienated from both her lives. Just because she knew all the customs in here, in Whitewall, in the League... it didn't mean she knew how it felt to be supported by a tribe, to be part of a community greater than herself. She'd done so much in the city of Whitewall, but she had so few friends... or family, for that matter. Everyone had a habit of biting it to save her life after becoming fast friends, and anyone who ever supported her met a bitter and miserable end. The only constant she could count on was her father... and even he only showed up once in a blue moon to say hello or give her some new artifact or book to follow. She always knew her heritage, but never... experienced it. And now she was being asked to support a place that was neither her heritage nor her nation... she'd visited as a teen, but she was with a maintenance crew doing repairs on a sewage line stretching all the way to that stinking place. Even with that layer of protection, she'd somehow gotten embroiled in some conspiracy about a plot to obstruct trade, nearly died twice and escaped a burning warehouse in the middle of the night. She doesn't exactly have fond memories of Sewage City, Northern Creation. Images of a burning beam collapsing flash through her mind, but are subdued as quickly as they come up. Mind like a steel trap. Don't let anything spill-- you've revealed too much today.

"Wallport... I hate to say it, but we don't have much support to give to begin with. Unless you're lookin' to see the real records of them warehouses..." Patches trails off. "Let's just say my boys keep careful tabs on what goes in and out." She hopes to her dad that the dream listens to her.
>>
No. 973082 ID: 4424d1

>>973053
>Ada switches almost instantly to Old Realm. "This is a large pleasure. I know that technology has largely backsled over the last few millennia, so it's a pleasant surprise to find out that not only is there an airfield that hasn't been destroyed that can still field not only a war-bird, but is capable of entombing full AIs capable of fully autonomous operation."

"Millenia!" Viatrix exclaims in surprise with an undertone of restrained panic in her voice.
"Oh Gods and Maker, they went and done it, haven't they?" The voice dies out for a few moments of static.
"Right, miss, you sound proper educated, seeing you know your birds and such, so maybe it won't sound so wyld-crazy to you, but maybe if I introduce myself it can help us piece this together"
A sound of a throat being cleared bursts from the speaker before she continues.
"First, I'm sorry to disappoint you, miss, but I'm no AI. My name is Viatrix Senta, I work at airfield 5 at Sezakan, and last time I checked with I AM, it was 3516, Year of Man, and The Heirophant reigning as the leader of The Deliberative"
>>
No. 973083 ID: 47cf12

>>973082
"Okay, well if you're not an AI, and given that you have proper rank and identification, and this warbird doesn't seem to be made out of pure slabs of magic materials, I can guess you're not a least God given sapience, so I will confess ignorande as to the type of spirit you are, especially since I've never seen a ghost enshrined in an artifact that didn't wind up looking this sterile. But, the long story without getting into too much detail is there were traitors in the midst of the deliberative, and shortly after your last check in they plunged the world into thousands of years of barbarism. The Dragon Blooded drove the Lunars to the Wyld, and managed to seal away the Solars. No word on the date of the Sidereals, they could either have been a casualty or the puppeteers behind it all.

"Fortunately, most of what's been lost is purely material, so it is possible to fix given a big enough work force, especially now that the Solars are back. I actually have some ideas on how to go about building that workforce up myself. But, I know this is probably a massive culture shock it you aren't aware any of this happened."
>>
No. 973115 ID: afdebc

>>973082
>>973083
Tasnim curses softly in skytongue (partially for the novelty of it, and partially to put someone else in the position of not understanding for once) and whaps her companion's seat from behind. She then speaks in rivertongue:

"Ada, you're lecturing. And the ship sounds like it's panicking. What's going on?"

Panic is not a tone of voice one much wants to hear from a self-driving vehicle, especially after having already narrowly escaped one high velocity crash.
>>
No. 973210 ID: 4424d1

>>973115
"Oh, oh g-gods" Viatrix repeats weakly, her voice breaking into almost a sob, reverberating electrically throughout the cabin.
"If what you've just told me is true, miss-" Her voice coming off erratically, like a tremble with no vocal cords.
"And not that I wouldn't trust a stranger I just rescued from some Aliens, but that would mean... it's not your grief, miss, of course.
But, maybe you'll understand, and the other miss- With the cheek in Skytongue, too. To me it was yesterday. Yesterday I had a job, I had friends, I... I had parents"
>>
No. 973216 ID: 84defb

>>973210
"Keep one eye to the future, for it's where all things live on, but keep one eye to the past, since everyone we've ever lost still lives on through us, our memories of them, and the actions we take to honor their memory." Ada hoped that reciting a famous passing from the commencement of the memorial for all of the soldiers that died in the primordials war in Rathess would help. She also realized she hadn't introduced herself yet, so she spent 1 mote to flash her own anima enough to be recognizable as a Twilight caste Solar. "But, I know that this must be a huge shock, so if you need some time to process, by all means."

>>973115
Switching back to River Speak, "It turns out that our mechanical friend was a pilot from the Solar Deliberative, and had only just woken up, so there's a bit of culture shock to this whole new world."
>>
No. 973255 ID: 4424d1

>>973216
Ada's introduction is followed by a self hushing gasp with even the soft hum of the craft's essence core becoming suddenly quieter.
"You're-you're a proper lady of Twilight!" The reverence and excitement in Viatrix' voice boardering on saccharine.
"Thank you for indulging my bit of... thank you for the encouragement. I'll try to take it to heart. How should I call you, er... Lady Twilight?"
>>
No. 973275 ID: ac57f8

>>973255
"You can call me The Adamant Strix, though given the time you were alive, you would probably be more familiar with my past incarnation, Thousand Bounteous Sunsets.

"But, your deference is appreciated, but not entirely justified in this age, where the treacherous systems formed by the Dragon Blooded would have the chosen hunted in the name of dogma. After all, you haven't even heard how I hope to build the world back up to he infrastructural splendor of the first age, and hopefully avoid the same problems that led to it's downfall."
>>
No. 973317 ID: 4424d1

rolled 5, 4, 10, 8, 1, 9, 10, 5, 3, 9, 1, 6, 8 = 79

Viatrix is thinking hard to remember information about Thousand Bounteous Sunsets- Obvious things like how she looked like, common knowledge about her most famous accomplishments, and recent gossip, if any, hoping not to embarrass herself in front the Solar.

Rolling
Intelligence 5,Lore 3+3 specialty in First Age+stunt
>>
No. 973329 ID: 6bf4ea

>>973317
Thousand Bounteous Sunsets was, perhaps uniquely so among Twilights, a Civil Engineer. She didn't have as much fame in the Deliberative (only having joined for tax reasons rather than to be active in global politics) and she was never really on the front page for advancements in magitech science. What she was, however, was focused on building more and more robust infrastructure, both legal and physical. That had earned her nominal positions in large scale geomancy projects, but rarely as the head of the project.

Her kingdom was to the southeast of Rathess, but transportation between the 100 cities was an hour at most between any two, and the whole nation behaved as one big city, and while the city itself was quite Spartan in design the city hid under its utilitarian design a thriving artistic center, which was always a treat for vacationers.

In the shop, Ada suggests 5 sets of armor, 4 for people inclined and 1 for spare parts along with 5 military shovels and the entire rest filled with food.
>>
No. 973340 ID: f57349

>>973317
Rules - ruled, rather - the Prefecture of Zarlath in the southeast, notable exports of which include candy and shaving razors. Did a lecture series on resilient design, supply chains and single points of failure and so on. Credited as the lead editor for the Bootstrap Archive, a collection of technical documents sufficient to rebuild the essentials of modern civilization after a cataclysm, copies of which are hosted onboard each of the four Titan-class Aerial Citadels.
>>
No. 973349 ID: 4424d1

>>973329
"You were Lady Sunsets?" Viatrix inquires excitedly, accidentally losing even more of her already loose formality in the process.
"It was already an honor meeting a Solar, but you- I mean her, she wrote the boot-Yes, The Bootstrap Archives! I tried reading some of them when we got a tour on board the amazing Harmonious Gale and before I knew it, the sun was going down and the tour was over"
She sighs wistfully at the cherished memory
"Maybe it's Destiny for us to meet like this, y'know? To find you, and another chosen of Luna so-" Viatrix cuts off aburptly, in embarrassment.
"Did I uh, neglect to mention that I wound up having myself Exalted by her silvery radiance and grace?"
>>
No. 973352 ID: 4424d1

As soon as Viatrix finishes the sentance, lines of azure essence run across the hull like circuitry, followed by a hint of ozone in the air. The screens in front of her passangers flash alight, each showing a single glyph of a glowing moonsilver ring.
>>
No. 973353 ID: afdebc

>>973216
>>973352
Peering over Ada's shoulder, Tasnim is shocked to see her own caste mark, not reflected, but shining forth, bright and true, from the screen before her.

"The flying machine is a Lunar?!" she shouts in skytongue, confused. She didn't even realize her kind could become machines, much less that the one they were aboard was alive. "You didn't say she was a lunar!" she hisses towards Strix in riverspeak.

>Switching back to River Speak, "It turns out that our mechanical friend was a pilot from the Solar Deliberative, and had only just woken up, so there's a bit of culture shock to this whole new world."
But that means... oh dear. A refugee from a fallen age, but new, rather than an elder?
>>
No. 973378 ID: ac57f8

>>973349
"Well, as I recall it was 90% technical drafts that I organized into relevant sections, so I don't know how much I'd say I wrote it, but I'm glad that you found it engrossing."

> You didn't say she was a lunar!" she hisses towards Strix in riverspeak.

"Well I hardly knew that she was a Lunar, it hadn't come up, and I hadn't even thought of the possibility that it was possible for a Lunar to turn into machinery. And yeah, that was part of why I was talking to her in Old Realm, since I was helping her safely process the emotions of losing thousands of years of time. She seems nice though, so for personal and practical reasons, I'm going to invite her to join us formally."

She had switched back to Old Realm. "Alright, this is definitely big news. Once we've finished getting supplies, we could always use more technically minded individuals, since we've found the last manse made by Kal Bax, but in incredible disrepair and choked out from supplies by an army of demons as well as it is invisible. There are 7 of us there, 6 Exalts and a strange rabbit person. We would be honored to have you join us."
>>
No. 973391 ID: 4424d1

"Yes, she is- I mean- I'm sorry!" Viatrix blurts out, quickly switching to Skytongue in response to Tasnim's ourburst. "Do you speak the old language? I just thought everyone still does since Lady Adamant- Is it rude that I call her that way? This is the first time I've ever talked to a Solar Exalt. Also the first time I've talked to a Chosen of Luna, too!"
Despite her ancient dialect, the energy in Viatrix' voice transmits without fail a sense of deep seated reverence whenever she mentions The Exalted.
>>
No. 973451 ID: afdebc

>>973391
"I- no don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong. Thank you for the rescue, we were in a bad way." she replies in skytongue.

"No, I do not speak Old Realm," she continues with a frustrated sigh, "which has been an inconvenience more than once today. ...and Ada doesn't speak skytongue, which leaves us in a fine triangle."

>Lady Adamant- Is it rude that I call her that way?
With an amused noise "Not at all, it might be more respect than she's due after that crash. I'm Tasnim Violette, (either name is fine)."

>Also the first time I've talked to a Chosen of Luna, too!
She doesn't talk to herself then, a sardonic part of the No Moon notes.

>>973329
>In the shop, Ada suggests 5 sets of armor, 4 for people inclined and 1 for spare parts along with 5 military shovels and the entire rest filled with food.
Okay, Tasnim's proposed shopping list:

•6 Exceptional buff jackets (equipment bonus spent on mitigating the mobility penalty and fatigue rating), enchanted with the elemental benediction of earth. (This will only count as fine quality until properly fitted to a wearer).
Might be willing to compromise down on the number (especially since it's only one fewer), but Tasnim is of the opinion it's better to have it and not use it than lack the option, especially given how frequently violence has broken out around her in the last day.
•3 or 4 exceptional military shovels. Could take more, but she doesn't find it likely everyone will ever to working on the same project all at once (and some of the lunars might have forms better suited to digging with natural tools)
•An exceptional wood axe or 2
•An exceptional sledgehammer
•An exceptional crowbar
•Enough of those prepacked rations (with the elemental benediction of air) to last a person a month or two. We have access to some other food already, this is mainly to supplement the mammoth meat and apples, and to make sure the vegetarian of the group has enough to eat.
•Exceptional replacements for tools missing from the forge, as available. (Will depend on what Ada reports as missing. Anything merely broken could be restored with the Incantation of Effective Restoration, and does not need replacing).
•Remaining space spent on assorted metal, wood and cloth, for use repairing the forge and for use in general purpose crafting. (With several lunars we'll have an easier time finding additional food in the wilderness as supplies run down than prepared and processed raw materials).
•That bottle of chemicals necessary for possible future leather making that Gilly Patches wants
>>
No. 973494 ID: 4424d1

>>973451
"violette! Innit a lovely name! It's a pleasure to meet you both! Have you been friends for a long time?"
The left screen clears during their conversation with a small, blinking white dot.
"Just, let me try something... It's rather... distracting to suddenly have so many eyes"
The white dot begins moving, hesitantly at first, drawing glyphs in Old Realm that correspond to what she had just said in Skytongue with a short delay between her speech and the text appearing on the screen.
"Is it working? I hope it's working"
A few more moments pause, and Viatrix's voice returns, triumphantly, speaking in Old Realm again
"Yes! This should make things less tricky for the three of us"
>>973378
"So you've seen a rabbit too, Lady Adamant?"
Viatrix inquires, eager to not let the Solar wait too long to address present matters.
"Because a rabbit god of some sort showed up in a dream I've had, and then there was something about a daughter of his, and then he showed me the way here- where I found you two!"
An approximation of an apologetic cough emerges from the speakers
"I might have gotten carried away again. You mentioned that you needed supplies. Where were you headed to get them? I may need some directions, given the circumstances".
>>
No. 973543 ID: afdebc

>>972912
"You would seek to redeem a supernatural martial art?" the representative of the Forsaken ponders. "I am not sure such a thing is possible; each style is an expression of a philosophy. To pursue something other than that which lies at the heart of it... I would expect the discovery of an entirely different style.

"Setting aside what might be possible, I am reassured to hear you are not motivated by an embrace of savagery."

>>972951
>so there are those things which are worthless to learn, right? And those things not worth learnin. But for someone with honor, it don't matter what one iota?"
>the corollary would in fact be there are garbage people out there who make everything worthless or immoral.
Jan Do does tolerates the interruption, and opts not to respond immediately, patiently allowing the moon rabbit the space to come to grips with her apparent epiphany. While her conclusions might be built on flimsy premises (honor is more than a justification allowing one to pursue anything one wishes) she does seem to have realized at crucial truth: there there are those who deserve only death. Idly, the samurai wonders how it could be the rabbit had not come to this conclusion sooner- she carries a weapon, does she not? An unexamined or sheltered existence, perhaps, though this now seems to be changing.
>>
No. 973547 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 9, 5, 5, 3, 3, 6, 1, 2, 3, 8, 3, 9, 5, 10, 5, 4, 4, 6, 7 = 101

After trading and alchemy is complete at Shell Beach, Tasnim will propose they return to the Invisible Manse by an alternate route- avoiding the canyon where they were ambushed before. If the others agree, she will attempt to chart a path to an narrow enough point in the mountain range for Viatrix to take clear with a "flying leap".

I'll spend 1 XP to raise survival to 2 and then rolling:

Intelligence 5 + Survival 2 + First Intelligence Excellency 5

Since Horizon Silver has a dot in Survival, could add a bonus die from cooperation.

>>973494
>Have you been friends for a long time?
"Hard to say". The amnesia makes it difficult to be sure, after all. Perhaps not the best time to get into that in detail, however.

The 'subtitles' are much appreciated, and the unusual lunar's clear enthusiasm and friendliness are an appreciated change from the last few introductions this last day.

Tasnim will defer to Ada on the subject of Patches the rabbit, as she spent rather more time with the god-blooded. It would seem then that Viatrix has reason to accompany them, which is a relief. Both because her flight would make this trip much safer, and because Tasnim was loath to leave a brand new lunar, especially one completely ignorant of the current age, to her own devices.
>>
No. 973588 ID: f57349

>>973547
Warbird's basic sensors can measure airspeed, targeting system can observe ground speed (given visible terrain) and automatically estimate wind conditions based on the difference, both Lunars can tell time, Adamant Strix has an anima power which she's pretty sure can serve as a compass, and two of you got a good long look at an extraordinarily high-quality map of the relevant area just a few hours ago, so major landmarks and exact distances are known. All that together should've been more than adequate for accurate navigation. The route wasn't even particularly complex! Your destination is a powerful manse, so even if you did manage to miss by a few miles you ought to be able to notice it's effect on ambient essence and zero in from there. Yet, here you are, staring at an almost featureless cliff face while the sun begins to rise and Horizon Silver's talons slowly sink into a not-quite-frozen bog.

Surrounding valley is approximately triangular or teardrop-shaped, depending on where you define the borders. Ten square miles of alpine meadow nestled between three big mountains, covered in knee-deep snow at the moment, but all that peaty soil probably makes for excellent grazing land in warmer weather. Northeast and westward 'corners' get gradually steeper and rockier. Southeast end funnels down into a gap that might be just barely wide enough for wagons to pass through single file, which is presumably where floodwaters go during the spring thaw.
>>
No. 973592 ID: f57349

>>973451
Five fine-quality buff jackets, 16lb each
Three superbly ergonomic shovels, 6lb each
Crowbar, 3' long, 3 lb
Slegehammer, 12lb
Great big double-bitted axe, 8lb
Smaller axe, balanced for throwing, 4lb
Three crates air-imbued Imperial trail rations, 10lb each
One crate of sawdust with a fake Imperial seal, 10lb
Livestock-grade carrots (nutritious but unpleasantly bitter) 50lb
Replacement forge tools, 52lb
Rope, 20 yards, 3/8" diameter, 3lb
Solid copper ingot, 60lb
Assorted scrap iron, 20lb
Undyed mid-grade cotton cloth, 5'x45', 10lb
Alchemical supplies Tasnim can't replicate, 10lb
Oxhide bag, approx. 16 cubic feet, 20lb

400 lb total, all packed neatly into the warbird's passenger/cargo space.
>>
No. 973596 ID: 4424d1

>>973588
The Warbird's engines pulse in intervals, the hot air ejected from slits along its frame further melt the bog, but keep the vehicle from sinking further.
"I'll be the first to confess that I'm a mechanic, not a pilot" Viatrix quips defensively
"But even then, I do have a license, and the three of us combined should have easily found the place, seeing as you've been there before. How did you find it the first time?"
>>
No. 973607 ID: f57349

>>971105
The Clockmaker Syndicate's coadjutor swallows that offered ring of keys and horks up a ball of papier-mâché far larger than his own head, torn strips of love poetry and frantic warnings glued together around the remains of a sturdy brass wall-safe, formerly lined with layers of bone and lead, now grotesquely twisted inside out.
>>
No. 973669 ID: afdebc

rolled 8, 5, 10, 8, 9, 3, 6, 9, 3, 4, 1, 5, 2, 6, 3, 7, 8, 1, 8, 3 = 109

>>973588
Hmm. An unclaimed "emerald" of arable land? Might be useful in the long term, presumably the local spirit court is the reason no humans have settled the place.

>>973596
>How did you find it the first time?
"There was a blizzard. We were lucky to come across shelter at all."

>>973607
In the dreamscape, the purple fountain delegate carefully turns the... clue she's been offered over in her ends, eyeing the scraps of poetry and other scribblings, trying to recognize any pattern or significance. Rather than attempting to open the safe, she'll offer it to the Stranger.

"You have a knack for locks, do you not?"

Rolling for the examination, Perception 3 + Awareness 1. (Although maybe some other dice pool is more applicable?).
>>
No. 973790 ID: f57349

>>972467
Shortly before dawn, snow stopped coming down but it's still too dark to spot much of anything outside with unaided vision. Holographic map in the Grand Salon shows a giant bird come zooming in from the north at improbable speed, circle as if confused, eventually land about a mile away.
>>
No. 973833 ID: bbea31

rolled 1, 1, 10, 10, 3, 7, 3, 8, 1, 6, 9, 4, 7, 6, 7, 2, 3, 8, 10, 8, 4, 4, 2, 7, 5, 9, 4, 4, 1, 1, 3, 8, 4, 2, 10, 10, 8, 8, 10, 5, 4, 10, 3, 7, 2, 2, 3, 10, 4, 9, 4, 1, 4, 9, 8, 4, 3, 5, 10, 6 = 331

>>973790
Desert Locust leans in close and whispers to Jan Do:

"So, do you think they could have turned into a bird somehow? I mean, I can do [/i]this[i], and that... other person can turn into a cat. Or maybe a giant bird came and ate them? It sounded like there was something weird going on, lots of returning and leaving, maybe they got hit by sorcery? If there's demons around, I'm sure some of them figured out how to do that and would be willing to levy such weapons against us."
>>
No. 974049 ID: afdebc

>>973833
The samurai considers. "I have not seen our companion wear such a shape, but she is capable of assuming forms of great size. It would not be impossible."

"We should investigate, in any case."
>>
No. 974050 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 8, 7, 4, 5, 5, 8, 10, 8, 7, 7, 7, 4, 3, 8, 5, 4, 8, 5, 5, 6, 9, 4, 9, 4, 9, 10, 7, 8, 7, 10, 7, 5, 5, 6, 7, 1, 5, 9, 4, 9, 2, 3, 5, 8, 4, 7, 9, 8, 5, 6, 2, 4, 9, 8, 5, 7, 6, 2, 1 = 363

>>973833
Patches' ears flick a little. "I don't think that's a bird. Enhance'm up." She reaches for the holographic map, putting her paw in it and pretending she knows what she's doing. "Make it bigger an' close in on this section here what have we got. Not many birds what can do that, otherwise ain't no reason to have balloons up in them sky. Any faction that I know of got them birds that big, movin' that fast... no, even da' ain't move that fast. Possibly some kinda spirit or behemoth, maybe." Patches doesn't want to think about the possibility that someone could make superfast air warships at scale. "Could be... maybe a big bug, get them repellent out the ears. Or an air elemental, got wishy breeze on' that'm subject."

Patches attempts to make the radar clearer so she can make a better Occult/Lore check on the target in question. She would not know enough about first age jets to consider them, but she might be able to identify close spirits. Intelligence 4 + Investigation 3 to locate the controls on the holographic map, if any exist.
>>
No. 974119 ID: ac57f8

For the unwoven coadjutor:

Essence 3
Willpower 9/9
Conviction 5, Compassion 2, Temperance 1, Valor 3

Strength 3, Dexterity 6, Stamina 2
Cha 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4
Perception 5, Int 5, Wis 4
Awareness •••••
Bureaucracy •••••
Investigation •••••
Linguistics • (Old Realm, Sky-tongue)
Larceny •••
Lore •••
Martial Arts ••
Occult •••
Socialize ••••
Stealth •••

7 undefined specialties
19 undefined charms (6 from essence, 11 from virtues, 2 from being a heroic demon)

Before becoming a coadjutor had been successfully running a fief in the scavenger lands area through a shadow government.

Much like the rest of the Noctua species of demons, Unknown Operative is two faced and driven by the spirit of conspiracy, betrayal, and most importantly ambition, though unlike the less heroic members of his species, driven by ambition without direction or focus, he decided to focus everything on statecraft, both the legwork for toppling them and building his own in between missions before going back to hell for orders, and eventually building up a spy agency in hell capable of relaying orders to and from his kingdom anonymously. And with the magic of delegation, he suddenly found free time for other avenues to ply his trade, like setting up a detective empire (really an agency with a few dozen employees handling the mundane aspects under his guidance, but he really like to call it an Empire to stay on brand) which served mostly his own goals of gathering dirt on people in case it became relevant to his needs at a later date, preparing summoned demons to set up release conditions for other demons under his employ so that they could expand similarly to creation.
>>
No. 974123 ID: ac57f8

>>973596
"Yes, we should have found the site, so I'm not entirely convinced that we haven't, or at least that we haven't gotten incredibly close. We should go lights on, and in human form. If we're as close as I suspect we are, we'll be reasonably visible from the inside, if we're not,then having light to work by will be a lot better than it being completely in the dark."

Ada followed her own advice, stepping out as she spent a mote to flare her Anima, radiating a pale green aura radiating from a core of bright white, with gold and purple at the intersection.
>>
No. 974126 ID: f57349

>>974050
Zooming in reveals only glowing sparks rather than realistic visual details, but associated glyphs reveal that it's a unit consisting of three essence users, one of whom doesn't know the other two very well yet. Fatigue on the two riders is consistent with Ada and Tasnim's last known sleep deprivation levels, but the bird... caption keeps glitching, like something can't decide if it's supposed to be showing biological energy reserves or a maintenance schedule.
>>
No. 974137 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 7, 10, 3, 1, 8, 3, 8, 3, 9, 6, 3, 4, 7, 8, 4, 3, 1, 7, 9, 4, 6, 10, 9, 2, 4, 9, 1, 9, 6, 2, 1, 9, 5, 4, 5, 10, 1, 4, 6, 7, 3, 10, 5, 6, 3, 5, 2, 5, 6, 2, 3, 10, 10, 7, 6, 2, 2, 3, 6 = 322

>>974126
Patches ushers the others close, reporting what she sees. "This here, what you got... not a bird. Or if it is a bird, it's also a person, y'hear. Which..." Her eyes drift to Desert Locust and linger. "Yeah, I have a feelin', I have a general idea who this bird person might be. Which means, logically, we got Miss Mammoth an' Miss Strix wanderin' around somewhere near here... which they wouldn' be doin, unless they was totally bamboo. This thin's convenient, huh..." Patches plays around a little more with it, before finally relaxing. "So y'all are gonna have't mount a recusal operator. Recluse operand. Ah, y'all get the point. From here I can map out pretty rhubarb where path takin' you'll be going..."

