Normally, Dyron Slivari would not be caught outside her master's residence walking the slums, the very dregs of Five Coils society. Tepet Amon is a high ranking politician of Five Coils, after all, and she is his personal slave. Slivari has spoken, danced and played sweet music for courts all the way up in the District of Air, has seen the bountiful food they eat, their fine garments spun from materials that ought not to be possible as cloth, the amazing architecture and technology that makes their lives so much easier.

Normally, Danae Adela would not be found outside her cell walking alongside a politician and his courtier pet. Hers is the duty of crafter and general, putting her securely in the realms of Earth and Fire, where she and those with similar talents manufacture, repair and test all of the machinery that makes Five Coils run -- and then some. For Adela has had a hand in the making of grand and terrible armaments that one day might surge to the surface, and conquer the lands beyond.

But Lord Amon has insisted on having both Danae and Slivari accompany him. They make a strange trio, the handsome dark-haired Air Aspect and the two Solar Anathema identified by their distinctive, Essence-limiting collars. Together they walk speechlessly through winding, filthy streets until they reach a metallic door at the end of an alleyway.

At a touch from the man it opens, the contents of the room within lit by dimming Essence lamps: warstriders! At least a fang of them in severe disrepair, kept in this secret cache for who knows how long. Amon raises his eyebrows to the captive Solars, as if to invite comment.

"Seriously?  Warstriders?!?"  Danae thought to herself, trying to keep her excitement hidden under a veneer of professionalism--after all, it wouldn't 'Serve' right to look like she was enjoying her work too much...

Oh well--he apparently wanted some manner of comment--what would be the most appropriate sort to give at this point in time though?

"Under ordinary circumstances--I would pronounce these to be quite a useful addition to any force lucky enough to get their hands on them..."  Danae began after a moment's consideration.  "Indeed, a warstrider makes for an excellent siege weapon--so far as I know in any case...  However, speaking from a purely professional standpoint--it would be of limited use in the relative peace of Five Coils--save for intimidation and law enforcement angles--their size makes it difficult to move along small passageways freely, and while the additional power is handy against stationary or other extremely large targets--their role is best served to support a conventional force, rather then act as a backbone unit..."

"You're a bright young woman, and your assessment is a sound one," Amon replies smoothly to Danae. "But these machines were never built for the peace of these poor confines to begin with."

"Take a look at them, if you wish. I will allow you the Essence to examine them and assess damage."

"Well, naturally"  Danae replied, and on the 'Note of authroization' so to speak--she took a look over the various mechanics of the machines...  While admittedly, she was better at the creation of new devices then the maintenence of what was already present--one didn't come without the other, and she did have a particular knack for armor...  This was just--moderately larger then she was generally used to.

Slivari was confused when she and another were asked to come with her Lord. Normally she went with him to grand places fully of beautifully dressed people and politics. Though she of course did as he asked and that is how she ended up staring with wide gold eyes at the old Warstriders, When her Lord lifted a brow as if he wanted them to comment she was at a loss for words. Rare for her but what could her Lord expect, she was no expert in these things. no her expertise was in the courts, in winning people over or discovering information.


Not wishing to make a fool of herself, Slivari kept her lips sealed. She listened to the exchange between the woman and her Lord with curiosity, even if she knew next to nothing about them perhaps she could learn. While the other solar looked over the monsters she glanced up at her Lord a hint of confusion on her face. Why did he choose to bring her here? surely it wasn't to simply look at these things. Was her Lord planning on using them for something?

Amon smiles at Slivari's confusion. Of course she would not understand, his expression seems to say. Gentle, but just a little patronizing. Still, he has never been an unkind master.

Danae discovers a total of ten warstriders in the room. Five are common warstriders, five are scouts. Clearly these are not the cream of the crop, but seeing so many of them in one place when whole talons were usually needed to support and maintain them is a huge surprise. They have been lacking in maintenance for years, and only the airtight construction of the room they are stored in kept their dismal condition from getting worse.

[Private to Danae Adela: Danae discovers the warstriders are damaged enough that they can only function with the low-power stance limitations (WotLA p. 148), even if they had hearthstones to power them (they don't). They are also less sturdy: 4L/4B soak and 2 hardness less than normal. Repairing this fully would take at least 80 hours of maintenance *per* warstrider. Otherwise the machines are still functioning.]

Even more astonishing is that none of the warstriders in the cache are of jade construction. Of each type there are two orichalcum, two moonsilver and one starmetal. Their weapons are only mundane, but warstrider-sized.

Amon gives Danae time to look over the machines before calling her back. "I wanted you both to meet. Danae, this is Slivari. Slivari, Danae Adela. You will need to trust each other very soon now," he says enigmatically, starting to walk away from the room...
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:52, Thu 30 Oct 2008.

"Yikes"  Danae noted, her head poking out from one of the moonsilver models' fusilage after her inspection, coughing out a few motes of dust.  "Well there's your problem!"  She exclaimed, hopping down with a slight shimmer, and pulling out a little diagram she had sketched during the inspection.  "These things haven't had maintenence in ages!  It'd be far more practical to just melt them down for their materials, and rework them into something simpler--it'd take a small work crew days for each one just to get them up to basic running order!"

At that point though, having caught the reference as to the whole 'Trust Thing' though, Danae blinked quizzically.  "Oh...  Some... New project or something?...  Well, in any case"  She turned to Silvari then, and raised a hand in greeting.  "Name's Danae...  Sadly, they've got me doing all the tech stuff for most of the fancy weapons and armor lying around--what's your role in this whole debacle?"

Slivari gave her master a small smile, some where she supposed she cared for him. He had always been a decent man and had never treated her unkindly. She pushed those dangerous thought out of her head as she was introduced to Danae.

As her Lord turned away from them, she glanced in his direction but assumed he wanted to give them some time alone. For what reason she was unsure at this time.

" Honestly I do not know what my role is to be" said the beautiful courtier with a delicate shrug of the shoulders.  "I have never dealt with anything quite like this before" Slivari was still very confused by all of this, certainly there was no reason for her to remain here when she could be doing something else. But her Lord had said she and Danae should come to trust one another, Though why exactly she was sure she would know soon enough.

Though his back is turned to them, Amon's voice drifts back towards the two Solars. "If you work together, you may have a chance. You see... the Coils have become corrupt beyond reason."

"One way or another, you will right this wrong. Find the others like you. The sky awaits..."

He vanishes before their eyes. It is as if he was never there. And at the moment that he winks out of existence -- by some power beyond anything they have seen Dragon-Blooded capable of -- klaxons begin to wail throughout the District of Water.

"WARNING! Maximum Security Breach in Forbidden Level B31. Maximum Security Breach in Forbidden Level B31. Now switching to Orichalcum Alert in Water Level B26 and below. All Jade Personnel and Ranked Officials, proceed to the nearest evacuation station."

"WARNING! As per Orichalcum Breach Protocol, purging of all affected levels will commence in T-minus 30 minutes!"

[Private to Danae Adela: Oh, I forgot to say this: during your analysis of the 'striders you realized that you can potentially do a quick fix to power up one or two for a short amount of time, the difficultly for that would be pretty high though!]

Danae and Slivari also realize, at the advent of this announcement, that the Essence-limiting effect of their collars has been lifted.

"Orichalcum alert?"  Danae said with a blink, glancing back and forth, and thinking about this for a moment.  "... I don't actually think I've heard of that one before...  And the implication--given the whole dirty connontations..."

She frowned a bit further then, and took a look over at the various walls.  "...  Okay...  Your patron goes and vanishes--something that's probably kinda impossible...  An alert like this gets called...  the Water Districts are generally full of undesirabl..."

Her eyes then opened up as she seemed to realize something, and patted the collar at her neck...  Blinking several times more as the implications seemed to hit, then after a few more moment's processing--well, she let herself come up with a big grin.

"...  Mass jailbreak?"  She concludes, before scrambling over to the Warstriders again.  "You're a solar too, right?  If we want to exploit this little opening to make a dash for it, I'm gonna need your help for this!"  Tossing a few small tools back to Silvari, she gestured towards the Starmetal and Moonsilver Warstriders.  "We're gonna take some of the golden machines--I know I have use for it, and you probably will as well, once things settle down, I can try cannibalizing them for parts or something to actually develop some gear with--at the same time, we've also got a ready source of other stuff going on here--while I'm working at getting these things ready for a temporary trip, do you mind seeing what materials you can pull off of the Moonsilver and Starmetal machines?  They're in pretty rough shape, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to pry a good amount off--but both materials are kind of rare and hard to produce, and if we're lucky, we might be able to use it to buy our way into another escapee group!"

Working quickly, Danae proceeded to flit between the Orichalcum Warstriders at that point, pulling functional pieces off of the ones 'Not' selected, and using them to set up a quick, temporary fix on things, Caste Mark starting to glow in the excitement of being able to actually work for her OWN benefits for a change!

Slivari was in shock, she had watched her Lord vanish and his last words to them weren't what she would call normal or very comforting. Next thing she knew a loud warning was going off about an Orichalcum breach. She stood there for the moment feel completely lost, then she felt it. Bright Golden eyes widened as the solar realized her essence collar was no longer working.


She didn't have to much time to think about it, Danae had just thrown some tools at her. Catching them the girl stared with wide eyes " Right... Look I have no idea what I am doing! The only reason I can tell the difference between an Arm and a Leg is because I have them!" she said this as she raced over to one of the warstriders that Danae had mentioned. Standing there in front of them she let out a sigh and bit her lip, she had to try and that is exactly what she did. She tried to get as much Starmetal and Moonsliver as she could.

Slivari's help seems to hinder more than aid, but Danae herself works fast and efficiently. She manages to quick fix two orichalcum warstriders and takes apart enough moonsilver and starmetal for about 6 dots of artifacts each.

5 minutes later, they can clearly hear commotion from outside. People are running, panicking in the streets. Five Coils militia are among them, their magitech-amplified voices calling for the people to slow down and calm. As the chaos builds Slivari and Danae start to hear weapons being fired, and screams...

[Private to Danae Adela; Dyron Slivari: I am assuming you'll each take a 'strider, yeah? let me know two things: whether you're taking a common or a scout, and what type of weapon you'll choose to wield with it. you'll be able to find a warstrider sized mundane weapon of any sort, also potentially a dart launcher (WotLA p. 151).]

"Not good..."  Danae mutters, making the final few tweaks, then standing back as things came together.  "Okay then! Your choice, you want to ride with me?  Or take a machine yourself?  Might be a bit bumpy if you pick the latter, these weren't really meant for carrying passengers, but if you're not really experieneced with this sort of thing..."  She trailed off then, and winced.

"Well, yeah--what do you think?"

For all her effort all Slivari had really managed to do was smash her thumb, hurt her foot which was really her fault when she kicked the machine out of pure frustration, and get her outfit dusty.

Sucking on the tip of her thumb, she turned and looked up at Danae. " Heh... Do you really think I can uh move one of these monsters on my own? I can barely get parts off!" Shaking her head she continues " I don't know if I want to chance it, I might just make more of a mess.. so I think I am going to squeeze in with you some how"

"Fair enough"  Danae responded, unbuckling her breastplate and other gear, and handing it over to Silvari.  "You mind hanging onto that stuff then for a bit then?  Don't want it slowing me down--I pretty much know the theory of how to move one of these... Realistically though?  It's my first time too!"  She laughed a little weakly then, before hopping up to one of the Common Warstriders she was able to restore.

"In any case..."  She begins, popping open the hatch to the fusilage, and beginning to strap in.  "Tight fit, but just try to hang on, and we should get out of this in one piece then!"

The warstrider is a bit laden down, hauling two people AND extra magical materials. To fit it all Danae and Slivari have to leave a little bit behind, though. (4 dots artifact worth of moonsilver and starmetal, rather than 6). But it works, and soon Danae has the warstrider moving on outside the hangar... wobbling, at first, but slowly getting used to the extra weight.

Outside is a mess. People are panicking, running in the streets. Some of them are carrying belongings or looting them, taking everything they can carry toward the nearest exit upward they can find. Fangs of elite Five Coils peace officers, led by Dragon-blooded in dragon armor, patrol the streets of the Lower District, dealing with rioting and unrest in the most final way possible: death. Anyone who does not consent to being herded into neat, patiently waiting groups is systematically cut or shot down, no matter their intent, no matter their age.

Danae and Slivari, who had seen more of Coils than most captives due to their functions, know roughly which way to go to head to either the nearest elevators or the nearest stairs. (Decide amongst yourselves whether you think the elevator or the stairs will be the better route.) However, it's impossible NOT to attract attention in a warstrider, and the nearest patrol quickly accosts them.

"Halt!" demands the patrol leader. He is a Fire Aspect wearing red jade dragon armor, wielding an artifact fire lance. The fang of men with him wear ashigaru armor and carry exceptional, elementally imbued spears and longbows. "Unidentified pilot! State your name, purpose and authorization, or surrender the warstrider immediately!"

Slivari was secretly glad she had always been made to watch her figure, Inside the machine it was cramped and uncomfortable though it wasn't like she was going to start complaining, Nope that type of thing would probably get her tossed out on her tush.

" Hey..Danae, which way do you..." Her voice trailed off as the Fire Aspect came into view, his voice making her wince. " Shit..." The young solar searched her mind for a solution to this, she had been trained to perform and mingle with her Lord's enemy's and friends. She could gather information or worm her way into a stuffy politicians heart but dealing with Monstrous Warstriders and all that wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

Figuring they didn't have time to sit and talk about a plan, Slivari placed her hand over the dawns mouth and flipped the switch to activate the speech device (?), She put a commanding tone in her voice, commanding and confidence. " I am Tepet Rovena, We have a situation involving an escaped Anathema . I do not have the time to get proper authorization for use of the warstrider or for a lengthy conversation. Hurry before the Anathema escape!." Afterward she sat there hoping this would work, she had pulled something out of thin air and hoped Danae would get this hunk of metal moving!

The Fire Aspect listens to the bluff and very nearly finds it convincing. He pauses for a moment, actually considering the claim and taking note of the name Slivari gave as her own.

Then he shakes his head. "I'm sorry. While your claim does not completely lack credibility, we officers are trained to recognize that the Anathema can often be glib tongued and persuasive."

"We need some sign or symbol of your legitimacy. Then I will let you pass. Otherwise..." A blazing Essence spearhead blossoms from the tip of the patrol officer's fire lance, and his men ready their spears in a battle-ready stance.

---

OOC: Slivari's roll just barely got beaten by the leader's MDV. Instead of just letting you fail outright I'll give you one more chance to escape... give it your best shot, use WP, virtues. Slivari, you could potentially stunt performance: acting or storytelling (and use Perf excellency), or you could use socialize and elaborate on your lie about Tepet Rovena, play up that you're of higher social class than a mere soldier. Just some suggestions. :)

or you can just fight, or try to run right past'em!

"I don't quite think it worked"  Danae whispered back.  "Dontcha have some special skills or something you can toss in to make it work better?  I mean, I can probably sorta step on them--but if they're bringing siege weapons in--well, a Warstrider's pretty much a big suit of armor that I've just funneled a massive amount of my Essence through--if it gets hit, I'm gonna get torn up a bit--and I won't be able to put up much of a defense either...  I mean, if I go quick, I can make it--but..."

