Veldygar Arhandor and Broken Eternal enter the interior of the Inner Temple, bottom level, after ensuring no one is waiting just inside the door for them. Harue, who decides whatever the two Celestials are up to is much too involved and dangerous for her tastes, opts to skip out another way while still wearing her doctor's disguise. She did manage to at least find the way into the temple, and replenish her drug supply, and now it's time for her to cut losses.

The temple interior is built not of stone, or even ordinary metal, but adamant, that Autochthonian metal of incredible strength and (at least found loose and harvestable) rarity. That in itself is a sign that the group is within the central column of the Five Coils, though how close to the exact center is not certain. Garnet Cog's approximation is about a half-mile away if one could move in a straight line.

The halls and rooms closest to the entrance the Exalts just stepped through appear to be completely devoid of any personnel, Immaculate or hospital or otherwise. It seems that the group that came in before them must have evacuated either further away, or even upward. The immediate area seems to lack any sort of map, not like the hospital, so only Cog's memory and the Exalts' senses can be relied on for any sort of navigation.

[Private to Veldygar Arhandor; Broken Eternal: Decide together (IC, preferably) what to do.
- Wait and rest a while. This will replenish your motes to full. Veldy may also attempt to heal Dezephiel with Wound-Mending Needles so it can stop accruing Limit for its unfulfilled Warden role. Or Eternal who has taken 3L damage.
- Do some exploring. (Be specific about what you are looking for and how.)
- Go to a specific destination or direction (toward a cardinal direction? toward the center? etc.)]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:20, Tue 11 Aug 2009.

Veldygar, giving Harue an intrigued stare as she decided to get on her own way, decided to, first and foremost, search for a safe place to hide and rest - and, if possible, use the healing magic of his Wound Mending Needles on Broken Eternal, should he need it.

"We should perhaps rest a bit," he said when he was reasonably sure no one was in earshot. "I can patch you up, if you need it, and my servants might need some rest too."

Eternal grudgingly agrees on the resting. Naturally he is unhappy about it, being so eager to spill more Immaculate blood. But being reckless in the confines of their monks' own turf is an even stupider idea, so he stays put. As for healing, he shrugs -- he is not too badly banged up but he would gladly get some of his wounds patched up as they hinder his movements and reflexes somewhat.

Veldygar finds it is easy enough to find an empty place to rest in the abandoned areas close by. Though the Inner Temple is indeed a temple, it also serves as a base for their militant monks, and therefore he is able to find a nearby barracks for rest. Even after waiting cautiously a few minutes for passers-by he and Eternal hear nothing of note approaching their way. They may hear, if they listen hard enough, distant voices and footsteps, even sounds of combat, but it is far away, and fading.

So they rest for a time, regain their power and, if Veldygar wishes to expend the Essence, heal as well.

[Private to Veldygar Arhandor: Unfortunately Eternal doesn't want to post on weekends now *sigh* so I am assuming his actions, though if this becomes inconvenient for too long he too will have to 'disappear'.

If you will heal him he has taken 3L damage (2L healed would bring him to -0 level). If you heal Dezephiel he has taken 7L (2L healed would bring it to -1, 6L healed to -0 level). Hopefully that'll give you an idea of how to distribute your Essence, as it is 3 motes per level you heal. You'll be forgiven if you decide not to bother healing Eternal :P but I would recommend healing the tomescu enough that it can contend in battle again. Also, besides the spent motes, you still have to roll Perc+Medicine diff 1 to heal each level, unless you have a base Perc+Medicine pool of 7+.)

After you subtract Essence spent for healing, post how many hours you will rest to gain all motes, assuming you regain 8 motes per hour.]

He waited.

He was trained to wait.  He could remain motionless for hours, maybe even days, while he waited for a target.  It was easy then, because it was all part of the process.  Waiting for the opportune moment, so he could inflict as much damage as possible on his target.  So what if it took time?  He was Broken Eternal, after all.  He was not going to age, and he was not going to die.  So what was a few hours?  What was a few days in the face of such things?  It was in this way that he had to think of this small respite.  Yes, monks were waiting for his blades, but they were not at full strength, then less blood would be spilled.

If they were going to suffer, it would be as much as possible--so Eternal waited.

"Heal your demons.  I'll be fine."  He said gruffly, sliding his back down the wall and sitting against it, his arms over his knees as he closed his eyes, apparently resting.  He knew where he wanted to go--the terminal had told him where the monks were, and that was where he would go, as swiftly as he could, once he was at full stregth (mote wise, at least.)

He did not pay any mind to Harue as she had decided to leave them.  It was her own path to pick, and he certainly knew the want to travel and be alone.  It simply wasn't his path anymore, it seemed, despite his wanting it to be otherwise.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:27, Mon 10 Aug 2009.

"As you wish," Veldygar replied. He worked on his demon as soon as possible, trying to meld his knowledge of demon physiology - if they could be said to have such, being manifestations of raw Essence after all - and healing to his servant.

He would probably spend an hour or two in their hiding place after that, shepherding his mystical energies.

[Private to GM: [OOC:23:48, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 3 successes using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,2,8,8. Per+Medicine.
23:48, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 3 successes using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,6,10,7. Per+Medicine.
23:48, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,6,2,7. Per+Medicine.]]

Eastern Barracks:

Veldygar and Eternal rest a couple hours. Veldygar's demons, of course, do not need to sleep. Gugoona, simple-mindedly eager to help as ever, scouts the immediate area while dematerialized. Garnet Cog, however, is no servant. She spends quiet time reminding herself of the interior of the Temple and its layout.

The rest allows Dezephiel to recover its energy and reemerge into materialized form. The demon seems to glower uncomfortably in the confines of the barracks. Insistent on serving its purpose as Warden despite its injured state, it pushes empty beds and footlockers aside to make room for it, remaining in front of the door leading into the barracks.

At this point Veldygar takes an hour to heal Dezephiel slightly. The tomescu makes no sound or gesture of thanks, only a soft keening... which eventually escalates in volume toward a loud shrieking wail. The healing and passage of time remind it of pain, and its tenuous mortality. [Private to Veldygar Arhandor: 4L healed. Since it's 15 min. per attempt I just let you heal an extra HL on the demon. Unfortunately this also means that Dezephiel has to remain materialized, and now it is doing its usual dawn/dusk scream of pain (likely dusk in this case). You can order it to stop, it will accrue another point of Limit (bringing its total Limit to 3).

Gugoona has 1 Limit now, due to being surrounded by material it cannot dissolve (i.e. adamant walls/doors). This'll only happen once a scene.]

Gugoona returns hastily to report its findings. The Inner Temple seems much more a fortress than a temple, from what little it has seen thus far. Rooms are devoted to sleeping quarters, combat training and equipment storage. Small prayer chambers, but no large, central place of worship it has seen, for the central chamber is closed off, similarly to the adamant door Veldygar and Eternal have recently passed.

The metody mentions other beings moving around on the current floor: no monks, but large red insects with straight swords and hook swords for limbs, scouting the halls further westward. It also claims there are humans coming this way that are neither bald nor robe-clad.

[Private to Veldygar Arhandor; Broken Eternal: Veldygar gains 16 motes. Eternal can gain up to 24 since he didn't exert himself while Veldy did the healing.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:21, Tue 11 Aug 2009.

Moving Eastward:

Entering the Inner Temple from the north, the group consisting of Dashu, Dena, Third and Danae make their way east with Third's keen memories to guide them. Navigating the temple corridors, they too pass storage and training areas, prayer rooms decorated with scrolls of Immaculate sutras, paintings and carvings of the Elemental Dragon of Earth, and the ubiquitous mon of Pasiap, the Omphalos Triumphant.

They encounter no monks, but eventually meet several Ruby Warriors originally sent in from the west. Evamae pauses to commune with them, and translates to the Celestials that they have pushed the remaining monks in the area either toward the center of the Temple, or upward. However the very center of the Temple is closed off by locked adamant doors, and the insects claim the stairways off-center (of which they have found two, thus far) are not much safer, as the regrouping monks are now watching these closely. It is more likely at this point that they will wait for the Celestials to come... at least for a time.

Ahead of the others, Dashu is the first to hear the strange, inhuman scream emanating from the barracks area they are now approaching. He can pinpoint exactly which door it is coming from. Hearing that wail, the builder bugs following behind chitter in a chorus of nervousness. [Private to Danae Adela; Peleps Dashu; Tervila Dena; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Can roll Int+Occult to figure out what that wail might be all about.]

"There's something familiar about that sound." Dena comments, leaning against the wall and pressing one ear to it to see if the sound is being transmitted through the rocks..  "I think I've heard it before.  They've got a summoned monster."

[Private to GM: 22:28, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10,3,2. Int + Occult. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:52, Tue 11 Aug 2009.

Third considers, as it listens to the sound of the wail... 'Demon. Army-fighter, it's a combat demon. Unlikely that the Monks would be letting one run around in here. Most likely our contacts. Be careful, no use wasting essence fighting friends.' Third, thankfully, has not yet completely lost its aura, and still glows lightly with the colors of the sun, which should help avoid any unnecessary altercations...

Veldygar's teeth clenched, cursing himself for forgetting to check on the time of the day: he knew ordering a tomescu not to cry was futile.

Gugoona's findings, however, were quite interesting. He took his shock pike, just to be on the safe side. "We have incomings," he said. "No monks, apparently," he added precipitously. "They have strange insectoid creatures with them. It's likely they heard Dezephiel. Let us try to find who they are!"

[Private to GM: [OOC:12:52, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,3,5,9,2,3. Int+Occult.
12:51, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10,5,8,6,5. Int+Lore.
What does Veldygar know about the insects?]]
This message was last edited by the player at 10:52, Tue 11 Aug 2009.

"It's a Tomescu actually"  Danae continued, looking thoughtful.  "Big cloud thing with a bunch of weapons sticking out of it--I remember they had one of the sorcerers call a few for a training exercise once--they scream like that because they apparently remember that they're technically going to die some day, at least twice a day...  More importantly..."

She hastened a little bit, still walking with a bit of a limp from the goremaul hit, but otherwise keeping up with the others.  "The Immaculate Order doesn't truck with demons...  so it's probably our Water Republic contact!"

Veldygar recalls what he had gleaned before about the insect race. [Private to Veldygar Arhandor: You'd actually rolled this before. So I'll repeat what I typed out last time.

You have heard before of large, uncommonly intelligent ant-like insects being used as laborers in Earth District. Your thought is that something or someone must have angered them to revolt. In terms of these giant bugs' nature, they may either be elementals, or genetic construct (you've certainly seen your share of this summoning demons for weird Wood District experiments)

I'll be nice and throw you a bit more since you rolled more Lore this time.]The insects are called builder bugs, though they are much more advanced than the typical sort. They're likely thousands of years old as a race, as they were present in Coils long before the Dragon-blooded got there, serving as the factory-fortress' inhuman laborers. The ruby-hued, combat-oriented ones are but one 'variety'.

The strange screaming behind the barracks door continues for a time, as the summoner of the tomescu allows it to run its natural course. With the monks currently regrouping/in hiding, the noise doesn't draw any more attention, though it is disturbing for everyone in the vicinity, like nails scratching a chalkboard.