Patches flicks her artifact, and a few loose papers fall out. Setting them on the ground, she glances between the holographic map and the paper, crudely attempting to draw something up that the team can use. It's not the prettiest thing she's ever drawn, not even a full dot of resources, but she hopes it's good enough. "We should bring everyone, we don' know if this new bird lady is friendly. Not to mention she's glitchin' the display out... could exceed the measurable essence this device can handle. I ain't a god, though, so I'm pretty sure y'all will have a better idea of who to bring..."

Patches attempts to draw a map, using Perception 2 + Craft (Air) 3 to copy exactly what she sees. If she can apply her Destiny, she will here-- marching around in uncharted territory is incredibly dangerous, so drawing a good map is important! Of course... little errors on the way would be destiny, too.
>>
No. 974156 ID: f57349

>>972467
>>974123
Around dawn, Noir and Patches are discussing breakfast plans (and repairing an ancient long-handled serving spoon somebody somehow tied in a knot) in the forge when they notice Ada's anima flare, a quarter-mile away, through the window underneath the stairs up to the pottery studio.
>>
No. 974172 ID: 4424d1

>>974123
"Aha, so it must be one of them 'off limit to the public' manses, with some kinda hidey systems in place, maybe?" Viatrix remarks, thinking out loud.
"This one time, someone I work wi- I mean, someone I used to work with, he snuck out of one during his break with a girlie, and they couldn't find their way back in for hours, that is, until security had enough of having a giggle and finally let them back in"
Once she's sure that both Ada and Tsanim have climbed out of the vehicle, Viatrix focuses on becoming Human again- Circuitry begins glowing brightly along her form, and the pungence of ozone soon joins it again. Wings slide up and fold backwards on themselves, engines sliding up along with them, accompanied by the sound of metal moving smoothly on metal. Knees and legs emerge from beneath the vehicle to support it while the landing talons melt back into the hull, arms instinctively move to meet the ground as soon as they form on slender shoulders from the sides of the aircraft, one reaching towards an abdomen being shaped from moving metal plates- just in time to catch the cargo dropping through it and placing gently it on the ground beneath in a few quick but hesitant probing movements while the canopy folds downards, revealing a mostly Humanoid, feminine head underneath.
The circuitry flashes twice, changing into flowing Moonsilver that covers the entire body in a soft glow, its size and features rapidly shrinking to that of an organic Human woman, panting on the ground on all fours.
Rising from her knees gracefully at first, Viatrix comes to a full stand, stumbling a step to the left and letting out an almost yelp like gag, face red with embarrassment and eyes quickly widening before lurching forward and soiling the white snow in front of her with the meager content of her stomach.
>>
No. 974210 ID: f57349
File 159694258284.png - (602.22KB , 945x2522 , Map_of_Manse.png )
974210

>>974172
After vomiting, efforts to spit the last of the foul taste out of your mouth produce a streamer of colorless flame, utterly sterilizing the puddle and leaving a scorched hole in underlying peat. Doesn't help the smell at all, though.

There's still a small fire lance emitter nozzle in your mouth. You can feel it with your tongue. Somehow it fits in as naturally and comfortably as any of your teeth, just another body part.

Jumpsuit is intact. Glyph reader says "no signal." Wherever those went while you were a warbird, the oxhide bag is there now. Immediate environment is adequately warm for the moment, but if you go marching through the snow with nothing on your feet but fresh mud, you'll take damage from numbing cold - 1B/hour, difficulty 1 stamina + resistance to negate. Favorite pair of boots, last you saw, were in an airfield locker room in the White Valley Province... more than a thousand miles away, a thousand years ago, and under a thousand feet of water. It'll probably be quicker and easier to find or build new ones.

Once the group is reunited, how long are you all planning to spend on training, repair work, and so on before further exploration? If there's anything Desert Locust wants the Full Moon anima power for, that'll either have to be done by sundown today or wait three and a half weeks.

Current frontiers include tombs and "broom closet" in the basement >>970721 , east wing and garden on the ground floor, bedrooms on the second floor, barricaded roof access >>961047 , and probably other things you've overlooked.
>>
No. 974215 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 5, 5, 7, 2, 6, 3, 9, 5, 4, 8, 3, 5, 6, 7, 4, 7, 1, 1, 4 = 95

Concerned, the doctor moves to check on her new acquaintance, who just vomited and breathed fire. Shapeshifting is not supposed to make the chosen of Luna nauseous. Is this some side effect of her mechanical form, improperly meshed with her organic self? Is she already suffering from wyld taint? A side effect of her long stasis?

There's likely not time for a full medical exam now, but Tasnim feels that she should offer one after returning to the manse (and after resting). Hmm, would they have time for rest?

Rolling to navigate the vagaries of living outside fate and doing events out of order! Even though the group returned at dawn, are they still able to get a night's sleep and contribute to the watch schedule, as previously planned?

Intelligence 5 + Occult 4 + First Intelligence Excellence 5
If cooperation bonuses are relevant, both Horizon Silver and Adamant Strix have dots in occult, which would be good for another 2 dice.
>>
No. 974221 ID: f57349

>>974215
Tentative diagnosis is biomagitech implants - which will be needing maintenance, though that's not due for weeks yet - plus psychosomatic nausea due to a traumatic emotional experience.

Once you've found your way back to the fortress, Tasnim walks into the music master's bedroom and sees... herself, startled awake by her own arrival. As she climbs out of bed, the boss of the Purple Fountains snatches something >>972986
away from that self-appointed sheriff, and after she's finally pulled herself together there are two celestial wine bottles clinking against each other in the medical supply satchel - both empty, though that's easy enough to fix.

Ada already installed those replacement myomer strips and finished up repairs on Noir's armor, and for some reason you wrapped up the old torn ones in the same little bundle you were using for the new batch - made sense at the time, and you suppose they might be reusable once you learn the Incantation of Effective Restoration.

Feels like you've just gotten a good night's sleep, even though you also distinctly remember several hours of frantic haggling and alchemy and flying around, and possibly a skull fracture when you bounced off of some icy rocks. Yep, one side of your head's still a bit swollen, there's some blood crusted into your hair, and a small corresponding reddish-brown stain on the pillow, which makes absolutely NO sense...
> rolled 3, 5, 5, 7, 2, 6, 3, 9, 5, 4, 8, 3, 5, 6, 7, 4, 7
...unless this manse was constructed to exploit a gap in the Loom of Fate. Of course! Demons of the Second Circle and above can't be tracked astrologically, so the paranoid anathema who built this place must have gotten one involved to provide similar concealment for his last-ditch hideout. Anything causally connected to it will be suffering incidental Calibration-like problems as plans of Heaven fray at the edges.
>>
No. 974223 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 4, 10, 2, 2, 8, 1, 6, 3, 5, 4, 5, 9, 8, 7, 4, 3, 8, 4, 9, 2, 9, 7, 10, 2, 1, 7, 2, 9, 6, 1, 5, 4, 2, 8, 2, 2, 10, 7, 2, 10, 7, 1, 5, 4, 5, 3, 3, 4, 3, 9, 2, 8, 2, 6, 7, 5, 4, 5, 7 = 305

Folding up her map and plodding over, Patches the bunny god-blood looks over the new arrival and squints. She smiles, and holds out her paw. "Name's Patches, miss. Mind joinin' us for luncheon?" Whether or not someone actually shakes her paw or she just sits there, eyes glazed over while the not-lunar expects a handshake, she's going to head right on over to those supplies (finally) and prep food for the crew. She barely opens one of the crates before giving Miss Mammoth a dull look. "...rabbits get fat eatin' carrots, them that explainin'." Still, she doesn't mind the thought. Opening the other crates... rations. "Right... gotta make these tast-- how long have these been sittin' out?" Patches clicks her tongue, before pulling out scraps of salted meat and other salvageable meal parts, starting up a large bowl of soup. She continues to show Desert Locust how to cook like a gremlin with limited resources, and makes today's [b]Craft (Water)[b] roll.

Craft (Water) 3 + Intelligence 4 to make a salvageable meal from some rations. Might count as a flurry, since she did a Craft (Air) today. She sets aside some carrots for herself, and uses some of her precious leaves to make tea-- now that she has carrots, she doesn't have to worry about wasting her leaves. "Dinner time! Er, breakfast... food time it is! Y'all can get served as you like!" Patches calls out to the hallways.
>>
No. 974244 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 4, 3, 1, 4, 6, 4, 1, 3, 6, 7, 3, 10, 4, 7, 4, 7, 2, 7, 6 = 90

Jan Do will formally introduce herself (and any others who are present) when she first makes the acquaintance of their strange fellowship's latest member, a young woman dressed in plumage of riotous color, and apparently a refugee of a fallen age.

>>974210
>Once the group is reunited, how long are you all planning to spend on training, repair work, and so on before further exploration? If there's anything Desert Locust wants the Full Moon anima power for, that'll either have to be done by sundown today or wait three and a half weeks.

Last proposed schedule was here >>970052 . If we adjust that to fit the shifts/blocks schedule that Gilly wrote up for us (breaking a 25 hour day into 5 pieces), that's one 5-hour block on group exploration, two blocks (10 hours) for the 8 hours of training a character can do plus other stuff like eating and interpersonal interactions, and then another 2 shifts to cover the 10 hours of preparing for bed, taking watch shifts, actually sleeping, etc. If that schedule is acceptable to others, it sounds good to me.

Jan Do will be spending her training period today meditating on the scrap of poetry she had recovered previously ( >>968818 ) and practicing her quick-draw while working with Clever Fox, attempting to get her weapon clear of the sheath before the other can react, while alternatively assisting her companion with her own attempts at quick responses. (Mechanically, a second day of training for Secrets of Future Strife).

>>974210
As for which unexplored frontiers to search, Jan Do will suggest the group begins with the tombs. This would allow the group to check that the dead below truly are quiescent, and might allow the recovery of useful grave goods.

However, as her first act towards exploration, she will channel a single mote to attune her anima to the emanations of the underworld. Does she detect anything within 200 yards?
>>
No. 974245 ID: ac57f8

Okay, agenda for today.

1. Start work on learning Craftsmen Need No Tools, or at least the Pyrian version since she doesn't seem to have access to her native charms but does have access to Yozi charms (A consequence of using Pyrian and Malfean Principle Emulation and her shard not being cleaned by Lytek? Further research necessary.)

2. Start repairing the bellows in the forge room.

3. Start formally repairing the Rockloom.

(1/3 Desires filled. Also, +1 Desire for Repairing/Maintaining Magitech.)

But first, she had something she needed to handle as she did go to seek out Patches because she has something she wants to say.

"I wanted to say, I know you haven't said anything, but I'm not blind. I know that there's a tension in the air between us. I don't entirely know why, but when you're willing to talk about it, I'm willing to listen. In the mean time, I've decided I'm going to recuse myself from the search team."
>>
No. 974246 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 4, 5, 7, 2, 2, 5, 6, 5, 4, 5, 8, 5, 7, 2, 4, 5, 7, 3, 9, 7, 4, 2, 4, 3, 3, 1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 1, 6, 1, 4, 10, 10, 6, 10, 9, 3, 2, 10, 8, 4, 7, 3 = 242

Rolling Conviction 2 to recover wp from sleep.

>what do
Tasnim will, at the earliest opportunity, return the windblade to Noir (who may be surprised to discover it was missing at all, and Tasnim in turn may be surprised Ada "borrowed" the artifact without asking).

Today, the No Moon sorceress plans to spend her training time studying her spellbook, beginning the process of memorizing the Incantation of Effective Restoration. It has proven more than clear this magic will be a great help in restoring age-worn and damaged goods in this long forgotten fortress. Fortunately, the library possess at least one comfortable reading chair, and the group had already extensively searched that room the day prior.

In order to replenish her empty stores, Tasnim will produce new doses of Celestial Wine as she studies (at 10m per does), keeping pace with her mote regeneration (so about one dose every two hours if recovering 4m/hr, a dose per hour if studying allows 8m/hr recovery).

She'll also approach Viatrix Senta and offer a more complete physical. The unusual circumstances of her temporal displacement, her merging of flesh with machine, and the potential of wyld taint in an unblooded lunar have raised concerns she'd like to lay to rest.

I think that would be Perception 3 + Medicine 4 + First Perception Excellency 3 for a medical exam (although that's for a 5 minute diagnosis action, maybe a longer exam uses Intelligence?). Also breaking out the wyld touchstone.

>If there's anything Desert Locust wants the Full Moon anima power for, that'll either have to be done by sundown today or wait three and a half weeks.
"It's strange. You have no moonsivler tattoos, but your caste is No Moon when both Luna and Desert Lily are full."
>>
No. 974249 ID: ac57f8

>>974244

Fox likewise was interested in spending her 8 hour training period for training her own Lightning Mental Style, and also spending the time trying to shift Jan Do's intimacy towards romantic interest through physical closeness and the kind of innuendo laden phrases mixed in with the discussions and meditations on philosophy.

>>974246
Fox also is interested in the new arrival, and makes an excuse to be present during the medical diagnosis, wanting to eye up the new arrival.
>>
No. 974254 ID: ac57f8

rolled 5, 1, 5, 10, 2, 2, 3, 6, 8, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 6, 5, 4, 8, 7, 8, 3, 1, 8, 3, 3, 1, 4, 5, 9, 2, 4, 9, 5, 6, 4, 1, 4, 4, 10, 2, 3, 5, 1, 7, 10, 3, 5 = 226

> Gwen, I think you might want to include rolls for Ada's attempts to repair things, or Fox's attempt to stick her head into a medical exam to eye someone up

As I recall there was a lot of discussion on what the actual dicepool for repairing the rockloom, so I guess Dex/Perception 4+Craft (Lightning) 3+ Excellency 7 as Ada uses telekinesis to maneuver the wind-blade repair kit, making as many repairs as possible with the limited tools.

> Clever Fox

Fox contemplates stabbing herself for easy access, but puts that plan on the back burner as she just walks into the medical area shortly after the medical examination would begin and sat down patiently. If she was actually given a medical one over, it would reveal that nothing was wrong with her, but she was relying on the fact that Tasnim wouldn't stop her examination until it was done.

I'm not sure what kind of actions that would be taken to contest that, so I'm throwing a bunch of dice at the problem.
>>
No. 974263 ID: d9acdc
File 159703510374.png - (545.83KB , 519x718 , Des.png )
974263

rolled 1, 5, 1, 2, 6, 5, 8, 2, 10, 9, 8, 9, 8, 3, 4, 10, 6, 1, 8, 9, 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 2, 10, 4, 9, 3, 8, 10, 7, 9, 1, 9, 4, 3, 9, 4, 8, 7, 9, 4, 10, 7, 3, 3, 8, 10, 10, 8, 1, 8, 3, 2, 6, 4, 3, 6 = 350

>>974244
As the away team comes home, somewhat worse for wear, Desert Locust is returning from the false alarm, >>970904, when Patches informs her of the flare on the horizon. Having just seen the good doctor and the engineer in bed, it was of course a bit confusing to then see them outside, as well as watch them leave around noon, although that's ready happened later.

...

Best not to think too hard about it. What matters is there's work to be done around the manse, and everyone's here to do it.

"So, whats all this then? Midnight shopping trip you tw.. er, three? I'm Des..uhh, I mean, I'm Lily."

Desert Locust greets the new comer with a chitinous handshake- she appears to be some sort of large insectoid woman, with four arms and strange bladed; she doesn't seem to walk so much as glide, her alien claws skating through the floor rather than across it, and mist trails out from behind her ratty, mud-stained poncho wherever she goes.

"So, what's your story, stranger? I don't have much to say myself, 'cept that I work docks and like to roam around looking for green pastures, or at least I did, until whatever mishap landed us here. This-" she says, gesturing to herself with two arms "isn't normally how I present myself, but I, ah, seem to have undergone a great number of changes that I cannot remember recently."

>>974244
>schedule
Desert Locust Spends the morning assisting patches in the kitchen, serving as training for Craft (Water) (1/21 days), then sparring with her, acting as a mentor for MA. When they begin to search for remaining tombs, she nods cheerfully and gets ready to explore, before a sudden hiss from Noir causes her to freeze in her tracks- apparently she's standing on some sort of trap, and moving will likely set it off, potentially injuring her a great deal. Once this is thoroughly explained however, she lets out a sigh of relief, and simply... turns into a cloud of locust? The trap whiffs harmlessly through her new dispersed form, and while insects are not typically very emotive creatures, she seems thoroughly confused at the turn of events despite her instinctive confidence. The only thing left behind is a dull ruby stone with sharp edges, like held by glass or obsidian, which Ada deftly catches before it hits the ground. A thousand insects crawl into the various cracks and crevices of the nearby tombs, searching for dangerous or hidden mechanisms, clumps of her swarming over the points of interest to highlight for others.

Mechanically, Desert Locust is shapeshifting to swarm form, giving the Stone of Acrid Understanding to The Adamant Strix, and rolling to search the remaining tombs Noir has yet to explore.
>>
No. 974264 ID: ac57f8

>>974263
Ada takes the hearthstone and slots it into the Orichalcum Hearthstone Amulet. "I thank you greatly." She almost fell over as the sudden pain set her mind into overdrive, but she caught herself on a counter as she started to compose herself. "I know you probably can't talk right now. I just realized, I definitely have feelings for you, but we haven't really talked a whole lot. We should fix that later."

And then, she takes the next 3 and a half hours working on the Rockloom (see the above bad roll for how that goes) and spends 16 exp on learning Tool-Transcending Constructs (8 on the charm, 8 on EXP debt)
>>
No. 974276 ID: 0640da

rolled 1, 10, 2, 4, 5, 3, 3, 5, 9, 5, 4, 9, 7, 9, 10, 4, 8, 3, 10, 10, 5, 1, 4, 9, 1, 7, 5, 6, 4, 6, 3, 9, 9, 10, 6, 6, 5, 1, 2, 10, 10, 2, 3, 2, 3, 6, 2, 7, 8, 5, 5, 3, 8, 8, 9, 8, 3, 10, 1, 8 = 341

>>974245
Patches' eyes glaze over a little at Ada as she hands out rations to everyone, and they look dull and dead-- like she was looking at a particularly boring rock, and not another person. She blinks a few times and her usual glitter returns. "I ain't knowin' what y'all are talkin about, Miss Strix. Ain't we peachy keen? Them and yours ain't troubling me none. I wouldn't dare say nothin improper, given the way you've treated me soy nicely to this point." She sets down the porridge and jerky next to Ada, and brings the other bowls and plates over to Viatrix and Tasnim. "An' for you two... eat up, so you can' be rice an strong."

Patches attempts to use her Dodge MDV of 6 to avoid the issue entirely. It would be impolite to push, and she could one hundred percent be killed by the demonic solar in the room.
>>
No. 974278 ID: 48a928

>>974276
"Yeah, that kind of vacant glassy eye look is what I'm talking about. But, like I said, take as much time as you need, and if you're uncomfortable with me, I'm pretty sure our resident Doctor is also willing to listen."

She's not going to push the issue much further than that, since it's ultimately something Patches will need to work through on her own, so far as she can tell, and forcing people can end badly.
>>
No. 974279 ID: 0640da

>>974278
Putum! Patches hits her forehead and pulls her palm away smoothly. "Of course. I should make more efforts to listen to others. Reacting out of emotional blanket will lead to serious problems in my martial arts development. Thank ya'll for your kind teachings, Miss Strix. I will be sure ta rely on others when encountering difficulties in the future." Patches smiles at Tasnim now, but her eyes are filled with frustration, little flecks of anger in those massive pupils. "Miss Mammoth, thank you for helping me cool off after I started something yesterday night. If you hadn't interfered, someone could have gotten hurt. I was afraid of just such an outcome, but your words helped me snap out of it and return to sanity." Patches emphasizes those four words, for some reason...

Patches attempts to make a move against Tasnim's memory, but as the text of Open Palm Caress states, she's more than likely unable to breach it because the toxic influence has not left her side. In any case... Destiny isn't applicable either, since misunderstandings are not inherently protected under Destiny. But she hopes that Tasnim thinks about this more once she's broken free of the mind control... and the meaning of those words. Charisma 4 + Linguistics 1 subservient-keyword social attack on Tasnim to plant a seed of doubt.
>>
No. 974280 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 10, 7, 10, 2, 6, 1, 4, 4, 10, 6, 10, 4, 4, 2, 5, 2, 9, 1, 1, 3, 5, 7, 4, 6, 2, 9, 5, 9, 1, 7, 2, 6, 8, 9, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9, 4, 2, 7, 7, 9, 5, 10, 1, 2, 9, 6, 10, 10, 10, 5, 10, 6, 5, 3, 4 = 343

>>
No. 974288 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 3, 10, 5, 3, 6, 3, 6, 6, 6, 9, 9, 10, 10, 2, 9, 9, 3, 2, 7, 3, 3, 9, 5, 8, 8, 3, 3, 5, 3, 9, 1, 5, 10, 5, 10, 4, 2, 8, 6, 2, 2, 6, 5, 2, 2, 2, 7, 9, 3, 1, 6, 5, 10, 9, 8, 10, 10, 7, 5 = 346

>unpacking stuff
>>974223
>...rabbits get fat eatin' carrots
"They're an excellent source of vitamins, and I expect you to moderate your intake with the dry rations. Keeping a balanced diet is even more important if you're going to be practicing vegetarianism." the doctor primly responds in skytongue.

>>974279
>""Miss Mammoth, thank you for helping me cool off
"You're welcome?" she replies distractedly, continuing to shift through the pile of purchased goods. "Aha!" she exclaims, pulling a collection of coats loose from the goods, and slipping one one.

"Well, if you wish to show your appreciation and engage in more productive and responsible behavior, you can help me talk some of the others into wearing proper protection. You at least are wearing armor, but most of are not, and I expect them to be stubborn about it. They'll need to be properly fitted eventually for full effect..."

Rolling to attempt to persuade unarmored allies to wear one of these lovely exceptional fine-until-fitted earth-enchanted buff jackets! That'll be a bunch of individual Charisma 3 + Presence 1 + Stunt rolls.

>at the start of the search
>>974264
Tasnim reacts poorly to Ada's reckless immediate socketing of a discovered hearthstone.

"Wha- you don't even know what that does, don't just go sticking unknown magic stones into things, some of those aren't safe! The lights here are harmful to you, didn't it occur to you its concentrated essence might be too?"
>>
No. 974290 ID: ac57f8

>>974288
> "Wha- you don't even know what that does, don't just go sticking unknown magic stones into things, some of those aren't safe! The lights here are harmful to you, didn't it occur to you its concentrated essence might be too?"

"This hearthstone isn't for this manse, but hearthstones are typically meant as power batteries and have useful powers, and I would trust that our locust friend wouldn't be carrying anything inside her body that would actually hurt the either of us. And, since I did put it in, I'm 80% sure I know what the stone actually does and it should be mostly harmless, get back to me in a few hours and I'll know for sure."
>>
No. 974304 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 3, 9, 2, 6, 3, 8, 2, 9, 10, 5, 4, 3, 5, 9, 10, 4, 9, 4, 5, 7, 10, 10, 7, 5, 10, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 2, 9, 5, 3, 9, 3, 2, 10, 2, 3, 2, 9, 10, 10, 9, 7, 3, 8, 3, 6, 5, 10, 3, 2, 2, 4, 4 = 345

>>974221
Noir comes bounding in to receive his newly repaired armor, stripping down to put it on in the middle of the foyer. A stern gesture from Tasnim indicates he's being rude- he hasn't properly introduced himself to the new guest, nor has he offered any sort of thanks to The Adamant Strix. If he wants his suit back he'll at least have to make an effort to converse politely.

Or at least that's what he thinks she's trying to mine at him. Hard to tell for certain.

Giving a curt, shallow bow to Viatrix, he introduces himself in Firetongue of all things, a language no one else understands. He then thanks Ada in old realm, speaking perhaps a bit too quickly.

"ThankyoumissStrixI'lltakebettercaretellmeifyouneedajobdone"

He then promptly dashes off to the library to get dressed and pick up a book during his morning training stint. His cheeks are definitely flushed after having to talk to Ada, despite having no qualms over public nudity.

Going to look for a book that could serve to teach Noir Skytongue, and spend the day training that; then when the time for searching tombs comes, Noir will use the enhanced power of the suit to gently lift and remove the statues blocking the holes down below so everyone can gain access; he does, however, wait for Des to go first just in case he misses any traps.

If we search three rooms an hour, that would let us finish looking over the remaining tombs in three hours; Noir will spend two motes on the second investigation Excellency per room, putting him down twenty four motes assuming this doesn't count as light activity. That's nineteen personal and five peripheral spent. He also always has motes committed to Keen Hearing and Touch as a general rule, putting him at 0/0/19 remaining/committed/total personal motes, 19/16/40 peripheral, and 10/10 wp.