She frowned, then added.  "Why not go with something kind of truthful then?  Say we were asked to secure resources, and that there's no time to waste... Or whatever you want to do--I'll just get ready to not get us all killed if worst comes to worst...  No pressure?  Really, it's not my intent"

Slivari sighs when it becomes obvious her little attempt didn't work, this was what she got for trying to save essence for a later time. Running a hand through her light green hair she pushes it over her shoulder and searches her mind for something else she could toss at the suspicious dragon-graced

She frowns, maybe she could spin some sort of tale to convince them. " Listen there isn't time to be wasting! There is a dangerous Anathema on the loose but since you insist. I will tell you more of who I am and how I came to have this warstrider. I came here with a friend to secure resources, as we were looking over the aged Warstriders, the alert went out, the two anathema flew past us using their essence to attack and beguile others with their wicked talents. I'm lucky it didn't come in or I might not be able to stand here and waste time with you over small details. My partner left to help in a different area while I took the warstrider to assist my fellow dragons in capturing the anathema's, I do have an advantage since I saw them. Now I implore you man! step aside and let me continue on my way to help find and capture this loose Anathema before something terrible happens."



[Private to GM: Performance and Manipulation + Conviction (Dedication for getting through this)
Using Performance Excellency. 6 mote which gives 6 extra dice.

Today: Secret Roll: Dyron Slivari rolled 5 successes using 14d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,8,10,5,7,5,3,2,3,4,5,5,2,8. ]

The Fire Aspect listens pensively, considering every word. Grimly, he nods, depowering his lance. Touching his ear, he activates a communications device and speaks.

"Two uncollared Anathema reported loose in Floor B29, Lower Residential District, Sector C6, Manta! Fan out immediately in search of them!" he announces sternly.

"...Lady Rovena," he addresses the warstrider; not knowing the proper rank he defaults to a generic honorific. "I and my men will accompany you on your hunt. I am Lieutenant Valis Miru of the 33rd Red Jade Strike Fang, at your service."

"But I must insist, Lady, that by the ten minute mark we must immediately head for higher ground. The Tiger Sharks will take our place, and after that -- apologies, Lady. Of course you know the plan." He signals his men, "Move out, follow Lady Rovena!"

---

OOC: second attempt had slightly lower MDV--so you pass!

So you know the way to the nearest stairway or the nearest elevator. I figure Adela can decide which one is best (since she's piloting) and start moving now. I'll leave it up to both of you whether you'll try to lose the Strike Fang or not.

"Say it's our first priority to secure the resources" Danae whispered back.  "I don't mind if they follow us for a while--but that it woudl be better if they spent their efforts searching for the Anathema as opposed to providing escort to a war machine...  We'll try taking the stairs though--we'll probably have to get clearance for the elevator, and that'll probably require a visual--and until I get a second of free time to pry these collars off, we can't stick around down here when that 'Purge' happens--Tiger Shark armor is used for underwater operations, and these things aren't environmentally sealed, we'll all drown for sure if we're caught down here when that happens.

And with that said, Danae tilted her head down, the warstrider matching the movement as well as it's clumsy construction and hasty repairs could, and began making way to the stairway
This message was last edited by the player at 00:23, Mon 10 Nov 2008.

For now, the 33rd Strike Fang follows the orichalcum warstrider without complaint. One positive to their escort is that none of the other patrols they meet stop to question them along the way.

Meanwhile, the situation continues to devolve throughout the residential district. "T-minus twenty minutes until purging commences," comes the latest ominous announcement, sparking a riot that even the well-equipped and organized Five Coils Peace Officers find challenging to put down. A mad, screaming throng of residents who have refused to be herded neatly are now clogging the main road leading to the stairway. They've started to realize that they're very likely not going to be saved -- or that the intent was never to save them at all!

Some have turned on the armored peacekeepers, while others are simply pushing and trampling over their peers for even the chance at getting upstairs. The response from the Peace Officers has turned from an attempt to pacify into all out violence: volleys of arrows and Essence blasts tear through the crowd, felling ordinary men and women and children without any care for distinction, and those who manage to surge close enough to attack find themselves little match for the fire lances, shock pikes and essence whips of the front lines.

Danae pilots her warstrider to the edge of the rioters until she realizes she will either have to force a path through the riot or attempt a detour. "Are you sure the Anathema came THIS way, Lady?" Valis Miru shouts up, struggling to fend off the mortals that have begun to crowd their group. The rioters apparently think the warstrider is another, greater measure to beat them down, and are crazed and desperate enough to try and overwhelm it!

---

OOC: Okay... the warstrider is basically being clinched by a group of about 10 mortals dogpiling on it. Only 2 successes, though. Your dodge DV is pretty much useless in the warstrider, but you still parried them off. You have an action to decide whether you'll push through, try to find a detour to the stairs, or try another route (the elevator, or search for a lesser known stairway.)

Slivari watches the chaos with wide eyes, her expression going from shock to anger to deep sadness for she knows there isn't much she can do for the desperate people. Its terrible how they can so coldly kill their own people.

She growls a curse when they turn their attention to the warstrider. " These people can't be serious!" she mumbles as she shifts slightly so she is more secure. She glances at Danae " I'm guessing that if we don't do something they might just damage us or something right? What do you want to do? As much as I hate this option do you think you could push through them? Or should we try the elevator or something? Is there another staircase? you know one we don't have to spend forever looking for" She was quiet for several moments. " We don't have much time....Danae do whatever you can do get us up there please..." Slivari felt terrible for saying those words, she felt as if she were no better then those officers shooting down children and their parents. She forced herself to watch, so she could always remember how cold they were and not be tempted to show mercy if the chance presented itself.

"... Actually, I've got an idea" Danae muttered after escaping the press of the people present, and taking a new detour, this time towards one of the 'Lesser Used Elevators'.  "No matter how you slice it--if we just run out and save our own skins--we're pretty much going to deserve the whole 'Anathema' title they've got us stuck with...  I mean, freedom's wonderful and all--but should it really come at the cost of 'Everyone' from the entire water-sector, who isn't either properly equipped, or a Water Aspect?"

Having escaped from the crowd proper, and taking a look back at the group's 'Company', she took a second to consider.  "So--most of the forces are down here watching the riots...  If we can take this opportunity to get up to the administration floor of the Water sector--I think we can stop the purge before it actually kicks off...  Of course, that's going to mean we'll probably have to fight our way through the guys down here... I can hold my own basically, but if you're not much of a fighter yourself, you'll have to let me take the lead--I'll see if we can settle down in a sufficiently close quarters though that the 'Strider' can block any pursuit though--if we get that far anyway..."

Danae extracts her warstrider from the throng of rioters being systematically slaughtered. Though she puts her first thoughts and efforts into a plan to save them, forcing herself to retreat while they are being slaughtered still fills her with frustrated rage at her inability to help them now!

[Private to Danae Adela: 16:03, Today: Gatekeeper, on behalf of Danae Adela, rolled 6 successes using 3d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10,10,10. <-- ouch, ouch, OUCH! The one time you'd want the dice to roll badly, they roll well. You get 6 points of limit, however you won't get it again for this scenario so at least you know you won't limit break yet.]

Fortunately, she maintains control of her emotions and starts piloting her way toward the nearest district elevator. Valis Miru and the 33rd Strike Fang find themselves caught struggling to free themselves from the tail end of the rioting, trying to follow. Miru shouts over the rioting, "Wait, Lady Rovena! Where are you going??" before he starts to realize that the person in the warstrider isn't actually hunting for Anathema -- she's looking for a way upstairs!

Danae and Slivari hear Miru broadcast another communication as they pull into a side street and keep moving. "Possible rogue warstrider, designation double-0-13-Common, headed toward District Elevator 1! Available units prepare to intercept!"

---

OOC: Battle coming up by the next post or two. You still have some time to potentially activate anima, scenelong charms, whatever you've got. Your odds are better though, there's fewer available to intercept, so don't freak out too much ;)
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:21, Sat 29 Nov 2008.

"I guess that was a slightly reckless plan, was it?"  Danae sighed while shifting the Warstrider's weapons into a slightly more offensive posture, even as she glances over her attackers.

"These are--as I mentioned, really bad for taking on small people... Then again, a single hit'll clean their clocks--so I guess we've got to hope for the best now, don't we"

Slivari had been so shocked by Danae, for the first time in her life words has completely failed her.

After the crazy plan was in motion she looked at Danae, sarcasm in her voice " Reckless plan? I'll say! what were you thinking?!" she fell silent, it wasn't like yelling at her would help at this point. " Look I am no fighter, so I really hope this giant thing can clean their clocks as you said, otherwise..."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:50, Sun 16 Nov 2008.

"There he is!" shouts a voice from ahead of the warstrider. Slivari and Danae see a group of six headed toward them: two in sentinel defense force armor, and four in ashigaru armor, all wielding shock pikes. From the armor make, Danae is certain these are all mortals: very well equipped heroic mortals, but mortals nonetheless.

"Come on, this is our chance to prove our mettle!" shouts their leader, one of the sentinels. "FIRE!" The two more heavily armored mortals maintain a front line defense while the four behind execute a flawless coordinated attack, discharging energy from their shock pikes at range!

---

OOC: actions
tick 0 - sentinels, ashigaru (coordinated attack)
tick 1 - Danae and Slivari (note: I will allow for Slivari to use her thrown attacks from the protection of the warstrider, if she wishes.)

Currently the small force in front of the warstrider is 50 yards away. The coordinated attack succeeded surprisingly well, so parry DV is at -5 (-1 from shock pike at range, -4 from coordination). The warstrider is at 0 DV but Danae may use a charm to improve DV or perfect defend (but note: there's 4 attacks to PD against, 3 at 6 sux and 1 at 4 sux.)

Note that damage taken by the warstrider will be distributed: basically Danae and Slivari will share damage so it's kinda more like you have 20 HL total.

"Hello!"  Danae called out as her own weapon nimbly worked to deflect the worst of the oncoming shock-bolts, "I'm Hardly the one murdering your own people here!  It's funny how you blame us for all that's occuring..."  At that point, the worst of the barrage over and done with, Danae twisting the chopping sword in one hand then, and settling it into a fighting posture.

"Don't hold me responsible for your lives then!"

With a single sweep at that point, Danae dropped the Warstrider low, and delivered an arching blow, aiming to knock two of the ashigaru equipped soldiers aside.

[Private to Gatekeeper: Dipping Swallow Defense to bring my PDV back up to it's base, plus any stunts--My attack will involve a two-attack flurry aimed at the ashigaru troops with the chopping sword.]
This message was last edited by the player at 00:51, Tue 18 Nov 2008.

[Private to Danae Adela: +1 stunt... erp, unfortunately with the warstrider chopping sword, your PDV is only 4... so, you only get 5 max. however, it's enough to make the last pike miss.]

Three blasts of energy rock the warstrider, most of it absorbed by the massive metal body, but Danae and Slivari still take minimal damage (1L each). The fourth shock pike blast is neutralized by Danae's massive chopping sword.

She strikes back, sweeping the heavy blade at the ashigaru. They scramble, using the advantage of their smaller size to duck away from its reach.

"Keep your distance!" their leaders command, maintaining a steady backward march as they ready for another volley of blasts.

---

OOC: Looks like both Danae and the mortals act again on tick 5. Since Danae is Exalted, though, I'll let her take another action before they do. Slivari may still act as well if she wishes, but don't let that stop you Danae, you can assume she holds her action if you post before her.

(Sorry, I had nearly forgotten about the -3 dice for size! but you can see from my mistaken rolls that if you DO get to hit any one of these guys, they'll just splatter. :P)

Slivari growled in frustration, this wasn't going as well as she had hoped and those dragon-graced being smaller then the Warstrider obviously made it more difficult to harm them. She had to find a way to help, while she might not be much of a fighter she was decent with her throwing knives and even knew a trick or two that might help in out.
" Okay, here I go"

Pulling a throwing knife out of her boot she smirks, she had always kept a few on her person just in case she needed to help defend her master. Well now she supposed he was her former master.


[Private to GM: Howdy GM, you mentioned I could still use my throwing attacks, so I am gussing its alright for me to use Cascade of Cutting Terror against the little dragons.
Heh... so much for awesome blades of doom.....apparently the dice gods hate me right now.


You botched using 7d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((1,5,2,1,3,4,5)).
 I don't know if you prefer I act out my botch or if your like my table-top GM and enjoy being evil and deciding it for yourself. :\  Be gentle? ]

[Private to Dyron Slivari: Oh no, that sucks! Well, I gave you an extra die for a stunt, just for trying, and it rolled a 10. So, 2 sux, doubled to 4. ST trumps bad dice! Ha! ;)]

Fortunately for Slivari, none of the group in front of her and Danae are actually Dragon-blooded, just well-equipped mortals. When she tosses her throwing knife, it splits into a multitude of golden knives that swarm and pierce her opponent, one of the sentinel armored leaders. Unfortunately, most of it is absorbed by his armor, but he does take 1L damage.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:18, Thu 20 Nov 2008.

"FIRE!" The sentinel leader shouts valiantly, but his men are apparently shocked by the sight of a warstrider up close. They just can't manage to coordinate their shock pike blasts at all.

Nonetheless, the disjointed array of energy blasts that streaks toward the warstrider is still basically accurate. Only one shot goes off wildly -- the other four will definitely impact unless Danae acts to avoid them. [Private to Danae Adela: Your Parry DV is currently 3 and the attacks coming for you are 5 sux, 5 sux, 6 sux, 4 sux. If you use Dipping Swallow you'll only get a max of 4 Parry DV so that'll reduce the # of hits to 3. But if I were you I'd save your charm use for a melee excellency, since it can both raise DV and add successes to attack. You can post both the defense and your next attack in the same post to speed things up.]

---

OOC: BTW, this thread is really just too slow compared to the others. :/ I'll have to start summarizing the combat and determining the PCs' actions myself, if the responses don't start speeding up soon.

That way the thread can move on toward the next goal. The other groups will be converging on B29 pretty soon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:37, Thu 20 Nov 2008.

"Kind of a bit worse then I expected..." Danae muttered, glancing over to the side, and reaching out for a chunk of wall that had been damaged by the few attacks that had been blocked earlier, then with a quick movement, pulled it out, and hurled it in the direction of the attacking soldiers--while she doubted it would hurt them, it should distract their aim enough--hopefully, that she'll be able to defend herself a little better then before.

That was the theory anyway--as she proceeded in following this up with another swipe of the sword, trying to target the apparent leader of the opposing group.

[Private to Gatekeeper: 2m Second Melee on each attack to bring my DV up a bit, + my stunt. 4m on my attack, targetting the one who's been coordinating the others]

Slivari lets out a small happy squeak, her arm shooting skywards then she brings it back down in a gesture of triumph!

" Yes! I was so scared I wouldn't be able to do anything" Feeling more confident in her abilities She holds on tight, admiring Danae's ability to control the warstrider she knew if she had been foolish enough to take one of her own, they would be in even deeper trouble.

" Come on Danae, you can do this" Her voice is soft but encouraging. As Danae deals with the oncoming attacks, Slivari prepares for another try at attacking those annoying mortals below. Again she pulls out a Dagger from her boot, placing a kiss on the tip she closes her eyes and then prepares to use her power once more.

[Private to GM: You rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((3,5,2,8,2,6,3)). -.-; Its official the dice hate me :P]

Danae makes an amazing comeback that turns the tide of the battle. With a boost of essence, the Dawn Caste hurls the chunk of wall, deflecting every one of the chaotically aimed shots.

As the leader fumes in frustration at his men's lack of cohesion, he finds a gigantic chopping sword coming straight for him. It slams into his body with a sickening crack (10L damage, from 22 dice rolled, just... nasty!) If he were not armored in magitech alloy, he would have been bisected. Instead, his body implodes on the inside of his armor in a rather messy display of gore, and is flung several yards away with a squelchy thud.

The remaining armored mortals look at one another speechlessly... and turn to RUN as Slivari's rain of golden knives barely misses their heels! (Remaining mortals failed Valor check.) Danae can now continue piloting towards the elevator, but expect more opposition coming!