Should Veldygar step outside at this time, he will see the figures of Dena (still in warform or no? will leave this up to her), several of the large red insects, Danae and Third, some sentinel machines taking the rear (they look like typical automaton sentries for the Earth District). Also another being, strange mix of humanoid and insect with a silvery blue carapace and vaguely feminine form. They are all walking in roughly that order down the outside hallway toward him, the insects and machines forced to move in single file due to their size. [Private to Broken Eternal: You can decide for yourself if you step out or just keep brooding inside the barracks :P]

Of the humans, the short, dark-haired one (which from Gatekeeper descriptions Veldygar thinks must be 'Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge') is glowing with an anima of sunset colors, obviously a Solar of the Twilight Caste.

[Private to Danae Adela; Peleps Dashu; Tervila Dena; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: I'm assuming Dashu is still attempting to be stealthy, so I won't mention his presence until he rolls me some Stealth, so I can see whether Veldy/Eternal/demons notice him. Or if he posts that he just steps out into the open, that works too!]

Dashu is shocked to hear the strange sounds coming from the barracks.  He's not sure what it is that he's hearing until the others chime in.  "Demon summoning is illegal in the Coils under most circumstances so its rare even among sorcerers.  It's odd that the terrestrials would summon such a thing.  I'll check it out," he said as the shadows wrapped around him and he advance.  He swiftly and nimbly moved through the space between him and his destination.  He kept to the sides of the tunnel so as to not draw attention to himself.

[Private to GM: Activating the form charm but not the anima power.... gotta preserve the motes at this point.

13:50, Tue 11 Aug: Peleps Dashu rolled 6 successes using 13d10 with ... rolls of 3,10,6,5,3,5,9,10,3,7,2,1,5. Dex + Stealth Roll.
]
This message was last edited by the player at 15:32, Thu 13 Aug 2009.

"I suppose I should be grateful for whatever allies we have." Dena avows as she follows behind Dashu at a distance, attempting to watch for hostiles with her relatively weak senses.  Thick armored skin was a pain for actually observing anything, much less feeling.  "However if that. . . thing is an ally I have to question the Gatekeeper's judgment in choosing our allies for us."

Third looks towards Dena. "The binding of Demons is one of the spoils of victory. It is no more unnatural than the rulership over creation." It speaks matter of factly. It has its own private reservations over demon summoning, but for now, it is willing to forgive such minor sins in favor of overthrowing the greater sin being committed.

Dena flips one of her antenna out of the way.  In her more human shape it might have been a flick to move her hair out of her eyes, a relic grooming gesture humans used to play for time when they thought briefly.  "Yeah, natural.  I suppose I could certainly use a little more rulership over creation that what we've got now so I shouldn't complain about the screaming cloud of fog either.  Goodness knows I do enough unnatural things myself."

OOC~ Well I guess I'll bull on ahead then. 

Heading towards the door behind which she'd heard the screaming come, Dena pushes against it lightly.  Then she pushes hard.  Finding it wedged shut she finally grunts in irritation and kicks it completely off it's hinges before heading through to confront the screaming cloud of fog, and friends.

OCC:  Same here.

Dashu had moved ahead of the group for a bit but determined that there was no traps at the door.  Having signaled for the others to follow, waited for Dena to gently open the door.  Unfortunately, he would be kept waiting for all eternity on that one.  As she kicked the door open and made her entrance Dashu took a moment to slap his forhead and shake it momentarily.  He then did his best to sneak in unnoticed.

Veldygar's eyes widened when he saw the silhouette barging in. For a second he wondered if the Gatekeeper's information was accurate, or if he hadn't been misled by his metody's indirect description.

"Halt!" he said firmly, then: "er, if you please? Who are you?" His shock pike was held low, his attitude nonthreatening - as much as a jade armored warrior could be. He motioned his demons to remain quiet, and hoped Broken Eternal wouldn't just start a bloodshed.

Dashu slips through with neither Veldygar nor Eternal noticing him. Not even the other beings lurking in the room. The aforementioned fog-demon with limbs immediately takes on an attack position upon the violent and sudden entrance of Dena, though.

Meanwhile Veldygar and Eternal are faced with a Lunar in hybrid warform, half human and half wasp. At least they can tell she is feminine though the antenna, bug-eyes and striped wasp behind lend to an appearance almost as alien as the demon now facing her angrily. Dezephiel is unhappy about being motioned to stand down, clearly more than willing to disobey should Veldygar's binding on it not be so exacting.

Still, the various blades, spears and bows held by its limbs bristle menacingly. Near the entire front of the room is taken up by the tomescu's weird presence, so anyone who isn't as skilled with stealth and subterfuge as Dashu would find it very hard to squeeze past those limbs at all.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:18, Thu 13 Aug 2009.

Waiting, it seemed, had paid off.

As Dashu kicked in the door, she would find the dimly lit Barracks in a state of UnBarracks-like behavior, with beds and other bits of furniture pushed to the side, as one of the demons had wanted room to move around.  The furniture had been fine by Eternal's account--whatever didn't work to hinder those that chased them would work as a projectile in a pinch.  Now, however, those that sought them had finally found them, And Eternal was ready.

Near the very back of the Barracks, dimly lit as it was, the two entering the room (or standing in the doorway) would see the shadowy figure slowly ride from a seated position, his back against the wall as he rose in silence.  Though the room was not to dark as that he could not be made out, the details of his style of dress (the swords, the black jade armor, the skulls and spikes that adorned him) would be quickly lost one one aspect of his appearance alone--those stark, blood red eyes that actually seemed to glow in the darkness.  His face was all but invisible in light of such a daunting feature, and the quick flick of his arm was almost lost in the dim light, though the evidence of the motion was all too apparent all too quickly.

Th-Th-Thkkth!  Came three bare whispers, silently screaming across the room as three large throwing daggers found themselves firmly implanted into the door frame, mere inches away from Tervila Dena's carapace'd body--thought it wouldn't take much imagination to realize the targets would have been her eyes, had the intent been truly malicious.  Instead the three daggers laid impaled nearly beside her face, three very concise and clear warning shots that said, very clearly, that whoever laid within this room was not to be taken lightly.

He stood there, his hands falling back to rest on the hilts of his short daikglavie, which we sheathed in an 'X' pattern on his lower back.  "Identify yourselves.  Now."

Even as the daggers flew off though, a hand quickly reached up to the air, catching them out from mid-air, as Danae settled down from the flying leap, investigating the weapons with a critical eye. "Decent tools, lots of Black Jade...  I'm guessing though that between your small numbers, ominous demeanour, and employment of demonic servitors, that you're our Water Republic contacts?"

She tossed the knives up once, then tossed them underhanded back to Eternal.  "Relax, we're the ones the Gatekeeper sent you to link up with" She edged Impeccable Spark's sheath off to the side somewhat, and slowly partially drew it, allowing the shine of oristeel to show up.  "Sorry about the noise, they were heavily fortified down on the outer levels, and we had to break in directly.  Fortunately, we managed to lock one of their garrisons out, and entirely neutralize another, so I figure it's a fair trade-off."

"Oh, well, it seems we are between friends, everybody relax" he said to eternal and his servants. "Who's its summoner?" he indicated Dena. "Its brash entrance nearly caused a clash!" He reflected too late that she might be some kind of Demon-Blooded, and therefore a free-willed victim of the Terrestrials' experiments, though he doubted so extreme a hybrid could be possible... then he remembered details of the Gatekeeper's descriptions. "Aem, you wouldn't be a Lunar, by any chance?" he said, trying to make it sound casual.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:14, Thu 13 Aug 2009.

Third slowly enters the room, following the others. It studies those waiting in the room, eyes moving across. Demon, Demon Summoner... It studies the curious black figure at the back of the room. Interesting... Not something that it had ever heard of, before... It smoothly approaches the shadowy figure. "Interesting. Is that a mutation?" The wan Solar studies him curiously, considering- There was mention from those who infiltrated the city of an unusual Exalt, unmentioned in  any databanks. "Interesting. Third hopes you do not mind its studying." The Solar smiles slightly as it looks over the man curiously, thoughts of other things gone for the moment as it studies something entirely new and interesting.

Dashu had been satisfied that no one had really seen him enter after Dena's entry.  Since it was established that these were not enemies he didn't feel inclined to remain silent much long.  He suddenly speaks up from a dark corner of the room with a small sarcastic hint in his tone, "Good guess, bud.  Round two.  What am I?"

"By some coincidence, yes I am.  Tervila Dena, Full Moon Lunar.  I do apologize for our abrupt entry.  I suppose I've had to tear through so many doors and gates in this place already I've forgotten how else to get through a doorway." Dena suggests pleasantly, at the same time her pores open and she starts wafting pheremones, counting on her pleasing subliminal scent to disarm the tension in the room.

[Private to GM: New Friend Aroma and all that Jazz. .
20:37, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,8,8,3,6. Pheremones. ]

Veldygar's eyes widened when Dashu appeared seemingly from nowhere. "A man who likes surprising his acquaintances a little too much for their tastes?" He had almost blurted: "Another sociopathic sneak-around," but he guessed he did not need to antagonize two specialists of stealth in one sentence.


"Well, let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Veldygar Arhandor, and this is Broken Eternal," he motioned to his companion. "We are envoys of the Gatekeeper of Water, as you might have guessed," he smiled. He looked at his demons, and indicated, almost as an afterthought: "Those are Dezephiel and Gugoona, my servants. Dezephiel is a bit nervous, but it means to do a correct job as a bodyguard, so please have more consideration for doors next time, in case I am not quick enough to stay its battle ardour, okay? And don't leave anything dissolvable near Gugoona, 'accidents' might happen. Don't tease it with indestructible items of jade or anything else too, you might hurt its feelings and make it feel inadequate."

He snickered. "Oh, I am starting to get verbose, am I not? Better get the discussion back on tracks. Gugoona mentionned insectoid creatures accompanying you. I presume they are your allies, are they not?"

Dashu grinned at at Veldygar's assessment of him.  "That's a correct answer, but another correct answer would have been a 'Night Caste.'  Name's Peleps Dashu.  So you're the one in charge of this demon, huh.  Well, better, you than the terrestrials."

Though Veldygar mentions Gugoona, no one else can actually see it, unless they can see dematerialized spirits. This may make Veldy seem a bit off his rocker, but then again he is a sorcerer. A bit of insanity is possibly even required.

When introduced, Dezephiel's only reaction is to pull back toward the rear of the room to let the newcomers in. The cloud arsenal continues to brood, its limbs tucked close to its body as it waits and watches for the first sign of any untoward hostility toward its master or itself. At least it has stopped screaming!

The meeting of strange and unusual individuals continues in another form, as two other entities in the vicinity emerge to meet each other. Namely Veldygar's mentor, the clockwork god known as Garnet Cog, and the spirit AI that Third liberated from the Water District, Harmony of Excellence. The two divine beings materialize (Cog's form looking very much like a bunch of interlocking mechanical parts matched together to form the shape of a clockwork woman, while Harmony takes on the shape of a golden-hued woman floating in lotus position with six arms tracing esoteric symbols in the air) and immediately begin to communicate in an archaic, unintelligible machine code.

In any case, it seems like a good idea to gather in the barracks to talk in earnest. Though the monks seem to have retreated for now, it probably wouldn't be safe to mill around with the door open or in the hallway.

---

OOC: And here I am realizing that you guys have amassed a really WEIRD menagerie of demons, genetic constructs and spirits. O.o

After introductions, coming up with some way to continue upward progress would be prudent. Both groups know that the center of the Inner Temple, where the most direct way up to the Gatekeeper of Earth would be found, has been blocked from the rest of the Temple by a series of locked gates and barriers. Gugoona and the builder bugs, if conferred, would indicate they have also found staircases, one in the west wing of the temple and one in the east. They also indicate that those stairs are likely being watched very closely -- monks would most certainly be prepared to fight them coming up.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:35, Fri 14 Aug 2009.