Rolling to search for a book to teach him skytongue, then to search the remaining tombs with Desert Locust.
>>
No. 974305 ID: 4424d1

>>974223
Viatrix takes Patches' hand, giving it a fair squeeze, although Patches can probably tell that there isn't much strength behind it. The Lunar's tanned, slender hand feels like a mishmash of textures- some almost leathery in roughness, and others so soft and smooth they may as well have been polished with sand paper.
"It's a pleasure, Patches" Viatrix's mouth broadens to an appreciative smile
"Thanks for not minding the mess... I uh. Was hoping that the first impression I made would be less... embarrassing"
She adds quietly, almost whispering, her cheeks still bright pink, deeply contrasting the alabaster skin of the rest of her face and the platinum shade of her hair.
"Lunch would be lovely, miss. From what lady Adamant tells me, I gather that the last time I've had lunch was a couple thousand years ago.
Oh, right. I'm Viatrix"

>>974263
"My name's Viatrix, Lily. I reckon that you and I both are looking for answers, as far as stories go. To me, two days ago I was working with, ah" She sizes Desert Locust up for a moment, unsure how to describe her occupation to a stranger from a time far removed from hers.
"Flying machines, like the one I just transformed back from. Next thing I know, there's a huge rebellion by The Terrestrial Exalted, I get picked by Luna, somehow a few thousand years pass without my knowledge, and now here I am, shoeless and vomitting fire"

>>974246
>She'll also approach Viatrix Senta and offer a more complete physical. The unusual circumstances of her temporal displacement, her merging of flesh with machine, and the potential of wyld taint in an unblooded lunar have raised concerns she'd like to lay to rest.
Viatrix gratefully accepts the examination, being friendly and chatty throughout the procedure, coplying with requests and questions seemingly without a second thought. Tsanim can probably make an educated guess that Viatrix has either been examined by doctors many times in the past, or physical examinations are something she experiences regularly.
>>
No. 974306 ID: f57349

>>974244
> channel a single mote to attune her anima to the emanations of the underworld. Does she detect anything within 200 yards?
If there are any ghosts or walking corpses present - other than yourself, of course - they're well hidden. No current shadowland is present, but there are... ripples, creases, loose threads... signs of at least one nearby hole in the world imperfectly repaired.

A chip of plaster less than an inch wide on the floor of the false garden holds an exquisitely detailed image of a dusky human hand silhouetted against the sky, blurred on one side just enough to suggest motion, as if upraised and waved side to side in exuberant greeting. If handled with appropriate care, it fits perfectly into that damaged portion of the murals. Perspective and scale are such that the complete figure, atop a far hill, may have been reduced to dust below the elbow by a single strike with a chisel.
>>
No. 974307 ID: 4424d1

>>974304
Viatrix blinks twice, taken aback a little by someone so suddenly speaking directly to her in a language she doesn't know.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know any firetongue, sir"
She answers in Old Realm
"Could it be that you also speak in Skytongue?"
Viatrix adds, switching languages in hopes that one of them sticks.
>>
No. 974308 ID: f57349

>>974246
Easiest way to combine study and wine production turns out to be alternating periods of reading and meditation, so you've got one bottle filled and part of the other by the time you hit diminishing returns for the day's progress. That rubble and scree on the slope out in front of the manse should be able to provide plenty of low-risk specimens when it's time to put theory into practice.

> Perception 3 + Medicine 4 + First Perception Excellency 3 for a medical exam. Also breaking out the wyld touchstone.
> rolled 3, 4, 5, 7, 2, 2, 5, 6, 5, 4, 5, 8
Blood, urine, oil, and earwax samples, along with thorough scrutiny of every lump or orifice Viatrix Senta is willing to let you near, and every other test you're equipped for short of exploratory surgery, all return either 'healthy' or 'inconclusive.' She's possibly the very least Wyld-tainted Lunar - or anything - you've ever seen, to the point you start to worry your test kit may be miscalibrated. An earth-aspect monk on return from pilgrimage atop the Imperial Mountain might not have numbers quite that good.
>>
No. 974309 ID: f57349

>>974263
Engravings on the walls of the northwesternmost tomb, way back behind the pantry, artfully conceal a series of irregularly-spaced holes just barely large enough for swarming locusts to fit in. Looks like they average about six or eight inches apart, times fifteen hundred square feet of wall... call it seven or eight thousand spring-loaded darts. Tips feel like some sort of glass rather than metal. Absurdly sharp. Haven't actually set them off yet, nor spotted a trigger with certainty, but a weight-sensing latch under the central statue would be a reasonable guess.

Mechanically, counting that as teamwork with Noir as the primary actor and Des qualifying for assistance (despite lack of Larceny dots) as a benefit of swarm form. If Des had been acting alone, that would've been a botch with a pair of ones showing on five dice, so take two levels of lethal damage from some combination of licking the glass darts and various kitchen mishaps. Natural armor may have encouraged bad habits when it comes to fire safety.
>>
No. 974310 ID: f57349

>>974264
After three hours of alternately wailing in agony and attempting to reassure Tasnim that you've got the situation completely under control, Tool-Transcending Constructs have been unlocked. Your eyes are bloodshot and there's literal smoke coming out your ears, but the caustic pain faded back down to just a lingering tickle. If you want to start reconstructing the Rock-Loom and learning how to spin stone into thread by thaumaturgy, that'll only cost one XP, but using the Stone of Acrid Understanding to speed the process up means you'll be committed to suffering that -2 internal penalty full-time. Absolute best case it might be done in a week. There's no hard upper bound on how many weekly intervals that extended action might require.
>>
No. 974311 ID: f57349

>>974304
> a book that could serve to teach Noir Skytongue
None found. Library's still a mess. However, Jan Do, Clever Fox, Patches, Viatrix Senta, and the entity with the gold mask all speak both Old Realm and Skytongue (the latter two, admittedly, in an archaic dialect), so any of them could teach you - which would be faster than self-directed learning from a book, anyway.
>>
No. 974397 ID: ac57f8

rolled 2, 7, 3, 4, 4, 2, 10, 10, 9, 4, 8, 10, 7, 1, 1, 10, 10, 5, 7, 9, 1, 6, 9, 5, 7, 3, 10, 1, 5, 9, 8, 7, 9, 1, 3, 4, 7, 4, 8, 5, 9, 4, 5, 5, 6, 1, 10, 3, 3, 4 = 285

>>974310

Alright, and with that done, Ada will take a minute to see if Tas wants the stone for some of her own personal endeavors.

"After all, sometimes education is peaceful and calm, and other times it's a bunch of dragon blooded teenagers throwing a blanket around you in the dead of night and beating you with wooden rods until you can recite entire passages from a miscellaneous safety passage on maybe 5 hours of sleep a week and in duress. The manse that produced this stone was built with that ideology in mind, and as you can see by the fact that I'm able to slip my telekinesis into a more comfortable form,"

Ada's telekinesis shapes itself into a dowsing rod as she goes to where the still open windblade maintainance toolkit she was using as prosthetics for the last few hours was to remove the lock.

"- It's capable of making things a lot quicker. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to get the key to this thing."

I'm not sure what the actual procedure would be, but it seems like it would probably need to be a scaled back version of Aureet Dowsing, or possibly scrying, both of which Ada knows.

Either way, in both cases it's Perception 4+Occult 4+Art of Geomancy 3 for a base dice pool of 11, +up to 3 stunt dice, +11 personal motes for Pyrian excellency. (19/19-> 12/19 -> 19/19-> 8/19 for the changes relevant to today) for 22 dice+ stunt
>>
No. 974398 ID: afdebc

>>974308
Could it be the entire world is more corrupted than it used to be? Maybe ambient or background levels are just that much higher in the aftermath of the contagion and the fair folk invasion, even centuries afterwards. Or perhaps stasis has a purifying effect over time? There is something of a thematic association with earth.

Questions that are beyond her means to answer right now. Perhaps she'll bounce theories off Adamant Strix later.

>>974397
Tasnim finds the idea of a hearthstone built around a philosophy of "no pain no gain" to be somewhat disturbing (though less troubling than the confusing results of Viatrix's physical), though she cannot deny the effectiveness. Adamant Strix mastered a charm in hours and does not seem to have suffered lasting injury, or infernal corruption (beyond her preexisting condition, anyways). More strange is the fact the two of them are both already attuned (was the exploration of strange and dangerous manses normal for their company before they lost their memories?).

In the end, Tasnim puts her misgivings to the side. Discomfort is well worth learning the spells she needs to aid her friends and allies more quickly. Who knows how soon they'll need them. (...it would seem being talking into bad ideas by Ada is becoming something of a pattern).

Mechanically, applying the benefit of the Stone of Acrid Understanding to the 8-hours of spellbook study, aka smoking in the library. That's worth 1 of the 2 weeks required.
>>
No. 974399 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 3, 8, 8, 7, 10, 7, 2, 2, 9, 6, 2, 8, 2, 8, 5, 3, 10, 9, 3 = 121

>>974306
While she wonders who was once depicted and why a previous occupant felt the need to deface the painting (an improvised sealing of a door or line of communication? Another symptom of paranoia, or in response to some active danger?), this mystery does not pose an immediate risk. The forsaken will pass this information along to her colleges and note it for later meditation, but the exploration of the tombs can continue as planned.

>>974309
Are the darts positioned in one wall, or around the perimeter of the entire room? Would it be possible for someone setting off the trap deliberately to take cover behind the statue itself? Is the doorway in the angle of fire?

"Adamant Strix, how far is your telepathic reach?" she inquires in skytongue. "It might be safest to trigger the trap from behind the cover of the doorway, allowing the ammunition to expend itself on an empty room."
>>
No. 974404 ID: ac57f8

rolled 7, 4, 3, 10, 5, 1, 6, 6, 6, 9, 10, 4, 1, 8, 8, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4 = 101

>>974399
"Alright, everyone stand back." Ada's going to motion for everyone to move as far back as possible where they can still see the statue after being called in from her recused isolation from the search party, and when they are at a presumably safe distance, Ada claps her hands together, and her anima starts building up as the statue starts to glow almost painfully bright even from the hallway, and in case their plan hadn't been enough, she pulled the statue to block the door as quick as lightning to block any darts that might have flown from the room.

Mechanically: Feat of Strength
Essence 3 strength+ Occult 4 + Stunt (assuming 2 dot) spending a WP for 10 dice worth of successes added directly onto that.

Also spending 7m of peripheral essence (8+4 for previous post-7 for 5) for 16+expected 5
>>
No. 974415 ID: ac57f8

>>974308
"Well, allow me to be the first to congratulate you on the cleanest bill of health possibly ever." As soon as the examination is over, Fox both grows and takes off an oversized plush robe made of caribou pelt with fur on both sides to be extra snuggly and warm with Viatrix written on it on the back and an embroidered fat and happy seal on the back (a good omen among the Haslanti, not that Viatrix would get the meaning).

"If it wouldn't be too forward, I imagine that you have some questions, and stories to tell, and I'd love to talk it over while showing you around the manse." She went ahead and handed over the big plush robe as a gift, both to good health, and friendship, if anyone decides to read her intentions.
>>
No. 974436 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 10, 1, 7, 3, 4, 3, 6, 3, 9, 2, 7, 5, 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 1, 3, 9, 3, 1, 3, 8, 10, 4, 8, 8, 10, 2, 8, 10, 2, 3, 6, 2, 4, 4, 1, 8, 4, 5, 9, 7, 2, 1, 6, 8, 9, 2, 8, 6, 5, 4, 10, 10, 6, 7, 4 = 324

>>974399
"We should prolly put 'er back, then? I ain't messin' with no curses, but it doesn't seem none right to just... leave it there." Patches mutters about the hand located in the false garden... "Probably better for the geology if we stick it back where it belongs."

>>974415
Patches pops out from behind, squeezing in between the both of them. "Buff jackets fer your flesh? Eh? Eh?" She holds out a jacket. "I'm s'posed to be handin' these out to the unarmoir'd among us. Thinkin' bout wearin' one myself, never can have too much armor..."

She attempts to make a surprise Charisma 4 + Socialize 1 attack with the servitude keyword against the two exalts right here, following Tasnim's orders.
>>
No. 974437 ID: 2e4f91

rolled 10, 2, 3, 9, 10, 2, 2, 3, 8, 8, 1, 5, 3, 2, 5, 9, 2, 2, 2, 8, 3, 4, 1, 9, 5, 9, 8, 3, 7, 2 = 147

>>974436
"I'm incredibly sorry, but that's not entirely possible. After all, that armor would be little more than a steel coffin for someone like me. I hope you understand."

As she talked, her body started to flow like water as she circled around so she could face patches at a decent distance, her clothes shimmering as though a stone had impacted the surface of a lake with golden silk spreading across the surface of what was now a ballroom dress for for a queen, her sash wrapping around her subtly enough that it might be mistaken for a snake and a paper fans floating in the cherry blossom trail of essence she was leaving behind her.

I'm counting 3 successes on initial social attack, and that doesn't hit any of Fox's virtues intimacies or motivation.

Invoking Dreaming Pearl Courtesan form for 5m from personal motes (15/22 remain) and giving Patches the chance to ask for a friendly spar, Manipulation? 4 or Charisma 3+Presence 0+ Martial Arts 5 + stunt social attack with a compulsion effect to ask to spar
>>
No. 974438 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 5, 9, 6, 6, 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 10, 9, 3, 7, 7, 7, 9, 1, 2, 4, 5, 5, 10, 9, 7, 1, 4, 10, 5, 3, 1, 6, 7, 2, 8, 9, 8, 10, 1, 9, 9, 7, 8, 8, 5, 2, 2, 4, 2, 7, 10, 1, 2, 9, 2, 1, 7, 6, 3, 3 = 335

>>974437
"Sure... we can fight at midnight..." Patches wobbles a little, before blushing and looking away. Something tells her looking too hard will get her killed, so she swallows her saliva and tries to look at a nice wall instead... "...meet me during the shift change, aight, and I'll be ready for you. B-been wantin' to test myself against one of the Lunars, since everyone mistakes me for one all the time..."
>>
No. 974439 ID: 85b0b7

>>974438
The spider lives its life in wait for the perfect moment. She could learn a lot emulating that same principle.

"Alright, if this is going to be a more formal affair, I'll leave it to you to make any preparations you need. We shall convene here at the stroke of midnight."

She now has a list of things she wants to gather, a small audience (mostly Jan and Viatrix, the former for obvious reasons the later because she wants her to be exposed to the absolute basics of magical fighting before she's in any real danger)

Medical staff, so just asking Tasnim to be in the audience to tend to the wounds of anyone who gets hurt.

Maybe a 'favor' to demand if/when she wins.

That was a shorter list than she thought as she turns to ask Tasnim to be on standby for any injuries that may occur, and promising she would try to keep real injury at a minimum.
>>
No. 974463 ID: 4424d1

>>974415"
Clever fox enters the room just in time to have a glance of Viatrix's bare back and the glistening of something metallic ebbedded just below the nape of her neck. A moment afterwards, her suit's fabric slides back up to cover her completely again, her hands seeming to operate something at the front of it.
Fox's entry startles Viatrix for a second, but she quickly collects herself, curious to who Fox is and weather if they have an appointment.
"Oh! Oh that's... so kind, miss" Viatrix gasps, her bright lilac eyes misty and glistening, overfowing with emotion, and her hands clutching the robe tightly enough for her knuckles to go white. She lets go of the robe just for long enough to throw herself at Fox in a tight hug.
"Bless your kindness, miss. Truly"
Not wanting to make the stranger more awkward, Viatrix slowly breaks off, looking at her in the eye while holding the robe again.
"Before your gift, these clothes on my back were the only thing I had left in the world"
>>974436
Viatrix lets out a surprised "eep!" hand over her chest.
"Armor?" she asks with some curiosity, lamenting the loss of her previous conversation. "Do you lot fight stuff often in here?"
>>
No. 974479 ID: d9acdc

rolled 10, 8, 4, 8, 2, 1, 10, 8, 8, 7, 3, 6, 8, 6, 4, 6, 4, 4, 3, 1, 8, 1, 4, 6, 6, 3, 9, 4, 3, 10, 7, 3, 5, 5, 3, 6, 7, 1, 2, 9, 8, 7, 2, 3, 5, 3, 7, 9, 1, 1, 5, 10, 10, 4, 8, 5, 8, 3, 7, 5 = 324

>>974307
Noir pauses when she speaks back in old realm, as if dumbstruck. He manages to stutter out a single word: "N-noir." and then bolts.

>>974311
Bored and frustrated in the library, he decides to start taking blank pages out of books, writing letters in them, and then folding them into paper gliders to covertly toss into people's bags.

"I want to learn to talk to everyone, but I have a hard time with face to face meetings. Can you write me letters in other languages, and we can trade them back and forth like coded notes hidden in secret drop points?"

Given that it'll probably take a while for people to find and respond to his request, I'd like to treat this first day as training for a thrown Excellency, as he practices aiming the trajectory of the paper crafts. Let's say the second Excellency?

Dice if you need them.
>>
No. 974515 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 6, 6, 9, 10, 7, 2, 9, 3, 4, 9, 2, 10, 3, 3, 2, 10, 5, 2, 7, 1, 8, 9, 3, 8, 7, 8, 4, 6, 1, 1, 5, 5, 2, 9, 6, 3, 9, 2, 4, 8, 7, 9, 4, 10, 6, 2, 10, 8, 10, 8, 6, 10, 5, 1, 1, 6, 6, 3, 8 = 342

>>974463
"Reckon we are currently fightin' quite a bit, that. Not too much more than usual 'round me, a little less than most times, possibly. Did I ever tell y'all about the time that Wallport got raided with me in it? ...is raided the right word? Anyways, lot a back and forth fightin'. Sometimes even I ain't sure how I made it out alive, what with all the fires... I'm ramblin. So far, only 3 fights have gone down in this manse and her surroundin's. Well, four. Miss Mammoth over there, she right killed a mammoth, hence the affectionate nicked-name. I s'pose that it flirted with her wrongways or somethin'." It hasn't fully settled in for Patches that she also messed up a would-be assassin on her way here, and that the Age of Sorrows is far more violent than Viatrix's time. She rambles on about watching an old beggar beating up a fire aspect dragon-blooded, if not interrupted-- "--it's an informative lesson' on not underestimatin old men with big sticks, that's what. I never did get his name..." No, she's still talking. "Anyone told you tha' you talk funny? Pot callin' kettle black, righ' right, but you do. Maybe you been bit by a weird bug too? No, wait, ain't a weird bug that could do that. Why did I... not much matter. Y'all from some city I don't know about?"
>>
No. 974516 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 8, 10, 2, 1, 8, 2, 3, 6, 4, 7, 1, 9, 5, 6, 5, 2, 6, 2, 8, 2, 5, 4, 10, 3, 3, 9, 7, 3, 4 = 148

>>974463
"Don't worry about it. I don't know what you're going through, but we've all been outsiders at some point. So if you ever want to talk about anything, I want you to know I'm here for you. Honestly, all of us are here for you."

Fox did return the hug warmly, but won't try to force it to happen longer than Viatrix is comfortable. "As for if we get into fights frequently, we haven't been here long enough to say, but we've seen a few. But, lets get you familiar with where everything is. It's a small place, so it shouldn't take too long."

>>974479

That could be fun. Of course, she wasn't going to go easy on what she assumed was Noir. As soon as she got an opportunity, she was going to leave a note in a drop point, tucked into the dumbwaiter so that someone can only find it from going in below. It was a mostly conversational piece of mail, written sporaddically in old realm and skytongue such that you could infer what the skytongue meant through the Old Realm.

It meandered on, like someone writing a correspondent a message about their week and asking about schedules so they can arrange to meet again, but it made special mention of where they met several times.

It also has an instilled social attack:

Manipulation 4+ Investigation 2 (hesitantly Socratic method +2?) compulsion keyword social attack to try and get Noir to ask himself why he is hiding from everyone here.
>>
No. 974522 ID: afdebc

>>974463
>"Armor?" she asks with some curiosity, lamenting the loss of her previous conversation. "Do you lot fight stuff often in here?"
"Three in the last day, and I'm the medic. Hopefully that's an outlier, but no reason not to be cautious."

>>974439
>Medical staff, so just asking Tasnim to be in the audience to tend to the wounds of anyone who gets hurt.
Tasnim is pleased someone had enough sense to take the precaution of arranging for medical assistance in advance, though she expresses annoyance at the late hour.
>>
No. 974534 ID: f57349

>>974397
Scrying on the key initially reveals only an unhelpful mass of flaky whiteness. Zooming out a bit, you recognize the narrow canyon leading out of the valley, about four miles away. Key's just laying in the snow, should be easy enough to find and retrieve with a bit of digging. However, you also notice traces of fur and blood on the walls, a few days old, and at least one odd leaf-shaped arrowhead - that's not particularly hard stone, but even so, embedding it so deeply would require superhuman strength, assuming it was actually shot from a bow rather than pounded in with a hammer.

>>974398
You could pass the hearthstone off to someone else once you're done with it for the day without disrupting the benefits. Voluntarily de-attuning the hearthstone amulet takes about twenty minutes. Pain will continue until you've learned the spell (or gone a full month without making progress) regardless, but training without the stone won't benefit from the speed-up.

>>974399
> Are the darts positioned in one wall, or around the perimeter of the entire room?
All around. There are even a few on the ceiling.
> Would it be possible for someone setting off the trap deliberately to take cover behind the statue itself?
Survey of several randomly-selected dart launchers suggests they're angled to fill the entire room, but narrowly miss the statue. If someone were standing exactly where the statue currently is, in approximately the same pose, they would probably be safe. Of course, they'd have to get the statue out of the way first... and if it were removed entirely, base and all, they'd likely be standing on empty air over a 30' deep pit.
> Is the doorway in the angle of fire?
Yes.
>>974404
Lifting the statue is easy, but parrying with it is not very effective, you can't displace so much mass laterally any faster than a walking pace, and it's nowhere near wide enough to block the entire doorway even if it did arrive in time. Five dice of lethal damage from the initial volley of darts - far more were found than have been launched so far - miraculously rolls no successes. One crystalline spike actually tickles the side of your neck and snags in your collar, yet fails to break skin.

You could use Open Palm Caress to convince available witnesses that someone other than you initiated whatever action triggered the trap.

>>974415
>Viatrix written on it on the back and an embroidered fat and happy seal on the back
You mean with "Viatrix Senta" embroidered on the front, like a nametag?
>>974436
Socialize can't be used directly for social attacks. Looks like three successes on Manipulation + Socialize for setting up the unexpected attack, no more than two successes on the Charisma + Performance attack.
>>974437
Five successes on Perception + Investigation. Specialty doesn't apply, but that's still easily enough to see it coming. Any MDV above 1 stops it.
>that armor would be little more than a steel coffin for someone like me
For the record, the armor in question contains no actual steel.

>>974479
With Thrown favored, one day of training is enough to master the second excellency. Eight hours later, you can toss individual un-folded sheets of paper so they land on target almost as neatly as if the whole stack had been picked up and tapped on a desk to square it off, or flick your Space-Warping Needle through a single falling apple leaf six times before either of them hits the ground. Could probably do sutures or embroidery that way, if only there were a way to attach thread. If you pick up a Second Larceny excellency too, you'll be able to fling a playing card at a stacked deck across a crowded room and choose which two other cards it lands between.

>>974516
Specialty definitely applicable, both of you have Linguistics 1 so no modifier there. Asking someone to question a course of action to which they've already committed might go against Conviction, though there's room to argue whether that applies in this case. I think you'd need Cat-Face Presentation to score an automatic unexpected attack, though Mask of White Jade could stand to be rewritten to make that clearer. Manipulation excellency can still apply to the opposed roll, but that only gets you up to six successes, against Noir's nine successes on twelve dice to notice the subtext without a stunt or excellency.
>>
No. 974551 ID: afdebc

rolled 5, 7, 4, 2, 5, 8, 9, 7, 7, 4 = 58

>>974534
"Thank you for your assistance, Adamant Strix. Noir, can you tell if the traps have exhausted their quivers, or if they yet hold a second volley in reserve?" (in Old Realm, as that's the language those two share).

Rolling Perception 3 + Awareness 1 to try and see if all the launchers fired, or if more remain. I think it might be a Larceny roll to determine that though, so Jan probably can't actually assist beyond making the suggestion.
>>
No. 974566 ID: 4424d1

>>974515
>>974516
>>974522
The platinum haired Lunar seems to go more pale with every additional mention of conflict from Patches, then ease up with Foxe's comforting words, and back to looking shaken with Tasnim's addition to the overall picture.
Viatrix swallows hard, wrapping her arms around her new robe and searching the eyes
of the others for any sign of humor or jest, visibly frightened.
"Goodness, you're not joking. I- I've never been in a fight in my entire life. I'm just an engineer"
>>
No. 974567 ID: 0640da

rolled 7, 2, 1, 7, 3, 3, 6, 10, 4, 9, 5, 2, 7, 10, 7, 1, 1, 7, 10, 2, 10, 4, 7, 4, 2, 7, 4, 4, 1, 7, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6, 10, 2, 3, 10, 3, 8, 4, 7, 1, 2, 9, 8, 10, 6, 4, 2, 7, 2, 9, 5, 6, 9, 8, 7, 3 = 322

>>974566
That elicits a reassuring pat from the tall god-blooded rabbit. "Don't worry about it so much, y'hear. I only been a martial artist for 4 years, an' I only know one move. All I did 'fore that was paper shufflin' an pipe squeakin, and now look at me." Patches just kind of puffs out her chest, and then pauses and rubs the back of her head, pushing back her ears and letting them bounce back like doorstoppers. "Maybe that would sound more reassurin' if I was a prim and proper exalt like what all these fellows are... only really smashed a few troublemakers flat..." The fact none of her accomplishments will mean anything to the exalts makes her take on a more and more depressed look until she's practically leaning against Viatrix. "Never mind... I'm totally worthless compared to y'all... ain't mean nothin..." Patches attributes her low mood to the fact all reality is bearing down on her at this moment.
>>
No. 974577 ID: ac57f8

>>974566
"Well then, it's a good thing that there's going to be a friendly spar tonight at midnight to at least see the basics of magical fighting. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll pick right up on how."

>>974567
Fox kind of awkwardly offers Patches a similar hug and a shoulder to cry on, up to and including forcibly pulling her off of the equally emotionally fragile Viatrix.