---

OOC: thanks for the prompt replies! Danae did great this time. Slivari, the dice really do hate you. Maybe use WP or virtues next time?

Anyway, there's a couple shock pikes on the ground the group left behind, dunno if either of you would want those for when you're no longer in the warstrider.

You could also potentially take that sentinel armor but. uh, it's going to need some cleaning. (ew.)

"Err...  A bit much... But I guess that's what happens when you stand against something like this with infantry..."  Danae noted with a blanche, before picking up a pair of discarded Shock Lances, and turning the warstrider around and towards the elevator from before--if she was quick, she might even be able to beat the majority of Five Coil's defenders to the punch--and if she was really quick, it might even be possible to stop the so-called 'Purge' they were planning for here!

Well, hopefully anyway, she'd be pretty upset if she failed there...

The warstrider quickly covers the urban terrain, covering nearly half a block with each pair of strides. It seems that the fleeing mortals have managed to warn their fellows off from confronting the 'strider directly, so they proceed mostly unhindered... for now. Whatever forces are remaining are undoubtedly gathering at the elevator to cut them off, and the only way to be sure of escape is to get there before them.

As Danae continues to run, carrying Slivari and her captured materials in the warstrider, the two Exalts hear a sound entirely unlike the harsh klaxons and emotionless announcements for the purge. It is the grandiose, stirring performance of an Immaculate choir, broadcast through every available public channel. The voices sing mellifluous paeans to the enduring glory of the Immaculate Dragons, and in particular to Danaa'd, the Immaculate Dragon of Water, to whom the Water District is dedicated.

Then another voice, a calm, measured baritone -- a real speaker, not a magitech AI -- intones over the layered choir harmonies. This voice is not broadcast, but merely amplified from a source Danae and Slivari are certain originates back toward the riot they left. "Be not afraid, for the Immaculate Word is Law! Obey the will of the Immaculate descendants, the Dragon-Blooded who guard your safety and protect you from wickedness! Citizens of the Coils, put down your weapons and your fears, for your peaceful cooperation is for your good and the good of all!"

Though it does not affect them, the Solars can feel the Essence-powered compulsion poured into those words, and through the choir performance that fills the entire Residential Level in song.

---

OOC: Danae, let's have a Stamina + Resistance roll. This isn't the 'warstrider fatigue' roll yet -- you're still running on adrenaline! Instead it's a roll to help me determine whether you can push on faster, and how fast. (I won't totally make you stranded if you botch. But again, WP/Virtues would help!)
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:36, Sat 22 Nov 2008.

"T-minus fifteen minutes until purging commences," comes the next Five Coils announcement, nearly drowned out by the hymns pumping through the district speakers.

Unperturbed by the hymns and preaching, Danae presses on resolutely, her body defying even her own expectations as she bounds through the streets, leaping over obstacles and cutting corners wherever she can. It's a tiring job, with the massive size of her orichalcum-plated warstrider, and she finds herself sweating and breathing heavily with the effort.

Slivari, lucky her, is stuck in a cramped space inside the 'strider holding Danae's equipment and holding on for dear life.

Three minutes later, they reach the street housing the second district elevator. The elevator itself is not hard to miss: a smooth cylindrical column that extends from floor to ceiling, glowing with power lines the blue-green of Water essence. In front of it, though, is the real problem: an aquatic warstrider, crafted entirely in black jade with a pair of gigantic hook swords, accompanied by four figures in suits of skin-tight articulated plates adorned with black jade amulets. The suits, Danae recognizes to be armors of elemental inurement, made for surviving underwater environments. They each carry weapons that reflect their Aspect and preferences: one a daiklave, one a powerbow, one a goremaul, one a serpent-sting staff.

Oddly enough, there is a sixth individual sitting atop the warstrider's shoulder. A woman of long silvery hair who, unlike the others, appears all but unarmored, wearing bracers and anklets of blue jade and dressed in an ice-blue kimono patterned with snowdrop blossoms.

At about the same time that Danae and Slivari see the force awaiting them down the street, another group bursts out from a shrouded set of stairs leading into the very same street...

---

OOC: With her last roll Danae shaved a couple minutes off how long it would've taken to get to the elevator. At this post, you have about 12 minutes left till purge begins.

Reva, Xurizu, Dashu: You're the 'lucky' group! you've just emerged two floors up, right into what will soon be another combat. :P On the other hand, you're very close to an elevator! Reva, you can't see Slivari yet, she is actually *inside* the warstrider with Danae. So Slivari will have to react to you before you can talk to her.

You all also hear the Immaculate hymns being broadcast throughout the floor, as detailed in the last post.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:22, Thu 27 Nov 2008.

"... Wonderful" Danae deadpanned at that point, assessing the opposing group.  "Other side definately outgears me...  But it can't really be helped, we'll have to go through them--the guys with the armor won't be terribly dangerous...  But the warstrider...  I'm going to have to disable it before we move up--it looks well equipped enough that it would be able to pursue us, even if we managed to bypass it...  And this hunk of metal won't be holding together much longer..."

Taking another deep breath, Danae readied her own machine's weapons.  It would be difficult...  But if she was quick and sure, she might be able to get a few decent hits off.  At the least, the guys on the ground didn't seem overly well armed...
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:00, Wed 26 Nov 2008.

As she reaches the top she could see the foes waiting. As she glanced over each she cursed. She could guess some aspects, but who was that one sitting? She didn't have weapons, or armor, a true warrior, and most likely a Water Aspect. She nodded to herself, if this came to blows, she already knew who she would fight. A soft whisper to her allies, "I got the one on top. If it comes to that." She placed both feet on the ground, and took a deep breath. She pushed away the world weary thoughts and only allowed the hopes of a better life to stay. She thought mostly of her sister. She would met her again, be with her again. No blade shall stand against her. No force shall mar her flesh and stop them meeting. Childhood memories and lost wishes cloak her. She smiles, and hope alone keeps her safe.

[Private to GM: Down 6M, Damit! Spending 5M, Optimistic Security, So now down 11M, and 1WP, Ugh]

Reached the top of the stairs and ... oh. Xurizu did a double take as he noticed the pair of warstriders to either side of him.  ... I really hope one of those warstriders is on our side.

He made another assessment. It has to be the damaged one, if it is.

He wrapped himself in the shadows of his anima anyway, as a general precaution.

OOC: 5m on the Anima for 5m spell discount ^_^ (and -1 sux on attacks incoming)

Being Shook around and confined into a tiny space where she was hot and sweating and highly uncomfortable wasn't agreeing with the girl, Slivari grimaced as her stomach turned. "Ugh...I hope I don't get sick" The whole way up to the elevator Slivari stood as still as possible and tried to think of other things, like what she wanted to do if they ever got out of here alive.

Opening her eyes, Slivari pales immediately regretting opening them. There stood another of those giant Warstriders and all around it were warriors, Slivari assumed they would be well prepared for the purge meaning if Danae didn't get them out in time, they were pretty much doomed. While the warriors made her a little nervous, the woman with the sliver hair puzzled her, she seemed confident and sure of herself why else would she not be wearing armor? Slivari had the feeling that one needed to be watched.

While she was taking in the threat before her, a noise off to the side caught her attention and she turned and looked the best she could. Slivari's mouth dropped open, there was another group! and wait...was that? Slivari stared for several seconds in shock then without really realizing what she was doing she shouted her sisters name " Reva!!!!" A wave of happiness flooded her at seeing her sister again. Despite the danger they all were in, Slivari couldn't help but smile.

Dashu takes a moment to assess the situation and then says, "Okay so we've got one warstrider facing off against another warstrider and some guards.  We can't be sure that the Orichalcum one won't turn on us after this but let's assume for the time being that the others are more likely to be a threat.  You want the one on top, Reva?  Guess that leaves the other four for Xurizu and me.  Anybody got a plan?  Or are we going with the usual sneak in and thrash them?"  Dashu really hopes that the gem Xurizu had eaten had somehow given him an ability which would help with this situation.  After all, Xurizu had claimed he wasn't much of a fighter and Dashu didn't relish having to deal with that many guards with no back up.  Just in case, Dashu took a deep breath and focused inwardly, preparing for what was obviously about to be a very difficult battle.

[Private to GM: Hey, if Xurizu didn't get anything useful like a spell, then I'm about to attempt to stunt learn Infinite Martial Arts Mastery on my next post and drop 20 motes into it so I can get 5 automatic successes on every martial arts roll.  I have a feeling I'll need it.  Anything I need to know in particular before doing this?]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:05, Tue 25 Nov 2008.

The silver-haired woman looks down imperiously at the newcomers, and at the battered warstrider. "They are here now, Omen," she intones, leaning close to the head of the black warstrider she is perched on. Her slender fingers stroke the black jade carapace as if reassuring a lover... or a pet. "It's time for you to show us what you've learned."

"Yes mistress," grates the hollow, harsh sounding voice from within the enemy warstrider.

The woman stands, then, balancing easily on the shoulder plate of the 'strider. She spreads her arms as if in mocking welcome, but keeps her fists clenched, producing what appears to knife-shaped lengths of crystal from between her fingers.

Twenty feet below her, the figures in articulated armor ready themselves, coordinating Charm use with nods and sign language. These are not likely powerful Dragon-Blooded, but they have been trained to work together. That much is for certain.

---

OOC: Join battle please, unless you won't participate in the battle. You have a turn before that to use a scenelong charm if you want. Umm, also, Slivari's cry singled Reva out, so she's definitely been seen. Dashu and Xurizu may still be able to try and stealth it out.

[Private to Peleps Dashu: Well, you can't be sure what Xurizu got from his memory. I would recommend, though, that if you are willing to spare the XP, you should definitely stunt learn the charm. Nothing more you need to know really -- just make it a really good stunt. And don't worry, if the first stunt's not quite enough you'll get more chances. But I think you'll do fine, all I need to see is that you put your heart into the post and made it look interesting and cool. :)]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:13, Tue 25 Nov 2008.

The silver-haired lady stands in place, and begins to chant words of Old Realm, a flurry of pale blue snowflakes building up around her. [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: You're certain she's casting a spell. If you want to actually figure what she's casting, though, you'd have to split your action.]

---

OOC: Decided to roll Join Battle for all who haven't yet.

tick 0 - Silver-hair
tick 2 - Xurizu
tick 3 - Dashu, Slivari, armored DBs
tick 4 - Reva, enemy warstrider
tick 5 - Danae

note: You could probably reach the people on the ground in a single action, but that's all. It'd take another action (rolled and likely stunted) if you wanted to actually climb up onto the warstrider to get at the woman in melee.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:46, Wed 26 Nov 2008.

Dashu notices that they are out numbered and out gunned.  The struggle so far had been difficult and they had not yet faced odds like these.  They had only made it this far with help from Pale Gaze.  Fear grips him momentarily and his mind begins to backtrack through everything he had learned, trying desperately to remember something that would help in this dire situation.  He remembered his father teaching him his first katas as child and the rigorous training provided by his sifu.  His mind quickly recalled how his sifu drove into his body what each muscle should be doing at all times during every technique.  These were hard and grueling memories, but fond ones none the less.  He then remembered his Exaltation and how with it, a memory from a past life showed him his first charm.  This was not a fond memory, because having grown up in Five Coils, he knew what it meant to be Chosen by the Sun.  He remembered running from the guards and even fighting a few of the mortals.  A few times he had managed to hide long enough to practice his katas and even learned new charms from what he eventually remembered was the Ebon Shadow Style.

As each memory played through his head, Dashu felt a his essence form threads and wrap around his muscles.  It was as though his Essence was re-enforcing the muscle memory.  Not only were the kata's in Dashu's head now, they flowed through his entire body.  When he realized this was happening he pulled out every memory he could dealing with martial arts.  He though of the fight leading to his capture, and of the many lonely nights where he had nothing to do but to practice.  Most recently, he thought of the fight with the Water Dragon on floor 31 and how she moved.  Lastly he thought of the last fight which opened the door.  With that last thought, Dashu felt as though a hole opened and his Essence rushed into his muscles.  He felt as though he could keep that Essence there as long as he wished and it would only sharpen his skill.

With that he refocused on the scene before him, and a small but confident smile touched the very ends of his mouth, as though it barely broke through his normally cool composure.

Dashu decided that if Reva wanted the Silver Haired lady then he should supply support.  With that, he turned his attention to the four armored men below the war strider.  Dashu deemed the one with the bow the biggest threat to them all.  With that he charged forward through the shadows, trying to keep his approach swift and silent, when he reached his target he lunged forward, twisting his body mid air, extending both claws out, trying to drill his opponent in his back.  After Dashu lands, which he drops his weight and spins around on the ground trying to slash the tendons in the back of the Dragon Blood's leg.

[Private to GM: Here's the stunt and my attack post (for when my turn comes around).  Sorry it took so long, I was on the road today.]

Xurizu noticed the woman on the warstrider start to chant, watched her shaping the essence before her with skill and precision.  Another sorcerer, then he thought as he started to watch her, trying to divine the purpose of her casting even as he started to cast himself, concentrating on the memory so recently returned, drawing it back to him as he moved through the motions of casting.

The memories hadn't been accurate.  They hadn't conveyed the sense of power it gave him as he pushed the motes out into the air.  The feeling as he weaved them with the silver of his anima.  The strange elegance of the chain he had started to forge, one link at a time, so perfectly suited for the task it would be put too.
[Private to GM: Shaping Flying Guillotine ]
This message was last edited by the player at 23:40, Wed 26 Nov 2008.

Dashu feels power thrumming through him, tempered by knowledge dredged up from years of exacting training. Yes! This would truly be his moment in battle! The high elation he feels, achieving this new echelon of ability, is like nothing else he has ever experienced!

He slips silently toward the archer while the enemies are focused on the others. Even in near plain sight they cannot even see him until he spins to strike at the armored one with the bow. The first claw strike pierces three holes into the archer's back, and the second slashes hard at his leg, nearly bringing him down. But he still manages to stand, desperately attempting to keep distance while his fellows start to move in to attack.

Meanwhile, from a vantage point on a nearby, connecting street, Tervila Dena watches the battle unfold. She has been running -- flying -- to beat the purge countdown, away from the rioting and the mighty Immaculate chanters, only to stop and pause as she sees the huge black warstrider and its entourage guarding the way to the elevator. Perhaps she could cooperate with the group attempting to push their way through? The man with the claws appears to be going one against four right now!

---

OOC: Bah, rather disappointing damage rolls :( I even rerolled each one, since I was like "no way, can't do a +3 stunt and do like, 1L damage". But still Dashu inflicted only 5L total. Archer is wounded and engaged in melee now though, which sucks for 'im.

I'm gonna post the attacks for the armored guys and such after I'm back tonight! Dena, you can Join Battle if you wish, but you won't get to act till after everyone else has acted this turn cycle. You can react out-of-combat to what you see, though, if you like. [Private to Tervila Dena: Since you would have been fighting alone for some time I'm going to assume you're down 10 motes and 2 WP.]

actions
tick 3 - Slivari, armored DBs
tick 4 - Reva, enemy warstrider
tick 5 - Danae
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:05, Wed 26 Nov 2008.

Dena grimaces and comes to a stop a few yards above the ground, examining the battle.  This wasn't planned.  There weren't supposed to be other Anathema on the way to the elevator, only enemies.  Now she was going to have to rethink matters.  Should she talk or should she just wait until they were done?

The wasp girl sat and dithered for several key moments, hovering and trying to decide.

[Private to GM: I tried to represent Dena's tendency to overthink plans with an intentionally horrible Join Battle roll, I wouldn't worry about her going before everybody else.