Eternal narrowed his eyes, the red slits visibly dimming as Danae plucked his daggers so carefully from the air.  His warning shots had suddenly been intercepted by one of the ranks that he had not seen yet, though from the skill of the catch, he guessed it to be a Solar Exalt.  It could have just as easily have been a Lunar Exalt, he thought grimly, but from his knowledge those tended to have small 'tells' that suggested their shifting nature--and his senses could detect no such thing on this dagger-snatcher.

He caught his own daggers with practiced ease, sheathing them in their hidden places on his person, his moves so fluid as to make it hard to detect where those lovely bits of black jade had gone off to.  It was very possible that he had simply slapped them into Nowhere, and the whole slick arms was simply slight-of-hand to confuse the eye--but that would be over thinking things a little dramatically.

"There will be no 'relaxing' as long as these walls stand." He said darkly, looking towards Danae, though making no move to unsheathe his own blades any further.  He stared at them as they all packed into the Barracks, glad at least that meeting their contacts was out of the way.  And Veldy had done the pleasures of introducing the two of them!  Which was all the same to Eternal, who had loathed the idea of introducing himself.  What was there to say, after all?  He stared at them, meeting their eyes silently, unblinking--until one of them approached him.

He didn't know what to think of Third at first, and his mannerisms and body language did not change at his/her approach.  He simply stared at this strangely beautiful thing as it spoke to him...saying things that Eternal understood, yes, but that did not stop them from being bizarre, strange things to hear.  "Not a mutation.  An abomination."  He said simply, looking at Third with those menacing red eyes, eyes that cried out for blood without making a sound.  "As long as this studying does not interfere with my blades, I care not what you do."

Third's experience with body language is, to say the least, and it summons up a pleasant smile in response to those red eyes locking on it. The figure is short, slightly off in it's mannerisms, and has long-since sheathed the red jade sword, which lies forgotten on the ground next to it." Third is more interested in you than the weapons." it says, as it curiously lifts the man's arm, studying the pulse for a moment- Or lack thereof- and curiously studying the man. It's a long-shot, but... "Peleps Dashu, you were part of the group that visited the Laborer's Conclave. Was the one you mentioned acting as bodyguard to the Wood Aspect similar in aspect to this one?" The connection seems tenuous- For all it knows, this man is simply another Night Aspect like Dashu, but that mind has been grinding away at the information invisibly, and Third has learned to trust those sorts of instincts.

" Ah, Third apologizes." It looks towards Veldygar, and Broken, and bows carefully, in a way that seems just slightly too smooth and practiced to be entirely real. " Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge." It kneels next to Broken Eternal again, an expression on it's face somewhere between a small, inquisitive child, holding a screwdriver, considering the family VCR, and a schoolgirl admiring the guy who smokes behind the gym lockers. The painfully concealing robe and androgynous features likely only make matters more awkward. Most likely for the best, then, that Broken Eternal doesn't seem overly bothered by such flaws as a complete lack of etiquette.

OOC: Going to assume for the moment that Third might make the vanishingly unlikely connection that this fellow may be an Abyssal, and that Peleps and the others would've shared their misadventures in more detail. If this seems unreasonable, I'll edit.

At Third's question Dashu turned his attention away from Veldygar and looked the dark figure over himself.  Unfortunately he was ill equipped to make speculations about spirits and exalts.  "I can't tell right now, Third.  He might be.  The one we saw had a bloody caste mark like mine and her anima was dark instead of light.  I can't really see either of those things right now."  Then he decided to address the figure directly, "Hey.  You mind showing me what you got up here."  With that, Dashu pointed to his forehead.  It should have been obvious to any one familiar with Celestials that he wanted to see the man's caste mark."

"Perhaps we should compare Exaltations while on the move." Dena suggests.  "If we heard the screaming I'm sure the monks did as well, which means they know where we are while we don't know where they are, and if we don't move they'll surely find some way to take advantage of that situation."

"Probably not the best of times, you know?" Danae agreed, checking out the door, and wincing as she clutched her chest after pulling a few of the cracked ribs.  "Between getting cracked with that goremaul, and spending most of my Essence tangling with Firmament and his disciples, I wouldn't be good for another pitched fight without few hours to recover.  If our contacts have useful information, that's fine, otherwise, we'll need to hole up somewhere to get our breath, and see about finding an alternate route up that doesn't plunge straight into their area of greatest strength.  Either a ventilation duct, an old abandoned shaft, or something else--proper battle tactics demand that small forces need to strike at their foes weakest areas..."

She frowned, and leaned up against a wall.  There had to be 'Something' that the Terrestrials didn't know about...  Her spotty memories from the First Age implied that the Celestials had many secrets, usually attuned to their animas and other codewords, and that they were sufficiently paranoid to lock things down--especially when the Usurpation hit...

So, what could they /Use/ to avoid a potentially futile confrontation.

Veldygar held up a small box, indicating the Wound Mending Needles contained within. "If somebody needs medical attention, I have this... Though perhaps we should wait until we are in a truly secure location."

It was strange to watch Third take such interest in Eternal, especially from Eternal's point of view.  It was rare to meet anyone that didn't run in terror of him, especially when his blades were unsheathed--but this was seemed intent to study him, which in itself was a completely foreign idea.

The pulse was no where to be found, though whether this was due to it being hard to find because of the armor he wore, or perhaps because it was so faint as to be undetectable, Third would have no real way of knowing.  His flesh was certainly cold to the touch, when proper skin was found, and though Eternal narrowed those red eyes again when he was touched, he did not move to strike at Third, nor pull away.  He had meant what he had said about not minding the study, or so it seemed anyway.  Third's actions were almost child-like, and his mannerisms only reinstated that image.  A monster though Eternal was, and certainly cruel to his enemies and those he hated, he was not, apparently, harmful to innocents.  At least not until he was directly provoked, at any case.

He turned his attention to Dashu, and quickly grasped they wanted him to reveal his anima.  The thought of entertaining him flashed across his mind, but Eternal shook his head.  "No.  She is right--time is something we do not have in infinite resources.  We should move quickly and find solace.  Then, perhaps, we can discuss our strengths."  He said, dark energy almost palatable from his voice alone.  Whatever he was, he certainly wasn't a son of the Unconquered Son.  His children rarely had such innate contempt and darkness in their voice alone--nor did they tend to wear such trappings of death on their armor and such.  The glowing, red eyes also suggested a much darker origin for his power.

Dashu shrugged and said,  "Agreed.  I'll resume my station as scout as soon as we pick a direction.  I could try to check out one of those stair cases to see how dangerous it is."

Third considers momentarily. 'There should be enough time to rest for an hour or two. Then our group will be more prepared to continue on. It's unlikely that the monks will want to investigate strange noises until they're much better prepared. Then Third can scan for a well-hidden way to continue. The sooner Third can rest, the sooner Third can begin using it's mind to full potential again.' It smiles pleasantly at Eternal once again.

Evamae, after giving directions to her Ruby Warriors to patrol and guard the area, emerges belatedly into the barracks room. Noticing Veldygar and Eternal, the four-armed silver insect-woman (more compact than Dena in warform) bows deeply to them, recalling the descriptions the Hive Queen received from the Gatekeeper of Water. "Greetings, representatives of the Water District. I am Princess Evamae of Hive Irix Chilomena. I travel with the Creators so I may establish a new Hive in the Fire District. Please rest easy, if you must; my army will be keeping watch."

Unfortunately, there can be no true solace while the Exalts rest within the Inner Temple. This is, after all, the Immaculates' turf. Another two hours is well within reason, though, with the Rubies setting up guard points in the corridors, Veldygar's summoned demons lurking close by, and the bulky Blue Stripes watching the barracks door. The Exalts may also elect to rest until Essence is fully replenished; if so, they may also regain some Willpower (roll Conviction, gain Willpower equal to successes). If even one Exalt decides to risk resting longer, it will be assumed the whole group follows suit.

Afterward, Third and anyone else can consult their memories of the Inner Temple area, whether studied or recalled from lives lived before. (Int+Lore) One may also do a more conventional search, moving through the corridors and searching with senses and, if applicable, Essence. (Perc+Awareness or Investigation, can roll every 15 minutes and results are cumulative.) Lastly, attempting to examine the barriers blocking the way into the center chamber may be an option. (Int+Lore or Craft(Magitech))

Other than that the most likely course of action is to prepare an attack to push up the next flight of stairs. The Exalts have the following at their disposal:

- 120 Ruby Warriors, led by Hive Princess Evamae (Magnitude 3, Might 2). Evamae herself is an accomplished fighter wielding twin shock pikes.
- 5 Hulking Armor Sentinels, designated "Blue Stripes" (Magnitude 1, Might 3). Slow, but high power and high soak, wielding goremauls.
- Dezephiel, a tomescu, or clamoring cloud arsenal. With its multiple limbs it can defend against multiple targets without onslaught penalties. Currently materialized and slightly wounded. (-1 Wound Penalty)
- Gugoona, a metody, or vitriol elemental. It can eat through any non-magical material substance (unfortunately, the walls in the Inner Temple are all adamantine) and is currently dematerialized.
- Harmony and Garnet Cog may also give support with spirit Charms related to their purviews. Harmony is more of a software goddess, dealing with programming of artificial intelligences, while Cog relates most to hardware.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:25, Wed 19 Aug 2009.

Third takes some time to fall into a smooth, restful meditative sleep, letting its mind wander, even as it goes to sleep only a few feet from Be, before its eyes eventually flicker open, as though an internal alarm has gone off. It slowly opens its eyes, and they look up, considering their current area, it's memories of the Temple's construction, its data on the temple's blueprints, and the emergency routines the Temple has in case of Anathema attacks- Where the most defenders will focus, etcetera. All the time, it occasionally lets its eyes glance towards Be when it thinks he's not looking, curiosity and interest filling those dark eyes.

OOC: You rolled 8 successes using 13d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((3,8,8,10,10,3,1,2,2,1,5,10,3)).

Third doesn't need to think very hard to remember the basic structure of the temple, as it had plenty of time to study the three dimensional map that the Hive Queen made. This greatly supplemented what knowledge it had from before escaping the collar.

Assume Third gives everyone the following information:

General layout

In general terms, Third knows the layout of each Temple level and its function: B25 / Level 1 is generally warrior monk training, training the body to learn the five Immaculate Martial Arts. B24 / Level 2 focuses on training the mind, studying the Immaculate texts and other accepted, non-heretical resources. B23 / Level 3 is the 'social' side of the Inner Temple, where monks who work best with the citizens receive the faithful and learn how to properly teach the Philosophy to others. B22 / Level 4 is where a monk learns what needs be learned to 'graduate' beyond the Third Coil: techniques and knowledge reserved for masters. B21 / Level 5 is the home of the Gatekeeper of Earth, which stores forbidden and classified information only Grandmasters and higher are privy to.

Alternate ways up

Assuming one avoids the central column (where the innermost shrine, central stairs and elevator are found) in the meantime, there are two major staircases in the east and west quadrants of the Temple, and these correspond with the stairs found by Gugoona and the builder bugs. Unfortunately, no staircase extends past B22 / Level 4, so regardless of which level the group decides to do this, they WILL eventually have to breach the central column one way or another.

There are some single staircases, mostly utilitarian, connecting classrooms with teachers' quarters, related training areas on different floors and so forth. Using these could be a safer way up, but it also means that one has to move upstairs one floor at a time, and between one minor staircase and the next, cross corridors and rooms, large areas of floor where they may be caught by (admittedly, likely lesser) monks along the way. It is time consuming, and harder to move larger groups like the Rubies through.