"Alright, the same offer of a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen to your troubles goes for everyone here."
>>
No. 974612 ID: ac57f8

To make it 100% clear, Ada isn't putting down the statue and isn't activating OPC. I didn't really have anything else to say which is why I hadn't said this yet.
>>
No. 974613 ID: f57349

>>974612
>>974551
There was one volley of maybe 50-100 darts, now you've been standing around at least thirty seconds and nothing further has happened.
>>
No. 974615 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 7, 8, 10, 2, 6, 6, 9, 1, 5, 6, 3, 3, 1, 1, 4, 10, 5, 9, 10, 10, 3, 2, 4, 2, 8, 6, 3, 6, 1, 8, 2, 10, 3, 10, 7, 6, 6, 4, 7, 7, 5, 4, 4, 3, 4, 6, 6, 9 = 296

>>974577
"I appreciate it, but y'all wouldn't understand... this angus beef I'm feelin, what have you... regrettin' not bein a martial arts hero. I ain't never been surrounded by such, and not as friends or nothin... I keep thinkin' forwards and wonderin' if I'll ever be a hero of the adventure or play secon' fiddle to y'all. If I'd spent more time studyin' martial arts instead a thaumaturgy or engineerin', maybe I'd have cool mind powers too... that regret, y'all know?" Patches leans against Clever Fox now. "Bein' a child of a god's so hard... mm. Instead've a real genuine hero... well, I'll hope ta make a good object lesson fer Miss Viatrix here."
>>
No. 974654 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 7, 4, 7, 5, 10, 4, 6, 4, 1, 8, 4, 7, 9, 7, 9, 8, 7, 2, 2 = 114

>There's a whole lot more darts left in the trapped room
"It would seem we have not yet exhausted the threat."

Jan does moves ahead of Adamant Strix, standing directly above the stone threshold between the hall and the room, she adopts a two-handed grip on her traveler's staff, prepared to swat crystalline darts from the air- the wood more suited for such a task than her blade.

"If you would be so kind as to trigger the mechanism again?"

Mechanically, that's taking a guard other action with a base parry DV of 8. If there's any penalties that crop up, I'm willing to throw the first melee excellency at offsetting them. The intent is to protect Ada while she triggers the dart trap again (perhaps more than once) until the mechanisms run dry, allowing the group to explore the room without the risk of an activation once inside.

Pretty sure this counts as a sin of life, so the first two dice are for resonance gain (unless protecting a group including my Lunar mate obviates that).
>>
No. 974657 ID: c19258

>>974615
"I... I'm not sure I follow. You want to be a hero?"
Viatrix asks with part confusion part curiosity.
"Or do you want to be the most important one?"
She waves her hand in dismissal, like her last question didn't really matter.
"What I mean is, what do you, Patches, care about?"
There's something different in Viatrix's voice in that question, like she's forgetting that she's still very much lost and afraid.
>>
No. 974658 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 4, 1, 10, 7, 5, 8, 10, 9, 5, 7, 8, 4, 10, 7, 10, 9, 8, 1, 8, 3, 10, 9, 4, 5, 2, 2, 8, 9, 3, 1, 5, 10, 8, 3, 9, 2, 9, 1, 9, 4, 6, 5, 1, 5, 5, 2, 5, 10, 4, 9, 3, 3, 5, 7, 4, 3, 8, 2, 8 = 345

>>974657
Patches pulls off the exalts and sighs... "That's the question, ain't it... only way what I can see it bein' answered is an idiom, yea? A turn of phrase, what have you... what's the wick of a candle got on the Unconquered Sun?" Patches heads to join the rest of the party near the tomb now... they seem to be dealing with some dart trap. "Uh, Miss Fox?" Patches calls back. "I think y'alls crush Miss Do just wandered into a trap... do we need to do somethin?"
>>
No. 974663 ID: ac57f8

"Well, I suppose I should also be getting caught back up with the exploratory party to make sure that the manse is actually safe. It might be a bit more in depth than a guided tour of what we've found so far, but you're more than welcome to join us all."

Fox turned into, fittingly enough, a fox to bound up to the party faster than she could as a person before turning back into a human, this time with grass green hair and a flowing ornate dress that wouldn't look out of place in a stage play about a wedding between the rest of the group and Jan, so she would be the main pin cushion if Jan didn't stop all of the darts.
>>
No. 974667 ID: ac57f8

rolled 9, 10, 3, 9, 6, 2, 6, 6, 9, 2, 7, 6, 10, 8, 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2, 1, 5, 7, 4, 4, 4, 6, 9 = 175

>>974654
Alright, Ada pokes around the room with the delicate precision of fine machinery, poking every square of the room with the head of the statue, starting with the floor and then the walls, and then the ceiling, tapping the center of a square roughly the size of the base of the statue.

Or rather, she does all of that after shaking the statue to determine whether or not it's the statue's movement that triggers the trap, which seems less likely if they didn't find any magic in the room, but it doesnt' hurt to check.
>>
No. 974668 ID: 0640da

rolled 7, 1, 5, 8, 3, 8, 5, 2, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7, 5, 5, 4, 2, 4, 6, 2, 2, 9, 1, 6, 5, 1, 10, 10, 8, 8, 9, 9, 1, 10, 4, 9, 6, 1, 9, 9, 7, 10, 4, 9, 6, 7, 10, 8, 7, 7, 4, 4, 2, 4, 4, 7, 5, 7, 8, 5 = 346

Patches sits down in the hallway outside while they fight with the darts... she closes her eyes and enters a state of awareness, breathing in and out slowly. Motes begin to flow upwards and her ears stiffen up, before they start turning-- tuning themselves, adjusting. Her anima flares to a twinkle, her ears shimmering as she spends 3 motes looking for dreamers within her range of hearing... those who sleep, those who dream. If the Exalted are going to risk themselves like this, she is going to do her part too. With their inspiration, she can be a better person all the time.

If necessary, Wits 3 + Awareness 1 (+2 from Enhanced Hearing). The power she's activating is the demihuman sensory power from the houserules, which I have called Listening to Dream's Vibration. With her keen senses, she's able to hear through stone walls, let alone whatever the manse floor is made of.
>>
No. 974703 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 3, 8, 2, 5, 8, 5, 8, 9, 5, 10, 3, 3, 8, 5, 10, 9, 1, 8, 1, 9, 10, 7, 8, 7, 2, 1, 8, 9, 8, 8, 1, 6, 7, 1, 5, 3, 4, 1, 2, 10, 5, 1, 8, 2, 6, 4, 4, 7, 3, 10, 1, 7, 8, 8, 4, 3, 8, 4, 2 = 328

>Survey of several randomly-selected dart launchers suggests they're angled to fill the entire room, but narrowly miss the statue.

>"If you would be so kind as to trigger the mechanism again?"
>Mechanically, that's taking a guard other action with a base parry DV of 8.

Noir dashes ahead, trying to jump down the shaft before the sword lady and the girl with the scary hands spend who knows how long just standing around! As he passes by Jan, he thrusts the windblade into her hands, yelling over his shoulder that "You might need this more than me!" before shimmying down into the thirty foot pit. He calls up for Desert Locust to join him, since her dispersed swarm body seems like it may be useful, and she obliges. Naturally, as he's speaking in old realm, the doctor has no idea what he's mouthing about as the fool rushes headlong into danger.

Rolling to search the tomb, using essence sight, enhanced strength, and his natural skill for ferreting out hidden treasures. Probably also need to roll athletics for climbing down the shaft? Not sure whether "One armed" applies naturally anymore, given his reattached arm.
>>
No. 974704 ID: d9acdc

rolled 1, 7, 9, 3, 6, 3, 2, 8, 4, 10, 5, 9, 3, 9, 5, 8, 10, 2, 9, 2, 9, 5, 10, 9, 1, 7, 3, 8, 4, 7, 1, 9, 1, 2, 7, 3, 10, 6, 10, 8, 5, 5, 6, 8, 10, 1, 7, 7, 5, 7, 9, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, 8, 4, 4, 4 = 346

>>974264
If a locust could blush, the swarm would have turned a bright red. As it stands, learning Dog-Tongue Method definitely needs to be added to her to-do list. Lets count that as one scene (1/2) shifting the context of her intimacy towards Ada from confused to romantic.

>>974703
Desert Locust swarms down the tunnel and begins probing the walls for secret tunnels and trapped mechanisms, as well as helping Noir search for hidden goods.
>>
No. 974819 ID: 35a039

Viatrix watches the two leave with conflicted expression. She stares at the door from where the left for another moment and turns back to Tasnim.
"There's got to be other ways I could help around until I learn to really fight. And until my knees don't shake so fiercely from the idea of doing so, as well"
She adds with a half smile, trying to ease her own mood more than the other Lunar's.
"If lady Adamant's memory is accurate about this place, I'll be merrily working double shifts in no time"
>>
No. 974829 ID: f57349

>>974654
Gain one Resonance, since you're mostly trying to protect Ada rather than Fox.
>>974667
Only thing you can find that sets off the trap is changing the amount of weight on some thumb-sized protrusions around the edges of the pit, underneath where the statue was.
>>974704
>>974703
Same basic layout as before, but much tidier - only one corpse, well-preserved, inside the coffin set in an identical niche in the wall. No forehead disc, but there's some sort of flower, stem clasped between the body's hands, which is visibly magical.
>>
No. 974845 ID: f57349

>>974704
> rolled 1, 7, 9, 3, 6, 3
Two successes on Intelligence + Occult plus Amethyst Awareness is enough to recognize that the flower is a 1-dot artifact, but not to identify functions. There don't seem to be any power sockets or manual controls.
> 2, 8, 4, 10, 5
Three successes on Lore plus knowledge of insect pollinators says it looks like a genuine type of flower - carefully reconstructed or preserved, rather than fancifully invented without regard for the constraints of realistic botany - but not any specific species you're familiar with. Maybe something that died out in the Contagion?
>>
No. 974846 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 8, 3, 9, 7, 5, 5, 2, 10, 2, 5, 1, 4, 4, 4, 8, 10, 10, 1, 8, 8, 3, 4, 9, 4, 8, 2, 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 7, 1, 5, 5, 3, 7, 2, 6, 4, 9, 3, 1, 2, 6, 10, 3, 4, 5 = 254

>>974819
The doctor shakes her head, light glinting off of her golden spectacles with the motion.

"I'm no warrior myself; fighting isn't the only thing that needs doing. This place is certainly in enough disrepair to need a good technician. You just have to be prepared to defend yourself when something doesn't give you a choice in the matter."

>>974829
After Noir calls out the contents of the tomb (and the information is translated by others) there's a flutter of black and white feathers, and a woodpecker lands on Noir's uninjured shoulder, head cocked, studying the flower clasped by the body in the stone-hewn crypt (the stones down here are rougher than those above, more somber).

Attempting to identify the artifact! I think I'll roll

(Medicine or Occult) 4 + Intelligence 5 + First Intelligence Excellency 5 - Stone of Acrid Understanding 2.

Trying to see if it's a plant with medical or alchemical uses. In the later case, the +3 speciality as a master alchemist applies. Given she and Noir don't share a languages and Tasnim can't talk in her current form, I don't think cooperation dice apply (well, maybe Des' bugs could get something across, to the extent locusts and woodpeckers understand one another).

Also might want to try to recognize the cause of death, if possible. If that requires a separate roll, not opting to use an Excellency for that.

8m personal spent between shapeshifting and the charm.
>>
No. 974849 ID: f57349

>>974846
Thaumaturgical specialties only apply to rolls for actual thaumaturgy, not academic knowledge. Tasnim's efforts are significantly hampered by pain, inability to directly observe the essence flows, and Des's mediocre technical vocabulary, but as far as you can tell it... doesn't really do anything. All that magic goes into making an ordinary ornamental flower indestructible.
>>
No. 974850 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 7, 9, 5, 5, 10, 3, 3, 3, 2, 10, 5, 7, 4, 2, 5, 4, 4, 10, 2, 10 = 110

The poet in her is rather entertained at having risked life and limb against deadly traps for their prize not to be lost wonders from another era, but merely a glimpse of the beauty of a long forgotten flower.

On more practical matters, the warrior will collect several of the spent darts for possible later use (assuming they have not broken, and can be collected without injuring ones self) and suggest they move on to inspect the adjacent tomb. Basic procedure should be to search the room before attempting to open a tomb, then if safe to employ mind hands or a strong animal form to open the way.

Rolling if necessary, but Jan's pool isn't the best for searching the room, she should instead be offering a dice from cooperation to another character's roll.
>>
No. 974896 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 3, 4, 7, 3, 7, 3, 2, 5, 7, 9, 6, 5, 4, 8, 6, 2, 8, 10, 10, 2, 8, 7, 5, 9, 8, 8, 10, 3, 9, 8, 2, 8, 7, 9, 4, 10, 3, 8, 7, 4, 7, 9, 10, 8, 9, 4, 5, 2, 9, 3, 5, 2, 5, 7, 10, 7, 10, 4, 10 = 378

>>974850
Seeing the lady with the sword remove some of the darts from the floor, Noir notes that some of his companions don't have elevated wooden sandals to keep their toes away from the makeshift caltrops now littering the floor. He thinks for a moment and then whispers something to desert Locust, who then buzzes off in a swarm to try and coax a mechanical servant to clean up the fallen darts and collect them for everyones later use.

As the clean up proceeds, he saddles up behind Jan Do to peer over her shoulder at the room, asking her questions in flametongue and humming along to himself as he crawls along the floors, spreading out his arms in wide arcs, pressing his ear against various flagstones, and tapping to feel for reverberations further within that might indication some sort of trapped mechanism.

Rolling to search the tomb for traps with Jan Do.
>>
No. 974897 ID: d9acdc

rolled 8, 7, 10, 9, 3, 1, 7, 9, 2, 5, 6, 9, 9, 6, 10, 2, 9, 3, 10, 5, 6, 4, 4, 9, 8, 2, 2, 5, 3, 8, 4, 7, 2, 10, 2, 3, 2, 5, 8, 5, 6, 10, 5, 9, 6, 7, 10, 7, 7, 8, 6, 2, 2, 3, 1, 9, 6, 2, 5, 7 = 347

>>974896
Desert Locust flies off to retrieve a butlerbot which can assist with clean up, wanting to avoid further injury on the sharpened darts. Afterwards she swarms into the room with Noir and Jan Do, attempting to wriggle into any holes, cracks, or crevices which others may not be able to see or fit into, making a map of the areas behind the walls using her body as the ink and her mind, admittedly rather dispersed currently, as the paper.
>>
No. 974923 ID: 4424d1

>>974846
"It looks like there's all sorts of people gathered up in this place. Do you think one of them would agree to teach me how to fight?"
Viatrix follows Tasnim to where the others are, less out of curiosity at the excursion and more out of fear of being left alone in a dangerous and unknown place.
>>
No. 974933 ID: ac57f8

>>974896
"Alright, this will take some time for the Butler to arrive, but in the mean time," As she talked, two push brooms appeared next to each other, each running from the hole to the door, and ran around the room, sweeping up all of the shards into a dustbin in the back of the room. "That will take about two seconds."

She mentally picks up the mental dustbin.
>>
No. 974955 ID: f57349

>>974668
Years ago, during your journeyman work in blacksmithing, you once visited a shop built around a set of trip hammers. Very next thing you remember after the master pulling a lever to release water and start the machinery for the beginning of a day's work was hours later, waking up in custody and facing assault charges because you kicked some esteemed citizen in the face while fleeing.

Something around here is dreaming really hard. More than twelve dead, less than eleven bodies, exactly thirteen tombs. Inward-turning fire, reflected across a ninth serpent's mouth. Where is the symmetrical air? Where is...?

You're hyperventilating.
>>
No. 974968 ID: 0640da

rolled 6, 5, 3, 7, 3, 1, 4, 7, 8, 6, 10, 6, 2, 9, 8, 7, 8, 1, 2, 7, 4, 7, 4, 1, 5, 3, 1, 1, 1, 9, 4, 9, 2, 10, 4, 10, 1, 2, 8, 9, 2, 2, 5, 6, 2, 2, 4, 5, 8, 5, 1, 8, 5, 5, 9, 2, 10, 2, 3, 8 = 299

>>974955
Patches elicits a loud and high pitched scream, scrambling around and holding her body. "No, no, no, no..." She clutches her ears, squeezing them, and mumbling to herself. It's all she can do to not panic, even as she's gibbering... "Stop... stop stop! Everyone, stop!" She cries. "Don't wake it up... don't wake it up..." Sobbing, the useless Patches tries to catch her breath, clearly having trouble... "Thirteen graves, more than twelve dead, less than eleven bodies... nine serpents, fire, FIRE... maw of the serpent... thirteen graves, more than twelve dead, less than eleven bodies... nine serpents, fire, fire... maw of the serpent..."

Patches chants to herself-- perhaps she's hoping if she repeats the words, she won't forget? If she doesn't forget, the dream doesn't end... if the dream doesn't end, nobody gets hurt...
>>
No. 974987 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 4, 6, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 9, 10, 4, 2, 5, 3, 10, 2, 4, 9, 10, 7 = 116

>>974923
"If you wish to learn to defend yourself, I am sure they will be willing." the doctor reassures her companion in skytongue. "Hmm. Although it might also be practical to search out new animal forms. A shape that can avoid a fight might be valuable when you cannot simply jet away or control the skies."

>>974968
Tasnim-the-woodpecker lands in front of the god-blood several feet down from the entrance to the dart-trapped tomb, seating back again the stone wall and gibbering. A moment later a crouching (and wincing) human woman is studying the distraught rabbit in concern. "A panic attack? Some manner of malign spirit?"

Rolling diagnosis patient, trying to see what's wrong with Patches, and to help her as appropriate.
Perception 3 + Medicine 4 + First Perception Excellency 3 - Stone of Acrid Understanding 2 + Stunt.
The stunt should upgrade from resonating with her motivation.

That's +4m from stunt awards and -4m for the shapeshift and excellency, so no change in mote pool.
>>
No. 974988 ID: f57349

>>974987
> rolled 1, 4, 6, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 9, 10
Six successes is more than enough to accurately diagnose a pathological fear of loud noises. Short of neutralizing actual problematic sounds at their source - which might well be something entirely beyond the range of human hearing, like a dog whistle - or longer-term mental healing to unravel the root of the phobia, obvious options for treatment would include mild sedatives and covering the ears with sound-absorbing material.
>>
No. 975023 ID: 4424d1

rolled 8, 7, 5, 4, 4, 9, 10, 1, 8, 8, 6, 1, 8, 1 = 80

>>974987
The younger Lunar winces squeamishly at Tasnim's mention of an animal form, slowing down and picking up pace again as she regains some composure, distracting herself by trying to commit as much of The Manse's condition and actual state of disrepair to memory, trying to understand what combination of causes brought it to such a sorry state and over what period of time, following the whatever symbols are left on the walls, the way essence would flow throughout the building and just how much it may have been designed as a place for people to live in, in the first place.
"I uh... it didn't occur to me before you mentioned it, actually. Do they still call it "Heart's Blood" out here in the far future?"

Rolling one of several assessments of the Manse's overall condition- Structural integrity, busted machinery if any, life support such as light, water systems air conditioning etc...
Perception 2, Lore 3(+3 First Age), Savant 4, +1 Success from 2nd Perception Excellency, +stunt.
>>
No. 975032 ID: afdebc

rolled 8, 6, 3, 7, 10, 4, 8, 9, 3, 8, 10, 10, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 8, 6 = 110

>>974988
Ah, well, that's readily treatable then. Tasnim closes her eyes and concentrates, preparing a mild sedative- intended to induce calmness, but not unconsciousness, and dosed appropriately for Patches' weight (fortunately, the Doctor had lifted her patient the day prior).

Once ready, Doctor Tasnim Violette addresses her patient to grab her attention "Patches," and then in the moment she is off guard and no longer babbling, pops her pointer finder into the rabbit's mouth.

While the surprised bunny mumbles around her unexpected pacifier and its chemical payload, the No Moon addresses her Changing Moon companion in Skytongue without turning from her patient. "Icicle, would you be willing to provide a pair or earmuffs? I believe I need to prescribe our companion hearing protection."

Mechanically, activating Scorpion and Toad Mastery to create (what I assume is) a resources 2 dose of sedative.
>>
No. 975034 ID: afdebc

>>975023
>"I uh... it didn't occur to me before you mentioned it, actually. Do they still call it "Heart's Blood" out here in the far future?"
"Yes, although I believe there are other names for it." She pauses at Viatrix's unease, "...if it makes you uncomfortable, I have heard there are ways to perform a bloodless hunt, though I have not the measure of it myself."
>>
No. 975035 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 3, 1, 7, 10, 6, 2, 1, 2, 6, 9, 8, 8, 8, 2, 9, 3, 7, 10, 8, 7, 1, 8, 9, 1, 9, 7, 5, 1, 4, 7, 6, 2, 9, 9, 8, 9, 6, 4, 9, 7, 5, 1, 8, 5, 2, 5, 8, 7, 1, 8, 7, 7, 5, 1, 6, 9, 4, 9, 5 = 350

>>975032
"--eleven... fire..." Patches' blinking slows as the drug begins to work on her body. "...urgh..." She rubs her ears. "...no, wait, I'm... I ain't crazy, why are ya... someone's here, wit' us... they's asleep... we can't let 'em wake up, they'll destroy... y'all..." Through the drugs, she tries her best to convince the doctor of the sincerity of her beliefs. "I ain't... lying... I really heard their v, voice... please... listen..." She limply paws at Tasnim, exhausted.
>>
No. 975111 ID: f57349

>>974850
>>974896
No traps found in the storeroom at the bottom of the west back stairs. What's your procedure for getting that next statue out of the way?
>>974897
Soon enough, a recharged butlerbot has gathered up all the scattered adamant darts. After it occurs to somebody to order it to stop reloading the trap, you've got about 50 or 60 pounds of the material at hand, but at least two-thirds of those remaining loose darts are damaged somehow.
>>
No. 975132 ID: f57349

>>975023
The manse as a whole is a masterpiece, with a lot of functions you can't fully understand, but the feeling you get looking at it right now is that same horrified fascination as watching some brilliant artisan's cutting-edge prototype in super-slow-motion during a crash test: there are so many little things wrong, or right up against the edge of what's possible, that you don't want to look away for fear of missing the first point of failure.

From a quick survey of the exterior, those eight golden mirrors inset high up on the walls look like they might be disruptor lenses, used for refitting energy weapons to be less lethal yet more effective against essence users. Probably an early model, bulky and inefficient but low-maintenance. Each one is held in place by four stone hooks which resemble fangs.
Spires on the roof look like the business end of a standard lightning ballista, but they're laid out as a long-range effector array rather than unidirectional emitters.
Hole in the roof is contaminated with a fungal bioweapon that's been universally proscribed since the end of the Time of Cascading Years. It shouldn't be possible for that stuff to be surviving in direct sunlight.
>>
No. 975133 ID: d9acdc

rolled 9, 2, 2, 4, 10, 6, 10, 4, 8, 5, 10, 4, 3, 7, 8, 8, 9, 8, 3, 5, 3, 2, 3, 7, 2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6, 7, 10, 2, 10, 5, 5, 4, 1, 3, 5, 3, 3, 8, 3, 5, 10, 4, 3, 1, 4, 6, 10, 4, 4, 7, 5, 1, 10, 4, 7 = 315

>>975111
> What's your procedure for getting that next statue out of the way?
Confident in his ability to search out hidden dangers, Noir simply hooks an arm between the statue's legs, directly under the groin, and hoists it onto his shoulders; Jan likely would have protested his reckless actions if she hadn't been drawn to the wailing of the rabbit. Desert Locust on the other hand, made a swift escape after she noticed the man in black preparing to lift the payload.

Setting the statue down by Ada and Tasnim, Noir saunters back into the room to descend once more and see if anything more interesting than flowers have been left behind.

Rolling to loot the room.
>>
No. 975158 ID: f57349

>>975133
The body in this one appears to be wearing armor. Turns out it's more meant to look fancy than provide full protection, though, and some of the flexible parts crumble to dust when you touch them. With some new material (exactly the kind of stuff picked up on a recent shopping trip, as it happens) those plates could be reassembled as a 2-dot orichalcum reinforced buff jacket.

Unfortunately, when you moved the sarcophagus slightly to get a better look, a thick stone slab slid into place about four feet above your head. That didn't trip Surprise Anticipation Method because the danger wasn't immediate - you've still got access to about three hundred cubic feet of reasonably fresh air.
>>
No. 975160 ID: c1606e

rolled 2, 2, 1, 10, 7, 6, 2, 1, 4, 8, 9, 9, 8, 9, 5, 7, 1, 3, 1, 10, 4, 7, 9, 8, 4, 5, 8, 1, 10, 2, 8, 4, 2, 2, 4, 10, 7, 10, 2, 10, 5, 9, 8, 5, 5, 1, 4, 2, 5, 3, 4, 1, 7, 5, 4, 5, 10, 8, 7, 5 = 325

>>975158
Noir notes to himself that obviously he shouldn't get too cocky. He begins winding up for a resounding punch, winging his good should one, two, three, then four time, but stops himself short of landing what would surely be a thunderous blow; are there any indicators that damaging the structure might activate additional security measures? Can't go around trying to bust through walls if he'll ultimately fall short and turn himself into a living pin cushion.

Rolling to search of additional threats or mechanisms through which the trap might operate.
>>
No. 975161 ID: c1606e

rolled 8, 8, 1, 6, 3, 1, 5, 1, 2, 2, 10, 4, 5, 3, 7, 4, 8, 6, 2, 5, 5, 8, 3, 9, 8, 5, 1, 2, 6, 8, 3, 3, 5, 9, 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 9, 6, 5, 6, 1, 8, 2, 4, 9, 1, 4, 1, 3, 2, 4, 9, 9, 8, 5, 4, 5 = 286

>>975133
Desert Locust, somewhat worried by the caviler attitude of the night caste, swarms around Tasnim and Jan, attempting to push them towards the tomb Noir just sauntered back into, combing both the weight of her mass on their backs, and the fact that she's only left one path open to them.