16:50, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 2 successes using 1d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10. Join Battle. ]

She gritted her teeth, biting down so hard that a faint taste of blood pushed into her mouth. 'Dam you Sister, go ahead and make me the prime target of everyone here. I was hoping to do this without being noticed.' She started running towards the Foe's War strider, her heart racing, blood pumping, breathing hard. She could not allow anyone to stop her, she has called her target and her honor demanded that she would fight her. She feigned running at a guard, one of the dragon-graced. This one held a massive Grand Maul. She knew one hit from that thing would crush her. Luckily she didn't plan on being hit. As she reached striking range she ducked low, sliding towards him. Her eyes locked onto his with a grim determination. She wouldn't, couldn't be struck.

She would not allow it. Right at the last second she sprung up, flipping her body forward towards the shoulders of the Likely Earth-Aspect. She spun her hands as she gripped loosely on the Dragon's shoulders.  Her arms spun, her right hand leaving the shoulder of the guard and planting on his head instead. The left hand also leaving and stretching out to maintain balance.

Her body spun, her mind ticking off the seconds until her landing, figuring out each movement before they started. As she landed her speed pushed her across the arm of the Warstrider, sliding just short of the edge. She balanced only with the greatest of luck. She started running up the massive creation leaping up higher and higher with each passing second, until she could run no higher. She sprung up the steep incline and planted one hand on the massive metal ear of the beast. Her energies weary but her focus still sharp. She twisted her body, lowering her center of gravity as quickly as she could without losing her balance. Then her strength ended. She was upside down, twisted and tired. She started to slide slowly, and then the image of her sister being crushed by this massive monster of metal or worse yet, knowing her sisters beauty. Her hate burned again, and she now felt no weakness in her body, only a fiery hate and lust for blood. She twisted back, and forced her body off the side of this gigantic metal behemoth.

Her body spun and twisted, landing with a cold unloving grace. Her back leg slid behind her, her stance low and burning with hate. Her hands poised for a fight. Her labored breathing hung heavy in the air, "Hey, you ready to lose? I promise I'll be a good fight." A smile crossed her features, a cold smile that seemed in dark contrast to her outward beauty.  Laughter hinted in her eyes, almost as if death was a joke.


[Private to GM: Move/Dash/Leaping action to reach the top of the Warstider, channeling Valor, and Stunt dice... oh if I can, Also Stunt Learn 1 dot of Athletics... I need it... lol. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 04:48, Thu 27 Nov 2008.

Dena observes and judges dispassionately as the fight continued.  With the distraction of an attack on the Warstrider she judges that she would be able to fly up the elevator shaft before anybody can stop her.  But what if there was a second Warstrider on the next level?  Then it would be wiser to have allies, allies as strong as these who fought at impressive odds.  She watches Dashu splatter blood from the archer across the ground and her tongue emerges and makes a slow circle around her lips.  He knew something of arts but it was a strange art, a different enlightenment than she was seeking.  She watches Reva take on the huge magical machine and sees enlightenment there as well in her movements and perfection of action.  There were many paths.  That decides Dena.  She could not only have allies, but tutors to learn from as well.  Decision finally made, she begins to flit towards them slowly, picking up speed as she went.

Though wounded, the archer is not yet dead. He backpedals, away from the reach of Dashu's claws, and aims two arrows in swift succession at Reva as she begins her sprint toward the warstrider. [Private to Dyron Reva: 2 strike flurry: 4 sux, 4 sux. spent WP to attack. You have 3 Parry DV +1 honor = 4. I gave you +3 stunt for your whole post and will include in your defenses this time. You also get -2 DV from the climb. So DV = 5.] The arrows fall maddeningly short of their goal as Reva leaps boldly up the warstrider to face silver-hair.

The three remaining Dragon-blooded move to crowd around Dashu, attempting to keep him from pursuing. The man with the daiklave strikes almost immediately, his daiklave attempting to pierce Dashu's defenses with three swift strokes that demonstrate all the skill of a master blade. [Private to Peleps Dashu: 3 strike flurry: 9 sux, 5 sux, 5 sux. Since I'm not sure how you'll defend, post your defense. Don't forget onslaught penalty.] The goremaul wielder grunts as Reva uses her head as a platform, but the distraction does not keep her from swinging at Dashu with a single swipe from her massive weapon. [Private to Peleps Dashu: 8 sux, and ditto, post defense!]

The one with the serpent-staff takes on a less rigid and more mercurial form, her limbs constantly in motion, the scale-like plates of her armor undulating upon her limber body fluidly. She does not move to attack, but circles Dashu warily, her movements a hypnotic distraction. (Any martial artists with 3+ MA recognize this as Snake Form.)

Meanwhile, the enemy warstrider does not move at all. The massive black armor is utterly still as Reva climbs up it toward the woman still shaping her spell.

---

OOC: Sorry I didn't get to posting yesterday, we shall continue now.
edit: Changed archer slightly. Also altered action count, now that I understand sorcery timing better :P

[Private to Dyron Reva: Great stunt. Yes, you can stunt learn your Athletics. I rolled as if you've already done so. Your leap/climbing action was Speed 5, -2 DV. Extra -DV because of the difficulty of the task.]

actions
tick 3 - Slivari (hold action)
tick 4 - Warstrider (hold action)
tick 5 - Silver-hair (cast sorcery), Danae
tick 6 - Silver-hair (rejoin battle), Dena
tick 7 - Xurizu (cast sorcery), armored DBs attack again
tick 8 - Dashu, Reva
tick 10 - Xurizu (rejoin battle)
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:45, Fri 28 Nov 2008.

"Well...  It can't be helped!"  Danae called out, as her own Warstrider exploded into action, clasping it's oversized chopping sword in both hands.  "I'll try to fight the big guy off, preferably before this thing falls to pieces on me--you can either stay inside, or I can open the hatch and let you try taking on the person riding on it's shoulder, okay?"

All things considered, Danae couldn't 'Really' boast anything particularly special compared to all these other people coming out of the woodwork--she was a fair hand with making stuff, and had gotten a large cache of materials to work with--between the captured shock-pikes and the Warstrider's own components when it inevitably broke down--plus the other magical materials and whatnot...  But while she was a Chosen of the Dawn...  Her combat skills needed a bit of work still...

But now that she wasn't trying to hit tiny little people on the ground, she had a better chance of doing this...  Suddenly punching out with it's 'Free' hand--it was a clumsy blow, easily dodged by a decently skilled individual...  On the other hand, the Dart launcher hooked up to that arm also happened to fire at the same time, cutting it off from a simple backstep.

This too, could be forseen in the hands of an able fighter...

On the other hand, it would be rather distracting, as the Chopping Sword--having been switched to a reverse grip during this whole routine--lashed outwards on a horizontal path, cutting off all possible avenues of escape as it tried to take a chunk out of the--most likely superior--machine.

That was the theory anyway--she didn't have a lot of combat experience to work with here...

[Private to Gatekeeper: One attack with the chopping sword--channeling Valor to try and hit the guy--I'm keeping HGD in reserve for a possible counterattack though]

Danae's chopping sword makes a flawlessly executed slash, that if the pilot were any normal individual -- or even normal Dragon-blood -- would definitely have hit. But the warstrider suddenly snaps to life, neatly blocking the attack with one flick of its leading hook sword before jabbing a thrust with the second one, straight for the pilot's chamber of Danae's 'strider. [Private to Danae Adela: 6 success, I assume HGD?]

As the pilot of the black warstrider executes this double motion, a distinctive golden glow flares from within the machine, a sure sign of Solar essence use. Whoever's inside it is quite definitely another prisoner being used against them. Could he or she be turned against their enemies?

Now silver-hair smiles, and releases her spell with a casual flick. She speaks a single word that sounds less like language than a syllable of gusting wind, and a terrible, icy cold howl rips into Danae's warstrider, penetrating the tough orichalcum-reinforced plates to crush the two inside. Reva hears her sister scream in agony from the inside, and she knows Slivari has been gravely hurt...

As soon as the silver-haired woman releases her magic, she spins and leaps nimbly, seeming to keep a preternatural balance atop the warstrider as it moves. She attempts to slip behind Reva, raising three of her ice crystal knives and hurling them all together as a blizzard wind rises up from her anima once more. [Private to Dyron Reva: She is using Night Breeze style on you... and yes, she's higher ess in this case. BTW I forgot to count +2 def from blocking w/hands, again. Sigh. Anyway your DV is 3(dex) + 3(MA) + 2(spec) + 2(fists) = 10/2 = 5-2 = 3 at this point. 5 sux vs 3 DV (hit), 6 sux vs 1 DV (hit), 6 sux vs 0 DV (hit). I'll let you stunt again here, you can at least avoid the first one and minimize damage... also, incorporate your next action into the post and the stunt bonus will count for attack and defense.]

---

OOC: ow, didn't realize how powerful Thunder Wolf's Howl is. Danae can HGD it, I think, but Slivari is going to take 5B damage. (she has 4 HLs remaining).

tick 6 - Dena
tick 7 - Xurizu (cast sorcery), armored DBs attack again
tick 8 - Dashu, Reva, Danae
tick 10 - Xurizu (rejoin battle), enemy warstrider

Slivari still holding action.

Dena's chain used to be manacles, and still had the original cuffs.  She used this to good advantage as she charged the enemy, choosing the woman with the many-sectioned staff as the first obvious target, somebody who had studied the Art and was thus worth striking as opposed to whoever was merely dependent on the big machine.

Dena flew in at a steep angle and slammed into the ground a yard in front of the woman, spreading her wings wide to whip up a cloud of grit and debris from the floor.  The moment she was obscured from view, the chain lashed out, it's cuff locking around the enemy's staff and yanking the luckless terrestrial Exalted forward into a brutal lock that left Dena's elbow crushing into her throat and her second arm using a knee as a pulley to tighten the chain around her torso and crush the breath from her.

[Private to GM: Activating Barbed Sting Embrace Combo.  -1 Willpower and flurrying whatever movement I have to get to the enemy w/ the Snake Style and hit her with a clinch attack.  I'm investing 6 motes in first dexterity excellency.  I've taken a penalty of no stunt dice in hopes that it's worth the same as the essence penalty from snake form.  Otherwise I may have to give up the ones at the end, not sure.
I'm using the crush option to inflict automatic bashing damage, the chain does 4 and I should have str 4 in warform, so 8+extra successes on the grab and it's piercing damage vs. armor.

If any enemy strikes Dena she'll use Sensuous Torment to regain essence and if the martial artist attempts to escape she'll use foot-trapping counter on her.

20:42, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 8 successes using 17d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,5,4,6,4,5,4,8,5,8,9,7,10,4,2,7,4. Attack w/ Chain.
Whew, hope I remembered everything. ]

And then it was ready.  There was nothing left to weave, just a gleaming silver chain hanging in the shadows of Xurizu's anima. An anima which seemed a little thicker now, emerald green highlights occasionally visible within the darkness.  He savoured the feeling for just an instant, the terrible potential held in the gleaming links, and looked at the fight.  Even with the newcomer, Dashu was outnumbered by the dragonblooded around him.

Lets even that up a little

He gestured and the chain before him took flight at incredible velocity, arcing in response to his will as it flew to rise up and above the fighting. Then it plunged down like a raptor on the woman wielding the goremaul, trying to wrap itself around her, shimmering in the reflected light of the essence used around the fight.
[Private to GM: If I understand the B&W Treatise correctly, this has a pool of Per+Occult (10) with Essence (3) autosux, and it does 18 _levels_ of damage + extra sux (soaked as usual)]

Dashu saw the incoming strikes and faced them without fear due to his new found power.  As the first strike comes for his head, Dashu places the blades of his right claw in between him and the Daiklave.  As the blade crashed into his weapon, Dashu threw his weight under the arm of warrior and used the momentum to send him into a fast spin with his feet tucked.  Dashu's body spun so fast that it seemed to hover in mid air and the details of his body blurred together.  As the second strike came into him, the speed of the spin allowed him to easily able to snag the blade with his claws and twist it under his body.  By this point,  Dashu's speed had slowed and he could tell his opponent was about to strike a third time.  As such, he kicked out with his legs, pushing off the big soldier with the goremaul, just as Reva stepped on his head.  Shooting forward towards the Fire Aspect, Dashu caught the blade with his claws yet again, slid the claws down to the hilt and turned his body in wards to where he was back to back with the Dragon Blood.  He then pushed out with his elbow, stopping the swinging arm.

While in this position, he saw the the goremaul weilder lift his hammer and try to bring it down on his head.  Dashu quickly barrel rolled forward and lifted his claws above his head.  As the force of the blow came down, it allowed Dashu to flip up onto the arm of the Earth Aspect.  He then saw a flash of light level Xurizu, and in a brief moment of panic, he leaped over the head of the Fire Aspect as the sorcery struck true.

[Private to GM: Trying to stunt all my defenses, plus I'm using my excellency to it's max  (raising my DV by 5).]
This message was last edited by the player at 17:51, Fri 28 Nov 2008.

[Private to Tervila Dena: You've got it right. It's -2 dice and I can give you a +2 stunt, that's fine! These aren't powerful DBs, but teamwork is part of what DBs are supposed to be good at...]

The martial artist is nearly startled as a very beautiful wasp-winged woman dives right into the battle to challenge her, but does not shirk on her defense. Dena's fighting chain wraps tightly around what the Lunar was sure was a sturdy hold on her opponent's staff, but the weapon slips sinuously out of the cuff before a sturdy lock can be made. She finds her elbow neatly -- if just barely -- blocked by a doubled up pair of staff sections, shoving her lightly backward.

The challenge met, the woman with the serpent staff locks eyes with the Lunar Anathema before her -- fearlessly, though she knows, one on one, she may very well be outclassed.

[Private to Tervila Dena: You were very close! but not quite!]

Xurizu's spell plunges unerringly toward its goal, the barbed silver chain wrapping tightly around the neck of the woman with the goremaul. Her anima flares to life, a pure, phantasmal earthen tower, setting the floor rumbling as she musters her entire stamina to repel the damage. Blood flows from her neck nonetheless, her jugular and spine unharmed, but her flesh shredded cruelly so that her armor is spattered down the shoulders and chest with blood. (6L damage. She is tough! but that's more than half her HLs.)

Meanwhile, Danae blocks both attacks upon her with an answering flare of golden Essence. She is free to act again... though beside her in the 'strider, Slivari looks in poor condition, coughing blood.

---

OOC: Dashu and Reva, I'll wait for your defenses from the previous action before I post the armored DBs next action. (you can also post next attack... though Dashu, your opponents' next attack will come just before yours, keep that in mind.)

Dena, your opponent is holding action so you may also act again if you want. And Xurizu can also prep next spell or whatever he'll do.

Dena cocks her head to one side a moment and examines the woman with the staff a moment.
"You're fast.  Thank you." she adds cryptically.  Then her begins to thicken, the shiny smooth exoskeleton begins to sprout spines and thicken into a dull striped carapace.  Her mouth vanishes entirely and thick ridges protect her compound eyes as her arms swell to twice their previous thickness.  Dena's anima banner begins to show more clearly, diffusing from a general mist into individual brightly glowing dots that cluster and hover around her.
"Let's share our enlightenment together." she adds cryptically as she pulls the chain back for a second attempt.

[Private to GM: Activating Armor Forming Technique for 3 motes, +9/+9/+3 soak.]

Dashu's motions are so swift to onlookers that he is a blur of dark claws, entangling the Fire Aspect's blade in his claws to render the series of well-placed blows all but useless. The goremaul impacts harmlessly with his claws, jarring the Night Aspect's arms, but he manages to leap safely out of the way -- both from the reach of the goremaul wielder, and the silver chains that flay her.

The Snake stylist still circles the Lunar warily, clearly intending to occupy the wasp-winged woman with as little harm as possible to her person -- at least for now.