The nearest staircase of this type is an Inner Temple exercise hall leading up to a meditation chamber on B24 / Level 2.

Emergency procedures

The first thing that tends to happen when the Temple suffers an Anathema breach is that the central column seals off its doors, after taking into its fold any important officials whether secular or not that have earned the right of Immaculate protection. It is the first part of the Temple to be secured, and thus has some of the most difficult deterrences from invasion installed.

Afterward, the entire Inner Temple and auxiliary entrances are closed off from the rest of the district, and each temple 'ring' (i.e. the larger part of the five Temple levels that surround the central column in a ring shape) is searched and cleared starting from B21 / Level 5 downward. This would most definitely involve Immaculates with high Awareness and spirit sight, at the very least.

If by the time the bottom level of the Temple is searched, any Anathema believed to have invaded the temple have not been found and subdued, more drastic measures are taken. Third knows no exact details, but if the Purge is any example...

Danae spent much of the interlude resting, gathering her energies and will together to face the oncoming challenges ahead--the injuries were still sore--but hopefully, if Veldygar had time and leisure, she might be able to get a little bit of treatment for them.  More importantly though, as Third brought the information together for the usage of the rest of the group, Danae took a little time to consider what would be the best approach.

"Honestly, taking the major staircases is out--we have considerable numbers, but the Earth District has a lot of monks as well, ten or so Masters would probably wear us down through attrition alone."  She began with her own opinion.  "The minor staircases might be palatable...  But I don't like the idea of allowing another purge attempt--and the time it takes to proceed through there would give them a good shot at pulling that off...  That leaves the central shaft--but it's likely going to have very powerful automated defenses--and I doubt our virus is going to work here--they're probably not networked just to /Avoid/ that sort of affair."

She sat back an began tapping a table in thought.  "Plus, their VIPs would take shelter in there as well--and undoubtedly have the toughest defenders in the District...  On the other hand, their numbers would be lesser as well--and we'd be able to bring more of our own forces to bear--even moreso if we dispatch elements of the Hive to progress through the side entrances and distract the defenders, draw them out all across the Temple except where we actually intend to be, and then find some way of entering the central shaft, and heading straight for the Gatekeeper's chambers from there.  Of course, then we need to find some way of swaying it--and if the rumors are true, it's actually begun to believe the propaganda by this point--and I highly doubt we'll be able to trick it by pretending to be maintenence workers this time around either...  Anyone else have any ideas?"

Dashu had spent his break taking a leisurely stroll.  He looked around but didn't put too much effort into.  He knew he should be resting for the upcoming activities.  But then again, Dashu didn't need to put alot of effort into investigations.  He was, after all, one of the best criminal investigators in the Coils.  This was simply an exercise to occupy his thoughts while he rested.  When the group gathered together, he listened to the beautiful general as she spoke.  He admitted to himself that what she said made sense.  He also was forced to wonder if he thought this because it actually did make sense or because of his growing attachment to her.  She was one of the first escapees he met, even if it was only by less than half an hour.  He wasn't used to having these sorts of attachments anymore.  His life had been pretty kept void of them once he had been caught.  Even his family weren't allowed many visits to his cell... not that they had ever tried after he had first been detained.

Dashu shook his head and focused again.  "I supposed I could try to sneak around some of the defenses and find ways to sabotage them.  Danae, the Gatekeeper of Water tried to use mental probes on us before.  Will that be likely here as well?"

[Private to GM: Peleps Dashu rolled 4 successes using 9d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,8,6,1,9,9,1,1,7. Perc + Investigation. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Fri 21 Aug 2009.

Third ponders. "Harmony may be able to aid us with any automated defenses within the central shaft. The threat of VIPs may be there, but those who are confident in their abilities to face anathema would most likely not be sheltering in the central shaft. The higher up we go, as well, the more outside defenses that we'll be forced to deal with to break through the shaft. If we can break through early, it may be enough for us to make it to the Gatekeeper... AndEye will take it from there." It speaks, confident of its ability to convince the computer.

OOC: Oh bugger. You rolled 2 successes using 13d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((4,3,6,5,4,8,6,6,6,1,8,5,4)).
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Fri 21 Aug 2009.

Dashu's stroll pretty much confirms for him Third's basic description of the Inner Temple. He encounters more barracks, training rooms, storage rooms with practice dummies and weapons (mundane; any artifacts are likely in locked compartments he finds). He finds the large exercise room with the minor staircase leading up. He notes good ambush spots in the area he strolls through, committing them to memory. [Private to Peleps Dashu: This means a bonus to Wits+Stealth if hiding in the area you just investigated. You may pass on this bonus to others just by pointing out these areas.]

Danae, thinking on Dashu's question, is quite certain the Gatekeeper of Earth would have similar capabilities within its immediate domain. She also knows that the Gatekeepers tend to reflect the element they are based on, though; this will mean that this Gatekeeper will likely be highly resilient both to physical and social attack, and may even choose to take physical form to lead automatons, Immaculate Masters... or whatever else may be guarding its central core.

Third doesn't glean any more unique information from its memory, just confirms its confidence that the defenses within the central column will not be as dangerous from the lowest level of the Temple. That does not mean of course that they will not encounter danger at the top of the column -- but if they are to make a breach in the first place it seems more appropriate to do it sooner than later.

Veldygar offers the use of his demons as guards while those with the proper expertise work at figuring out how to breach the barriers leading to the central column. Unfortunately he knows no area effect attack magic, and there is not enough time for him to summon further demons. [Private to Veldygar Arhandor: Feel free to add more if you have time. Otherwise I will temp. control your character until you have time to post again.]

Garnet Cog pledges that she can also give aid in any magitech related tasks, along with Harmony. The two spirits seem to get on quite well - and not unexpectedly, either.

As for Eternal, well, who knows? All he really seems to like doing is killing and intimidation.

Evamae nods at Danae's suggestion, eager to serve the Creators. She is also rested, and has reclaimed her twin shock pikes, clutching them in both pairs of hands. "I believe the Rubies and I can form some suitable distraction. However the monks may well be expecting that. They do know there are Celestials here, and I and my soldiers would only be considered your subordinates. Therefore it will likely delay them, but not forever. Hopefully it will be enough time."

"We will move as soon as you give the word, Clockwork General."

---

OOC: OK, so plan as I understand it is, go right to central chamber and try to breach it, while Hive Princess and Rubies form a distraction, and Dashu sneaks around in hiding while the monks are confused by this, looking for ways to sabotage their defenses and make it harder for them to retaliate. For now Veldy will stay with his demons and mentor, offer any occult based advice if necessary. If Eternal and Dena will do anything else besides stand guard, say so IC please :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:14, Fri 21 Aug 2009.

Eternal rested as the rest of them did, though he certainly had a strange way of doing it.  Instead of laying down, Eternal simply sat with his back against the wall, arms resting easily on his knees while he simply...sat there.  His eyes eventually closed, and there he sat for the duration of their rest, his body as still as the grave during the respite.  When it was time to discuss their future plans, he moved in one sudden burst of energy, from sitting to standing, and then from standing to walking toward the others.  His movements were inhumanly swift and graceful, though it was not beautiful to watch so much as it was terrifying, as his agility was that of a predator--not a dancer or acrobat.  Even though he was clearly an ally, it was not hard to imagine Eternal hiding in wait, preparing to strike.  Perhaps, then, for the tactically minded, it was very much a boon to have something like that on fighting on your side.

And though he had fought (and happily killed) for his freedom to act, to be the master of his own actions, Eternal's very existence was a betrayal of that effort.  No matter how hard he could try, the Neverborn would always work their will through him.  Even now the demented whispers of their cursed flesh flitted into his ears, whispering maddening nonsense that he could not understand, yet could not fully ignore.  Sometimes he could glean useful information from them, but it always seemed to come at a price, as subjecting himself to their will was never a pleasant experience.  To that same margin, Eternal was not a general.  He was no tactician of warfare--he knew how to dismantle an army piece by piece, yes.  He could disembowel hundreds without thought, but his was not the knowledge to decided whom to kill for the most efficient victory.  He was, in many ways, little more than a glorified attack dog.

"Any plan that spills their blood suits me.  What would you do with my blades?"  He asked Danae directly, as she seemed to be the leader of the group, at least in terms of the battle to come.  And given what he thought her Caste was, that seemed more than appropriate.  "I was trained to be an Assassin by the Dragonblood who rule this cursed place."  He added almost as an after thought, realizing that these new allies had no idea of what he was capable, unlike Veldy who had seen Eternal in action only (thank the gods) two times--and those had been blindingly quick, visceral, and bloody events that he would no doubt prefer to forget.

"I'm. . . not entirely comfortable with leaving the potential future of Hive Irix without Celestial protection." Dena protests after some thought.  "Perhaps I should accompany the Princess to provide extra power in case the Rubies are insufficient.  At the very least I'm confident I can move more quickly than anything they'll have in this temple, and in an emergency could carry the princess back to you."

Veldygar cleaned his wound mending needles and started applying them to Danae, working gently to restore her flesh. He was quiet and efficient, and considered that he even had the time to start healing another person before taking some rest to restore his Essence.

[OOC: I've healed Danae's 3L, and can heal another level of damage on somebody else.
[Private to GM: 00:14, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,5,4,4. Per+Medicine.
00:14, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,2,8,9. Per+Medicine.
00:13, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 5 successes using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,8,10,10. Per+Medicine.
00:12, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,4,9,6. Per+Medicine.]]

Evamae looks to Dena appreciatively. "We would much appreciate your aid, Creator, should you wish to join us. Perhaps our distraction would be more convincing, as well, with one of your number among us."

Veldygar spends his precious Essence to heal Danae fully. Since Dena is purposefully keeping her wounds -- for whatever reason Veldy isn't sure, as he has yet to see her fight -- the only others among the group still damaged is either Dashu or Dezephiel. Healing Dashu takes the lesser time so for now it seems prudent to focus on his bruises. [Private to Veldygar Arhandor: You'll spend 9m on Danae, and either +1m on for +1B for Dashu or +3m on +1L for Dezephiel. If you heal Dashu it'll take a total 46 minutes, and I'll allow you to regain 10m back in the next hour and 14 minutes. If you heal Dezephiel it'll be 1 hour healing, and 8m Essence regain. I'll assume you heal Dashu unless I see otherwise.]

"Assassination training..."  Danae says, pausing for a minute, then nodding.  "It'll come in handy, I doubt we'll be able to take on their strongest defenders head on easily--if you're as good as you claim, I should be able to hold their attention, and leave you open to strike, if we're quick and efficient about it, between the Blue Stripes, my own fighting ability, and your surgical strikes, we should be able to chew through most of what they'll throw against us...  Though I should stress--we're not going to 'Seek' combat, and even when we do, we're not going to look to utterly destroy everything we come against--we're vastly outnumbered here.  Defeating their strongest fighters should demoralize and scatter the others, and we can't waste time or essence doing cleanup work--we need to push to the Gatekeeper, and remind him of his proper duties before further reinforcements can be called in."

She considers the layout of the area again, tapping her chin in thought.  "As for our movement... Attacking the western side with Dena and the Reds should be enough to get their attention, and if you're effective about it, you'll be able to force them to redirect their energies towards stopping you.  Just remember that neither of you are fully expendable--and that if the situation gets hot, you should retreat rather then risk being captured or killed, and try to link up with the rest of us.  The rest of us..." She examines the layout again, and points at the southern side of the pillar.  "We'll approach from here, and attempt to climb to the Gatekeeper's sanctum that way.  We'll need to move fast before they realize what we're doing--and we'll need to try and avoid the majority of their patrols as well.  Hopefully, we should be able to pull this off before we run out of time..."