Could be constituted as a grapple I think, in combat ticks? Or potentially they both just get the gist and move of their own accord, rather than taking it as some sort of attack or resisting.
>>
No. 975192 ID: 4424d1

>>975034
>>975132
"I won't dip it in honey, the idea does make me squirm for sure, but with all of us in danger of attack, I oughtta be looking for ways to help out, not cling on to luxuries. Speaking of, do hot showers still exist, miss- Vio" ..." Viatrix spins slowly as she takes in the size of the place, eyes darting from the spires on the roof to the hole, searching for a growth pattern for the fungus as well as the thickness of the exposed roof
"hmm, Doc.. Doctor Violette? Nah" she mumbles to herself, looking for newer, more appropriate ways to call her new companion, gaze still firmly fixed on the ceiling.
"Doctor Tas- oof"
Tasnim hears the other Lunar's voice rudely interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a person colliding with a wall, followed by the sound of one landing on the floor.
"M' foine!" Viatrix calls out from the ground, one hand raised to signal that she's fine, and the other covering and rubbing her face.
"T'was just my face and bum. Toughest bits of me, really"
She points up at the ceiling while scrambling to her feet "Doc, that is some i really wicked, really illegal fungus growing up there"
>>
No. 975197 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 7, 5, 10, 8, 3, 8, 3, 10, 2, 5, 9, 2, 6, 5, 6, 10, 9, 5, 10 = 125

>>975158
>>975161

>>975111
>Soon enough, a recharged butlerbot has gathered up all the scattered adamant darts. After it occurs to somebody to order it to stop reloading the trap

While not the most suited of their number for smashing through barriers of solid stone (and it would be preferable to not damage hallowed tombs, regardless), nor the most suited for the disarming of ancient mechanism, Jan Do does quickly realize there is one being here apparently familiar with the maintenance and operation of the mechanical traps of the forgotten manse.

The samurai turns to the mechanical servant, it having completed its task of tidying the adjoining room and orders it to reset the trap sealing off the tomb before them.

(I have no idea what dice would be associated with this roll, but have some but in case).
>>
No. 975203 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 8, 4, 10, 3, 7, 3, 1, 9, 7, 4, 3, 9, 8, 1, 7, 3, 10, 9, 2 = 117

>>975035
"Please calm yourself, Patches. Take a breath. You can explain after you are under control."

Tasnim attempts to soothe her patient, waiting out the dwindling hysterics as the drugs take effect, as a statue is set down behind her.

>>975192
>Speaking of, do hot showers still exist
"Adamant Strix and Patches in Reality were working to repairs the manse's baths and plumbing I be... I'm sorry, illegal fungus?" The No Moon trails off, squinting upwards towards ceiling of the grand salon. "If there's a dangerous narcotic growing here, I have overlooked it."

Reflexive Lore 3 or Medicine 4 + Intelligence 5 check to see Tasnim recognizes the plant in question, I suppose. (Mostly an invitation for Viatrix to share the details, though).
>>
No. 975204 ID: f57349

>>975203
If Viatrix only just noticed the infestation, you'd have to be in the attic near the hole rather than in the hearthroom - presumably getting ready to re-plant the Traveler's Staff near sundown.
>>
No. 975205 ID: 0640da

rolled 7, 3, 5, 6, 8, 4, 2, 1, 2, 9, 2, 8, 7, 10, 5, 10, 8, 8, 7, 2, 9, 2, 3, 8, 2, 3, 4, 1, 10, 5, 2, 1, 10, 7, 6, 6, 10, 4, 5, 10, 4, 5, 3, 6, 5, 9, 6, 1, 8, 1, 8, 10, 8, 7, 3, 2, 6, 1, 2, 2 = 319

>>975203
Patches steadies her breath... "But I'm tellin' y'all... there's somethin' asleep in this manor that hasn't woken up yet..." She breathes. "There's thirsty tombs, more than twelve that dead, less than eleven of them bodies... the ninth body... the ninth body's still here, you get it?" She pulls Tasnim closer, or herself. "Could be... ninth to die, or the ninth tomb... I'm not hysteric, I told you... we need to stop it. The ninth serpent... we can't wake it up."
>>
No. 975206 ID: f57349

>>975197
Butlerbot fetches the crowbar, and an armload of kindling, then descends the shaft with as much silent grace as a sack full of hammers and frying pans. After a lot of creaking and straining the slab is shifted a few milimeters, sticks of suitable width are hastily inserted to hold it from slipping back, then the cycle repeats. Might take a while.
>>
No. 975209 ID: ac57f8

>>975160
Since Ada and Tas were stunted as having been in/near this room as the butler bot goes to work the crowbar to help pry it open, Ada just envelops the slab with her telekinesis, and spreads it out over the slab, filling in the cracks of the mechanism that sealed it shut as she activates Essence Dissecting Stare to get a better look through the stone, and like a machine, works to unlatch the locking mechanism for quick release. If the easy approach fails, she'll just turn her hand into a craft (Lightning) jack used for lifting heavy vehicles turned sideways to push the slab enough to let Noir out.

Essence 3+Occult 4 + Stunt + Tool Bonus(?) feat of strength to help push the slab open.

WP 10+ Occult 1+Stunt is equal to or greater than Noirs 15.
>>
No. 975210 ID: ac57f8

Fox, mean while decided to follow the other two Lunars and Patches, making a pair of Lapine headphones that fit her own head awfully.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure how a fungus can be illegal, but if the house is supposed to repair itself, that would explain why there's a hole in the roof."
>>
No. 975216 ID: ac57f8

rolled 10, 5, 8, 4, 5, 5, 9, 1, 3, 5, 7, 4, 3, 6, 5, 3, 9, 4, 3, 6, 4, 6, 7, 1, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 4, 5, 1, 8, 10, 10, 7, 7, 4, 4, 8, 5, 9, 4, 2, 7, 5, 7, 8, 6, 6, 1, 3, 1, 10, 2, 8, 6, 7, 8, 5, 3, 4, 10, 6, 2, 1, 8, 2, 5, 1, 6, 9, 5, 10, 7, 10, 8, 4, 10, 5, 9, 5, 7, 8, 8, 2, 7, 5, 5, 10, 10, 9, 5, 4, 10, 2, 8, 9, 6 = 571

>>
No. 975256 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 4, 8, 4, 5, 10, 10, 10, 10, 7, 8, 2, 7, 1, 5, 4, 4, 9, 1, 8, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 8, 3, 10, 2, 3, 1, 2, 10, 1, 9, 3, 7, 5, 7, 1, 8, 5, 1, 5, 2, 9, 6, 10, 10, 10, 4, 2, 7, 6, 10, 4, 9, 10 = 334

>>975210
"...you're all lookin' at me like I'm speakin' nonsense." Patches struggles to make the earmuffs fit on her ears. She doesn't complain, though-- the noise stopped. "...I just had a panic attack when I was listening in. I told y'all what everything I've seen. Heard. Ain't that much differin', for me. These ears can hear stuff."
>>
No. 975274 ID: f57349

>>975209
>>975216
Once the slab is back in place and Noir is out of the way, butlerbot sets to work painting and polishing the stone surface until seams where the slab emerged are once again virtually imperceptible.
>>
No. 975286 ID: afdebc

>>975206
>>975274
The Dusk frowns at the artificial butler's slow attempt to pry open the crypt.

"Thank you for your assistance, once again, Adamant Strix. It would seem the mechanical servants are either not familiar with hidden release mechanisms for the traps, are not authorized to make use of such, or they do not exist."

Considered with the self-sealing icebox, this appears to be a trend of recklessness from the architect of this place.

Jan Do will suggest leaving the armor in place for now, as Tasnim Violette has not yet completed her study of the spell that could repair it, and disturbing the pieces before them might be counterproductive.
>>
No. 975287 ID: afdebc

>>975274
"I'm sorry, I was merely waiting for you to calm down." the doctor addresses her patient in skytongue.

"You can hear the dead, then? Have you experienced similar attacks before?"
>>
No. 975291 ID: ab2446

>>975203
>"Adamant Strix and Patches in Reality were working to repairs the manse's baths and plumbing I be... I'm sorry, illegal fungus?" The No Moon trails off, squinting upwards towards ceiling of the grand salon. "If there's a dangerous narcotic growing here, I have overlooked it."

Nodding vigorously in agreement, white brows furrowed and lilac eyes glistening, Viatrix reaches into a large side pocket in her jumpsuit and takes out an incredibly dense booklet, flipping rapidly through its pages while beginning to read from memory.
"I'm uh, not sure how super tough you'd need to be to consider this uh... a narcotic, Doc.
This mean mushroom isn't an ordinary biological hazard. Maker I hope I'm wrong, but-"
She stops flipping through the booklet, eyes now looking down at a specific page.
"Object is classified as extremely hazardous engineered flora/fauna banned under Deliberative law since RY2544. Physical contact is strictly prohibited. Alert others to the imminent hazard and contact Deliberative authorities immediately. If none present, see instructions for preliminary containment"
>>
No. 975301 ID: 0640da

rolled 2, 9, 9, 1, 9, 7, 6, 5, 10, 2, 4, 9, 5, 3, 7, 2, 4, 7, 1, 2, 9, 3, 5, 9, 7, 1, 5, 1, 10, 2, 5, 8, 7, 1, 7, 9, 4, 4, 10, 9, 1, 4, 7, 6, 3, 7, 9, 2, 10, 5, 6, 3, 5, 4, 7, 2, 3, 10, 8, 3 = 325

>>975287
Patches responds in kind. "Well... I don't know about dead. I had plenty a people dyin' round me. Maybe my ex wouldn' a said much, but I think I woulda heard it when all my other frien's and family died if I could hear dyin'... no. I see dreams. Side effect a my heritage... manifestin' of my will. When you close your eyes, you make a soun'... and I can hear everything you're thinkin'. Peer into your heart, a lil..." She shudders. "I don't want to see inside the ninth serpent's reflectin... mouth. Ugh. I don't even want to know about the screams for air... air ain't symmetrical." She shudders. "But when I heard that noise, an' it didn't go away... somethin's alive in here, Miss Mammoth. An' I think we should let it sleep..."
>>
No. 975305 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 9, 6, 2, 8, 7, 7, 2, 6, 3, 2, 4, 7, 1, 10, 3, 10, 9, 3, 5 = 113

After Noir's rescue, Jan Do confers with the Night-caste, and confirms the hour. She speaks in Old Realm to Noir, Desert Lily and Adamant Strix:

"We have expended half of the our allotted time for exploring thing day, and the sun is setting. I must ascend to the attic to plant the Traveler's Staff for the night. Come, let us reunite with our allies, and decide on our next course of action."

The samurai will climb the nearby stairs all the way to the highest floor, and once in the attic, and under the dying sunlight falling from a green-edged unintended skylight, offers a pale hand once more to Clever Fox.

Committing 3m peripheral to the Traveler's Staff.
>>
No. 975319 ID: d9acdc

rolled 8, 1, 6, 7, 1, 9, 1, 9, 2, 8, 7, 4, 9, 3, 9, 10, 8, 1, 1, 3, 4, 3, 5, 3, 2, 8, 1, 5, 9, 9, 8, 9, 7, 10, 10, 6, 6, 9, 8, 10, 9, 3, 2, 3, 10, 4, 5, 8, 8, 1, 10, 8, 8, 1, 7, 9, 5, 8, 8, 2 = 358

>>970721
>>975305
>Door in the east stairwell, barely concealed, leads to stairs continuing further down. It's not in the blueprints Ada found, and butlerbots insistently describe it as a broom closet.
>Come, let us reunite with our allies, and decide on our next course of action.

Given the rather disappointing contents of the tombs thus far, what with the presence of raiders from times gone past, Noir thinks investigating the secret passageway may be more exciting and rewarding, if the others are amenable.
>>
No. 975385 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 10, 6, 8, 6, 4, 4, 7, 4, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 10, 8, 2, 1, 9, 4 = 109

>>975319
As there are no objections and Noir's suggestion seems sound, Jan Do will offer her support. Suggested marching order for descending staircase:

Des (distributed around in swarm form)
Noir, Jan Do, Clever Fox, Tasnim Violette, Viatrix Senta, Adamant Strix, Patches

This puts our Night in the scout position with the best awareness and investigation scores, a sense-enhancing charm, and Essence sight, to hopefully identify traps in advance. If any do trigger, he's armored, and has the capability for flight (if the stairs drop out, say). Jan stands as another combatant behind Noir, and this also biases coverage from Hearing the Unspoken Word ahead of the group, while Fluttering Cry of Warning should still cover the column.

If something comes up from behind, Patches has enhanced hearing and armor, and Ada's mind-hands should be able to act past Patches. Ada's rear placement also means we're got Essence sight at both ends of the group, and mind-hands might be used to catch anyone ahead of her who falls.

Tasnim and Viatrix are probably the squishiest members of the group, so they're in the center. Fox less so, so she's biased towards the direction we expect trouble from (and next to Jan).

Committing 3m personal to Hearing the Unspoken Word.
>>
No. 975388 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 9, 5, 6, 10, 6, 5, 1, 2, 9, 2, 4, 6, 10, 4, 7, 5, 8, 1, 4 = 113

>>975385
Tasnim nods, spectacles glinting in the dying light as she agrees with this matching order and suddenly changes shape, becoming a tawny 8-tailed dog. Tail-tips brush against the shins of Viatrix Sentra's colorful jumpsuit as mole hound assumes the position ahead of the junior (or very senior) Lunar.

If there are any mechanical traps in the secret staircase, hopefully they'll be apparent to her tremor-sense.

Base dice pool is Perception 3 + Awareness 1 - Stone of Acrid Understanding 2, but if we're rolling individually to check for danger instead of treating it as cooperation based on the best dice pool (Noir or Ada I think) I'm willing to buy 3 more dice with the First Perception Excellency (not sure if we count as cooperating or not if we're using different senses?). There's potentially bonus dice from the form too.
>>
No. 975410 ID: f57349

>>975388
Passive echolocation from everybody's footsteps reveals a series of hollows under the floor, like wedge-shaped horizontal bars of lower density material, with... bubbles? Harder thump would help a lot for picking out fine detail.
>>975319
Once they know where to look, Ada and Noir can confirm the anomaly with essence sight, but it's right near the limit of how much solid material they can see through, so analysis may be tricky.
>>975385
>(if the stairs drop out, say)
Jan Do, always mindful of her footing, notes that these stairs have a slightly different cross-sectional shape than the ones in the main stairwells up above. Rather than a rounded lip, each flat stair tread meets the riser in an edge nearly as sharp as a hollow-ground blade.

Patches spots a ceramic knob on the floor just outside the 'broom closet,' which she's somehow utterly certain is the same one that beaned her in the forehead once before >>962657 and has a momentary desire to give it a playful kick.
>>
No. 975429 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 2, 9, 8, 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 1, 3, 9, 4, 6, 7, 6, 10, 1, 9, 1, 5, 6, 9, 1, 9, 1, 8, 7, 9, 1, 2, 3, 2, 7, 1, 1, 8, 10, 9, 8, 3, 8, 6, 3, 9, 7, 10, 7, 7, 8, 8, 4, 4, 4, 3, 8, 5, 9, 8, 8 = 337

>>975410
"Mah old eenie minie..." Patches' eye's narrow into slits. She debates kicking the little bastard... it beaned her in the face last morning or so, and now it's rolled out for a round two. "So y'all think y'all kin step up to me, huh?" She shuffles over to it, briefly pausing to reconsider kicking it...

...and deciding she really wants revenge. She turns away from the group, not wanting to kick it at them, and kicks it with all her heart, hoping the least god in this piece of metal feels this one past when it's melted into some other shape. Kick it! Kick! Kick!
>>
No. 975458 ID: d9acdc

rolled 6, 9, 5, 7, 8, 8, 8, 1, 7, 2, 7, 10, 3, 6, 3, 3, 10, 9, 3, 4, 4, 2, 2, 8, 9, 4, 9, 7, 7, 3, 6, 5, 2, 7, 7, 7, 6, 1, 6, 1, 4, 4, 10, 5, 2, 8, 3, 8, 1, 10, 4, 5, 7, 5, 2, 10, 5, 5, 1, 10 = 331

>>975429
Noir turns back to see what Patches is commenting on, then sees her winding up for a kick- okay, so, worst case scenario a trap goes off. The floor coming out from under them? Turning into blades, or a slide maybe? Unless something is meant to come out of the floor and hit us. Maybe those wedge shapes intend to pop upwards, and the "bubbles" are some sort of alchemical fuel it's going to spray on us?

Best practice seems to getting away from the floor before Patches kick connects; Noir activates the windblade, hops on, and kicks backwards towards Tasnim to grab her and pick her up in case the floor becomes a threat.
>>
No. 975535 ID: f57349

Your formation completely implodes at the first sign of trouble, four exalts nearly tripping over each other in their haste to get out of the way of whatever's coming.

Patches kicks a pebble. It bounces down the stairs, then improbably back up, toward her forehead. This time she manages to catch it.

Adamant Strix notes that the pebble is faintly wyld-tainted, and aligned with the constellation of the Peacock. Some people call them miser pennies, loadstones, lucky rocks... long thaumobabble short, an otherwise ordinary piece of stone (or in this case fired clay) with an unusually strong metaphysical sense of ownership, resulting in "boomerang" behavior until deliberately traded away. Thaumaturgy can transfer that property to some more useful item.

No trap seems to have been triggered. The stairs descend fifteen feet vertically over the course of twenty feet horizontally, then the hallway appears to round a corner to the right. So far you've managed to traverse less than half that distance.
>>
No. 975537 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 9, 1, 10, 2, 5, 10, 10, 6, 9, 3, 2, 3, 1, 8, 9, 2, 8, 3, 8, 2 = 111

>>975535
The 8-tailed, oversized dog held in a one-armed hug around her midsection licks the face of the armored helmet above her, a canine expression of thanks and a request to put-me-down-now-please.

Once restored to her paws, she pads over to the top off the stairs and thumps the ground to get a better scan of the underground components.

Perception 3 + Awareness 1 + First Perception Excellency 3
Strength 6 on the ground-pulse
>>
No. 975540 ID: f57349

>>975537
The top step pivots downward on impact. Simple cylindrical hinge concealed a dozen holes, each corked by a perfect sphere of red jade, now squirting upward on jets of... tar?
> Dex 2, Dodge 1, Essence 3, stunt 2
> rolled 9, 1, 10, 2, 5, 10, 10, 6
Not only do you narrowly avoid catching a fire pearl with the weak joint between armor plates under your chin, none of it even seems to have gunked up your fur. That oily stuff stinks something awful, though you could've sworn there wasn't even a trace of the smell a moment ago.

Sounded like separate 'bars' at first, but that was really a single complex reservoir of thixotropic oil, holding steps up by hydrostatic pressure. There's a vertical curtain or web of tar blocking the way forward, with those fire pearls embedded in it.
>>
No. 975580 ID: ac57f8

rolled 9, 5, 7, 7, 4, 2, 9, 9, 6, 1, 4, 10, 10, 10, 9, 4, 6, 2, 5, 1, 9, 9, 3, 5, 4, 2, 1, 7, 10, 10, 2, 5, 2, 3, 9, 9, 6, 5, 9, 10, 2, 1, 4, 4, 8, 3, 8, 8, 1, 6, 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 1, 5, 8, 6, 5, 2, 7, 7, 3, 3, 4, 2, 3, 1, 5, 8, 4, 5, 1, 4, 6, 6, 7, 5, 3, 10, 10, 10, 10, 1, 4, 9, 3, 8, 5, 9, 3, 9, 4, 9, 8, 2, 1, 8, 7 = 540

>>975540
Standing at the base of the stairs as all of this started happening before she started walking up, Ada just reaches out to pick up the Fire-Pearls 3 at a time from the web of tar that they are set in.

If nothing goes wrong, I want to study to make sure we won't fuck up the stairs by removing the vertical tar web, and if it is possible, cut it away with her mind hand knifes.
>>
No. 975588 ID: f57349

>>975580
The stairs in question lead down, not up... unless you're talking about the base of the larger stairs, leading from the basement back up to the entry hall?

Are you trying to extract the fire pearls using your actual hands, or telekinesis, or fireplace tongs, or what?
>>
No. 975590 ID: ac57f8

>>975588
I'm sorry, I wasn't entirely sure what the direction of anything was, but I'm trying to pick them up with telekinesis, since I'm not about to get myself burned on a firepearl.
>>
No. 975595 ID: f57349

>>975590
Back in the good old days, deliberately miscalibrating a fire pearl so that any direct contact with an Obvious charm could set off one of it's three daily zero-mote ignitions would be a misdemeanor punishable by fines up to two and a quarter pounds of jade and/or suspension of the perpetrator's incendiary-weapons license, if any, in addition to criminal charges if actual harm were caused thereby. A few minutes with a hyperion key - or the telekinetic equivalent - could prevent that problem from recurring.

First, though, you've all got to deal with the 250-gallon mass of modified kerosene which is now burning, filling the area with black smoke, noxious fumes, and of course excessive heat.
>>
No. 975742 ID: afdebc

rolled 4, 5, 5, 7, 2, 6, 9, 10, 9, 10, 5, 6, 2, 8, 6, 3, 4, 7, 10, 7 = 125

Jan Do draws he soulsteel blade, adopts an inverted, overhand grip, and brings the tip down into the flaming oil, while standing as far back from the flames as the length of the blade permits. With a moment of concentration, frost begins to condense on the blade, as utter cold flows forth from the socketed hearthstone.

"I do not believe this will be a permanent solution, but I believe this will buy time for one."

Spending 4m on the Crystal of the Frozen North to attempt to freeze the oil. I'm not sure how long I have until air becomes an issue due to smoke, but Stamina 5 + Resistance 1 is the relevant pool, and resistance is favored so I can buy addition dots.
>>
No. 975752 ID: afdebc

>>975742
Actually, you know what? Might as well spend 7m instead of 4m, try to freeze the entire 250 gallon volume.
>>
No. 975814 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 10, 5, 6, 1, 10, 3, 3, 1, 8, 5, 1, 10, 7, 6, 2, 4, 7, 8, 3, 10, 9, 10, 8, 3, 2, 5, 5, 1, 9, 2, 10, 4, 4, 1, 2, 8, 8, 3, 1, 5, 3, 5, 10, 1, 3, 6, 10, 3, 9, 5, 9, 1, 7, 5, 3, 1, 3, 3, 6 = 308

"A-aaah..." Patches glances between the fire, and Miss Do, whom she respects and doesn't want to see get hurt. "I'll go fetch a pail--" In her head, WATER beats FIRE. She halfhazardly tosses a few blankets and sheets out of her bag, wrapping one around her face. "For th' smoke." Then, she dashes off to get water from the kitchen, running on all fours and leaping all the way there.
>>
No. 975815 ID: ac57f8

rolled 2, 7, 1, 1, 10, 6, 1, 9, 5, 3, 7, 7, 7, 5, 1, 10, 10, 8, 5, 10, 5, 6, 5, 7, 5, 4, 2, 6, 10, 9, 5, 7, 10, 4, 6, 3, 1, 5, 6, 2 = 223

Alright, they have someone getting water for the fire, so might as well apply the simplest and least forceful tools for the job as she creates a giant pot and lid with a ladle and starts by picking up the Fire Pearls with the ladle, which might cause them to fire again, but won't actually hurt her mind hands. Then once those are in the pot she starts to work on scooping out any of the still flaming oil from the ice pockets they're contained in.
>>
No. 975820 ID: af062e

rolled 10, 6, 5, 7, 3, 1, 6, 7, 7, 5, 5, 10, 2, 10, 7, 2, 6 = 99

Watching the scrambling of feet and quick exchange of ideas among her strange new companions, Viatrix finds her glance creeping down to the service automaton almost trampled in the commotion.
She squats down to have a better look at the model and construction, suspecting to find even more illegal things the longer she explores the place.

Mechanically, Viatrix is inspecting Butlerbot to first notice weather if it's a model she recognizes, weather if it's been tampered with or if it has been augmented in any way, and if it's something she's never seen before, what could its form tell about its function.
Intelligence 5, Lore 3(+3 first age), savant 4, plus stunt.
>>
No. 975861 ID: f57349

By the time Patches gets back with a bucket, the fire's out. Might take a while for the smoke to fully dissipate, though.
>>975820
Looks like a simplified variant Folding Servant, as explained back here: >>960499 Given a stock of prepackaged spare parts or a magitech machine shop you could refurbish them to like-new condition easily enough, maybe even make some improvements.
>>
No. 975864 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 9, 8, 1, 3, 8, 2, 9, 2, 2, 7, 4, 4, 9, 5, 3, 6, 8, 7, 7 = 110

>>975861
>By the time Patches gets back with a bucket, the fire's out. Might take a while for the smoke to fully dissipate, though.
Is the smoke sufficient to impair sight or breathing, and if so, what area(s) are effected? Or perhaps the question is better phrased in terms of: how far were we forced to retreat to stop coughing and/or in order to see?

If the stairs are still perceptible, what condition are they in? How far did the oil and/or oily ice manage to cover?

Did Adamant Strix successfully extricate the burning pearls, and are they now in her possession?

Have some dice, probably Perception 3 + Awareness 1, since these are mostly sitrep questions.
>>
No. 975865 ID: f57349

>>975864
East stairwell is nearly opaque (except to essence sight, of course) all the way to the attic, but it hasn't spread horizontally all that much yet. Adjacent rooms have visible haze and an intensely unpleasant smell, probably bad enough air to deal bashing damage per hour. Far aide of the arena is safe enough to breathe easy, at least for now, or anywhere else at least ten yards away from the source.