The Earth Aspect groans with pain, deeply wounded but not yet out of the count. Deciding to help her companion, she lets out a wordless shout, gathering all her will and conviction, and swings her massive goremaul at Dena from behind! [Private to Tervila Dena: 9 sux. In with 3, since your last attack put you at -1. You've got 14B soak, enemy has 20B attack +3 sux. So raw damage on you would be 9 dice bashing. Going to take it or not?]

The Fire Aspect facing off with Dashu unleashes another blindingly swift flurry of blows, four hot blazing stings of the slender red jade daiklave in his hand. The strikes are both dangerously accurate and relentless, threatening to confuse or preoccupy Dashu's defenses enough to penetrate through them, or force him to expend precious motes. [Private to Peleps Dashu: Flurry - 10 sux, 7 sux, 4 sux, 5 sux. Geez. D: on the other hand Fire is down -4 DV now, strike him hard!! also gave you a +2 for the last stunt.]

At the same time, the wounded archer continues to increase the distance between him and Dashu, aiming his arrows for the offending sorcerer. Xurizu finds two arrows coursing his way, the shafts blossoming with verdant Essence so they appear wreathed in leaves and thorns -- but both miss, the first passing right past the No Moon's ear, the aim ruined by the obscuring effect of his anima. [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: 6 and 3 sux. The first one would've gone through with 1, but your anima saved you.]

---

OOC: actions
tick 8 - Dashu, Reva, Danae
tick 10 - Xurizu, Fire Aspect, enemy warstrider
tick 11 - Silver-hair, Wood and Earth Aspect

Water Aspect is still holding action. Dena used a reflexive so can act before her or keep playing the waiting game. Slivari is also holding.

As usual you may post your last defense and next action in the same post.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:13, Sun 30 Nov 2008.

"Wait, what?"  Danae exclaimed, blinking at the burst of Essence from the opposing Warstrider.  "Shouldn't he be running out with the rest of u...".  She continued, before trailing off, glancing back at the injured Silvari, and then changes her expression.

"I'm...  Not customarily violent."  She begins, working her way towards the opposing Warstrider, the battered device seeming to respond with her own gradually growing Anima, as Essence circuitry began to process the sudden explosion in commands--damaged conduits and jury-rigged devices flaring up, melting, fusing, and generally becoming a grand mess as the Solar Essence demanded more out of them then they could give...

And suddenly, the golden Warstrider vanished--all the evidence of it's presence being an explosion of dust and a flash of light--before a single blow from the chopping sword hammered into the opposing machine's chest.  Admittedly, it seemed there were allies climbing on it...  But all she could do was trust they'd come out okay.

Needless to say, mortal steel--no matter how fine and large it is, isn't really a match for a Magical Material, and splinters of metal sheared off, falling amongst the Elemental Inurement armed soldiers on the bottom, scattering them in it's wake as the attack connected--the golden Warstrider coming to a halt behind it.

"But what are you DOING here!  We have a chance to finally strike out on our own!  To get out of this place and leave them be!  And you're helping our jailers?" she continued, as the next attack--faster then the eye could see lashed out, slamming into the Warstrider's helmet--more of the chopping sword falling apart as it made up for the difference in construction with suicidal force.

"I won't forgive you for this!  Murdering all these people, and stopping us from stopping this 'Purge!'  you'd exterminate a fifth of your population JUST to keep us down!  This will NOT be permitted!  Even if this machine should fall apart in the process--I'll use what time it has left to defeat you!!!"

Another halt

Then one further explosion as the Chopping Sword literally disintegrated in the force of Danae's full anima--trying to cleave right through the jade warstrider with what force remained...

[Private to Gatekeeper: Flurry of three attacks, 8m Second Melee on each to buy 4 succs, I'll also channel Valor on the last one :( I hope this works, I worked very hard on this post]

Dena feels the first whisper of wind off the Goremaul against her wings and drops immediately to her knees, bringing her chain above her head in both arms to absorb the force of the Goremaul's tremendous blow.  Her torso compresses and her wrists are pulled together as she stubbornly tries to get back to her feet.
"We're having a private duel.  I am interested in the martial arts, feats of speed and skill, not the crudity of some giant hammer." she spits over one shoulder.

[Private to GM:
Okay, I've put the original post in a PL in case it's needed for any possible reason later.  I'll go ahead and channel a point of WP through conviction to my parry DV.

The serpent-staff snaps around Dena's head and crushes an antenna, leaving a thin trail of blood that curls under her eye as her head turns and she licks at the droplet passing her mouth.
"You're pretty strong.  I haven't been hit with a staff that hard in a long time.  But I don't think you're as fast as I am." She comments in a very casual tone.
[Private to GM: Don't think I can do anything but take the damage, I didn't think she could boost her damage that high.  Out of curiosity how's she getting her strength up to 9 for damage?  Some special charm? ]]
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Sun 30 Nov 2008.

As the warstrider's blade dissolved in golden Essence above him, Dashu finds himself faced with an entirely different problem: namely that he is on the bad end of a brutal assault.  Fortunately, the flaring anima's give him the window of escape that he so desperately seeks after.  Just as his opponent starts his attack, a shining sliver from the flys between the two of them.  In the brief moment of distraction it provides, Dashu launches himself forward.  Relying on his new found wells of power and a burst of will, he thrusts his claw in between the daiklave and himself and uses the massive, magical sword as a focal point for an acrobatic flip. He then pushes the blade downward as his feet come to land on top of it.  Unfortunately, his weight is not enough to break the Fire Aspects hold on his weapon.  Dashu's opponent is able to swiftly extract his weapon and take another swing at Dashu while he is still in the air, this one aimed slightly higher.  Fortunately, Dashu expects this attack and is able to again interject his claw in between himself and certain harm.  Dashu, stops the blade and lands nimbly on it for only a second before the frustrated Terrestrial tries yet again only to achieve the same result.

At this stage, the fight between the Fire Aspect and the Night Caste would have looked more like a juggling act.  Each time the Terrestrial swung higher, Dashu merely, blocked, flipped, and landed on the blade...  and then came the finale.  As the Dragon Blood swung for a fourth time, Dashu nimbly blocks and flips just as before.  However instead of landing on the blade again, he choses to land on the shoulders of his opponent.

"Now it's my turn," Dashu says cryptically as he kneels on his perch.  He quickly drives one claw down in a fierce strike, attempting to pierce his opponents skull.  His opponents attempt to block manages to disrupt Dashu's stance enough to where the Night Caste decides to dismount, and he does so by taking the other claw and plunging it in a wide arcing strike towards the Fire Aspects face.  This allows Dashu to use his momentum to do a forward shoulder roll and land nimbly on his feet.

[Private to GM: Mechanical Breakdown:  Parry: +4 to DV on all parries and a stunt.   Attack:  5 successes on both attacks and attempting a stunt.  The first attack is supposed to be a fierce strike.]

The Fire Aspect is truly a skilled warrior, but Dashu is blessed by the Sun and strong in Essence, and his potential far outshines the Dragon-Blooded opponent. The red jade daiklave simply cannot find a place to pierce through. [Private to Peleps Dashu: Excellent! All missed! You also get two +2 stunts to get Ess/WP back from.]

Dashu remains unscathed, and tears two nasty wounds through the helm and faceplate of his opponent before leaping away. [Private to Peleps Dashu: In with 9 sux and 7 sux. Damage 18L and 14L -11L soak each, ping of at least 4. You got 7 and 4 dice damage, and rolled 4L and 2L!] If not for his armor, Dashu might have torn the Fire Aspect's head right off, or gouged out his eyes. Blood streaks through the swordsman's helmet now, no less gruesome than the spray of blood that Xurizu's spinning chain inflicted upon the Earth Aspect.

As the Night Caste rises from his somersault, the two warstriders face off, oblivious to the struggle of their allies below. Danae blazes golden, surrounded by a corona of Essence as she strikes once, twice, thrice at the black warstrider's formidable defenses, driven by her wrath at the betrayal of a fellow Solar. Assuming the stance of the Mantis, the enemy pilot deflects the first blow easily, but the second bites into the shoulder of the black jade shell, and the third tears right through -- sacrificing the chopping sword in a molten burst of gold to sunder the pilot inside. [Private to Danae Adela: 2L and 4L damage, nice! also you got a +3 stunt, get back your motes or WP!] A muffled cry of confused agony issues from the enemy pilot -- a voice not much younger than Danae's own -- as the black warstrider falls heavily to one knee, jarring the footing of the two Exalts still facing off atop it.

Desperate for a final advantage, the Fire Aspect ignites his own anima: a multitude of whirling blades of pure flame surround him, their points turning towards Dashu as he crouches. Holding his blade parallel to the ground, he lunges with a wordless shout, feinting once toward the Night Caste's shoulder before redirecting his blade's path in a second powerful thrust at Dashu's heart! [Private to Peleps Dashu: Since his last attack was spd 3, Fire Aspect goes again, channeling Valor twice. Attacks are 4 sux and 10 sux (had to shave one off each roll I made since I rolled too many, oops.) After this he'll be at -4 again from wounds and attacks.]

---

OOC: OK, we should be at around tick 10 (as this is when Fire Aspect attacks again), except for Reva who still needs to resolve previous defense. Reva and Slivari may still post when they are ready. However, now that Danae has attacked the enemy warstrider, Reva must also roll a reflexive Wits+Athletics to make sure she stays ON it (it's assumed this will occur after Reva's next action.)

Danae, gotta wait for others to catch up, so you can post purely for RP flavor, but don't act again yet. Xurizu and Dena still have their next actions to post, though. And poor Dashu gets to defend again. :P

She almost laughed. She was hoping this unarmed woman would be a True Martial Artist. No she was needed blades like everyone else. Reva did still respect the magical prowless of this woman, for Sorcerers used will and effort to shape the mightiest of magics. A path of real dedication. As the three Icy knifes passed through the air, Reva smiled. She raised her hands and with a simple swipe she knocked the first from the air. Her hands now glowed, a burning red of Battled filled fate. " A 1,000 destinies are before me. I wear no armor, I use no blade." She slid down low sliding under the second knife and moving with in melee range against the deadly foe. The third knife was a hint lower, and might of clipped her but she wasn't worried. Too much energy fueled her system. Too much power rushed through veins. She stood toe to toe with her foe, and spoke again. "Your weakness is just that, you need the destiny of weapons to save you. Your own destiny cannot." Now Reva's destiny was fully aligned. The Destiny of a true warrior, not some faux pit fighter. It was not the Destiny of her weapons, or her armor, the Destiny of her allies, or even the jumbled destiny of the Loom. It was simply her destiny that would guide her. She performed a simple attack, a forceful palm strike, made not to simply hurt, but impacted with enough force to throw her foe off.

[Private to GM: Ok lets see what we got...

Activating 'Blade of the Battle Maiden' 2wp 6 Mote, giving me a Dice pool  of... 3 Dex + 3 MA + 2 Punching + 2 Honor + 6 Charm = 16/2 = 8DV -2 = 6 DV + Stunt = ?
8 Personal Mote spent 6 Peripheral Mote, 3WP.
Assuming DV 6 VS first attack, that makes it Miss, then DV 5 vs 6 Success, So I needed a 1 dice stunt, I kinda Assumed I'd get at least that. Then DV 4 Vs 6 Success, so I need a 2 Dice stunt. I'm hoping for that.

I'm doing 1 attack. Hoping for Knock back. 3 Dex + 3 MA + 1 Punch + 3 Honor + 6 Charm = 15 Dice, + Stunt? = 10 Success!]

[Private to GM: You know sooner or later, you'd think I'd learn to activate my combo and perfect some of this stuff away, but nooo... I gotta stunt all the time.]

As the golden shards of the Warstrider weapon continue to rain on them, Dashu sees his opponent light up like a bon fire.  "Damn it, it'll be hard to get close now," he thinks as the Daiklave swings once more.  "I wish I still had my fighting chain."  Dashu nimbly steps backwards to avoid both the swinging blade and the flaring anima.  Unfortunately, he now notes that he is backed against a wall and the second strike is coming straight at his heart.  "Well, I guess there's no way around it now."  Dashu quickly places one foot on the wall and focuses all of his power into his hand.  He then lashes out at the incoming blade with all of his skill, trying to catch only the end of the Daiklave with the end of his claws, maximizing the distance between him and the burning Terrestrial.  As his claw makes contact, Dashu turns his body, pushing the blade away from it, and pushes off the wall trying to place enough distance between himself and the anima banner that he will avoid harm until he can mount his next attack.

[Private to GM: Dode first one, block second using 4 suxs, a stunt, and a prayer to god. ]

That was too close Xurizu thought as the arrow passed him by.  But he isn't going to go away any time soon.  Now, do I cast or not?  He weighed his options for a moment, and then he started to chant again, weaving the essence in front of him even as he drew the shadows deeper around himself, concealing himself further from view.  It would be hard, almost impossible, to dodge the arrows which he knew would be coming for him just as soon as as the archer had readied them.  But still, since he did know they were coming, he took a moment to arrange himself within his shadows in the least hard to hit pose he could manage.

And then he waited and shaped, weaving another glittering chain ...

With a rush of Essence and bold determination, Reva avoids all harm. [Private to Dyron Reva: I'll give you that +2 stunt, so, all avoided!] The ice knives flit past her and melt away into nothingness.

Reva's palm strike slams into silver-hair's chest near the collarbone. Though it strikes hard (3B) the woman takes the blow without so much as a grunt of pain, moving with the momentum of the strike and leaping off the shoulder of the struggling enemy warstrider. Some unknown magic holds her suspended there, hovering at the apex of her jump so that about 6 yards of air separate Reva from her target.

"Weapons? These?" Two more ice knives glitter in silver-hair's hands, a chill wind whipping her silver locks about as they are summoned. "They are forged from my own Essence. No more a weapon than the sorcery I wield, Anathema!"

Just at that moment is when the enemy warstrider falters, faced with Danae's wrath. The shoulder Reva standing on dips low, and the Sidereal begins to fall. [Private to Dyron Reva: Wits+athletics failed, you need 2 sux to keep footing and only got 1. So, you'll need to reflexive stunt a +1 or use a WP to keep balance, and if you can manage that, you'll have to flurry to act again (the act of keeping balanced counts as an action in itself, since your Ath is only 1. so doing that + attacking would require flurry.)] As Reva struggles to find purchase, silver-hair hurls both ice knives her way, her eyes flashing imperiously! [Private to Dyron Reva: ok... you have 8 DV, -1 attack, -1 external penalty from losing balance... 6 DV. first attack 2 sux vs 6 DV misses, second 6 sux vs 5 DV, hits. Again you can stunt more to avoid that second one, just put it all together with the attempt to keep balance.]

"Omen Dire -- do not falter!!" she shouts commandingly to the pilot of the black warstrider, floating alongside it. "Rise up and strike that melted hunk of slag down!"

As if shaken by her words, the 'strider straightens jerkily and rushes forward to knock Danae's all-but-ruined warstrider down. The black jade carapace is flooded by a bonfire of Solar essence, the pilot's anima flaring iconic, displaying a great golden omen dog collared for his masters. Danae and Slivari find themselves falling, the orichalcum-plated machine starting to lose cohesion, metal plates and gears raining from it as it falls with a heavy thud onto its back. Weaponless, Danae can only thrust the warstrider arms in the way hoping to block or at least cushion the hook sword blow coming for them! [Private to Danae Adela: Black warstrider is *heavily* wounded, but poured all his essence into this final attack on you. The knockdown did no damage, but the second attack w/hook sword is coming in with 7 sux, and you have 1 DV against it (6-3 from attacks, -1 onslaught, -1 prone). If you like, I can let you stunt learn a combo with your 2nd excellency + dipping swallow defense and/or HGD, give me a good post for that!]