"Agreed." Dena answers, folding her hands a moment.  "I believe I should assault the enemy for perhaps two or three minutes, then declare that they're too strong and begin a retreat.  Ideally the Dragonblooded will send out their army to pursue the routed enemy, leaving them under-protected against you.  The problem, of course, is making sure the enemy knows the plan and does their part.  They might simply shut the gates and block entry once I pull back, leaving us in a worse position.  I need a way to ensure, or at least make it very likely, that they will pursue me."

"Well, by way of being one of the 'Anathema' they so despise," Evamae says, frowning at the insulting implications of this particular word, "they may pursue you simply on principle. However the Immaculate monks also know there are several Celestials that have breached the bottom level of their temple. We'd have to do enough damage that they simply couldn't ignore us. Perhaps could be made to think there are more Celestials in our group than there really are. Especially if Peleps Dashu will also support us in hiding..." She eyes the darker one, the self-proclaimed assassin, as well. But it is not her place to ask anything of the Creators, even one so ...sinister.

---

OOC: As far as I understand it now, Dena will go off toward the west with the bugs. Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldy and his demons will breach the column from the south. Dashu.. goes with Dena? or acts independently? Will post more soon.

Third nods quietly. " They may be more willing to chase you with Dashu's help. A handful of Celestial Exalted may not threaten them as much as a Celestial Exalted backed by an army. They will have trouble resisting an open flank, as well- They will, at the least, draw off some of their forces. If they do not, you may be able to fall back and penetrate the shaft at a different area. If we can, we may open the defenses of the Shaft along the way, to make it easier for you to penetrate in a different area." the Solar says, considering quietly.

Dashu is quiet while the others are making the plans.  He's not much of a planner himself.  When the subject of him assisting the distraction group comes up, he gladly spoke up though.  "Sure, I'll go with Dena.  I found some good hiding places earlier.  I'll point them out when we get done here.  Even if the majority of the fighting is done elsewhere, they might make good fall back positions.  Dena and I might be able to set up an ambush there too.  Some of the rubies could lay in wait and attack whoever follows us."

"Perhaps an illusion spell, or a summoned creature capable of shapeshifting might give the impression that I am accompanied by more Celestials." Dena suggested."I don't have a great deal of knowledge about such things, in a larger size the Princess might be mistaken for another Lunar but her form, as is, is too slight to be a warform."

"We will have to make do, I believe, unless the sorcerer among you has a solution," Evamae says in response to Dena's idea. "But I do not believe we have the time to spare. I must suggest we go now, before it is too late. The interior of the Temple is nearly a mile in diameter, and we must cross near the entirety to the western stairs." [Private to Veldygar Arhandor: I should mention that the metody actually does have Shapechange... but, up to you if you'd spare Gugoona for that.]

The entire bottom floor of the Inner Temple is eerily silent as the Celestials and followers finalize their plans and move out. The builder bug army must travel at least double the distance compared to the others headed to the south entrance of the central column. It is decided that the central group take the most direct route possible, while the distraction group takes a slightly more roundabout course to prevent the groups from being caught together. The communicators Danae altered can always be used for contact if something goes wrong.

Danae's eclectic group departs westward from the barracks, including the Blue Stripes (who follow Danae's orders in terms of marching placement), the ever-brooding Eternal, Veldygar and his demons (who prefer to stay close to him), Third and the machine-spirits (who prefer to occupy the middle, conferring silently with Third or one another). Their path will take them as directly west as possible until they reach the north-south diameter, then northward until the central column barrier.

Then Dena and Evamae lead the Ruby Warriors some distance southward before also turning west. Evamae's memory of the map and direction sense guides them through the corridors while Dashu serves as lookout and ambush planner.

---

OOC: For now we will be working with intervals of 1 action/minute. It will take 6 minutes for the central column group to get where they need to be. It will take 15 minutes for the much larger distraction group to get to the western stairs. I will make background rolls per interval determining whether groups meet with any opposition.

If you haven't already, make sure your next posts establish:
- Your group's marching order (particularly who is in front and who takes the rear)
- Whether you will be trying to be less noticeable or more
- Whether you'll be keeping attentive of your surroundings

If you stunt an action you will repeat for several minutes, I will use the bonus for each roll until I pause to give a status report.

"Attend me while we devise our strategy, please." Dena instructs Evamae as the procession begins at a brisk walk, just a bit short of a run.  "While our goal is to retreat and draw out the enemy, that doesn't mean our task will end when they charge.  I intend to win this battle if at all possible, regardless of my willingness to save our lives in an emergency.  We're going to have a problem with archers since we lack our own ranged attack, therefore I'm going to take up a formation of ordered columns that are close enough to support each other but wide enough to be able to sidestep and force the waste of arrows.  In the meantime I want a vanguard of rubies, say about ten of them, about a hundred yards ahead and the same behind to watch for ambushes while we approach.  I see no reason to try to conceal our movements, after all we're trying to draw their attention."

Skirmish formation.
More noticeable.
Rubies in front and rear to soak ambushes.
Well we'll sorta stay attentive but Dena's not all that proficient in that area. . .

Danae nodded as Dena, Dashu, Evamae and the Rubies went off to begin their part of the distraction, then looked off to the side.  "Alright, let's begin moving as soon as they're fully underway--the Blue Stripes will serve as our rear-guard, they'll be able to react quickly, and possibly provide a little cover for us if something approaches from that direction.  Beyond that..."

She taps her chin a few times.  "---Eternal, was it?  We'll have you take the lead in this situation, stay quiet,, and stay silent, and try to give us advance warning at the very least if anything's coming along.  Feel free to take out targets of opportunity if they arise, but /Only/ if it doesn't comprimise our element of surprise--if there's any doubt that you'll be able to either destroy your target, or at least prevent them from sending out any warning, we'll stick with a general warning.  I'll come along just behind you, I'm a fair shot with a firewand, and in an emergency, I can probably get a few shots off before the other side becomes wise.  Veldygar and Third should come along behind me, you both strike me as being a bit softer targets, and between me and the Blue Stripes, you should have a little time to bring up any defenses before anything can reach you.  Keep a sharp eye out, and let's try to avoid further battle as long as we can--the closer we get to the Gatekeeper without bringing the wrath of the entire temple down on us, the better our shot of pulling this scheme off."


--Trying to stay stealthy, using Eternal as a sneaky pointman, and the Blue Stripes as camoflauge on the rearguard

--Danae will personally do her best to stay as aware of the situation as possible, she's sort of the commander of this little group at this point, and she'd need to be ready to adjust the tactical situation if something crops up
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Wed 26 Aug 2009.

Dashu looks at Dena and asks, "What do you need me to do?"

Third nods quietly, walking alongside with Veldygar, its eyes running along the temple, correlating it with memories of the temple layout, watching for any anomalies, passages that should not be there, passages that should be there but are not, its mind humming with activity as it prepares. The Earth Gatekeeper... It communes silently with Harmony, subvocalizing as it talks over the plans for convincing the Earth Gatekeeper to join with the Celestials once again. There are suggestions that it has begun to believe the Immaculate propaganda... If so, the time spent with those Immaculate monks they caught may end up being useful. Its mind works in two halves, one focused on the battle ahead, one focused on the world at the moment.

OOC: Third will be staying around the middle of the group, near Danae, where it can keep an eye on the entire group. It is staying relatively stealthy, trying to keep its eyes out for enemies and such.

"For now I would appreciate your efforts in helping us to watch for ambushers.  As I'm deliberately making as much noise as possible to attract attention, I suspect an ambush is inevitable and it will be greatly beneficial to see it coming.  Once battle is well and truly joined I foresee two reasonable options for you, I can split off a group of Rubies to follow you if you'd prefer, or you could hide in a dark corner and wait for a good chance to put an arrow through who ever's commanding our enemies.  Most likely he'll be wearing the largest and most impressive hat, I don't imagine he'll be hard to spot.  If you can disrupt their leadership and communication, they will be unable to hold a formation and we will be able to rip through their lines."

Dashu listens to Dena's options and then looks down at  his claws.  "Yeah, arrows aren't going to happen.  I've never used a bow in my life.  If I can get close enough to use the claws, I will, but other than that, I'll have to resort to being the eyes and ears... unless you want to set up an ambush and let me be the bait."

"Ah, my apologies.  I thought I'd seen you using one back in the mining camp." Dena ducks her head slightly before continuing, "Well then, it's unlikely that you can attack their commander without great risk to yourself.  And I don't think an ambush will work, I'm trying to draw their attention and hiding will only risk them going after the others.  I think remaining our eyes and ears really is the best option, then."

"Sounds good.  I'm ready when you are,"  Dashu says confidently.

Toward central column, south barrier (Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar, Blue Stripes, demons, machine gods)

The group moves on with Eternal at front, at the moment keeping well hidden. Danae is next, Third and Veldygar behind and the Blue Stripes at the rear. Garnet Cog and Harmony remain close to their respective Exalt companions. Gugoona (metody) is still dematerialized, trailing behind Veldygar, while Dezephiel (tomescu) remains material and as close by him as space allows, refusing to trust its master's protection to anyone besides itself.

Unfortunately, their progress is immediately hindered as Third - in an attempt to remain more inconspicuous - trips and falls, making a very loud sound.[Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: man, the botches love you so much...] After regaining its balance and composure, Third puts all its effort toward observing its immediate surroundings. Its memories of the adamant corridors - bolstered by Harmony's aid and unbidden flashbacks from Shining Eye - tells Third that they have not changed much if at all over the millenia. The ability to alter adamant is something that has been lost to the current age. This makes Third's navigation sense reliable enough to cut precious minutes from the journey to the south barrier.

After a minute of swift travel, the Sentinels with their far-ranging eyes report to Danae that there is a small group of humanoids headed their way, estimated arrival 5 minutes. Both Third and Danae's keen senses confirm this observation by the 3rd minute; their consensus is that the small group is light to medium armored, coming from the east (behind the group), and trying (but currently failing) to remain inconspicuous. They are no more than Magnitude 1, giving the impression that they are scouts, and may not engage -- but may attract a larger group toward them later.

Eternal is well suited as a silent killer but not so much as a scout, concentrating more on moving stealthily and keeping his eyes focused ahead. So focused, in fact, that he nearly misses something important as the group turns into the final corridor leading toward the barrier... [Private to Broken Eternal; Danae Adela; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: The three of you notice the entire corridor up to the first barrier is trapped. Eternal notices it first because he very nearly steps right THROUGH it. There are two things you notice immediately: ahead of you, a pair of grooves in the ceiling and walls about a yard apart, and a sensation of "heaviness" as you step closer - like the pull of a magnet on metal.]

Toward western major staircase (Dena, Dashu, Evamae, Rubies)

Evamae agrees to Dena's basic plan and passes the orders onward. She communicates in insect language, all gesture and chemical, and her message traverses through the army. We are here to draw attention. Let us make sure we are conspicuous, yet not susceptible to arrow fire. From now on listen to Tervila Dena's orders as if they are my own. She does remind Dena that with her dual shock pikes she has a ranged attack, but the range is nowhere near as good as a bow would be, in any case.