Quick headcount or use of Hearing The Unspoken Word says Adamant Strix is still back by the stairs. With Stamina 2, Resistance 0, and the denser cloud possibly dealing damage per action, smoke inhalation might be a much more immediate concern for her, and she's responded badly to safety advice from Patches in the recent past.
>>
No. 975869 ID: c1606e

rolled 8, 4, 6, 1, 9, 10, 10, 1, 6, 4, 7, 9, 6, 7, 9, 3, 5, 8, 6, 2, 9, 3, 10, 9, 5, 1, 1, 6, 2, 9, 10, 6, 7, 3, 10, 3, 7, 7, 10, 8, 2, 10, 10, 10, 6, 7, 2, 7, 9, 10, 10, 3, 7, 1, 7, 5, 8, 9, 2, 10 = 382

>>975865
A swarm of Locust attempts to wrap a wet blanket around Ada's face, both to encourage her to leave the area because hey, wet blanket, but also to slow smoke inhalation if she stays too close.

I imagine the closest mechanical implementation would be a grapple?
>>
No. 975872 ID: dcf3eb

Viatrix taps The Butlerbot gently on its head with her index and middle finger to get its attention. "Hello there little jade lad. Would you kindly tell me if this unit is equipped with fire extinguishers, or is aware of any fire extinguishing equipment in this facility? If no for both questions, does this facility contain any of the required materials for the suppression of tar, or oil based fires?"
>>
No. 975900 ID: afdebc

rolled 6, 10, 1, 10, 4, 3, 9, 9, 6, 5, 3, 7, 10, 4, 6, 2, 1, 9, 5, 6, 3, 6, 9, 4, 5, 4, 8, 7, 4, 6, 1, 2, 9, 6, 5, 2, 8, 10, 5, 10 = 230

After hearing Jan Do's pronouncement, the dog-shaped doctor looks around and realizes that yes, Ada had not followed the group out of danger. And that none of her companions were as prepared to deal with toxic smoke as well as she, and most lacked the strength to drag her out of danger besides.

Fortunately, at least one of her had that strength.

The the sitting dog becomes a kneeling doctor just long enough to advise the others. "I'll go back in for her. I can handle the smoke, and drag her back, if necessary." Moments later, a great grizzly strides forth into the smoke, following the guiding locusts to her target.

Tasnim has a base Stamina 5 + Resistance 1, which is good both for holding her breath, and for making checks against the toxic smoke when she does need to breath. Plus, she can activate Scorpion and Toad Absolution for auto-successes. Strength 6 should be sufficient to carry out the Infernal if she's found unconscious (and if she is found conscious and resists leaving, Tasnim will merely have to wait for unconsciousness to take hold).

Navigation is Intelligence 5 + Survival 2, if necessary, but Desert Locust can guide her, and she has Essence Sight to see through the smoke.

Still under an internal Penalty from the Stone of Acrid Understanding on everything.
>>
No. 976068 ID: ac57f8

rolled 1, 6, 10, 2, 10, 6, 7, 3, 7, 1, 7, 6, 10, 9, 8, 5, 1, 4, 9, 6, 8, 2, 9, 5, 1, 10, 7, 8, 10, 2 = 180

With two of her Mind Hands, it was a slow process getting the 12 fire pearls out of the frozen tar with her one remaining hand.

"Thank you Des, your help is greatly appreciated and... Oh my god." She gratefully wraps the wet towel on her face, and upon seeing a bear, the only natural reaction for someone who ultimately grew up without any significant land based predators kicks in as she reaches to give Tas scratches behind her big furry ears, conveniently getting low to the ground so she can keep line of sight to the fire pearls.

As soon as she has the pearls (which Speed 6 misc action at worst, that's 72 seconds tops) she is happy to leave.
>>
No. 976189 ID: f57349

Fire has been extinguished. Between Ada and Viatrix's expertise and craft-related magical powers you manage to retrieve not only the red jade pearls (and re-tune them to have less of a hair trigger), but also most of the remaining flammable oil. Either of them can roll it around like a 1300-pound ball of rubber until some more suitable container is located or assembled.

Smoke is dissipating, but until someone can arrange better ventilation, that mostly means spreading out into a mildly unhealthy haze through the whole manse.
>>
No. 976221 ID: f57349

An obvious early step to take as part of airing the place out is to open the front door. When somebody checks in with Felt, he says there's nothing to report apart from Fisto having recovered enough to wander off on his own, and observes - respectfully, more or less - that he had no idea working directly for a bunch of top-tier god-botherers would be so boring. He's also curious whether you've found the secret passage behind the chapel yet.
>>
No. 976254 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 4, 1, 6, 10, 10, 1, 8, 4, 6 = 53

>>976068
The tattooed grizzly lets out a confused "wurf?" at her unexpected treatment—she's not sure anyone had reacted to her appearance in that way, much less in the middle of a crisis.

Still, it's a positive development over the stubbornness she feared she would encounter. Fire pearls recovered, ally rescued... now someone just needs to figure out where to store the... giant rolling ball of oil. Tasnim had thought she had been getting used to magic, but that just looks decidedly odd.
>>
No. 976257 ID: 0640da

rolled 4, 8, 6, 4, 7, 8, 4, 1, 10, 7, 3, 10, 9, 6, 5, 10, 2, 7, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 7, 7, 10, 10, 2, 7, 4, 5, 3, 5, 7, 10, 10, 3, 7, 1, 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 4, 9, 4, 9, 4, 10, 4, 9, 5, 4, 1, 2, 4 = 343

>>976254
Patches wets another cloth in her bucket, helping to wrap it around Viatrix's head to keep out the smoke... and she stops dead in her tracks, jaw dropping underneath her makeshift gas mask.

Several years ago, she made a promise to a group of bears. The memory is fuzzy now, but they asked her to protect bears, whenever and whenever she saw them. And if she did, the god of bears would surely protect her. Things become clearer to the god-blooded, and she rushes to Tasnim's aid. "My lady! Y'all can't be like that, the fumes'll getcha. Please, over here." She kneels before Tasnim, gesturing to the pile of wet blankets. "Let me get you wrapped up an' all before the fumes get to you."

True to her word, she acts swiftly to protect the bear, and to wrap up Ada as well. Now everyone who accepted her assistance should have some amount of mitigation between themselves and the smoke, at least enough to get out of here.

"Miss Bear, y'all never told me you were'n Ursine. Ahm sworn to protect y'all. That's a promise."
>>
No. 976275 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 6, 1, 8, 1, 9, 1, 6, 7, 6, 7, 6, 10, 10, 2, 2, 10, 1, 7, 4 = 107

>>976189
>you manage to retrieve not only the red jade pearls (and re-tune them to have less of a hair trigger)
As the pearls of flame are an extremely useful survival tool in the north, Jan Do will suggest assigning one pearl to each of their number, for now. She is certain Adamant Strix will find some clever use for the remainder, but in the mean time, reliable distributed fire-starting is a valuable tool in a frozen environment.

>Smoke is dissipating, but until someone can arrange better ventilation, that mostly means spreading out into a mildly unhealthy haze through the whole manse.
Jan Do will seek out and mobilize the several mechanical servants placed within the manse. With each equipped with a large fan (or some improvised sheets of material) they can be strategically positioned between the "broom closet" and the open front door in order to create airflow. Not the most efficient solution, but tireless servants acting as fan bears is superior to technological or magical solutions currently out of reach.

It is a pity the false garden is not actually outdoors, otherwise we could open doors on either side of the manse in order to more effectively air it out.

Not sure what dice pool this would involve, but here's a roll regardless.

>>976221
>he had no idea working directly for a bunch of top-tier god-botherers would be so boring. He's also curious whether you've found the secret passage behind the chapel yet.
>Temperance 5
The samurai will advise the warrior-ape that patience is a virtue, and that, regrettably, much of the current excitement lies inside the booby-trapped manse with its hazardous light sources. There is a planned sparring match tonight, which might be more to his interests.

She will also thank him for the reminder of the secret passage- they have yet to exhaustively search the chapel. The group did locate an incendiary secret staircase, as current conditions attest.
>>
No. 976294 ID: 4424d1

"Thank you kindly, sweet rabbit" Viatrix exclaims in relief and gratitude, quickly securing the cloth around her nose and mouth and zipping up her outfit to better overlap with the improvised mask.
"Lady Adamant, I have a suggestion"
She turns to The Twilight, waving a hand to be more easily noticed through the smoke.
"But it depends on weather if we've got sand in good quantity, and, if you could hold this big glob of this arcid smelling stuff for a while longer"
>>
No. 976359 ID: 4424d1

rolled 3, 1, 2, 9, 8, 6, 1, 6, 9, 5, 4, 5, 8, 3, 3, 6, 10 = 89

rolling for Viatrix's previous attempt at gleaning information from the Butlerbot.
Intelligence 5, Lore 3(+3 first age), +4 Savant, +stunt
>>
No. 976526 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 2, 5, 4, 8, 10, 5, 8, 4, 4, 1, 6, 5, 6, 10, 1, 6, 5, 4, 4 = 101

>>976257
Bearwilderment and confusion are evident behind the towel Patches dutifully wraps around Tasnim's snout. A declaration of loyalty and protection was even more unexpected than Ada's fawning. Does the smoke have psychoactive properties she was overlooking? ...well, in any event, working out what's going on will have to wait until she's capable of speech, at least. Shaking herself slightly, she returns to the task at hand, and making sure her less-hearty companions exit the smoke-dense rooms safely.

Imma gonna count that as an unexpected social attack, and as a scene towards building a positive intimacy towards Patches. And Ada's actions towards reinforcing her existing intimacy / repairing the damage done during the hoverboard-blizzard disaster.
>>
No. 976700 ID: f57349

>>975872
>>976359
Butlerbot is aware of the type of alchemical-foam fire extinguishers you're most familiar with, but has no idea where to find one, or how to brew up the stuff from available materials. This manse's selection of safety equipment seems quite primitive in general - though, admittedly, the passive measure of building near everything possible from non-flammable materials limits the plausible range of worst-case outcomes.
>>
No. 976910 ID: ac57f8

rolled 3, 2, 4, 4, 3, 10, 1, 2, 4, 7, 3, 2, 2, 3, 3, 9, 2, 10, 7, 9, 4, 1, 10, 7, 4, 10, 7, 9, 6, 9, 9, 10, 1, 10, 5, 3, 9, 4, 4, 6, 1, 3, 7, 5, 5, 6, 8, 10, 7, 5 = 275

>>976294

"I don't know the quality of the sand here, though considering the relative closeness to beaches, any sand should be suitable for Glass if we have sand, assuming that's your plan. And don't worry, I can keep it up until I need sleep."
>>
No. 976919 ID: e27403

rolled 1, 4, 2, 5, 10, 5, 6, 6, 3, 1, 9, 5, 1, 1 = 59

>>976910
"Incredible! I've never heard of someone with powers like these. The Lawgivers are really something else".
Viatrix ascends towards Ada, passing a finger through the globe of oil to feel its viscosity and stickiness to better estimate the exact kind they are dealing with, adding to its smell, both inert and burning states, as well as the liquid's hue and density of the smoke.
"Ahm yes, to the point" She adds, pointing at the manse's exist.
"If there's even halfway decent ground under that snow, we could dig a well. That beastie Doc transformed into just before now looked really good for that. Next, I could climb down the well and line it with sand, and after that, transform too, and bake the inside of that well with my Warbird's flame spitter, Yes maa'm!"
Viatrix nods to herself, smiling widely.
"Suppose we could shovel in snow to make it cool and harden nice and proper. Maybe add a clay lid if we want to use it for whatnot"

rolling Intelligence 5+ Lore 3, Savant 4, stunt to figure out what kind of oil we have on our hands.
>>
No. 976920 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 5, 6, 9, 8, 10, 9, 7, 8, 1, 9, 7, 8, 4, 3, 4, 9, 8, 6, 9, 5, 1, 2, 9, 2, 6, 5, 1, 5, 3, 2, 3, 3, 6, 7, 9, 6, 2, 8, 9, 5, 9, 4, 3, 3, 8, 6, 3, 1, 3, 9, 3, 7, 6, 5, 1, 7, 5, 4, 10 = 335

>>976919
"Y'all gettin so worked up about snow. It's just a little chilly outside." Says the rabbit, covered in winter furs and literal fur. "Ain't moontime or I'd say we have a duel, but while y'all figure that out, I'm gonna make normal, fancy, not magic soup fer y'all to warm up with. Shouldn't be too hard to start up a fire, if'n it's just cold."

Patches would like to go retrieve some cooking supplies and water, to start setting something to a boil after them and make soup for everyone. She's got to regain some strength for her fight later, too. Can't be getting damaged now.

Mechanically, doing my daily Craft (Water) , although I think I rolled it earlier this month. Ah, well, can't be too careful. Water 3, Dexterity 3, Intelligence 4, Perception 2.
>>
No. 976923 ID: afdebc

rolled 9, 8, 4, 3, 1, 10, 8, 6, 1, 2, 6, 9, 1, 5, 9, 1, 4, 9, 2, 9 = 107

>>976919
When approached for assistance by her fellow No Moon, Tasnim is more than willing to reciprocate, doffing her ursine form for canine.

I'm not sure if the ground outside is lose enough for the 8-tailed mole hound's fast digging to apply (permafrost is a far cry from loose soil and sand) but even absent that, she is a better digger in this form than others.

For anyone else wishing to assist (such as a certain Lunar or certain someone wearing power armor), we bought shovels the night before.

I'm not sure if I should be offering an assistant die to Viatrix's roll or rolling seperately, but have dice regardless.
>>
No. 976937 ID: ac57f8

rolled 10, 7, 10, 9, 8, 9, 5, 2, 3, 7, 5, 8, 8, 8, 2, 10, 9, 2, 2, 5, 4, 8, 3, 9, 2, 1, 9, 4, 9, 5, 8, 7, 7, 2, 2, 8, 2, 9, 5, 8, 10, 2, 7, 7, 6, 10, 1, 5, 10, 8 = 307

>>976919
"Actually, you 100% really shouldn't use snow to cool it down. We don't have much in the way of Limestone or potash, so we can't make simple glass. And if we cool it down too quickly, the glass will crystalize from liquid unevenly and build up thermal stress.

"In order for this plan to work, we need to get the sand hotter than a blast furnace, and then slow it down over the course of several hours so that it can cool effectively."

Ada is going to work out the actual temperatures and time to properly forge the glass, and how long it would need to Anneal in order to properly not explode.

Presumably Int 5+Craft (Air or Fire since it's working with Sand-> Glass)2 in both cases.
>>
No. 976939 ID: f57349

>>976910
The pottery studio above the forge is also equipped for glassblowing, including working with adamant - even smelting it from mundane material, though the bin where raw inputs for that process should be stored is empty. One of the Heavenly Transmutation Processes can produce the stuff, but you definitely don't have the necessary tools and materials for that here. Can't even remember the exact details of the procedure, though you're pretty sure the "base material" feedstock was charcoal.
So:
Charcoal + other stuff =>
Heavenly Transmutation Process (master-level procedure, possibly lost knowledge, needs a big expensive facility you don't have) =>
Mystery Material (perfected... sand? Past-life memories are infuriatingly vague on details, it was just so routine, never scarce enough to be worth worrying about) =>
Adamant Smelting (adept-level procedure, doable here if you had the raw material, easy to learn from posted safety instructions) =>
More of the same stuff as those darts.

Could recycle the damaged darts, or make bottles out of ordinary glass, easily enough given fuel.
>>976919
Apart from a layer of tarry scum it's basically kerosene. Additives make it notably more essence-conductive than normal: passive camo against essence sight, and poking at any part of it with magic would have been more likely to set off those hair-trigger fire pearls.
>>
No. 976940 ID: e27403

>>976937
"Or maybe we could go even simpler, Lady Adamant? We've got sand, soil and an entire crate of sawdust. Instead of glass we could go try pottery, and I [i]feel[i/] like I've got a kind of magic that will make it really easy to do".
>>
No. 976946 ID: bbea31

rolled 5, 9, 6, 5, 6, 4, 3, 1, 8, 1, 7, 9, 10, 1, 4, 2, 10, 6, 9, 6, 3, 7, 4, 7, 6, 4, 9, 4, 1, 7, 4, 4, 2, 9, 10, 4, 4, 5, 7, 5, 3, 2, 4, 3, 2, 10, 4, 8, 10, 3, 8, 1, 7, 5, 5, 4, 7, 9, 10, 2 = 325

>>976923
Desert Locust, trailing a thousand tiny lines of vapor from a thousand infernal grafts, dutifully follows along and helps to remove the lose dirt after Tasnim digs down, each member of the swarm carrying a grain of dirt away from the makeshift dump they're making.

Noir stands by the door, away from the cold, unless Tasnim comes to drag him outside to help work; he would be happy to lend Clever Fox his armor for enhanced digging though, since she doesn't seem to mind the northern winds so much.
>>
No. 977004 ID: f57349

>>976937
Turns out to be easier to make about a hundred smaller bottles, so you do that.
> rolled 10, 7, 10, 9, 8, 9
Faster than most people would think was possible.

>>976923
Eight-Tailed Mole Hound can dig through snowbanks as quickly and easily as a river dolphin swimming through muddy water. However, the initial dive sprays icy debris into Felt's face, leaving him momentarily blinded, and the open front door guarded only by a butlerbot with an awkward fan improvised from parts of a tent.

>>976275
Best results for ventilation would be at least two openings on opposite sides, and the only other holes you know of in the manse's solid perimeter are in the attic. Fundamental geomancy says wood refreshes air, so the Traveler's Staff hopefully at least won't be making things worse, even though the timing of it's use as a windbreak is somewhat inconvenient today.

There's a footprint in the loose dry soil scattered on the attic floor, which definitely wasn't there when you planted the staff just a few minutes ago. Looks roughly human, unshod, but with elongated toes.
>>
No. 977022 ID: bbea31

rolled 6, 6, 8, 10, 10, 10, 1, 6, 4, 2, 10, 6, 8, 2, 6, 7, 1, 4, 6, 8, 5, 7, 10, 9, 3, 8, 7, 3, 10, 4, 9, 2, 4, 4, 10, 6, 4, 3, 5, 3, 7, 8, 3, 3, 5, 4, 10, 4, 8, 6, 10, 6, 1, 1, 7, 7, 6, 1, 4, 2 = 340

>>977004
>the open front door guarded only by a butlerbot with an awkward fan improvised from parts of a tent.
>>976946
>Noir stands by the door, away from the cold
Turns out the door isn't quite unguarded- does the man with essence sight see anything enter? If not, let's go investigate the scene of the crime, see if we can track where the footprints came from and where they're leading to. I assume that's Perception + Survival, but if investigation is applicable that would certainly be more in Noir's wheelhouse.

Perception five, survival zero/investigation 5 (Two die specialty for while unseen), stunt dice.
>>
No. 977116 ID: f57349

>>977022
Footprint was made by a coldblooded, claw-toed human - presumably either a half-demon, a wyld mutant, or both. Depth of tread suggests they either weigh upwards of a thousand pounds, or were jumping down from, or up to, the roof. Standing high jump eight yards onto a steeply sloped, icy surface would be somewhat impressive even for magical beings, absurdly impossible for mortals. Looking around for signs of a running start, you find slight disturbances in the dusty soil, exactly as if someone sweeping up in order to cover tracks either overlooked one, or was interrupted.
>>
No. 977162 ID: afdebc

rolled 8, 6, 7, 2, 1, 1, 6, 3, 4, 7, 4, 6, 1, 8, 1, 3, 6, 8, 7, 10 = 99

>>977004
>>977116
Snowy owl still on her shoulder, one hand trailing to her weapon's braided grip, Jan Do surveys her dusty and ill-kept soundings—looking for any scene of the unknown interloper among the stored and neglected detritus while covering her southern companion as he examines the traces on the group. Her avian companion, she notes, employs the exceptional range of her head's motion, watching where the abyssal's single set of eyes cannot.

So that's perception 3 + Awareness 1 + Stunt. Building off Fox's earlier positioning in the secret-stairwell to try and justify cooperation dice. (Or well, given Clever Fox has the better dice pool, and a possible bonus as an owl at night, perhaps Jan is assisting her).

Also going to activate Hearing the Unspoken Word, see if she can detect anyone new.
>>
No. 977167 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 8, 6, 2, 2, 6, 7, 7, 3, 9, 5, 8, 4, 1, 9, 4, 4, 10, 4, 1 = 102

>>976920
The doctor might have something scathing to say about the medical dangers of extreme cold, were she currently capable of speech. However, the rabbit appears capable of wreathing the conditions, and no one more vulnerable seems to have been persuaded to take the cold lightly, so she lets the matter lie.

>>977004
The canine offers a sheepish look in the blood ape's direction as he stumbles on the marbled steps and attempts to clear the mud from his broad face. Hopefully he doesn't take... too much offense? Given the fight with the yeti, and the near disaster between Fiasto and Clever Fox, the doctor is understandably wary of sparking another conflict.

Read motive, Perception 3 + Investigation/Socialize 1 + Excellency 3 - SoAU 2.
>>
No. 977172 ID: f57349

>>977162
A dozen pings not accounted for by known allies. Two on the second floor, down-east and down-west of your current position, ten within immediate engagement range. Visual appearance at least vaguely consistent with decanthrope hosts. Strangely beautiful - some of the purest killing intent you've ever observed. Telepathic tactical chatter arcs between them like flickers of silent, invisible lightning. You can't quite understand their actual language that way, but angles alone imply at least one other node in the network beyond your sensory range yet within two hundred yards, possibly in the basement.

They see you seeing them, and don't like it. Roll Join Battle.
>>
No. 977175 ID: f57349

>>977167
With a booming laugh, the blood ape wipes his face clear, packs loose snow into a ball between both hands, and lobs it back at you. No harm done.
>>
No. 977299 ID: afdebc

>>977172
Summarizing results of combat from discord

Things do not go well for the the hushed ones, this night.

Before they can fall upon their prey, Noir explodes with the brightness of the sun, iconic glyph behind him, leaps atop his wildblade and surprises all present by immediately escaping through the ceiling. He stays away just long enough to rally reingforcements (the blood ape Felt, Tasnim, and Desert Locust) and returns (to further surprise) to stand back to back with the abyssal before the first blow is stuck.

In the first exchange of blows, the Exalted dance effortlessly around the furious claws of their attackers while two of their own suffer glancing slashes across their legs. In the second exchange, the combatants take to the trees for advantage, apple superimposed with the bone white cherry of the Dusk's iconic anima. Once more, the Exalted are unharmed. Their opponents are not so fortunate. One disemboweled by soulsteel, one slammed against a wall with a likely broken neck, and one unmistakably dead, throat ripped out by a the blood ape's fangs. Another survives a deadly needle, attacked when no throw should have been possible.

Set back, but not defeated, and willpower exhausted (or close to it) the interlopes retreat in two groups, 4 fit and one seriously injured headed down the north-west back stairs (pursued by Noir, Fox and Jan Do) and 3 fit with one seriously injured headed south east (and as yet uncontested) towards either another set of stairs or the balcony.

One more remains contested on the second story, and another, in the basement, closes in on Patches in Reality in the basement kitchen, who is alerted by an impossible ki of warning from a building away.

Meanwhile, Adamant Strix and Viatrix remain undisturbed in their glass making and preparations to store the salvaged oil (though they may well have noticed the iconic flare of twin suns, one dark and one light, by this point) while Tasnim Violette and Desert Locust have taken to the skies in an attempt to see what is going on.
>>
No. 977315 ID: f57349

rolled 9, 5, 5, 9, 2, 4, 8, 8, 7, 3, 9, 4, 3, 10, 7, 9, 7, 6, 1, 1, 10, 8, 8, 6, 9, 4, 5, 1, 5, 1, 10, 9, 10, 7, 3, 7, 5, 6, 1, 9, 9, 7, 10, 9, 8, 6, 7, 1, 7, 6, 5, 8, 8, 5, 10, 10, 9, 7, 3, 3 = 379

>Santova Yesterday at 6:13 PM
>When Jan Do and Clever Fox head after one group, Noir mounts up and prepares to follow the other

Gimme a vehicle-control roll for piloting the windblade indoors during the pursuit - cornering matters more than top speed here. Jan Do and Clever Fox should roll Dex + Athletics for their own chase scene, or Wits + Conviction to take a Loom Stride shortcut. Demon in the yasal crystal is willing to count that as part of a single continuous battle, and thus a single use for the deal, but will be happier if you confirm a kill while using one of his excellencies.

Feasts on Lion's Torment, meanwhile, is hastily clambering back up the battered apple tree, pale skinny mutilated corpse slung over his shoulder.
>>
No. 977363 ID: c1606e

rolled 3, 2, 10, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 8, 2, 7, 4, 6, 1, 7, 5, 9, 4, 10, 1, 6, 4, 9, 1, 2, 2, 6, 6, 9, 6, 7, 7, 10, 2, 5, 8, 1, 3, 7, 8, 1, 2, 2, 4, 7, 6, 1, 10, 9, 4, 5, 3, 7, 1, 4, 3, 9, 1, 5, 6 = 310

>>977315
Noir wants to stay out of range, avoiding the potentially deadly claws- in tight corridors where visibility is limited and blind spots might lead him into a renewed assault, he'll stick to the walls, keep a hand to the floor or corner to feel how far away they've gotten and track them audibly, rather than visually; in open spaces like the hearthstone room, he'll stay mounted, keeping high above them and following their pace.

Unless of course, they seem to be heading towards the door; that would be met with a burst of speed to pass them and block the exit.

Dice for tracking, successfully keeping his distance, and maneuvering as needed.
>>
No. 977398 ID: f57349

>>977363
Three and a half sets of bloody footprints are easy enough to follow as they duck into the stairwell, vault over a railing down to the second floor, then turn east into the room with the portraits, at which point they split up.