Lastly Dashu, faced with the swift stab of a fiery daiklave, mutters something under his breath -- a soft prayer? Somewhere far above, the Sun takes mercy on him, and grants him the push he needs to drive the offending blade away! [Private to Peleps Dashu: You are lucky :D My co-ST liked your 'prayer', hehe. You were given an effective +3 stunt. You could think of it as if you just prayed to the UCS and got answered. But you won't always be so lucky... ;)]

---

OOC: Xurizu is shaping his spell, Water Aspect / Slivari still holding actions. [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: You get a +1 to DV on top of the +1 from your anima. So that at least puts you at -0 while you shape spell.]

Actions... everyone go for it, as long as you're not hitting Wood or Earth Aspect can post at will. (Though the ones with held action can hit whomever in range they wish.)

tick 11 - Wood and Earth aspects
tick 12 - Danae, Dena
tick 13 - Dashu, Reva
tick 14 - Fire aspect
tick 15 - Xurizu (release sorcery!)
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:36, Mon 01 Dec 2008.

The look on Dashu's face was one of utter amazement. He muttered a quick prayer of thanks to the Unconquered Sun and throws himself into his next assault.  He pushes his power into his feet as he races towards the flaring Fire Aspect.  With the anima banner going, a drawn out fight would not bode well for Dashu.  He needed to end this and do it now.  Dashu's anima flared and everyone could briefly make out the presence of a hawk racing towards the Terrestrial, her tallons displayed in much the same fashion as Dashu's claws.  As Dashu came to his target, he flung himself at him, thrusting one claw towards the bloodied face mask.  He then span and backfisted the Dragon Blood with his second claw immediately bringing the other hand into an upper cut, trying to dig the claws through the armor, behind the ribs, and into his opponent's heart.

[Private to GM: Mechanical Breakdown:  Activated Combo, 3 stikes with claws  w/ 4 sux added on and an attempt at a stunt.  And I'm glad I was able to entertain my way into a +3 stunt.  Isn't that what's it's all about anyway?]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Sun 30 Nov 2008.

At least...  Such was the intended plan, on the other machine's part--but there was something that he hadn't quite kept in mind.

One of the primary weaknesses of a Warstrider was how long it often needed to get set up in, and also to evacuate in the event it all went to hell...  Of course though, the machine Danae had commandeered was in rough shape to begin with, maintaining it's structure prior to this simply due to prayer, spit, and a little bit of various jury rigged straps.

So naturally, when the Warstrider hit the ground, having already weakened itself from the latest exertation of Essence, the straps gave way, bumping Danae rather unpleasantly in the back of the fusilage--but also leaving her in a prime position to fight back...

"Don't think I'm finished yet!"  She calls out, picking up her firewand from where it had been placed in the fusilage, and kicking the hatch open, grabbing a fragment of jostled orichalcum, and facing up against the oncoming giant hook-sword.

"The theory makes sense in any case, my Essence has already been committed towards assisting my close combat capabilities...  If I were to surge it towards a flawless defense, I'll be launched a bit offbalanced...  But it'll give me time to finish this guy out--this piece 'Should' have the memory of my prior defenses still processing through it, I just need to activate it!"

Swinging the fragment of Orichalcum in the attack's path--something that could be considered only a futile effort in the hands of someone a bit less educated in the ways of the Lawgivers.

Though the burst of golden Essence, followed by a golden field erupting around Danae, deflecting the hook-sword away from the fallen Warstrider put the lie to this--hopefully surprising him as well.

Long enough for Danae to toss the Hook Sword away, run up the unbalanced sword, and charge straight towards the fusilage, where she dropped into a kneeling posture, the Firewand spinning in hand as she directed it towards the damaged area.

"Maybe you'll gain some justice in the next life--because at present, you have none!"  She concluded, pulling the trigger, and filling the warstrider's fusilage with purifying flame.

[Private to Gatekeeper: Stunted HGD into a combo, and my actual attack will use Second Archery Excellency, at point blank range, shooting at the opposing pilot through the hole my last attack made.  3 Successes, + an additional willpower + my actual dice pool]

' I'm hurt...how could I have let myself become injured....damn sliver-haired sorceress...' though she is in a good deal of pain Slivari does her best to push it out of her mind and focus on the battle. ' think Slivari..think....your injured and your crazy partner insists on dishing out justice to these idiots.. i don't care as long as we get out of here...Reva, I was so stupid back there, how could I have let my emotions get the better of me?! isn't that what my lord taught me to control?' despite the fact that Amon had been keeping her as a slave, she couldn't help feel shame at what she knew he would consider failure.

Danae admitting she wasn't normally violent made the injured Zenith smile, she didn't like violence ordinarily, but at the moment she sincerely hoped those dragon-graced, the sliver-haired wench got sent to oblivion.

The thing that concerned her the most was the fact the pilot of the other warstrider was apparently a Solar, he had to be still under the collars control otherwise why would he fight against them willingly. She just couldn't believe anyone who was in their right state of mind would want to stay a slave to these dragon's.

She watched Danae with a open mouth, she certainly had some guts. Slivari knew she wasn't much for combat and hell probably wasn't going to be much use in the state she was in, but still there was a desire to do something other then remain still and no nothing, she would be nothing but a burden to the others.

" Okay, so...here we go girl...lets hope this one does something" Slivari once more pulls out a throwing knife, Kissing the tip she closes her eyes and prays that the unconquered Sun guide her knife and let it sink into the flesh of her target. In her mind she saw clearly the face of the Sliver haired woman who was attacking her sister, she seemed to be the biggest threat right now. Plus the woman annoyed the hell out of her.

[Private to GM: Cascade of cutting terror  - 5m, combo-ok-obvious. No dodge DV and doubles successes on atk roll.  I would like to use willpower, virtues whatever I can to up my dice and hopefully I can pull something off.  Also oh mighty benevolent GM would you mind rolling for me? HOPEFULLY you can do better then I have been. ]

Deciding that the issue of the goremaul to the back of the head was settled, Dena turns away from the surprised fire aspect to take on the water-aspect again, feinting with the chain from the ground as she rose from her knees to deliver a brutal uppercut that caught the martial artist in the stomach, lifting her into the air with a 'whoosh' of expelled breath.
Meanwhile Dena wings into the air for a final strike and wraps her chain around the snake-style user's neck, taking her for a brief spin before smashing her into the floor hard enough to crack the stones beneath.

[Private to GM: Dangit, I forgot the snake-style penalty to my dice when planning out rolls.  Sorry.  Flurrying 3 rapid chain attacks and a move into the air.  I think my DV is somewhere around 2 now.  Full use of First Dexterity Excellency on every last attack as well.
Cutting 2 dice off each attack I get 7, 10, and 11 successes.  Dang, figures the ending dice would all be good when I screw up.
22:02, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 13 successes using 15d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,1,4,4,9,6,10,9,10,8,1,9,10,9,9.
22:02, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 12 successes using 16d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,8,1,7,10,6,7,3,5,4,10,9,1,8,10,2. Chain attack on water aspect.
22:00, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 7 successes using 17d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,6,6,10,4,7,8,6,5,8,8,5,3,3,9,5,6. Chain attack on water aspect. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Mon 01 Dec 2008.

Dashu's claw digs cruelly into the faceplate, shattering the Fire Aspect's cheekbones and driving up through the eyesockets. With the plate in the way, though, the Night Caste has no sure way of knowing the man is already dying, and continues on with his barrage. The backfist mostly slides off the helmet with all the blood gushing out from it, but the uppercut digs right through the armor plates and into the ribcage.

Fire Aspect falls heavily, his anima extinguished, the daiklave scattering away several feet from his hand. His blood pumps from his body, spreading out in a pool around him, and his sight has been put out. He whispers something... a name... reaching up as if for something far, far above before he passes out. [Private to Peleps Dashu: +1 stunt! In with 3 sux, 3 sux, 9 sux (!). Claws damage +7L, soak 11L... so, two pings at 4L, and 5L finale. Rolls: 3L, 0L, 2L. The guy is pretty much done for, 1L away from true death, you can coup de grace him as a reflexive or just let him bleed away.]

Driven by an overwhelming sense of justice, Danae's steps carry her with furious cadence to the enemy's fuselage. The pilot that silver-hair named "Omen Dire" is a boy about 14 years old. His eyes are glassy from the strong compulsion placed upon him, but when he sees the firewand aimed for him, his young eyes are filled for a moment with true fear. Can Danae fire upon one of her own? Can she bear it? And yet she must, for if she does not, he will only be used again!

She pulls the trigger, and he throws his arms in front of him, screaming in agony until, choking on the acrid smoke rising from his own burning body, he dies. His anima flares a final, blinding time, the omen dog writhing as if the shard resists the death of its host, but soon even that warm, vital light fades away to nothingness. [Private to Danae Adela: He's dead -- but you've just accrued Limit. The boy has actually been forced to fight against his will. He's just newly Exalted and thus didn't have the strength to escape... so you effectively had to suppress Compassion to kill him. Anyway, +1 Limit, for a total of 7 Limit.] That boy's final scream is something that Danae will remember for a long, long time.

---

OOC: part 1 of 2 :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:25, Mon 01 Dec 2008.

Still half ensconced in the ruined warstrider Danae had been piloting up until now, Slivari throws her lucky knife. The sun-kissed sliver of metal splits into tens of golden copies, every one of them aimed for the sorceress Slivari despises.

Silver-hair hmphs in irritation, throwing her arm outward in a dismissive gesture, her kimono sleeve spreading as if to scatter the annoying knives. But the Air Aspect cries out as one of the golden shards pierce through her defenses, cutting a thin, bleeding cut onto her beautiful cheek. Slivari gazes upon the lovely, bloodied face of the ice sorceress, and feels a sudden, confusing ripple of emotion: hate mixed with an unbidden admiration! [Private to Dyron Slivari: Ok, this is going to be weird :) but reading your virtue flaw, this counts as witnessing an attractive person in distress. You mentioned Slivari could be attracted to women, and the sorceress is at least an app 4, so you gain 3 points of Limit for the scene. Anyway, you've now developed a weird love/hate for miss silver-hair!]

"H-how dare you!" the woman growls wrathfully, still hovering in the air, splitting her attention between Reva on the black warstrider and Slivari in the ruined golden one. Then suddenly her expression changes. "Oh, it's YOU girls... I see now... I see!" She laughs, the sound both bell-like and false, stopping only when she eyes the still smoldering body of Omen Dire. "Look at you barbaric creatures. You would even slay each other. And you call us the monsters?"

As for Dena, her concentration is focused completely on personal combat with the Water Aspect with the serpent staff. A flurry of blows occurs between the two martial artists in the span of a few seconds, impossible for any normal eye to catch. Dena thrashes her opponent soundly with the uppercut and chain throw, but the Snake stylist still manages to work two blindingly swift counterattacks in between: one smashing into the side of the Lunar's head, another thrusting harmlessly into her solar plexus.

[Private to Tervila Dena: You got a +1 stunt so I gave you some dice back (12 and 12 on the last two). First still missed (DV 9), second in with 4 (DV 8), third in with 6 (DV 6, it's -2 cause snake stylist counterattacked once at this point). Counterattacks are with Snake Strikes the Heel, which uses her MA + extra sux on your attack rolls as dice, and resolve before damage from your attacks (so you couldn't have flown away). Got 11 and 8 sux, and you had 3 DV, then 2 DV. So... after all my damage calculation screw ups, oops... you took 3B, she took 4B, and now you're out of range of her.]

As Dena's wings carry her a safe distance away, the Wood archer looses another pair of arrows at Xurizu, each shaft trailing sparks of green Essence. The first arrow strikes Xurizu's jade lamellar, stinging him shallowly, but does not interrupt his spell shaping. [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: You got 1L damage. I did the Wits+Occult roll, you passed it.]

The Earth Aspect seems deeply affected by her Fire counterpart swiftly dying on the floor. She turns her attention from Dena, her wrathful eyes going instead to Dashu as she shouts, "Your life for his!" and rushes at him with her goremaul. She swipes at him with two graceless but powerful strikes, powered by rage and despair that transcend the agony of her wounds. [Private to Peleps Dashu: 9 and 6 sux... well, this time you should be able to perfect!]

---

OOC: part 2 of 2. Sorry took long to write, damned counterattacks are hard to resolve. :P

actions
tick 15 - Xurizu (release sorcery)
tick 16 - Silver-hair (needs to wait on Reva though)
tick 17 - Danae, Dena
tick 18 - Dashu, Slivari, Wood/Earth/Water aspects

Reva is still on tick 13 but she can post whenever ready, if we move on we'll just assume she held action for a bit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:34, Tue 02 Dec 2008.

Danae stared down into the fusilage of the ruined warstrider, and turned her head aside, focusing on the remaining enemy.  "No--I don't call you a monster." She began, kicking a shard of shattered jade back down to her own machine, causing a rather impressive chain reaction that launched her own straight sword into her outstretched hand.  "You're scared of us... And for good reason--we're strong, we're prone to reckless actions, and we can do things that most people can't...  To be honest, I'd be scared of me too..."

She settled the weapon into a defensive posture, but refrained from attacking just yet.  "But...  No matter how much you might want to pass the buck in this case--the aggressor here was 'You!'  I would have been quite happy to slip off as relatively unseen as possible--I have no interest in the mayhem and violence that's overwhelmed this place...  But you call us the barbarians, when you slaughter your own people by the hundreds--thousands even if this 'Purge' of yours goes through...  Just because we're finally out of your control?  You sieze the mind of a CHILD who's only crime was to be receptacle to a power that simply 'Chooses' us as suitable for one reason or another, and pit him against a mature and competent fighter?  I would have spared him if I could...  But what then?  Would you have grasped his mind again?  Thrown him into battle upon battle until someone 'Did' kill him, then shrug and get back down to business?"

She wasn't going to make the first attack here--best get Silver Hair to do that.

While Danae's interests were customarily benign in nature...  The events of the past few minutes had gotten her blood boiling--and she was proving why she had been Chosen into 'This' particular caste in spades.

"Come then cretin"  She states. "I was not seeking this battle--but don't thnk I'll back down--I'll cut you down, and then I'll stop this 'Purge' any way I can!"

Dashu watches as the Fire Aspects face contort in pain as his claw pierces the armor for the last time and he was filled with a some small bit of admiration for him.  This was a hard fought battle and the man was a skilled warrior.  He didn't deserve to have his last moment spent laying in a pool of blood.  Dashu whispers to him, "I'm sorry that it came to this, but we both did what we must.  The most I can do you for you is to let you die on your feet swiftly instead of wasting away, laying in a puddle of your own blood."  What was written on the face of both men was not care, for both men hated each other, nor was it admiration for Dashu was nothing but Anathema to the Terrestrial.  The look was one of understanding and the Fire Aspect nodded with the little strength he had left.  Dashu the twists his hand with the claws still in the man's chest.  A brief moment of pain flashes on his face and then his body went limp.

Just then the Earth Aspects howls become audible over the rest of the fighting.  Dashu removes his claw from the cadaver of who was obviously either her lover or her brother, raises it while its still covered in her loved one's blood, and beckons her to come.  This was a pain, all he wanted to do was to get our before this purge hit them.  Dashu sighs and just reminds himself that this was unavoidable.

As her hammer tried to hit Dashu for the first time his body seemed to flicker with the image of the hawk for just a moment and he was no longer where the the hammer was striking.  Dashu had pushed his essence into his feet and stepped out of the way before the Earth Aspect could even see him.  Frustrated at this turn of events the Earth Aspect screamed with rage and again tried to crush Dashu, but he easily interjected the claws on one hand, catching the blunt of the blow on the very tips of his claws.  He then looked his opponent in the eye and brushed the hammer aside as though it was nothing.  This woman was already injured and used a clumsy weapon.  This fight would be totally different.