Soon they are on the move, a large column of Rubies with Dena and Evamae at the center. The corridors are not terribly wide, so in skirmish formation there are only two Rubies abreast. Two smaller groups take up the front and rear as vanguards, ten apiece, consisting of the least damaged and most defense-oriented. Their six-legged march, executed in strict formation, create enough of a disturbance that the floor tremors as they pass.

Among them, Dashu is well hidden and completely unseen. He listens and watches for signs of the enemy. He can hear two patrols still hundreds of yards away, each one does not seem incredibly large compared to their army (about Magnitude 2). One is patrolling southward, another westward. Reports from the builder bugs, who seem capable of sensing vibrations in the ground to a certain extent, seem to agree with Dashu.

Then, around 3 or 4 minutes in Dashu suddenly loses all sense of the enemy.[Private to Peleps Dashu: Awareness botch.] Where have they gone? What have they done? The forward and rear guard report the south patrol moving away, but the western one has... stopped. Evamae, quietly translating the bugs' findings, advises Dena that there may be a force waiting ahead of them. Should they approach head on? Should they try to divert around, or split the army down lesser corridors to try and pincer them?

---

OOC: Made a bunch of rolls, considering all that people have said they'd do since my last post. I saw no use of charms mentioned, so all my rolls were made without them. If you will use Charms PM me in the group PM and I'll adjust just this once, but remember to say you're using 'em next time.

Time-wise, the groups are paused at the beginning of 4 minutes, though I rolled for 6. I decided that this would be a better point to pause for reactions.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:45, Thu 17 Sept 2009.

Dashu relayed the size and last known locations of the units to Dena.  "Damn it! I can't believe I lost them,"  He thought to himself.

[Private to GM: waiting on Dena to do anything else.]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Tue 15 Sept 2009.

Third's face turns red at the sudden moment of clumsiness, its eyes darting up to see if Eternal noticed, before it realizes the strangeness of what it's just done, standing up in as dignified a pose as it can muster, before continuing on, focusing on the area around them, occasionally suggesting short cuts, and warning away from meaningless time-wasting corridors. It looks towards the others, and speaks softly. " There appears to be some sort of trap ahead. Should we attempt to use it as a way to fight these scouts? We may be able to discover its function by using them to set it off."

"Do you mean the Dragon-Blooded may not know of its existence? Or that they have little control over it?" Veldygar asked. "Because I scarcely see how it could be used to fool them..."

"Third suggests defeating them, interrogating them, and then testing the trap with them." Third clarifies itself, as it looks quietly over the area where the trap seems to be based, puzzling over it silently.

"I'm not sure I'd want to go /That/ far..." Danae thoughtfully noted, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.  "But we can undoubtedly use their presence to our own advantage here--they'll have to pass through the trap zone--and in doing so, they'll need to either deactivate it, or bring along tokens or trinkets that negate it's effects.  Either way, if we bunker down, lie in wait for them to show up, and then ambush them once they show their colors, we've got a good shot at bypassing this little trap...  I'd be careful about interrogation though, they've probablly all got communication links at this point, and we'll have to assume they'd rather die then 'Betray' their brothers..."

She takes a glance around.  "Okay, with the numbers though, and them needing to move in tight quarters, I should be able to take them out with a surprise flame barrage.  We should hide the majority of our numbers in some of the side-rooms, and the rest of us hide in the corridor, using what cover we can--then wipe them out with a barrage of ranged attacks...  At any rate, we don't have too much time to chat--it seems the consensus at the moment is 'Eliminate' anyway--so anyone who isn't confident in either their ability to remain somewhat hidden, or capable of ranged attacks, should duck into a side room until the rest of us are done."

[Private to Danae Adela: just added a tag :)]
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:49, Thu 17 Sept 2009.

At central column, south barrier (Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar, Blue Stripes, demons, machine gods)

Third examines the trap closely as Danae arranges for a plan to turn the scouts' supposed element of surprise against them. [Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: 11 sux! Nice! Well, you discover the trap has two parts to it. The grooves you see in the walls and ceiling indicate a descending wall that will trap those that step between it and the central column barrier. (It'll have a delay, so it can trap groups--that means it probably has sensors on both sides of those grooves)

Once trapped, those within will feel the air growing crushingly heavy. It will become hard to breathe and air will eventually be removed altogether, suffocating all beings who require it. Even should the trap wall remain ajar, the 'gravity' effect will still do an recurring amount of environmental damage as well as slow movements and reactions within (a dice penalty). You're also certain that the more metal or magical material one wears, the more hindering the penalty will be.

Exact numbers aren't given yet mostly cause I haven't thought them up ;) but this trap is supposed to be something appropriate to a powerful Manse, enough to kill a mortal and severely hinder Exalts. At worst, you'll have to puzzle how to open the south barrier as quick as possible to get out of the trap zone, but you've got a lot to work with here: natural high dice pools for Lore, Blue Stripes for muscle, and machine spirits specializing in both software and hardware. ]Harmony remains loyally with Third, aiding its analysis with her knowledge of Five Coils AI security protocols, while Garnet Cog offers her own insights from a mechanical point of view. In terms of combat capability, Garnet Cog is more capable in this than Harmony, so the hardware spirit offers to hinder or curse the coming scouts, particularly if they are using any magitech arms or armor.

Unfortunately, of all gathered the only ones with a ranged attack are Veldygar (with his shock pike), Dezephiel (with its bow arms) and Danae herself. The Blue Stripes start moving away into the nearest side rooms, as Danae's current plan requires either stealth or ranged abilities and they have neither. There are two nearby rooms that are viable, one westward (and closer by) and another southward, on a corridor perpendicular to the one the scouts are expected to approach from.

---

OOC: Since I'm hoping to use some mass combat to hurry this along, I'll need to know who will be included in Danae's unit, who will fight solo, and who will be hiding / doing non-combat actions. I won't decide for you, so if you don't post before my next update I'll assume you are inactive.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:42, Tue 22 Sept 2009.

Toward western major staircase (Dena, Dashu, Evamae, Rubies)

Evamae's first suggestion is to use the advantage of numbers to crush whoever lies ahead. Since they are fighting in corridors, an attack from a single direction would be to the advantage of the enemy, especially if they have Dragon-blooded defenders on par with Stern Firmament. So she suggests splitting the army into three parts and attempting to strike them from multiple sides as well as block off any retreat.

Given the abilities Dashu has shown, he is all but expected to operate solo. A Night Caste could do a lot as an unseen operative - try to reestablish exactly where the enemy is waiting (and pass on that info through the earpiece communicators), attempt to quietly sabotage their defenses, or even sneak up the western stairs while they are less defended! Such options are suggested to Dashu, though both Dena and Evamae seem to put at lot of trust in his final decision.

Unfortunately the group is currently working on incomplete intelligence. All they know is that a force waits there, and that it is more significant than the scouts Dashu had sensed earlier. However, if they wait too long to initiate the attack, the situation can get even less advantageous.

[Private to Peleps Dashu: Hopefully the post helps... you can roll for both Awareness (to make up for that silly botch) and Stealth, if you'll still be stealthy. Just let me know where you'll be headed to, what Charms you've got active, etc. I'll deal with the rest.

Oh, and if you stay with the Rubies, you'll get a reduction to Stealth difficulty. They're big and bulky so are great to hide with.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:15, Sat 19 Sept 2009.

Veldygar held out his shock pike. "I can do ranged. So can Dezephiel, with its bow arms. I can order my other demon to eat elements of the battlefield that you don't like. I am not a general, though - I will follow your directions," he said to Danae.

[OOC: Sorry. Brain fart.]
This message was last edited by the player at 16:42, Fri 18 Sept 2009.

OOC~ Ah, Veldygar, I don't think you're with me in the temple, you're with the other group Dashu and I are providing a distraction for.
"Alright then, we know about where they were waiting when they stopped.  My inclination is to just avoid those positions and go around where we know the enemy is laying an ambush, forcing them to move again, and hopefully make enough noise to let us hear their advance again.  Remember that our mission does not actually require us to engage the enemy, satisfying as that may be.  If we keep a few hundred of them tied up dancing for an hour or two while Danae gets to the Gatekeeper, that's still a win for us.  We do need to keep on our toes for ambushes now, though.  Any other thoughts?"

Dashu listens to Dena and thinks quietly.  Finally he says, "I'm supposed to be your eyes and ears here.  Its good to keep them dancing, but it doesn't work if we get caught.  I'll move out and try to keep tabs on the movements of the various groups and relay their movements back to you.  I'm not going to engage unless I have to.  I'll be in touch with the communicator."

[Private to GM: Things a little hecktic on my end.  I'll take a look at my sheet and edit this post to say what charms I activate.   Just letting you know I'm going solo though.

edit:  Okay I'm activating Monkey Leap, Ebon Shadow and my anima power.  That should leave me at 28 m left after everything is said and done.]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:41, Sat 19 Sept 2009.

"An unpleasant trap. It appears to effectively quarantine groups that pass through it, using large walls, and then gradually crush those inside with a magnetic force, affecting all metals, while removing the air from the room. Our best chance might be to try to find and sabotage the sensors, use the Blue Stripes as a way to keep the walls pinned open, or figure out how to avoid tripping the trap at all." It crouches down near the edge of the trap, studying it quietly, even as the others study. 'Depending on what substance the walls are made out of... We could use your demon to try eating through them." the Solar says, speaking to Veldygar.

OOC: Sorry about that delay, still getting back into the 'check the game' mindset, and the weekend was a little wild. ;>_>

OOC: REALLY crude ascii map for those near the South Barrier. Hope it helps a bit.

        +=====+ <-- South Barrier
   ^    |     |     (first layer)
   |    |     |
   N    |     |
        |     |  H, I - doors
        |     |  x - the intersection
--------|     |  the PCs turned at
  an    |     |
 empty  |     |
 room   |.....| <-- trap lines here
        |     |
----H---+     +---------------
           x                <--scouts coming this way
--------+     +-------+------- (still ~2 minutes off
        |     |       |        so you have 2 minute-
        |     |another|        long actions to react
        |     I empty |        with)
        |     | room  |
        |     |       |
        |     +-------+

Another minute passes.

At central column, south barrier (Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar, Blue Stripes, demons, machine gods)

The arrangement here is assumed to be as follows:
- Third, Harmony and Garnet Cog near the trap line (north of intersection). The machine spirits will try to jam enemy communications/equipment.
- Blue Stripes hide in the west empty room, as they are bad at hiding.
- Danae, Veldygar and Dezephiel take shooting position from south of intersection (Danae with flame piece, Veldygar with shock pike). Dezephiel can serve as partial cover while using bow arms to shoot.
- Eternal remains hidden (stealth) and Gugoona dematerialized close by, just in case. Up to Eternal if he will sneak attack or not.

One minute remains until scouts arrive. Make any last preparations, then Danae's Join War will start things off.

Toward western major staircase (Dena, Dashu, Evamae, Rubies)

Evamae replies promptly to Dena, "I believe it is possible for us to lead the forces on a chase for some time, but I do not think it will last. The Inner Temple area is large but we are still in an enclosed space, and our enemy knows the floor plan well. Not to mention they may have Dragon-blooded that can sense movement on the earth as we do."

"For now we can delay. Let us split off from where the large force awaits us, toward the northwestern quadrant. If they follow us it will bring them further from Danae Adela and the others." Then the command goes to the builder bugs, and the column of Ruby Warriors turns sharply northward at the next opportunity, moving in so synchronized a manner they appear like a giant millipede of red carapace.

Dashu takes the time to activate several charms which mute sight and sound until he is as unnoticeable as a shadow. Dena and the others can hear him move off toward the west but gradually lose sight of the distortion in the air. To all natural senses, he is gone.