On the balcony railing, there are bloody fingerprints scattered across the jewel-encrusted control panel. It's not random. Overlapping prints suggest the same sequence repeated at least two or three times, then there's a blot consistent with curled pinky and side of hand in a gap between sections, consistent with the thump you heard moments earlier: a frustrated fist-pound.

Second set of feet meander a little bit, then stop in front of the portrait of Crinis Proles, twilight caste (conveniently labeled in old realm) who's portrayed with a painter's palette and brush, reaching out... as if the viewer were part of a scene she painted.

Third clear set heads straight for the south end of the room, across the carpet at a run, ending near a gore-soaked towel draped over the second pillar from the left, entirely covering that globe of honey-colored crystal atop it. Looks like they all used it as a rag to wipe their feet clean.

Door from the upstairs parlor to the east stairs is closed, and you're pretty sure you would have heard if it had been moved, or seen if they'd doubled back. There's some furniture (three chairs, a wider seat you can't remember the word for, and a coffee table) but through your suit's visor those might as well be made of glass, there's almost certainly nobody hiding behind them. Obvious route would be over the balcony railing into the hearthroom, but if you go to look there first, you're turning your back on the possibility of some secret hatch hidden under the carpet - floors are all at least a yard thick, could be room for crawlspaces.

Not nearly as much of a blood trail as you'd expect. How did they staunch that gaping gut wound, and tidy themselves up, with barely any supplies and fingers like meat-hooks, all inside thirty seconds?
>>
No. 977454 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 8, 10, 1, 8, 8, 3, 8, 9, 3, 4 = 62

>>977315
Jan Do quickly considers and discards leaping ahead through the pooling gore. Outnumbered against ferocious opponents with preternatural coordination, downhill and with a widdershins spiral interfering with her sword arm is not a position she wishes to chance.

She races forward on foot, floor underneath wooden soles momentarily transitioning to a decorative carpet at the top of (but not continuing down) the stairwell, as grey-white wings fly overhead.

She will indulge the Blood Ape's willingness to count this as a single conflict, tapping into his Excellency to speed pursuit and the swift resumption of battle.

Dexterity 5 + Athletics 1.
+1 Success from the Second Athletics Excellency

2m peripheral spent, anima banner back to 10m.
>>
No. 977510 ID: 0640da

rolled 8, 6, 4, 9, 3, 4, 7, 4, 2, 10, 4, 5, 7, 2, 9, 4, 7, 9, 8, 10, 9, 5, 4, 2, 9, 5, 4, 6, 1, 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1, 6, 6, 9, 7, 1, 9, 9, 7, 3, 4, 3, 3, 5, 8, 2, 8, 3, 8, 10, 8, 3, 7, 1, 7, 2 = 327

>>977299
Patches' ears perk and straighten out in the well-ventilated kitchen. She knows, instinctively, that a battle has broken out-- no doubt due to the message Jan Do sent her with that charm. She takes inventory of the room around her-- not wanting to be caught flat footed, of course. Putting a lid on her excellent soup, she grabs the masks off the rack as quickly as she can-- for an emergency, she tells herself. Shuffling into the precipice of the icebox, carefully leaving a wedge so the door doesn't completely close, she quiets down and listens in to the sound of footsteps-- ones coming her way, ones not.
>>
No. 977511 ID: 0640da

rolled 7, 5, 10, 5, 10, 10, 8, 4, 1, 7, 4, 8, 3, 6, 3, 7, 8, 6, 8, 2, 5, 1, 2, 6, 9, 3, 4, 3, 7, 2, 10, 9, 10, 8, 1, 4, 10, 7, 1, 6, 8, 2, 9, 8, 1, 6, 2, 2, 6, 4, 8, 10, 4, 10, 2, 10, 9, 3, 7, 4 = 345

Ah, dice pool for Stealth is... Dexterity 3, Stealth 0.

Awareness 1, Wits 3 with +2 audible specialty for observation. I should roll for that in this one, though.
>>
No. 977538 ID: f57349

>>977510
>>977511
Are you heading out of the kitchen directly into the main basement hallway, or through the scullery where it's dark? Do you have a butlerbot with you?
>>
No. 977550 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 2, 2, 10, 9, 8, 2, 6, 1, 9, 9, 5, 1, 8, 9, 6, 10, 8, 7, 10, 5, 6, 7, 5, 5, 8, 7, 7, 1, 9, 3 = 185

>>977315
>Feasts on Lion's Torment, meanwhile, is hastily clambering back up the battered apple tree, pale skinny mutilated corpse slung over his shoulder.
The flock of Woodpecker and Locust arrives above the manse's roof to find the light covering of snow on tile disturbed by the rapid passage an ape, no allies present, and iconic animas dimmed to the point they can no longer be seen through walls. At this point, a dark shape remerges from the leaf-filled hole in the roof, carrying a pallid and bloody burden.

Rolling academic knowledge on whatever the blood ape is carrying, as this will inform subsequent action.

Intelligence 5 + Lore 3 + Stunt + First Intelligence Excellency 5 - Stone of Acrid Understanding 2

If I need to roll to even make out what he's carrying first,
Perception 3 + Awareness 1 + First Perception Excellency 3 - Stone of Acrid Understanding 2

Sticking to personal motes, so no anima flare.
>>
No. 977559 ID: f57349

>>977550
Seven successes, reduced to five by an external penalty for the corpse being mutilated almost beyond recognition. You know about as much as any mortal savant could hope to recall offhand about Hushed Ones, from the basic horrors of their hunting prowess and herd-pits all the way back to suspected origin as a Haslan tribe lost past the borders of the world during the 'years of madness,' a period in the far North widely agreed to have begun when a Wyld Hunt slew the anathema Arvida of the Crescent Eye, then ended when the Guild moved in to restore order and reopen trade routes across the White Sea.
>>
No. 977641 ID: be7313

Before following Ada to where the pottery studio should be, Viatrix feels around the sawdust crate with her fingers, looking for the right side from which to open it, only to find them slipping through the wood as if it were wet paper.
With an excited gasp, she quickly sets to work in experimenting on the best way to remove the covering panel, dissembling it into smaller planks of wood and shaping them into a set of wheels which she attempts to attach to the bottom of the crate, along with a basic gripping handle for easier pulling.

rolling Dexterity 5, Craft Wood 0, stunt and adding two automatic successes with the 2nd Dexterity excellency while using Clay Wetting practice to turn the crate into a somewhat sturdier cart.
>>
No. 977643 ID: be7313

rolled 10, 1, 9, 7, 8, 9, 4 = 48

Rolling properly now
>>
No. 977644 ID: f57349

>>977641
>>977643
The little cart's quite well-made, for amateur work - wheels roll smoothly and so on - but there's only so much you can do to shift and reinforce a few pounds of poor-quality wood without adding more material. Could keep it as a toy, or draw in some scrap metal and maybe other stuff to turn it into a full-sized wheelbarrow.
>>
No. 977651 ID: f57349

Having just checked, looks like Horizon Silver's Perception 2 is actually the limiting attribute for crafting, so it would only have been possible to buy one success with the Second Excellency. That's still five total successes with a two-die stunt, though, enough to make an exceptional-quality (resources 1) hand-cart or wheelbarrow despite only minimally adequate materials and lack of actual training in the relevant skill.
>>
No. 977653 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 1, 1, 4, 9, 5, 3, 10, 9, 5, 8, 7, 4, 6, 4, 5, 3, 10, 9, 6, 2, 8, 1, 2, 6, 6, 8, 1, 9, 7, 6, 2, 5, 4, 10, 7, 2, 10, 6, 10, 1, 5, 7, 10, 1, 10, 6, 8, 3, 5, 8, 3, 4, 6, 5, 4, 7, 5, 3, 1 = 326

>>977538
She'd trust a butlerbot if they weren't so noisy, so she's clambering through the dark directly and doing her darnest to be quiet. Her ears should pick up any breathing or footsteps. Again, she'd allow a butlerbot along conditionally-- if they're quiet things and not noisy gear-filled machines.
>>
No. 977661 ID: f57349

>>977653
Butlerbots make a comical squeaking noise as they walk, somewhere in that range seven octaves above middle C which humans and even horses hardly ever notice. Other than that, they're quiet as librarians.

At least one pursuer seems to have been successfully trapped in the cold room, simply by ordering a butlerbot to close and lock the south door after anyone following you went inside, then leaving through the north door and promptly slamming it behind yourself. You never got a good look at them, though, and when you circle back around to the kitchen, dinner-in-progress is missing.
>>
No. 977673 ID: 0c17ec

rolled 8, 4, 2, 1, 1, 10, 6, 10, 8, 10, 6, 4, 2, 5, 7, 9, 6, 10, 7, 3, 5, 10, 4, 4, 5, 1, 7, 3, 9, 10, 1, 1, 3, 10, 8, 7, 5, 1, 3, 7, 6, 2, 10, 6, 2, 5, 3, 4, 7, 3, 7, 9, 5, 1, 8, 7, 2, 10, 4, 9 = 333

>>977398
>Not nearly as much of a blood trail as you'd expect. How did they staunch that gaping gut wound, and tidy themselves up, with barely any supplies and fingers like meat-hooks, all inside thirty seconds?
>Obvious route would be over the balcony railing into the hearthroom
Noir shrugs internally- never been able to solve riddles, despite how much he enjoys them and wants to be competent. Maybe they ate the wounded? They're cannibals, right? Could they eat a whole body without much of a mess, while on the run? Probably not...?

He shakes his head free of the internal monologue and jumps of over the balcony to continue the pursuit. The open space should favor his fighting style and tools over the failed assassins'.
>>
No. 977675 ID: 5f3f48

rolled 7, 1, 5, 2, 3, 8, 2, 6, 3, 4 = 41

>>977559
The woodpecker grits her beak in frustration, realizing that safely landing on the roof is beyond her current condition. She casts about, eventually finding a clear-enough patch of ground to land on, some distance away from the front door so as not to be immediately vulnerable to any naked cannibals that might emerge.

Landing, she resumes human form in a crouch, and begins speaking quickly in riverspeak to Desert Locust, seeking to convey the relevant tactical information.

"Hushed ones. Wyld tainted clawed cannibals, cold resistant or immune. Mute. They hunt in well coordinated packs, and from ambush, and they keep prisoners to feed on. They know not mercy."

In no shape to contribute to the fight herself (and still hurting from Des' hearthstone), the best she can do for now is to stay away from the threat until dealt with. As the swarm of Locusts seems quite intent on protecting her (and, she is reluctant to admit, she might not fare so well on her own if left by herself) Tasnim will suggest they take up watch near the front door of the manse, so the casteless might intervene if the conflict moves outdoors.

She then returns to her downy form, and will allows the swarm to guide her (hopefully as it finds an appropriate perch on which to conceal themselves and watch the door).
>>
No. 977685 ID: 0c17ec

rolled 10, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3, 1, 7, 9, 3, 1, 10, 8, 7, 9, 5, 3, 7, 10, 1, 10, 6, 2, 1, 2, 7, 6, 10, 7, 10, 1, 1, 7, 7, 9, 3, 1, 2, 8, 2, 3, 2, 6, 1, 5, 4, 2, 10, 8, 5, 2, 8, 2, 7, 3, 8, 2, 10, 1 = 314

>>977675
Rather than attempt to endure the cold as a thousand tiny locust, Des herds Tasnim inside, pulling the door closed behind them and latching it shut. She then nestles into the ceiling among the hanging light fixtures and dark ceiling corners, behind the edges of grand portraits where she and Tasnim can still watch the entrance in case anything tries to open the door or escape.
>>
No. 977700 ID: 0640da

rolled 9, 4, 8, 10, 7, 10, 10, 6, 4, 2, 1, 8, 8, 3, 10, 5, 10, 1, 4, 7, 7, 3, 3, 8, 3, 1, 4, 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 3, 8, 4, 3, 2, 7, 7, 5, 10, 1, 10, 10, 2, 10, 4, 6, 10, 7, 1, 8, 2, 5, 3, 2, 5, 5, 2, 3 = 332

>>977661
Suppressing the violent and dramatic urge to fall to her knees and yell 'NOOOOOOOO!' loud enough Yu-Shan could hear her cries, she vows to herself-- vows to herself-- that she will not rest. No. She will serve justice against this atrocity. That they would hurt innocent soup... soup that has done no wrong to anyone. Her eyes water, and she wipes her tears into her arm... before steely resolve runs though her fur once more. From here on, those pursuers are her enemy. And she shall bring upon them a wrath equal to ten THOUSAND soups to avenge what has been done today.

...just as soon as she catches up with the physically and mentally stronger exalts. Right. Let's skedaddle.
>>
No. 977724 ID: f57349

rolled 1, 8, 4, 3, 4, 3, 6, 8, 4, 3, 3, 9, 9, 10, 5, 5, 5, 6, 10, 3, 8, 1, 9, 3, 7, 6, 8, 3, 4, 9, 6, 7, 6, 2, 9, 7, 7, 9, 1, 2, 10, 9, 2, 2, 5, 5, 4, 3, 9, 9, 7, 1, 2, 4, 4, 8, 4, 5, 3, 2 = 321

>>977454
Seven successes against four. Jan Do manages to catch up with the retreating Hushed Ones at the second floor landing of the west back stairs.

Effectively it's a Y-shaped intersection: Jan and Fox descending from the northwest, wounded Hushed Ones scrambling over each other to wriggle into narrower passages to the south, >>977700
and Patches hopping in from the northeast, taking the spiral stairs up three at a time.

Exquisite Etiquette Style would allow Jan to reflexively notice that Patches is distraught over some very recent loss, but not what it is exactly.

New Join Battle roll needed to see how many of them you can kill or capture before they slip away into the maze. It's built out of the same stone as the rest of the manse, but in narrow crawlspaces with much thinner layers between them, twisted together like a termite mound, tripwires and/or murder-holes plainly visible at enough of the available entrances that it's safe to assume the remainder simply have traps further in, or better concealed.
>>
No. 977729 ID: ac57f8

rolled 2, 8, 5, 1, 7, 4, 3, 7, 2, 3, 2, 8, 7, 4, 1, 10, 3, 8, 1, 2 = 88

>>977315
Along the roof of the ceilings, just low enough to make sure that she can clear the doors. Her absurdly sharp eyes and hearing strong enough to track a mouse from half a mile through a foot of snow are more than able to keep track of the hushed ones, and she'll spend a mote to shine a light to help Jan keep track of them.

Dex 3+Athletics 3+1st Dexcellency 3+stunt
>>
No. 977738 ID: ac57f8

>>977641
"Alright, that's a remarkable piece of charm tech to be able to build a cart that quickly. Now, when we go into workshop, I would like to say that the manse seems to have some sort of automated defense tied to the light that so far has burned me and my Lunar mate. I'm not entirely sure what the reason is, but I would like to request against turning on the lights.

"In fact, we can use that light." She points out the ongoing Anima banners illuminating the manse.
>>
No. 977792 ID: 990ad8

>>977738
Letting go of her tight grip on the cart's handle, Viatrix's eyes widen as she turns her head and fully notices the anima lightshow.
"It's urgent, innit?"
She asks, the hope for a negative answer
obvious from her tone.
"I'm guessin that Celestials don't flare about casually in this day and age"
>>
No. 977795 ID: ac57f8

>>977792
"Define urgent. Urgent that we get involved? Probably not more urgent than getting this ball of oil handled. Urgent enough for them to really push themselves? Absolutely, that's why they're going all out."
>>
No. 977815 ID: 990ad8

>>977795
"Well, I mean, if it's where they are and dangerous" Viatrix starts somewhat meekly,
trying not to sound like she's undermining
Ada's statement.
"We don't have any long range communication, right? Could they be trying to get our attention?"
>>
No. 978061 ID: f57349

>Time seems to slow as the samurai stands still, and then with a flash of black lightning, she stands beyond the formation of fleeing savages, blade extended to the side, as blood red petals once more float in the air. Distracted by this sudden reversal of fortunes, it was moments later that the attack caught up with the foremost hunter.

You emerge into an actual bedroom at the center of the maze. Numerous cylindrical frosted-glass chimes decorate the south, east, and west walls - a few of them, corresponding to tripwires along the route you just traversed, are softly ringing. Another Hushed One, presumably the same who was remotely coordinating the previous ambush, looks away from painting some sort of diagram onto the north wall to stare at you in open shock and dismay, then dives to grab a bladed weapon off the bed.
>>
No. 978161 ID: f57349

Jan Do kills the apparent leader of the group of Hushed Ones without recieving so much as a scratch in return, though it cost most of her mote pool. That weapon from the bedroom at the center of the maze is effectively a 2-dot Skirmish Pike with the essence battery option, built in this manse by one of the first age solars rather than to Mountain Folk spec.

Noir, Des, and Tasnim fought a dozen of the Hushed Ones all at once in the hearthroom, some of whom were carrying heavy bundles. Tasnim shifted back to Eight-Tailed Mole Hound form and took up a position on the central mosaic, relying on feral instinct to fight effectively despite the pain. One enemy briefly set foot on the ground,, got a calf-muscle pumped full of fire snake venom; the rest stayed out of reach, and definitely didn't leave by any ground-level route. Des's swarm formed a blockade, ensuring none escaped through the attic or south control-room balcony. Noir circled on his windblade, throwing that space warping needle to inflict numerous (but frustratingiy non-critical) wounds and occasionally brawling mid-leap between balconies and the central chandelier, but just as Jan and Fox arrived on the west balcony to help mop up, he turned around and the silent mutants were all suddenly gone.

That Hushed One Tasnim set fire to is also one of those two whose legs Jan Do wounded in the initial ambush. Clever Fox scored the actual capture, and the orichalcum-alloy manacles from the jail cell next to the forge seem strong and close-fitting enough to prevent escape. Dosing that one with Crane's Heart Elixir might enable Jan Do to detect them all remotely again with Hearing the Unspoken Word. Tasnim knows how to synthesize the elixir, but hasn't (so far as she can recall) had occasion to do so since exalting. Picked up most of the necessary ingredients on that trip to Shell Beach, though, and the rest can be synthesized with Scorpion And Toad Mastery or scrounged from among the various jars of colorful metallic salts in the glassworks. It'll take at least an hour to brew up, during which time a more conventional room-to-room sweep or other close attention to perimeter security might be advisable.

Once the oil has been safely bottled and immediate excitement seems to be over, Adamant Strix and Viatrix Senta have the chance to examine those bloody fingerprints Noir found on the control panel. [polar coordinate mode][highlight/reveal/seek][classify by qualia][air (aspect)][boolean operator:require both][balance-completing][end string][proceed without delay]
Somewhat inelegant, but that definitely wasn't the result of random keysmashing. For a natural-language interface it might have been phrased as a question:
"Where is the symmetrical air?"

Cold bread and raw apples for dinner. Patches the rabbit-beastfolk, pot of soup she was working on, most of the other food, that spare bottle of Celestial Wine stashed in Noir's room, and two of the three shovels were all apparently stolen during the raid.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Middlemarches of the Wyld, Patches wakes up alone in a pit more than twenty feet deep, with broken legs. Nibsplitter is missing, but she still has all her other personal kit along with those four masks, the Tale of Penarys, and a two-week supply of carrots.
>>
No. 978162 ID: 0640da

rolled 5, 3, 6, 5, 7, 2, 7, 2, 3, 5, 10, 10, 9, 6, 5, 9, 1, 9, 1, 5, 6, 6, 2, 6, 7, 8, 4, 6, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 2, 4, 4, 7, 2, 3, 1, 2, 8, 6, 4, 6, 3, 8, 2, 1, 10, 3, 9, 9, 2, 7, 7, 6, 10, 1, 2 = 310

>>978161
Patches groans. This was a stupid idea. Stupid, stupid... and now they've grabbed her and thrown her in this pit. For what, dinner later? She doesn't know, but she can recognize two things. One, her legs are broken... and two, she's been given an out. Feeling around, there's no nibsplitter at her side... but there's a book, and there are masks, and there are carrots all around. Maybe she can plot a way out of here... send a message to her friends. She thinks her first plan of action will be to gather further information about her surroundings, and the best way to manage that is to listen out for dreams. The more she can feel, the more hostiles she can number.

Calming her building anxiety, she focuses herself purely on survival... and Listening to Dreams Vibration. -3 motes-- within earshot, how many dreams can she feel within and around this pit?
>>
No. 978164 ID: f57349

>>978162
Apart from those mask-spirits, nobody nearby is dreaming hard enough to be intelligible. Background noise, dream-wise, suggests the pounding of whitecapped waves on rocky shores of a vast underground sea, though there's clear daylit sky visible overhead. The three maids and the cook are trying to wake up, but seemingly lack the strength to do so on their own.
>>
No. 978166 ID: afdebc

rolled 1, 5, 1, 10, 8, 9, 7, 2, 7, 9, 4, 3, 6, 2, 9, 1, 7, 7, 8, 4 = 110

>>978161
Battle completed, Jan Do kneels and allows her amber crystal to touch the blood of the fallen, which seems almost to drink it in greedily. She pauses a moment longer, then rises and allows a blood-and-verse-stained scrap of paper to fall to the floor.

The Dusk caste direct the manse's automated servants to collect the remains of the dead (proper funerary rites can be performed when the immediate aftermath of the crisis has abated) and to clean the blood and other gore, and then sets about organizing her fellows.

"We must make haste. We must search the grounds for any remaining hostiles, and for our missing companion."

Should be two or three groups—the searchers, whoever is staying behind with the doctor and/or whoever is keeping an eye on the prisoner, as no one should be alone at this point. Do we have volunteers? I'll start nominating people if there are none, but I don't have enough time to work out the division of labor exactly right now.

I think we want to do a systematic search, just going room by room, floor by floor. Not checking for secrets or examining any room in detail, just checking long enough to see if it's occupied, or has been so recently. It's a big building, and we want to cover the whole thing in an hour or so.
>>
No. 978167 ID: afdebc

>>978161
As soon as she hears from Jan Do how the hushed one's dearth of Compassion interfere with her tracking charm, the doctor and alchemist will commandeer Patches' recently abandoned kitchen and still-burning fire, in order to manufacture a batch of Crane's Heart Elixir. If they dose the prisoner, Jan should be able to find the other. And perhaps, the missing rabbit who had so recently sworn so earnestly to protect Tasnim.

The No Moon is absolutely taking one of her more combat-competent companions along as backup, as she doesn't enjoy the thought of getting ambushed by one of the remnants while she's brewing the solution.

She'll also drink one of the doses as soon as she's done, so the formula is added to her library of drugs.

Rolling Wits 3 + Occult 4 + Art of Alchemy 3 - Stone of Acrid Understanding 2 + Stunt
Might count as motivation resonant (although in this case we're trying to provide a medical drug to the prisoner because Patches deserves care). Possibly another bonus for whatever the tools in her Alchemy bag are worth, and/or if Viatrix or Ada opt to use Clay-Wetting Practice or Tool-Transcending Constructs to assist and provide tools / workshop bonuses.
>>
No. 978168 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 8, 3, 10, 10, 5, 4, 4, 2, 4, 9, 3, 1, 8, 8, 9, 10, 8, 1, 4 = 118

>>978167
>>
No. 978170 ID: 0640da

rolled 3, 1, 1, 3, 5, 5, 7, 5, 9, 9, 3, 7, 1, 5, 10, 4, 4, 2, 5, 5, 2, 10, 2, 7, 10, 9, 1, 9, 5, 10, 10, 7, 9, 5, 8, 9, 4, 8, 2, 3, 9, 4, 6, 8, 4, 2, 8, 7, 2, 7, 10, 6, 3, 2, 1, 9, 4, 10, 4, 9 = 339

>>978164
This seems like an easy enough decision. What you need, out in this hole, is allies... allies who can be your legs, because Patches isn't really sure she'll HAVE legs at this rate. Knowing what she knows about spirits, they won't cut into her food intake either... so she glows bright, and tries to push motes into each of the spirits to bring them to life. She needs all the help she can get out here... especially since she's not sure how this hole works. The sound of the sea and a bright blue sky... but it's all underground. None of it makes sense.

Let's spend enough peripheral motes to glow pretty brightly, and bring these masks to life inside the pit with her. She'll spend as much as she can afford without dipping below 0.
>>
No. 978240 ID: d9acdc

rolled 5, 8, 1, 8, 4, 10, 5, 4, 7, 7, 2, 1, 3, 3, 9, 9, 1, 8, 5, 3, 3, 2, 3, 8, 10, 5, 4, 1, 8, 1, 6, 3, 10, 6, 7, 10, 6, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 10, 5, 3, 10, 2, 5, 4, 9, 1, 6, 8, 1, 9, 10, 8, 9, 9, 1 = 323

>>978166
Noir stands, perhaps a bit too close, to Jan Do, and whispers in her ear in old realm. He stammers out a request that they not disturb the blood trails in case that helps them to track down the assailants, and also that he'll lend his ears and windblade to whatever search parties are organized; he's eager to be of assitance after having to be so fiercly protected during the initial ambush, and failing to contibute similarly or stopping them from escaping.

Assuming he has Jan Do's help to act as a more confident set of hands and mouth piece, Desert Locust sticks close to Tasnim and heads towards the workshop to check on Ada and Horizon, while he and Jan Do head towards the chapel to search for that secret exit Felt mentioned, in case their mystery raiders escaped that way.
>>
No. 978241 ID: d9acdc

rolled 4, 7, 8, 7, 9, 10, 9, 3, 7, 3, 10, 4, 10, 4, 10, 1, 4, 6, 6, 7, 9, 4, 6, 10, 4, 6, 7, 9, 5, 10, 3, 4, 2, 4, 7, 2, 4, 2, 3, 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 1, 1, 1, 10, 4, 10, 6, 10, 1, 4, 6, 9, 4, 10, 10 = 350

>>978167
Desert Locust sticks close to the alchemist- quite literally, since her cloud like body has been molded around the other lunar like armor since the start of the assault. As they push to reunite with The Adamant Strix and Horizon Silver, she *attempts* to push them down towards the control board and search for lifeforms in the area, if her swarm form can still man the controls.