Dashu then shook his head slightly at the Earth Aspect and launched himself forward into a blurr of claws.  His anima flashed once again and the hawk appeared to be tearing into the Earth Aspect.  In fact, after flicking the hammer aside, Dashu had used the same hand to slash at her face in a broad sweeping strike.  He then slid into a different stance and pushed straight at her chest with his other hand, crossing over his first.  Lastly, he lashed out at his opponents arm.  His style had changed.  There were none of the acrobatics used in this attack that he had used in the others.  Each movement was measured, precise, and efficient.

[Private to GM: Mechanical Break Down:  Perfect first deffense, +4 sux to second.  +4 sux to all 3 attacks.  Probably not good enough for  a stunt but never hurts to ask.]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Mon 01 Dec 2008.

Ahh, Xurizu gasped as the arrow scored him lightly, but he maintained his focus on the spell, neatly tucking the last from glimmering strands of essence into the chain which once more hung before him, slipping his finger through a link and spinning it around before releasing it with a grin at the archer, visible as the shadows parted to let the spell out.  My turn, it said quite clearly to the man as the razor edged chain spun and sped toward him, twisting in the air to loop well clear of the fighting and the unpredictable movements of the wasp lady before it plunged down to wrap itself around the archer.

Dena continues to keep the pressure on the Water Aspect, drifting down deceptively slowly to a few feet in the air, where she snaps down with her chain fairly sedately, unlike her previous furious barrage.  The attack misses but Dena continues to observe anyway, drifting in a broad circle and looking for a weak point.

[Private to GM:
22:33, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 5 successes using 9d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,8,1,9,4,9,2,3,10. Chain attack on water aspect.
No charms this round unless somebody hits me.]

Xurizu's conjured chain whirls obediently where he directs it, spinning so swiftly it nearly appears to be a silvery disc. The archer leaps back and ducks as the flying guillotine dives unerringly his way. Thinking fast, he actually drops to the floor and rolls away from its reach! The barbed chain strikes the floor a hair's breadth from his neck, gouging dents in the ancient stone, and disappears harmlessly. [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: Errp... you got 7 sux, he has 6 DDV, and used a WP on his DV. So it missed! Barely. ;.; The one who's boosting Dodge isn't dead yet.]

Floating above the battle, silver-hair smirks derisively at Danae's words. "You understand nothing of the history of Creation, why we have had to burrow underground for so long. You say we are aggressors?" She glares down at the blonde Solar, her eyes as sharp and icy as her knives. "This is preventative measure, girl. It is because of you we have lost our homeland. It is the Anathema that ruined the world above, and don't you forget it. Your kind must be collared, and kept pacified at all costs."

As soon as she stops speaking, silver-hair seems to simply vanish. Only Slivari can see her clearly, and Dashu at the corner of his eye. They notice the floating Air Aspect drop behind the bulk of the black warstrider... to do what?

Unfortunately, Dashu is too preoccupied by combat to say or do anything about it. His attention is focused completely on the Earth Aspect as he dives for her with claws outstretched, a predatory bird diving for its prey. Her tower-shaped anima banner rises defiantly behind her, lending her a last, desperate surge of fortitude...

...which fails, as the Night Caste's claws shred through the joins of her armor, rending her flesh to ribbons. "Bastard..." she gasps. The goremaul falls from her hands, colliding loudly with the ground. She tears away her faceplate, revealing a bloodied face, matted brown hair and dark eyes that glare Dashu's way, even as she collapses to the ground beside the fallen Fire Aspect. "You are... the end of us all..." [Private to Peleps Dashu: +1 stunt again. She had the most HLs of all of them, and is -1 below incap. now. Finish the job if you like, you killer you! ;)]

The Water Aspect holds her serpent-staff in a defensive, but not rigid stance, maintaining the Snake Form as she begins to back away swiftly. The Wood Aspect follows suit, both wounded Dragon-blooded apparently intending to reach the elevator behind them.

Those who might have been watching closely realize that Reva, too, is mysteriously out of sight. [Private to Dyron Reva: I did rolls for Reva. She took the last ice knife, but the knife did no damage on her (lucky you). She fell off the black warstrider sometime during all the excitement, but I rolled wits+athletics and succeeded in breaking her fall. So Reva is actually clinging to the back of the black warstrider right now, hanging on for dear life. None of the PCs can see her from that position.]

---

OOC: Ok... Reva has been holding action for some time now. Danae has been guarding until silver-hair's tick, but now (to her eyes anyway) silver-hair has disappeared, so... what will she do?

as mentioned only Dashu or Slivari could point silver-hair out at this point.

actions
tick 18 - Slivari, Wood/Water aspects (retreating)
tick 20 - Xurizu (rejoin battle)
tick 22 - Dashu, Dena
tick 23 - Wood/Water aspects (reach the elevator)
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:49, Tue 02 Dec 2008.

"What 'Is' all this talk about how 'We Ruined the world above!'  If this struggle's been going on even back then, then how do we know it wasn't connec..."  She trailed off then as the silver haired woman seemed to vanish, and cursed lightly, turning to the elevator, and trusting in the others present at the time to resolve that loose end.  "Don't let them get to the elevator!""  She then calls out.  "They'll trap us down here if they do!  We've got to shut this purge off before they kill everyone in this entire block!"

Not one to just order stuff unneccessarily though, Danae broke off into a charge at that point, running down the fallen warstrider, and leaping off one of it's shoulders, her natural speed and agility, unhampered by armor or wounds more then a slight bit of essence feedback from the shock-lance attack earlier, she was likely going to catch up fairly quickly.

It wasn't her intention though to charge into the Dragon Blooded who were going for the elevator though--rather, it was her intention to cut them off, and prevent them from retreating into the elevator..

As much as he hated to leave an opponent in such a pitifully painful state, Dashu could see that few of the others actually saw where the sorcerous had gone to and she was a threat to them all.  At least the Earth Aspect was unconsious and aware of the pain she was in.

Dashu hurried in the direction of the silver-hair while thinking about what she had said.  Something didn't sit well with him but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.  When he came to the war strider he leaped from one jade foothold to another, practically running up the large black monstrosity.  When he got to the top, he stopped and looked for his target while on his guard.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:48, Wed 03 Dec 2008.

Seeing her opponent starting to flee, Dena frowns although it's hard to tell through the armor she's grown.  There's a slight popping sound of displaced air as she moves, suddenly pushing herself to top speed and blasting around them to the entrance of the elevator.
"No, you can't go.  We haven't finished the plan yet.  We have to test the limits of our Art." she complains to the Water-Aspect, holding her chain out again in a loose guard.

Leaving the Earth Aspect to die from her wounds, Dashu looks down and sees the silver-haired woman hovering ten feet in the air behind the warstrider, gathering icy Essence about her. She is using its bulk as cover while she shapes her next spell!

Dashu also sees Reva clinging to the back of the warstrider. Apparently she'd slipped and fallen from its shoulder and is now hanging suspended, gripping one of the plates about 18 feet above ground. The Sidereal is too focused on her current predicament to even notice silver-hair behind her... yet.

At the same time, Dena and Danae dash for the elevator to block the Dragon-bloods' path of escape. Upon clearing the warstrider, they can also see the sorceress about to release her magic, though Dena seems too focused on the Snake stylist to really pay heed. Seeing the pair coming, the Water and Wood Aspects prepare themselves to defend for or cover the sorceress any way they can.

---

OOC: Right now Dashu, you can see the spell shaping but you won't be able to act before it goes off, only speak a warning. However, Danae (and only Danae, at least at the moment) has a chance to strike silver-hair before she casts. One or both DBs may use charms/actions to get in her way though.

No one else sees what sorceress is doing right now though. Slivari only noticed her disappear behind the black 'strider, nothing else.

[Private to Ledaal Xurizu: If you end up not casting a spell for your next action, you may get a chance to try and learn silver-hair's next spell.. IF it doesn't get disrupted, heh. If you attack on tick 20 though, you'll have to split to observe the spell too.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:03, Wed 03 Dec 2008.

Dashu sees what's happening and realizes he can't do anything about it.  Being quick on his feet he shouts to Danae, "Everyone she's behind the warstrider and about to shoot off another spell!"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:57, Wed 03 Dec 2008.

Another spell? Xurizu had just been about to start casting for himself, to help clear those two attacking the Dragonblooded defending the elevator doors but on hearing the shout he instead sprints forward and to the side, trying to flank the bulk of the warstrider and get a clear view of the spell being cast ... as well as a clear shot for his bow.
[Private to GM: Dash then split for one observation, one attack.  Willing to spend motes on the dash (what is needed) and the attack (4).]

"I see her!!"  Danae called out, glancing at the retreating Dragon Blooded, then at the casting woman.  "... Well, this is going to be risky..."  She then muttered as she took in the scenario, grimacing at how unpleasant it all looked.  "But it can't be helped--I hope this works though!!!"

Tossing herself into a forward leap--mostly to continue her progress while she did this next bit--Danae spun around in the air, levelling her Firewand at the casting Dragon Blood--not aiming for her face--but at the center of mass.  Fire did hurt quite a bit after all, and hopefully it would distract her into making a mistake.

Either way, when the jet of flame was belched out--tossing her backwards a little more, she tucked down and landed with a roll--before getting back on her usual path, and drawing her straight sword, finally cutting off the path of the retreating Dragon Bloods.  "Ahaha!"  She exclaimed, waving her sword once for emphathis, and getting ready to fight.  "Don't go off leaving your 'Own' people to die--after all, isn't it a contridiction in terms when the 'Demons' are the ones more interested in saving them?"

[Private to Gatekeeper: 6m Second Archery Excellency on the caster, and moving to cut off the runners, Straight Sword being wielded against them]

As Danae blasts her firewand at the sorceress -- joined swiftly by Xurizu's arrow -- the Wood Aspect raises his bow and lets fly a volley of arrow after arrow, the glittering green shafts forming a shield of projectiles to protect his companions. "Lady Misa!" shouts the Wood Aspect. [Private to Danae Adela: Oh yeah. +1 stunt for you.]

The rain of arrows all but shreds Xurizu's attempt, but the belch of flame from Danae's firewand sears a large section of the arrow-shield into ash, penetrating through to bathe the silver-haired Misa in flame! The sorceress lets out a piercing, agonized scream, her spell dissipated to nothing as the force of the fire blast knocks her from mid-air, and in a pile onto the floor. Charred and gravely wounded, she does not immediately rise. [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: She doesn't complete the pattern, but you learn enough about the Titan's Icy Breath to potentially commit it to memory. I'll say you spent... total of 6 motes to get where you had to + fire shots.]

"Lady!" the Water Aspect exclaims. "Cursed Anathema, this will be the end of the road for you!!" She continues to hold her staff defensively, pressed against the elevator door, but her efforts to defend are hampered as she stretches an arm out and presses a series of buttons on the elevator panel... whatever sequence she's started to key in makes the entire panel glow from blue-green to a warning crimson! "Hurry... Sun-damned machine...!!"

Amidst all this excitement, Reva loses her grip on the black warstrider and plummets to the ground. Fortunately, it's a short fall and hardly harms her (1B damage). But she is currently prone on the ground. [Private to Dyron Reva: sorry, but I've been pushing the battle along and you've not posted so... I've been rolling what happens to you. You can still split to get up and act in a single action; rising from prone is spd 5, -1 DV] Slivari continues standing where she is, not quite knowing what to do or contribute.

---

OOC: actions
tick 23 - Water aspect (at elevator - defends/works on panel)
tick 24 - Danae (reaches elevator)
tick 25 - Dashu, Dena, Xurizu
tick 28 - Wood aspect (ends 7-year swarm volley), Water aspect (finishes with panel)

At this point if Reva or Slivari act I will decide which tick they re-enter.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:44, Thu 04 Dec 2008.

Dena hovers over the Water Aspect and perches on the side of the elevator shaft, digger her fingers and toes into the surface deeply for a sure hold and she snaps the chain down at the water aspect, attempting to loop it around her neck and lift the martial artist for a hanging.
"Stop fiddling with that thing and finish it with me, or I'll destroy the elevator shaft so that you have to finish it." Dena threatens.
[Private to GM: 23:58,
Sigh, bad luck on the roller.  And I think that's about it for my essence.
Today: Tervila Dena rolled 7 successes using 15d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,2,2,10,3,7,2,2,8,3,2,4,10,4,2. Chain attack on water aspect. ]

[Private to Tervila Dena: No worries, you make it this time. She had to split to defend + her colleague with the Martial Arts booster is gone. :P]

The Water aspect finds herself suspended by a chain around her neck, and even then, she still laughs -- wheezing for breath, but laughing. "You daft creature, we would not mind in the slightest if you destroyed that shaft..."

"The purge grows nearer..." Her fingers wind around the chain attempting to grip and pull it aside from its choking grip. "I care not for your petty competition... or even if I die. Only that you do not live, either..."

Another laugh dissolves in gasping wheezes.

---

OOC: Technically Danae could have gotten there a tick sooner, but a clinched opponent only makes her job easier, really. Water took 1B damage (she has taken 7B total but has an ox-body.)

Dashu jumps down the warstrider to the silver-haired Lady Misa.  He had questions he wanted answered and he had no time for games and to be guessing if she spoke truth or lies.  He took the spark of inner excellence in his soul and centered his attention on it.  He imagined pushing the power it produced into his ears.  He wanted to be able to hear the difference between truth and lie.  "If you're awake Lady Misa, then riddle me this:  You say you have to stop us at all cost, even to the point of killing 1/5 of your population.  However, that 1/5 happens to be the dregs of your society, a society in a bottle with limited resources and space.  You seem to be in the know, so tell me, is this purge really about stopping us, or about making room down here?   After all, you guys seem to have procedures in place for dealing with a mass breakout.  It certainly was a possibility in your minds that it could happen, and you immediately jumped to the solution of this purge."

[Private to GM: I'm activating my Judge's Ear Technique and assuming she's awake.  If she's not, then I'll edit my post to kicking her until she is.]

"Wow, you're stupider than you look." Dena comments mildly.  "I guess you're not really worthy to fight me.  I can fly, in case you didn't notice.  And I've carried trunks filled with bricks more than once on build sites.  I can probably carry that Warstrider if I have to. How hard do you think it will be for me to fly the other Anathema up the elevator shaft?  Heck, I'd be willing to bet we could dig right through the floor if we had to.  Your people are the only ones who will die here." Dena smiles.  It's rather horrible looking given the array of spikes and mandibles growing out of her face at this point.

"H..heh..." Misa props herself up weakly by one arm, her beautiful face twisted in pain. "The commoners are a small sacrifice... to ensure your destruction. You may call it an ulterior motive. But it is simply... two birds with one stone..."

She half laughs, half coughs, a crimson trickle issuing from her lips, but for a last prideful moment her voice gains strength. "Will you kill me now, knowing that we would not save the mutants, the cripples and unworthy rabble that live in this block? They are impure and wretched, the mere leftovers of our striving for perfection!!" Her blue eyes blaze as she utters this, the force of her anima blasting anyone back who might come near. [Private to Peleps Dashu: Dashu is certain she is telling the truth, that the 'purge' has a dual purpose.]

The Water Aspect glares balefully at Dena. "Laugh if you want... the shaft does not lead to your salvation." One hand still grips her serpent staff while the other strains stubbornly to widen the gap between her neck and the chain around it. She pushes Essence into the attempt, her anima manifesting in azure ropes of water slithering across her body. "And these floors have stood the wear of centuries; they will not fail even for you, Anathema!" [Private to Tervila Dena: She's at -4 wounds but still pushed motes into her opposed clinch roll. Got 7 sux. So to keep the clinch you'll have to roll to beat that. Or you could just lose the clinch on purpose and strike normally, if Dena's just that determined to finish her prey.]