[Private to Peleps Dashu: You get one minute closer to the larger force. They are still gathered where the builder bugs suspected they were earlier.

From what you can hear from afar you're certain they may be about Magnitude 2 (note: Rubies under Evamae are Magnitude 3). You're not close enough yet to see in detail how they are equipped or arranged, but you catch mention of three main types of squads, a 'ranged stealth', 'heavy armored' and 'mobile fighter'. The enemy force has heard a large group moving northward; it seems they are altering their strategy and arranging to follow. You think they may be trying to send a message upstairs, as well, perhaps thinking Dena's group wants to make a rush for the western stairs.

You're not yet close enough to actually get visual confirmation, to get exact details of their equipment, how many Dragon-blooded in the force, etc. You will be close enough in the next minute, though. After a small pause (in case you or others will write more) I will roll stealth and awareness for you again to indicate the next minute of activity.]

[Private to GM: 2 groups of air aspect stealthies got away from Dashu's senses (8 sux, 12 sux vs Dashu's 6)]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:07, Thu 24 Sept 2009.

Third breathes in, drawing its blade, as it crouches next to the east wall of the northern corridor, silent as it waits for the patrol to approach, eyes closed as it concentrates.

[Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: OOC: 3 successes on Join Battle.

Sorry, my bad, we'll be using Danae's Join War instead.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:06, Thu 24 Sept 2009.

As Dashu creeps closer to his targets he searches for every nook and cranny which he  can use as cover.  Slinking along the walls, his essence mutes his movements and his martial arts form makes him blend into the shadows with ease.  As he gets close, he decides to get a higher vantage point.  He leaps up into the air in a backflip and drives his razor claws into the stone walls.  He holds himself up in this fashion while waiting for his 'prey' to come to him.

Veldygar fiddled with the controls of his shock pike, clearing his throat nervously. He had been in fights before. But that was the first time he would take part in an engagement of this magnitude. That he would follow the orders of another of his own free will, not compelled by a slave collar.

But, looking at Danae, he saw the Solar general in her, a kindred spirit. He decided he trusted her to see them through this ordeal.

"I am ready."

[Private to Veldygar Arhandor: OOC: 21:59, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 8 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,10,10,9,10,2. Join Battle. Not everyday you see rolls like that. Though IIRC we will use Danae's roll?

GM note - You are correct, we'll be using Danae's Join War instead.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:06, Thu 24 Sept 2009.

At central column, south barrier (Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar, etc.)

In the next minute, the would-be ambush is set. Dezephiel crouches near the intersection with bow-arms readied, dwarfing both Danae and Veldygar in size. The others, along with the machine spirits, remain as inconspicuous as possible. Eternal remains cleanly hidden, rendered invisible by spectral Essence.

The scouts move cautiously, stepping carefully; they seem to still be unaware their presence is already known. There are only six of them, but they are well-armored, the leader an Earth Immaculate in heavy armor, wielding a grand goremaul. The other five are in blue jade lamellar, moving lightly on their feet with no obvious weaponry, also garbed in the robes of Immaculate Monks. They communicate non-verbally, with subvocal intonations and gestures, so it's difficult to know what they are intending.

Partially melded into the wall near Third, Garnet Cog holds up an articulated finger made of floating, not-quite-interlocking parts, and concentrates. Whatever happens next seems to have an effect on the Immaculates, who pause with marked confusion on their faces. When they come to a stop, it is just within range of the ranged combatants. They huddle as if to confer with one another.

---

OOC: I went through the trouble of rolling stealth separately... normally I would not, but there's few of you. Up to you now whether you will attack. They don't *seem* to see you, and your groups both got equal results in Join War.

[Private to Broken Eternal; Danae Adela; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge; Veldygar Arhandor: Normally I won't reveal numbers like this, but since we're testing out new rules here are how the stats turned out. I mostly like the rules but am still uncertain about the DVs (right now Might is in the calculation; still not sure if it's too much.) Also derived stats are assuming use of Int instead of Dex, let me know if you like this, think another attribute would be better, etc.

PCs
Leader: Danae Adela (War 4)
Unit: Veldygar, Third, Eternal, Dezephiel
Magnitude 1, Might 5, Drill 1
Close Combat Rating 5, Ranged Combat Rating 5
Close Combat Damage 10L, Ranged Combat Damage 11L
Armor 9L, Hardness 0L, Mobility -0
Health Levels 10

Derived Stats
Join War 6
Close Combat 8 + 9 sux
Ranged Combat 8 + 9 sux
Dodge DV 5, Parry DV 9

Enemy
Leader: Earth Immaculate (War 4)
Unit: Air Immaculate x5
Magnitude 1, Might 4, Drill 4
Close Combat Rating 4, Ranged Combat Rating 5
Close Combat Damage 6L, Ranged Combat Damage 7Lx2
Armor 11L, Hardness 5L, Mobility -1
Health Levels 8

Derived Stats
Join War 7
Close Combat 8 + 8 sux
Ranged Combat 6 + 8 sux
Dodge DV 8, Parry DV 8]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:39, Wed 07 Oct 2009.

Toward western major staircase (Dena, Dashu, Evamae, Rubies)

Dena and Evamae continue moving northward with the Rubies. They are unsure yet whether they have been followed, but they are making a good deal of noise. Northward is incidentally taking them closer and closer to the vicinity of the western stairs.

After communing via insect-speak relays from the front lines, Evamae says, "There ought to be another force near the major stairway, but lesser than they would have been. They're split in front and behind us now. However though they are lesser, I would expect them to be stronger than the force we left behind. Should we continue toward the stairs or divert path again, Tervila Dena?"

Further southward, Dashu nimbly clings to the walls, which are stronger than stone, but his jade claws are enough to at least find purchase there. Unseen by the forces he is tracking, he figures out a rough idea of their numbers as they halt at a wide intersection.

There are three distinct types: the Earth Immaculates equipped with articulated plate and goremauls, Water Immaculates in reinforced breastplate and razor claws and the Air Immaculates in lamellar but no obvious weapon. All of this is jade equipment, but not magitech. The Earth monks are stronger but less numerous (Magnitude 1), while the younger Water seem to be the bulk of the force (Magnitude 2). The Air serve as scouts (Magnitude 1). However Dashu is unsure he is seeing all of the scouts, as several disappear from his line of sight and run silently northward, possibly pursuing the louder Ruby Army.

[Private to Peleps Dashu; Tervila Dena: Normally I won't reveal numbers like this, but since we're testing out new rules here are how the stats turned out. I mostly like the rules but am still uncertain about the DVs (right now Might is in the calculation; still not sure if it's too much.) Also derived stats are assuming use of Int instead of Dex, let me know if you like this, think another attribute would be better, etc.

Ruby Army
Leader: Tervila Dena (War 3)
Unit: Evamae, Ruby Guardian x30, Ruby Warrior x90
Magnitude 3, Might 3, Drill 5
Close Combat Rating 4, Ranged Combat Rating 4*
Close Combat Damage 12L, Ranged Combat Damage 13L*
Armor 9L, Hardness 1L, Mobility -0
Health Levels 9
* Ranged attack (acid streamer) only available 5x a day.

Derived Stats (before Magnitude Difference)
Join War 3
Close Combat 6 + 6 sux
Ranged Combat 6 + 6 sux
Dodge DV 7, Parry DV 6

No stats for enemy just yet, as you're not engaging.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:54, Wed 14 Oct 2009.

"We shall continue towards the staircase at this point, but stop the army before we reach it.  If we divert they may realize our plan or, if the stairwell isn't being threatened, send their armies back and find Danae.  However I don't wish to be caught between two enemy forces either.  We'll stop about five hundred yards short of their position and let the rubies rest until Dashu returns, hopefully with the position of their reinforcements." Dena decides after thinking it over a moment.  "It may confuse our enemies a bit, if they try to parley or the situation seems right I shall challenge their leader to single combat in order to draw the situation out more and hamper enemy morale.  Or, even better, we might be able to hit the two armies separately before they can unite and defeat them in detail.  I will all depend on the information we can gather."

Convinced he can't do any more from the current vantage point, Dashu decides to return to to the army he's with.  He quickly relays the information he's gleaned back to Dena as well as his uncertainty.  "I'm on my way back," he speaks into the communicator and begins to follow through on that promise.

A slight *Click* is the first--and likely only warning--the Immaculate scouting party would have recieved--barring their access to supernal awareness of course--that things were likely about to become /deeply/ unpleasant for them in the immediate future.

In theory anyway.

Forcefully tilting her Firewand forward, signaling the firing line to commence their attack, Danae quickly shoulders the weapon--Creation slowing as she pulled the trigger, igniting the firedust within the barrel of the gun, and sending the first of what would undoubtedly become Many gouts of flame into the Immaculate Line--undoubtedly supported from a barrage of arrows from Veldygar's Demon, an onslaught of fire from his shock pike--and whatever else could be mustered by the ragtag little team.

Of course, Danae wasn't so arrogant as to believe this, and this alone would be enough to immediately win the day--especially with one of the annoying Earth Monks among the opposite side--but it should stagger them, force them to bunch up--and hopefully begin wasting time and essence in activating their Forms.

An opening she planned to exploit--as once the fifth shot was fired, she dropped the Firewand, and started making her way in, to lead the charge and mop up anything the initial barrage missed!

[Private to Gatekeeper:
22:51, Today: Danae Adela rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,4,5,6,9,6. Join War (Wits + War - Mag).
22:51, Today: Danae Adela rolled 2 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,9,4,6,6,8,4,4. Ranged Attack! (+9).

Yeck, not the best of rolls, but there you have it, hopefully my stunt should help things out a notch :P

And that Might and Ranged Combat Rating helps quite a lot too :D]

Firing his shock pike, Veldygar methodically fired following Danae's instructions. When she started jumping into the fray, he hesitated a split-second, then sent Gugoona to help her carve a bloody swath across enemy ranks, and remained behind to cover her with Dezephiel.

[OOC: Unless you tell me to join you in Melee, in which case I will edit this post to reflect that.]

Third waits by the wall as the barrage is fired, before, as she charges forward, spinning around to run along by her side, blade out as the Solar runs with her, prepared to bring a bit of its own particular brand of pain for these Immaculates.

At central column, south barrier (Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar, etc.)

It so happens that the Earth Immaculate has been listening to the ground at his feet. One cannot always be so lucky with ambushes... "Wait! There's an enemy force waiting down the next corridor!" Nonetheless, even though the scouts are aware of the attackers waiting for them, they cannot be completely sure on tactics, without knowing their weaponry The Earth Aspect decides to trust in the superior armor of himself and his comrades. "Normal formation. Let us out the ambushers with caution."

They are met with the barrage from Danae and her two ranged attackers: a bewildering combination of gouts of flame, unseen force blasts and a rain of seemingly endless arrows. (3L damage on enemy unit) Nearly every one of the scouts are struck at least shallowly, hissing in pain as their armor fails to completely protect from scalding and puncturing. The Air Immaculates grit their teeth and -- at the Earth Aspect's command -- return fire with a storm of chakram that flicker as quickly as an eyeblink from their gauntleted fingertips before their opponents can close in.

[Private to Danae Adela: Attack is 11 sux total. Your Dodge DV is only 5 so .. honestly you might want to bump that up with a War Excellency if you have one. I don't think you can stunt to make your entire unit parry ranged, that's stretching it a little for me. Anyway post defense and your next attack which I'm presuming you'll use to lead the entire unit in melee... I'll leave it to you to decide that.]