Rolling I suppose to communicate and coordinate group navigation and activities without being able to speak outright?
>>
No. 978263 ID: afdebc

rolled 10, 8, 2, 10, 8, 8, 8, 5, 5, 9, 7, 10, 3, 1, 2, 6, 6, 8, 7, 2 = 125

>>978240
>He stammers out a request that they not disturb the blood trails in case that helps them to track down the assailants
"I will defer to your counsel." the abyssal agrees with a nod.

Jan is willing to check the chapel first, but suggests after that, searching the building wing by wing, from the basement up. If we lock the doors to spiral staircases (using thaumaturgy, as before), or the rooms containing them as we go, the central stairs will be the only way up or down, and one member of the search party can watch the central area while the remainder sweep a wing. This should hopefully limit the ability of anyone slipping in behind the searchers.

Also committing 3m to Hearing the Unspoken Word for the search scene.
>>
No. 978289 ID: f57349

>>978263
Quickest way to simplify partitioning of the interior is to lock the back stairs first: up one side, check in with the blood ape guarding the roof, then down the other. When you do...

Part of your curse as one of the Forsaken is to perceive certain things that wholesome, living people would not happily choose to know. Right now those senses are telling you that this blood ape is attempting to offer you the frozen severed head of a desecrated mutant corpse, her long dark hair (which hung loose in battle) now braided with surprising care and skill, with the unspoken intention to see how you respond to such a trophy, as part of a larger evaluation of your receptiveness to being formally courted.

As to guard duty, Feasts On Lion's Torment makes no claim of divinely perfect senses... but he does know much about the shedding of blood, and studied First Pulse Style partly as a devotional exercise in honor of his progenitor, Sondok, She Who Stands In Doorways, in her primary aspect as a vigilant warden. He has skirmished against Hushed Ones before, and is confident they could not have climbed this tree (which is now visibly sickly, particularly where Jan's anima lingered more than Noir's), nor breached the other roof access, silently or scentlessly enough to escape his notice, even if they weren't both injured and carrying plunder. Either they left by some other route or they're still inside somewhere.
>>
No. 978291 ID: f57349

>>978170
The bottom of the hole is three or four hundred square feet. Walls are loose earth, unclimbable. You've taken two levels of lethal damage and four of bashing damage. Fractured right tibia but the fibula seems intact. Worst massage ever. Two stars out of five, a halo of tiny chirping birdies. That leg will eventually be fine but you won't be able to safely put weight on it until after the carrots run low. Left knee... he says he's a cook, not a surgeon. Servant masks form a Drill 3, Mag 2, Might 2 unit with him leading and yourself a sorcerer, drinking hot carrot soup enriched by bizarre conjured spices and bedtime stories about civil engineering. Two maids cuddle up for warmth or otherwise actively serve you, one watches the horizon - for all the good it'll do, when that's only ten yards or so uphill - while the cook triages fresh-fallen debris into 'edible,' 'burnable,' or 'bedding.'

After the first full day in the pit you will no longer be at a -4 wound penalty.
>>
No. 978293 ID: f57349

>>978240
> request that they not disturb the blood trails
>>977398
> gore-soaked towel
Stains on the towel form a single word in Skytongue.
Tasnim's first guess (as a doctor) is a euphemism for arthritis, but the slightly more literal meaning is a soldier's pension.
Jan Do knows it can also refer to firedust weaponry, or cheap booze distilled by freezing - particularly in the context of comically mediocre ancestor-cult practices or isoamyl alcohol poisoning - or to the horror-story cliche of a wise elder's unheeded warning.
Root meaning, based on what Viatrix Senta can remember from her own formal schooling on the historical context of emergency comm protocols, is something like 'final speaker' or 'peacemaker,' but apparently it hasn't been a widely accepted term for actual military truce in a very long time, since Clever Fox knows that the Gethemane Accords, normalizing relations between the Guild and the Haslanti League more than a hundred and fifty years ago, and used as a starting point for broader international cooperation during the Wyldfog War, established a completely different word (which Ada and Viatrix both recognize is derived from an Old Realm term for sympathetic elemental scanners), along with the unmarked white flag, as protected symbols of intent to negotiate or surrender.
>>
No. 978302 ID: f5325a

rolled 1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 3, 6, 10, 5, 10, 8, 10, 2, 1, 1, 2, 5, 6, 6, 3, 3, 3, 6, 2, 6, 9, 7, 1, 9, 4, 5, 3, 2, 10, 3, 7, 4, 4, 5, 8, 7, 7, 9, 2, 4, 4, 2, 6, 2, 6, 6, 4, 3, 8, 7, 6, 9, 4, 6, 3 = 308

>>978291
"Well, there ain't nothing for it." Patches shrugs. "Some call me a pollywanna cracker, but I ain't about to do no cryin' over what seems to be spilt soup and a broken knee... they beat me fair and square." Fair doesn't preclude them surrounding and bodying you to the ground, does it? "I'm Patches. Patches in Reality. And I'm so glad for your company. I ain't much... just an author. Maybe something of an engineer. But I do have stories I can tell you. At least we can keep each other company." Patches removes a book... at the very least they left her with her journals. "Now hold on, this is a bit of a doozy... don't quite understand myself what this is doing here. 'The Tale of Penarys'... again? Well. Why not, it's fresh and news t'me."

Patches is going to open up her book again and read it, aloud this time-- doing downright silly character voices, but the best she can. Charisma + Performance? Which is, I believe, 4 and 0, respectively. Surprisingly enough, there's less of an accent when she reads.
>>
No. 978319 ID: ac57f8

rolled 9, 1, 9, 5, 10, 3, 7, 9, 7, 10, 2, 5, 5, 10, 8, 1, 10, 1, 10, 1, 6, 6, 4, 4, 10, 1, 2, 8, 6, 5, 4, 6, 3, 6, 8, 3, 8, 5, 9, 5, 2, 6, 9, 1, 1, 2, 5, 2, 8, 3, 5, 6, 2, 1, 8, 10, 5, 2, 7, 1 = 318

>>978241
Alright, being re-introduced to the group by Des. "Seems like something big went down while we were solving the oil crisis."

>>978161
> [polar coordinate mode][highlight/reveal/seek][classify by qualia][air (aspect)][boolean operator:require both][balance-completing][end string][proceed without delay]Somewhat inelegant, but that definitely wasn't the result of random keysmashing. For a natural-language interface it might have been phrased as a question: "Where is the symmetrical air?"

That's definitely curious, but I want to examine this keypad and everything and see if I can use this to print the location of all people in the manse at this present time.

> Should be two or three groups—the searchers, whoever is staying behind with the doctor and/or whoever is keeping an eye on the prisoner, as no one should be alone at this point. Do we have volunteers?

"I'd like to volunteer for the searchers, since I'm really good at seeing things."
>>
No. 978321 ID: ac57f8

rolled 10, 10, 8, 6, 4, 9, 8, 3, 4, 6, 2, 8, 5, 9, 2, 6, 1, 4, 8, 4, 5, 3, 10, 7, 5, 8, 1, 8, 2, 9, 3, 4, 5, 8, 5, 3, 2, 2, 8, 1, 8, 7, 2, 9, 10, 2, 7, 1, 4, 9 = 275

Alright, so Fox is going to stay with the Prisoner, though since nobody should be alone, she has a proposal. "Jan, I know that you're terribly worn out from your earlier fight, so, you should sit with me so that we're not alone and you can rest, and be ready right away as soon as you can use them as a focus to hear all the other Hushed Ones."
>>
No. 978408 ID: afdebc

rolled 3, 2, 6, 8, 5, 5, 10, 2, 6, 9, 1, 2, 7, 2, 8, 5, 2, 5, 7, 5 = 100

>>978321
Clever Fox's argument resonates with Temperance and restraint and moves Jan Do, despite her desire to do her duty and continue the pursuit. Honor sometimes means ceding glory to others.

With a slight frown, she answers "Your point is wise, but I am loath to leave the searchers with only two in their ranks. Viatrix Senta, would you be willing to stand with my Noir and Adamant Strix in my place?"

The samurai knows the No Moon has no love of combat, but with the ability to grow armored plates and transform into a great metal bird, she does not fear for the Lunar's safety should the searchers encounter any lingering hushed ones.
>>
No. 978428 ID: f57349

>>978319
There's no printer, though you could certainly take manual notes. Also the manse's internal senses seem to have gaps. Probably wouldn't be noticeable to the untrained eye, but when you look closely at, for example, individual locusts while Des's swarm form moves from one room to the next, there are slight discontinuities where imperfectly extrapolated images are replaced as the realtime view becomes available again.

More importantly, northwest quadrant of the second floor? Holographic control-room displays show no corpse, no bloodstains, not even the maze of stony crawlspaces, tripwire chimes, and murder-holes. Just three empty bedrooms, laid out like a tidy unoccupied version of that symmetrical set in the east wing.
>>
No. 978461 ID: 4424d1

Once she overcomes the initial shock of having learned of the attack; especially the kidnapping, Viatrix glances down upon hearing Jan Do's request, only to realize that she's stepped forward just now without realizing it herself.
"So it wasn't a fluke?"
She thinks to herself, bewildered, trying to
look composed in front of the others.
"O-Of course, but..." Viatrix tries to get a quick assessing look at her companions, giving up upon realizing that she's awkwardly staring at a shapely cloud of locusts.
"-But who are these Hushed Ones? Are they some kind of criminal gang? More aliens from The Wyld?"
>>
No. 978501 ID: ac57f8

>>978461
"What wasn't a fluke? Being attacked by wyld mutants, absolutely not when we're as close to the Wyld as we are, since you don't start seeing Unicorns unless you're right next to a powerful Wyld Zone.

"As for what the hushed ones are, I don't know the specifics, but probably a stable line of people twisted by the Wyld with a relatively consistent mutation pattern. I know that's what a lot of the Wyld Barbarian clans."
>>
No. 978503 ID: ac57f8

rolled 2, 10, 1, 3, 7, 10, 1, 9, 1, 6, 1, 4, 6, 1, 3, 8, 1, 7, 1, 1 = 83

"Centuries ago, the Ice Walker tribes of the Haslanesh, the Haslanasha, and the Haslanosha people were guided by both their herd and their goddess, Arvia of the Crescent Eye, Master of 99 Forms. Arvia was slayed by the Wyld Hunt, which sent the nascent Haslan people into a spiral, shattered and broken by the loss of their goddess. They eventually grouped together, stronger than ever, as the Haslanti league and people, but some continued their ice walker traditions, others sold themselves into servitude to the Wyld for protection and revenge. The Hushed Ones are one of those groups that survived.

"They are utterly relentless merciless ambush predators who prefer kidnapping over battlefield execution, both to keep their victims alive as livestock for winter while travel over the routes they might be ambushing resumes, and in case one of their victims takes their mutations in the Wyld. Nobody knows if they're infertile or not, but more numbers is always an advantage for them. I'm guessing that if they have managed to get back to the Wyld somehow, we'll have a nightmare of a time trying to get through their defenses."

Fox hadn't actually fought Hushed Ones personally, but given that she was a frequent traveler even as a mortal, they were always one of the possible dangers she had to keep an eye out for on certain routes.
>>
No. 978565 ID: afdebc

rolled 7, 6, 3, 10, 1, 9, 1, 3, 1, 6, 4, 3, 5, 8, 4, 8, 2, 1, 10, 2 = 94

>>978503
"They are also immune or resistant to cold, mute, fight as coordinated telepathic packs, and are, quite literally, without compassion." the doctor coldly adds to Fox's summary in skytongue. "On the occasions their victims have been recovered from 'herd-pits' before falling prey to cannibalism or the wyld, the medical literature reports long lasting psychological harm and physical disability as consequences.

"It is quite important that we locate Patches."

If necessary, this can count as a social attack trying to convince Viatrix of the importance of taking action here. Charisma 3 + Presence 1.

If Viatrix needs further clarifying information, Tasnim is willing to provide further information, up to essentially the entire contents of their writeup in Compass: North >>977559
>>
No. 978651 ID: ccb8b1

>>978501
"No no no!" Viatrix protests meekly, holding her hands up defensively, her pale, freckled cheeks turning into a bright pink.
"I meant something entirely different. So different in fact, I didn't even mean to say it at all".
Hoping that the more composed Solar will let this embarrassing moment slide, she turns to Tasnim, glancing at Clever Fox from time to time as she speaks.
"They... They don't sound like barbarians to me, or like people at all. Things must be awful all around for... things like this to exist without anyone doing something about it"
She grimaces, looking at Tasnim in the eyes
"Doc, you just mentioned... Herd pits? That means that if.. [I]when[I/] we go, we've got to be ready for the possibility that miss Patches isn't the only one there. There could be more poor souls there who got nabbed from Jupiter knows where. We've got to be able to rescue them, too, and we're going to need a plan,
as well".
>>
No. 978671 ID: f57349

Proceeding with the sweep...

Sculpture studio has a phonebooth-sized block of stone with disturbing bas-reliefs carved into all four vertical faces. They seem more like distorted caricatures than accurate portraits of any real people, but there's also some meticulous anatomical realism. South-facing figure has a face contorted with rage, spots on fingertips and heel of hand are coarse, unfinished stone where they'd be pressed flat if clawing at an imaginary window. West-facing figure weeps, hands in a pleading gesture. East-facing figure is green-eyed and slack-jawed, with patches of unfinished stone on the right shoulder, right cheek, and tip of nose as if leaning limp against the fictitious glass. The last figure, concealed until you walk into the studio and circle around, has a broken jaw, missing teeth, and many other painstakingly rendered wounds. It's face above the lower eyelids is still embedded in raw stone, positioned high enough that the dome of an intact skull would have protruded past the top of the block. Left hand is raised as if to bite the fingers, or induce vomiting. Most striking of all, though, the figure's left elbow, and right arm up to the shoulder, protrude beyond the stone block's apparent original surface, tips of the right index and ring finger brushing against a brass vine on the wall nearly three feet away.

There are a few other chunks of raw material and fragments of broken statues, as well as a rack of tools on the east wall. About half the tools are missing, but probably nothing that couldn't be replaced... given a week or three in the forge and maybe another shopping trip. No hostiles lurking under the workbench, nor in the various storage cabinets of the game rooms or music studio.

Between the sculpture studio and the parlor where you spent your first night in the fortress, there's the chapel. It's much more richly decorated than elsewhere. Southern wall has a shallow niche with a low-relief carving of the Unconquered Sun enthroned as a divine king. To his right, smaller niche carvings depict Luna and the Five Maidens, while Gaia and the Five Elemental Dragons are in a similar arrangement on the left. All the figures are brightly painted with gold and silver accents and elaborate scrollwork framing each niche. The UCS has eyes of crystal and orichalcum foil, but no matter where you stand they never seem to be looking directly at you.
Altar at the south end is a marble drum, four feet high and three feet in diameter, originally capped and trimmed with orichalcum. Most of the filigree on the sides and about a third of the concave sheet on top was torn away and presumably plundered. There's still some ash in the center from a long-ago burnt offering.
Vaulted ceiling is enameled bright blue, with an enormous sun of crimson, yellow, silver, and gold at the apex. Center of the painted sun is a yard-wide disk of gray glass, which functions identically to the lights elsewhere in the manse. Floor is blue tiles with golden sunbursts, walls are a gilded latticework outlining diamond-shaped segments of veined marble with a gold boss in the middle of each, and a row of the usual vinework along the top.
Ada, Viatrix, and anyone else familiar with First Age religious practices will be confused and/or horrified by the architectural decision to place a shrine dedicated to the Unconquered Sun in a room with no exterior windows.
>>
No. 978691 ID: afdebc

>>978651
>There could be more poor souls there who got nabbed from Jupiter knows where. We've got to be able to rescue them, too, and we're going to need a plan, as well".
The doctor gives a weary smile, and responds softly. "We do what we can as we can, and confront the problems before us. Triage."
>>
No. 978722 ID: ac57f8

rolled 10, 8, 1, 6, 5, 4, 6, 5, 10, 9, 2, 9, 9, 3, 9, 9, 9, 8, 7, 9, 3, 4, 4, 7, 10, 1, 8, 6, 7, 4, 2, 10, 6, 2, 7, 5, 2, 4, 3, 3, 9, 4, 10, 1, 5, 8, 7, 4, 4, 6 = 294

>>978671
> Ada, Viatrix, and anyone else familiar with First Age religious practices will be confused and/or horrified by the architectural decision to place a shrine dedicated to the Unconquered Sun in a room with no exterior windows.

This had already come up with the paintings of the solars in the one room, but Ada/Sunset is going to go into another annoyed rant at how Kal Bax is an arrogant and tacky piece of shit, now doubly so that she's actually seen this chappel. "I bet that they made it so that the Unconquered Sun never seems to be looking right at you because he couldn't bare to stand under the Sun's gaze knowing that his tacky and blasphemous design choices are probably part of why the Sun turned his face on creation at all, and so what if he advanced the science of Geomancy by centuries, he was an insufferable piece of shit who loved to flaunt how much work he had published in standardized deliberative issue Geomancy text books to anyone that would listen to him yap about it, and he never stopped even when you're really trying to signal that it's a super awkward situation, because he knew that you wouldn't be rude enough to interrupt an ancient Solar, and then when you do say something he acts like HE'S the victim, and he gets minor sanctions placed against your nation for rude behavior.

"Gods, fuck Kal Bax."

As for actual actions, Ada is going to be using Essence Sight and the Twilight Anima power to search for and analyze anything magical that blips the radar, mentally filtering out the manse's background magic from her search.
>>
No. 978723 ID: f57349

>>978722
Yep, those eyes are definitely a load-bearing component of the manse's Outside Fate power. Altar and creepy statue don't seem to have any significant magical component beyond the obvious - it's an actual statue, not four or more petrified people. Does seem remarkably well aligned with both the manse's essence currents and the broader elemental poles. Maybe a patch job to balance out damage elsewhere? That sort of meticulous work on a two-ton stone block doesn't exactly suggest emergency repairs, and it's probably not enough of a weak point to cause outright power failure if moved, so it might be a longer-term counterbalance for deliberate deviation from the original blueprint elsewhere. Or just a weird art project.

No magical illusions are in evidence. There's a hollow space in the north wall, though, directly above the one Noir found previously. >>970721 Abrasions on an adjacent gold boss suggest it might actually be a button; sure enough, when pressed, a secret door slides open. Slots in the shaft's far wall form a ladder leading down. Looks like it's about fifteen yards deep, so the lower end would be level with the bottoms of the tomb-shafts, or that incendiary staircase. Just barely wide enough to accommodate the missing soup cauldron. Noir's investigative skill can confirm traces consistent with two or more Hushed Ones traversing the shaft, very recently, while holding something bulky, heavy, and/or delicate enough to present a significant inconvenience - he knows quite a lot about the biomechanics of one-handed mountaineering.

Bottom of the shaft is a small room, six feet high by eight feet square, entire north wall of which is a massive pair of double doors similar in some ways to those at the front of the manse. Bronze-bound stone, flat grinning face across the central seam. Hinge position and scratch marks on the floor suggest it opens toward you, but pulling on that handle would involve sticking your fingers between the mask's teeth - or using a tool, or magic, of course. Inside both nostrils there's a complex lock mechanism.
>>
No. 978865 ID: d9acdc

rolled 2, 2, 2, 9, 1, 9, 4, 5, 8, 8, 8, 10, 3, 7, 6, 10, 1, 8, 4, 5, 7, 8, 6, 4, 4, 7, 6, 4, 3, 3, 9, 4, 1, 10, 6, 10, 6, 3, 9, 1, 1, 7, 5, 3, 10, 10, 8, 3, 10, 7, 2, 10, 8, 5, 7, 3, 3, 8, 10, 2 = 345

>>978671
>East-facing figure is green-eyed and slack-jawed, with patches of unfinished stone on the right shoulder, right cheek, and tip of nose as if leaning limp against the fictitious glass.

Noir is particularly interested in the eyes- what's been used to color them? Gems? Pigment? Another type of stone?

>Altar at the south end is a marble drum, four feet high and three feet in diameter, originally capped and trimmed with orichalcum. Most of the filigree on the sides and about a third of the concave sheet on top was torn away and presumably plundered. There's still some ash in the center from a long-ago burnt offering.

Noir pretends to be looking about the chapel until he's confident no one is watching; he then takes a handful of shattered adamant from the previously swept up debris (keeping the rest in his pocket in case he needs to blind someone or cover an escape) and tosses them among the ashes, offering a whispered prayer common among the southern urchins.

"May the shade find me, heat avoid me, Men With Skicks* pass me by, and cool water grace my lips"
*technically this is a single word, with a variety of interpretations based on context, ranging from "respected elder" to "Immaculate Monks" to "Beatings from merchants/law enforcement"

>>978723
> Bronze-bound stone, flat grinning face across the central seam. Hinge position and scratch marks on the floor suggest it opens toward you, but pulling on that handle would involve sticking your fingers between the mask's teeth - or using a tool, or magic, of course. Inside both nostrils there's a complex lock mechanism.

Any blood, pronounced scrape marks, or other indicators as to how the mechanism was most recently operated?
>>
No. 978871 ID: f57349

>>978865
Charisma 4, Integrity/Performance 0, stunt 2, tool bonus +1 from the shrine
>rolled 2, 2, 2, 9, 1, 9, 4,
Pretty sure that wasn't a Resources 5 offering, so the prayer is unsuccessful.

Perception 5, Investigation 5, stunt 2, specialty +2
> 5, 8, 8, 8, 10, 3, 7, 6, 10, 1, 8, 4, 5, 7
Ten successes. Just enough dust on the floor to pick out footprints and realize that wasn't two or more Hushed Ones, it was a single individual climbing down, examining the door without ever touching it, then climbing back up in a hurry. Toes the same size and shape as whoever stole a celestial wine bottle from your room, actually, which neatly explains what she was carrying.
>>
No. 978875 ID: f57349

>>978865
>the eyes- what's been used to color them? Gems? Pigment? Another type of stone?
Medical-grade glass, complete with realistic iris striations. If some surgeon plucked one of them out from under the corresponding stone eyelid and installed it in a living person's face, most people wouldn't be able to tell. No dots in relevant Craft skills, so you'd have a hard time guessing how such a thing was made, but it seems like a pretty impressive trick.
>>
No. 978912 ID: afdebc

>>978289
>Part of your curse as one of the Forsaken is to perceive certain things that wholesome, living people would not happily choose to know. Right now those senses are telling you that this blood ape is attempting to offer you the frozen severed head of a desecrated mutant corpse, her long dark hair (which hung loose in battle) now braided with surprising care and skill, with the unspoken intention to see how you respond to such a trophy, as part of a larger evaluation of your receptiveness to being formally courted.
While she had earlier entertained the hypothetical of a code of honor build around the respectful taking of trophies, Jan Do does not herself subscribe to such a code. As such, she finds herself torn—while she would prefer to treat the remains of her foe with respect, and see the trophy head eventually receives proper funerary rites, she also does not wish to encourage the blood ape bringing her mangled prey, like an overgrown cat (a comparison, that while accurate, the demon would find insulting), much less his romantic interest.

Hmm. I believe attempting to determine the appropriate forms to politely rebuff the blood ape's attempt at courtship would be some manner of socialize roll?
>>
No. 978913 ID: afdebc

rolled 2, 7, 9, 1, 5, 10, 1, 4, 5, 10, 10, 1, 10, 5, 7, 3, 9, 5, 2, 8 = 114

>>978912
>>
No. 978927 ID: f57349

This particular blood ape seems more attuned to subtle social nuances than most, but that's an extremely low bar. Usual strategy recommended to demonologists for this sort of thing is to lay out simple, unambiguous rules, like "the use of the corpses of sapient beings as trophies is forbidden, instead they must be buried with appropriate funerary rites," or "you were hired as a wilderness guide, do not attempt to flirt or have sex with anyone while on duty, or with me personally at any time."
>>
No. 978956 ID: 0640da

rolled 1, 7, 2, 1, 9, 6, 1, 3, 1, 9, 6, 2, 10, 8, 10, 1, 1, 3, 7, 7, 2, 9, 9, 7, 4, 1, 4, 1, 10, 1, 1, 6, 1, 7, 7, 10, 3, 2, 1, 9, 3, 9, 2, 7, 4, 4, 7, 1, 10, 2, 4, 2, 4, 4, 1, 6, 6, 4, 5, 7 = 282

After familiarizing herself with a story, Patches tries to get comfortable with the pain. The next week or two, bed rest. The Hushed Ones have been nice enough to leave her group with some debris... she winces. "You never told me yer names, fellas... mind helping me-- sss. Splint my leg? I ain't in no shape to do it myself..."

Patches tries to learn the names of her friendly assistants, and a little more about their identity.

"Y'all former godbloods, or just born as spirits?"

Investigation 3 + Charisma 4 to learn their names, how they came to be... well, if they remember that, and their charm set.
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No. 979074 ID: f57349

>>978168
Batch of Crane's Heart Elixir is ready quicker than expected, smells nice and potent. How do you plan to administer it to the prisoner?
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No. 979091 ID: 4424d1

>>978691
"There's room in me for three people... seated comfortably" Viatrix emphasizes the last bit.
"Well, search and rescue regulations would have relaxed seating regulations if it meant saving more lives" she adds, nodding to herself.
"We'll need someone to track these... mutants back to wherever's their lair, someone who can either fight or scare them off, a doctor, and me, who can fly us out of harm's way"
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