Danae, meanwhile, rushes to the panel now vacated as the Water Aspect continues to hang in the air. Deftly she examines the array of symbols on the touch pad. The sequence entered so far is only a partial one, and the elevator AI apparently requires an additional input. Fortunately for Danae, it means Water Aspect has done the job of authorization, but she must still proceed carefully, so as not to lock herself out of the system before the elevator lockdown can be reversed... [Private to Danae Adela: You figured out what to do, now you need to actually *do* it. Roll Wits+Lore.]

The Wood Aspect does not merely stand and wait. Backed into a corner and drained of Essence, he curses and readies an arrow, if only to defend Misa.

While the others confront the three remaining Dragon-blooded, Reva simply ignores them, moving toward Slivari. It seems the sisters only care for each other's fate now, which is understandable -- the others can only guess at how long it has been since they've seen each other. (They are now separating from the group.)

---

OOC: We're basically exiting combat time now. Though combat can still occur, I'll just arbitrarily decide turn order and duration rather than keep track of ticks at this point, since Danae needs more extended time to finish what she's doing.

Others can 1) finish off DBs (they don't have much strength at all to keep opposing you), 2) finish conversations, 3) collect loot: a red jade daiklave, a white jade goremaul, two suits of Armor of Water Inurement, and potentially a jade noble warstrider with twin hookswords, which could be used to carry the magical materials Danae gathered previously (and you'll want those, they're your best bet to get superior equipment that's not jade.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:55, Fri 05 Dec 2008.

Xurizu moves up to Dashu and the sorceress, letting the others deal with the other dragonblooded for the moment.  He wants to ask the sorceress some questions.  "You're a sorceress," he says softly.  "How much do you know about about anathema sorcerers?  How much do you know about the woman with red hair?" he drops his voice lower.  He doesn't expect her to answer him truthfully, but he hopes he can hear something in what she does say and perhaps in what she hesitates over.

Dena tries to bash the water aspect against the wall, but she slips through the chain before impact and slithers to the ground while the chain pulls divots from the walls.
"Yes." she answers dryly, "Surely this elevator shaft, which you abandoned a fight to flee to, that you've tried to disable so we can't use it, will lead to our deaths."

"And.... Got it"  Danae muttered, punching in the last few commands, and bringing the elevator up to the present level.  "Alright ladies and gentlemen..."  She begins, before staggering for a moment and shaking her head.  "Pleasure to meet with all of you...  But I'd rather stop this purge if at all possible--the people of these levels shouldn't be held responsible for our escape here--and the controls for it would be at the top of the Water Districts...  I've secured some equipment and such--but..."  She trails off then, and glances to the others.

"Well, there's still a dragon-blooded presence down here... And according to this thing, we've only got ten minutes left to stop this purge--I'm close to tapped out, but I should be good for one more fight--but I don't feel comfortable leaving all of this stuff down here--do we have anyone who might be willing to stand guard until we've stopped this event from happening?  I'll be able to repay you all quite generously for your assistance..."

The Water Aspect picks herself up warily, and resumes her posture with the staff, though it looks visibly painful for her to do so. "If it is death you meet or not depends on the Gatekeeper. That is all."

Misa looks plainly at Xurizu. "I've no reason to tell you anything," she replies laboriously. "But Lady Sienna... would be happy to see you again, Ledaal Xurizu. Her work with your kind... has saved us much effort, and improved our potential... even the sorcery of Sapphire will be no obstacle to us! That is what you represent to us. As you are now -- you are a terrible danger to all we live for. But collared... you are progress."

"T-minus ten minutes until purging commences," announces the Five Coils AI, nearly drowning out the last of Danae's statements. The Wood Aspect looks at Danae with a mix of surprise and scorn, clearly wondering why she is still speaking of her plans while the Dragon-blooded can hear them. "That's right, there is still a Dragon-blooded presence here. The Immaculate chanters and the Peace Force still roam every floor -- with us!"

He points behind the gathered Anathema. Reva and Slivari are nowhere to be seen now, but further down the street... "There they are!" shouts a chorus of voices. Another contingent of Peace Officers in sentinel defense force armor has just turned the corner, carrying shock pikes and power maces. While the remaining group of Solars and Lunars still dally on what they will do, the Water and Wood aspects move toward Misa and lift her up, dragging her toward the elevator!

---

OOC: Sorry to do it this way, but the DBs wouldn't have just sat there patiently in the minute or two it took Danae to finish, and everyone else was just talking. Except for Dashu (who hadn't posted since Misa first replied to him), you have one full action to do something before the new force opens fire. Dashu has two actions. [Private to Tervila Dena: Water DB is just not going to be baited back into her duel, her priorities are different than Dena's.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:15, Sat 06 Dec 2008.

After hearing everything Misa has to say, Dashu decided that it was time to end this, after all, she was too dangerous to leave be.  His anima flared once again as he forward towards her.  Just as her allies stepped into her flaring anima and grabbed her, Dashu dives forward stabbing them both at the same time.  With his claws leveraged in their armor, he flips upside down, disengages his claws and drives them both into the sorcerous.  As his feet come down, he springs forward, driving himself out of the elemental torrent.

OCC:  Sorry. I was waiting for Xurizu to get his answer and to see if it was a true one before I offed her.[Private to GM: Mechanical Breakdown:  activate combo so I can dodge new attackers.  Attack all 3 remaining guys who I haven't killed yet in this order:  Water, Wood, Air.  Add 4 sux to all 3 attacks.]

Dashu bears down on the Water and Wood aspects as they attempt to take their lady to safety. His claws gouge through their armor, and they fall almost simultaneously. "Lady...!" groans the Water Aspect, passing out, and the Wood Aspect barely manages a strangled "gghhhk!" sound before he joins her on the floor. (1L and 2L, they're both at Incap.)

Before the twin claws can pierce Misa's flesh, though, she shouts an incoherent syllable that sounds like a flock of birds singing! Her body instantly separates, morphing into a flock of snow petrels that dodge Dashu's attack so closely he sends pale feathers flying in all directions. But Dashu does not catch them, and they wing above and away from him, flying toward, then beyond the incoming Peace Officers at incredible speed. [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: Again, you could try to figure this one out, if you like. Wits+Occult diff 3. If you make it, you'll know it's Flight of Separation. Misa was saving its use for her final exit out.]

Everyone still has a few moments left to act. Along with the red daiklave and white goremaul, there are now a green jade short powerbow and a black jade serpent-sting staff up for grabs. Right in front of the Celestials, the elevator waits, their path to the upper levels unhindered.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:24, Sun 07 Dec 2008.

Dena sighs deeply and starts rethinking the situation now that she can't carry out her original plan to fight the Water-Aspect.
"I think we shouldn't try to fight anybody else." she finally decides.  "Let's go up the shaft and see this 'Gatekeeper.'  I can carry a lot of weight so I'll haul what I can up.  Can anybody work this jade into something mroe useful?"
Dena picks up the Serpent-Sting Staff and attempts to pick up the Powerbow as well, testing her limits.

OOCE~ So long as the Anima keeps showing, str+athletics total 14.  On the other hand magical materials are heavy so not sure how much Dena can grab.

"I've got magical materials lashed to the warstrider I took in"  Danae explained.  "And I can work with them once things settle down--please get as much as you can before we head up, and I promise I'll make everyone who helps in this manner a weapon or other piece of equipment of their choice!"

Dashu walks over to Dena, gently takes the powerbow from him, and tosses it to Xurizu saying "Here, upgrade."  He then quickly grabs as much of the raw materials as he can and loads it into the elevator.  It isn't as much as Dena is able to move by a long shot but it is still a small help.  "Hey you two.  By the way, I'm Dashu and my friend over there is Xurizu.  Guess that was Reva's sister who she ran off with, so its just the 4 of us now."  He then looks at Danae once the group finds its way to the elevator and says "You mentioned stopping the purge?  The thought hadn't occurred to me because it was beyond my capability but if you can do then crank up the elevator and lets go."

"Oh yes, introductions.  I am Tervila Dena, Full-Moon caste and message-carrier."

This is FAR from the time for introductions.

The coming force is in two ranks of five. The Peace Officers in front march with shock pikes and the back with power maces. "FIRE!!" their commanders scream, opening fire in two distinct volleys as their targets come into range. The shock pikes up front discharge a blast of projected force, while the maces open up at the head to reveal an Essence cannon, belching a concussive blast toward the talking Exalts.

The four look behind them to see a rippling wall of white-hot energy coming at them, and can only hope the elevator doors can shield them in time. [Private to Danae Adela: 8 (power mace), 6 (shock pike) sux, 7 (shock pike) sux.] [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: 8 (power mace), 3 (shock pike) sux.] [Private to Peleps Dashu: 6 (power mace) and 12 (shock pike) sux.] [Private to Tervila Dena: 6 (power mace), 5 (power mace), 4 (shock pike) sux.]

---

OOC: For your defense you can only dodge, or parry with stunt. You also get +2 cover bonus to DV from diving into the elevator. The rest is up to stunt awards, charms and WP. I will also allow virtue channels (but you have to roll the virtue to add to your DV. Sorry Dena, I ruled it wrong last time.) [Private to Ledaal Xurizu: This is basically me punishing the others for standing around talking while this force is coming up behind them. You didn't, so you can get a +4 cover DV rather than a +2.]

Dashu easily ducks behind the wall to avoid the concussive blast of the power maces.  However the shock pikes were in position to be much more dangerous.  Dashu dove into the elevator hoping it would shield some of the blast.  As the wave of force reached him, Dashu pushed off the back wall with all his might and a burst of will with his claws extended forward, and the points coming together making himself as aerodynamic as possible.  With him pushing off the wall, and force blast pushing forward Dashu was able to fully support himself in mid air.  Suddenly Dashu found the resolve to push forward more, causing the wave to actually bend slightly and crash harmlessly behind him.  Since he no longer had the wave to help support him in mid air, Dashu shot forward and barrel rolled along the floor.  Once on his feet he screams to the others, "Time to go, NOW!"

[Private to GM: Breakdown:  dodge, parry w/ +4 to DV, stunt bonus, and use a willpower.   I'm guessing we're back in combat time.]
This message was last edited by the player at 15:45, Sun 07 Dec 2008.

Lady Sienna ... he thought as she spoke.  I know her name, now.

He watched as Dashu struck down the two Drgaonblooded trying to pull her away, and then stared in wonder as she became a flock of birds.  Birds ..., he smiled, catching the powerbow with a "Thanks", then almost dropping it with its unattuned weight catching him off-guard.  He did kept hold of it, though, and was still holding it when he saw the wave of concussive and electrical force hurtling down the corridor towards him, diving into the elevator for cover.  "Agreed!"

"Bad idea to stick around!!" Danae called out then, watching several annoyingly well-aimed bolts of shock pike coming her way--and this time without a giant robot to take most of the damage...

So, naturally, after reaching for her blade--and noticing rather quickly that it wasn't likely to survive the force of the impact--Danae dropped down low, collecting another piece of orichalcum that had fallen off her machine, balancing it on the flat of her sword--then using it's own magical nature to bash the oncoming bolts of shock essence away--even as she bodily hurled herself back into the relative safety of the elevator shaft--smashing aside the second bolt and using it's concussive force to steer her away from a looming pillar.

"Come on!  Let's go!!!" She called back, after checking to make sure her stuff had been put into the ledge as well--before noticing a third shot coming by, forcing her to drop down low and bat the last shot back with a swing, disintegrating the abused orichalcum 'patch'--but letting her weapon survive just that much longer.

Dena watches the incoming fire mildly, actually managing to look as if she's thinking over whether or not to do anything about it.  At the last moment she tosses the serpent staff into the air, sinks her hands up to the elbow in the section of wall next to the elevator, and throws a huge block of stone into the path of oncoming fire.  She sighs as she buzzes into the elevator, relieved to be back on her plan and not dealing with unexpected changes.

[Private to GM: My dodge DV is 6, I don't think any of those attacks can actually hit Dena unless they're unexpected with so few successes, but I'm not sure which roll is which or whether you already subtracted the DV.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:51, Mon 08 Dec 2008.

The Essence blasts strike the sides and door of the elevator as the four Exalts tumble into it, some blocking the waves of energy with sheer nerve or polished prowess, others simply flinging themselves bodily out of the way. Somewhere in that tangle of limbs working and adrenaline pumping, someone manages to remember to shut the elevator door behind them.

The door absorbs enough discharged Essence that it is scalding hot to the touch. Fortunately, the elevator seems to function perfectly, and Danae punches the button for Floor B26 while the others rest and recollect themselves, clutching whatever equipment they managed to snatch with them. The floor beneath them shudders, then lifts up at a steady pace, propelled not by any gears or pulleys they can see, but by some invisible force.

After over twenty minutes of running for their lives, and fighting off enemies eager for their blood, Dashu, Xurizu, Danae and Dena have earned just a moment of respite. Above them awaits the guardian of the Water District, and whatever obstacles it may manifest in the crucial minutes left before the purge commences.

---

OOC: OK, you all made it. Thanks for indulging me, I hope you didn't feel too endangered. :( At this point you regain Essence+Willpower in motes, plus you get stunt: Dena and Xurizu get +1, and Dashu and Danae get +2. Regain what you wish from that.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:33, Mon 08 Dec 2008.

Discovering that the elevator shaft is far too crowded and tangled with people, Dena drops her warform and shrinks from eight feet tall to just under five before pushing into a corner.
"As I said, although you might not have heard in the sudden attack, I am Tervila Dena, a Full Moon Lunar." she comments quietly.  "We probably need to make a plan for what to do when we reach the next level.  I believe you expressed a wish to prevent the purge, do you have any idea how to do that?  Is there a control system?"

"Greetings, Dena," Xurizu said with bow.  "I am Ledaal Xurizu, a No Moon lunar," he continued, in case she had likewise missed his introduction.

"There appears to be a control system, yes.  We interacted with it earlier," he adds, by way of explanation.  "It seems to be tied to Dragonblooded, however, so we would need some way or other to get around that."

I can think of one way

As the doors slammed shut, Dashu fell against the wall, truly exhausted from the fight and grateful for the opportunity to catch his  breath.  "I'll leave the magitech stuff to you guys.  You're better at it than me."

"Do we need an intact dragonblooded, their essence, or will a a piece of one of them work?" Dena asks with interest, inspecting the device although she doesn't understand it's workings well.

"Damn"  Danae cursed, taking the opportunity to rest while she could.  "I got this working because the target was trying to lock the elevator down, and had just put in their authorization code when I had just gotten this started... I'm pretty sure they've got hair-triggers on these programs...  I might be able to bypass it if I've got time to work and whatnot, but I'll pretty much need to focus entirely on the task at hand to do so"

"Intact, I think. Concious, even." Xurizu confirms.  "I'm ... less sure about the hair triggers, though.  When I tried to use one, it knew who I was, seemed apologetic it couldn't do as I asked.  I don't know if that is because I used them before." Because I have only the faintest memories of ever seeing one.

The floors count off one by one. A pleasant, perfectly enunciated but utterly artificial voice announces each as it passes by.

"B28 - District of Water, Lower Residential, Business."
"B27 - District of Water, Lower Residential, Administrative."
"B26 - District of Water, Control Floor. Offices of the Gatekeeper of Water."

The concave elevator doors yawn open almost as soon as the moving platform shudders to a halt, welcoming the brave (if battered) Exalts to the cold, dimly lit corridors of Floor B26.

---

OOC: End of thread. I'll open new soon. I know you guys are eager posters so I'll try not to make you wait long, but syncing threads is important, too. :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:01, Fri 12 Dec 2008.