Toward western major staircase (Dena, Dashu, Evamae, Rubies)

Dashu is able to give his report through the communicators before returning to the army physically. Since the communicators are connected through Danae, her group hears Dashu's report as well: there are three groups of Magnitude 2 or less, of Water Immaculates and a smaller amount of Air and Earth Immaculates, in Inner Temple Level 1, Southwest. In addition, the Air Immaculates have been sent toward the western staircase where Dena is now approaching.

Hearing this, Evamae says, "The Air Aspects are likely to be stealthy. They may even have projectile weapons. We should fortify our rear, but we will also need to get a closer look at what awaits at the staircase." As ordered, though, Evamae has the Rubies stop at 500 yards from the stairs. Even so, the long column of Rubies is forced to spill out into adjacent corridors and rooms to hold roughly in the same area. "However, I believe that it is unlikely those guarding the staircase will advance unless they think the need is greater than the importance of the position they guard. My opinion is that we should turn to face southward, and attempt to envelop the smaller force behind us. Starting with the Air Aspects, and if the others advance, then we can use the corridors to our advantage to take the groups one at a time."

"You may use my advice as you see fit, of course, Creator." The Hive Princess bows her head respectfully.

Dashu manages to remain stealthy enough to pursue behind the group of Air Immaculates heading north. He cannot see their exact position, unfortunately, only knows they are stealthily approaching the rear of the Ruby Army.

[Private to Peleps Dashu; Tervila Dena: Dena you'll probably want to roll Join War here. Dashu, roll a separate Join War (note: Wits+War-Magnitude, Mag. for a solo unit is 0), unless you will join Dena's attackers.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:33, Wed 07 Oct 2009.

"I think your strategy is sound Evamae.  We can take far fewer casualties destroying the enemy in detail." Dena switches to her communicator.
"Dashu, we're going to charge the enemy momentarily.  On the off chance that they retreat you may need to be ready to get out of their way if you're still behind them."


23:45, Today: Tervila Dena rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10,6,3. Join War.

"Veldygar!  Third!"  Danae called out, raising her voice enough to be heard as she charged in, Impeccable Spark flying out from it's scabbard as the first wave of Chakram's closed in, her brilliant mind quickly running trajectories of the oncoming hail of metal, and determining the Best Path that the companions could take in order to evade the worst of it, giving them a shot at dodging the rest on their own.  "Sidestep left, and shift your profiles facing them by thirteen degrees to the right!  Keep pushing forward, and don't flinch unless you want to take a few hits!"  Switching Spark to a reverse grip, Danae continued to push forward, jinking to and fro to foul the aim of the Immaculates, and occasionally lashing out at the projectiles with quick, accurate blows, knocking them into their peers, and clearing open a path for everyone else to dodge.  Of course, being the one to lead the charge, she had to run through the majority of the blows--but her own quick movements and minute shifts caused the few that got close to glance harmlessly off the heavier plates of her Ashigaru armor.

The storm began to let up a bit as the Celestial Force reached close combat range, and Danae shifted Spark back to an overhanded grip, holding it with both hands at this point, as she leapt off into the center of the lines, twisting in mid-air to deliver a stunning, spinning kick to the Air Monk closest to her position, and leaving him to deal with those right behind her.

As was her usual strategy, it was her role to take on the strongest of the opposing group--and as she tucked into a roll, having passed the picket of Air Monks, her own target seemed to be momentarily surprised--but that would hardly stop him from counterattacking...

But from her experiences in the lower level, Danae was now quite familiar with the fighting style of Earth Monks, and Spark quickly struck outwards to arrest his motion, several lightning-speed cuts aimed to keep him from building up the momentum needed to bring his full power to bear!

[Private to Gatekeeper: 10:00, Today: Danae Adela rolled 4 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,1,10,5,9,3,6,3. Close Combat Attack!.

13 successes on Close Combat.  I'm also spending 8m Personal on Second War Excellency on the dodge attempt, bringing the group's DDV up to 9]

Taking whatever cover he could from the flying chakram and other ranged attacks, Veldygar followed Danae's instructions, covering his fellow Solar with intense suppressive fire.

Moving in lockstep with its fellow Solars, Third's feet touch the ground lightly as its body moves to avoid each strike, dodging between blows, staying in the jetstream of Danae's movements, avoiding the chakram with light grace, avoiding them with gentle movements of its body, the blades leaving the most delicate of cuts along the edge of the fabric that the Solar wears- Not even deep enough to cut it open.

At central column, south barrier (Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar, etc.)

The barrage of chakram is foiled by Danae quickly snapping commands, her natural leadership ability bolstered by a touch of Essence. Rather than clattering onto the floor, the razor-edged circular rings dissipate in a flash of blue light as soon as they touch the ground. [Private to Danae Adela: A +2 stunt for the defense. +1 for the attack.]

Danae and her attackers advance diligently, sidestepping or ducking projectiles that never truly deter them. Closing the distance, the Dawn Caste moves straight for the leader while Dezephiel obediently takes up the front line, occupying the Air Immaculates as they are forced into melee combat by the proximity. Third and Veldygar flank the scouts, keeping the fight between Danae and the Earth Immaculate isolated while Eternal -- a menacing presence wreathed by shadow, lurking in their midst -- steps in with his dual blades to support Danae personally. Only the Immaculates' superior equipment and Charms keep the well-coordinated attack from becoming a crushing victory. (2L unit damage, for a total of 5)

The leader is not nearly so advanced on the Earth Dragon Path as Master Firmament, but he is no fool, either. "Anathema, you dare taint the holy Temple with your presence? Know that even should we fall here, your would-be invasion will not only be expected, but thwarted by our superior forces!" Holding his goremaul defensively to fend off another flurry of slashes from Danae, he attempts to access his communicator. "Grandmaster, Orichalcum Alert has been confirmed. At least one Celestial leader, and an enemy sorcerer consorting with demons... Grandmaster? Please respond!"

It seems that Garnet Cog's curse on the communicators is working. Thwarted in his report, the Earth Immaculate passes on his command for two of the Air scouts to split off and retreat. The wounded pair break away and start sprinting eastward, while he and the remaining three press the attack. It's obvious that the goremaul-wielding commander is contributing the most raw power at close range, while the scouts are forced to attack barehanded. [Private to Danae Adela: Enemy unit got 11 sux vs a Parry DV of 9-1=8.]

---

OOC: actions (long ticks)
tick 10 - Danae's group
tick 13 - Earth+Air Immaculate scouts(3)
Fleeing scouts(2) moving at 8x30 yards/tick since tick 5.

[Private to Broken Eternal; Danae Adela; Veldygar Arhandor; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: On tick 5 (after Danae's close attack), enemy commander flurries to Signal high command and Split Unit. Then tick 8, attacks with remaining scouts in his unit. Split Unit rules also dictate that the enemy now counts as Magnitude 0, not 1. (Thus Danae's unit gets a further +1 sux to attacks from the Magnitude Difference.)

We've been forgetting to count -DV for attacking, too. (It's -1 DV.) So I'll be remembering that from this post onward.

Danae will have to also issue a Split Unit command to get someone to pursue the fleeing scouts. Also, note that a solo unit gets x100 multiplier to speed...]
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:49, Fri 16 Oct 2009.

Toward western major staircase (Dena, Dashu, Evamae, Rubies)

The column of Rubies turns 180 degrees back around, and advances to meet with the group of Air scouts moving north. Dashu is behind the enemy scouts, positioning himself to support the attack as a solo unit at Dena's command.

The Air scouts cannot miss the mass of giant red insects marching down the corridor toward them. Knowing they are outnumbered, they do not attempt to step into their midst and attack, but turn and retreat toward the larger force of Water and Earth Immaculates waiting further southward.

They may well pass Dashu by altogether, unless he reveals himself, as he's currently well hidden.

---

OOC: actions (long ticks)
tick 0 - Air Immaculate scouts (fleeing at 10x30 yards/tick)
tick 2 - Dena+Rubies, Dashu
Earth+Water Immaculates are 1500 yards distant, holding action.

[Private to Tervila Dena; Peleps Dashu: See corebook p. 163 for speed multipliers. I should add that Skirmish formation is not possible in the Inner Temple corridors, they're just too narrow. In fact given the size of the Rubies, I'd rule that only Close formation is reasonable...

Also, here's the stats of the first group of enemies. Dena+Rubies is Magnitude 3 so has a +2 difference with the Scouts. Dashu has a -1 difference, being a solo unit commanded by Dena. The different applies to attack rolls only and adds or subtracts from successes.

Air Immaculate Scouts
Leader: Senior Air Immaculate (War 4)
Unit: Air Immaculate x10
Magnitude 1, Might 4, Drill 4
Close Combat Rating 4, Ranged Combat Rating 5
Close Combat Damage 3B, Ranged Combat Damage 7Lx2*
Armor 9L, Hardness 5L, Mobility -1
Health Levels 9
* Air Immaculates can throw 2 projectiles for every 1.

Derived Stats (before Magnitude Difference)
Join War 7
Close/Ranged Combat 8 + 8 sux
Parry DV 10, Dodge DV 8]

"Evamae, kindly take command of the army for the moment." Dena suggests.  "I'm going to fly ahead and join Dashu, then try to block their progress for a few moments while the rest of the army catches up.  I suggest you keep a massed formation and simply use the army's momentum to smash them like a hammer."
With those simple instructions Dena flares her wings and takes off, trailing purple lightning as she heads over the heads of the army at high speed on the way to join Dashu.

(Hmm, presumably Dena, being one person, has no formation penalty to her move.  She normally does a dash of 48 yards a tick before anima banner so that gives her 4,800yards on the x100 scale.  I'm gonna presume she can manage to exceed them handily without worrying about it.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:10, Thu 22 Oct 2009.

At central column, south barrier (Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar, etc.)

Using insights extracted from long buried memories and the blessing of the Unconquered Sun, Danae guides her small group into a seamless defense against the Earth commander and his scouts. Dezephiel's tangle of demonic limbs contribute significantly to the maneuver, while Danae's Iridescent Spark, Veldygar's shock pike and Third's red jade daiklave deflect blows from jade gauntlets and goremauls alike.

Danae tasks Broken Eternal to catch up with the two fleeing scouts. The Earth Immaculate, true to his element, seems determined to survive as long as possible, marshaling his courage while organizing his remaining scouts into an ideal formation that leaves few openings for the Celestials' next counterattack. Eternal is much more fortunate: stepping lighter than a breath, he flickers from shadow to shadow, reaching the would-be escapees and eviscerating them mercilessly from behind. One crumples with a clean slash down the spine; the other all but explodes into a crimson mess on the nearby wall as he drives his daiklave through her.

Seeing his last chance of informing his superiors die with his messengers, the Earth Immaculate and his three Air subordinates fight doggedly but futilely. Were Danae and her companions not so evenly matched with him, and his numbers not so dwindled, the outcome may have been different. Instead, the Celestials and demon aide absorb the attack and rally together for a final offensive surge that fells the remaining Air Aspects and overwhelms the Earth leader, disarming and subduing him.

[Private to Danae Adela; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge; Veldygar Arhandor; Broken Eternal: You are in front of the nastily trapped corridor described earlier, leading to a barrier blocking the way to the central column. Will you wait for the others to join you? How will you attempt to break through the traps and barrier? Third's memories, Danae's skill with magitech, the machine-spirits (Harmony and Garnet Cog), possibly even the Earth leader (if you kept him alive) could help with that. Or will you find another way up?]

Toward western major staircase (Dena, Dashu, Evamae, Rubies)

"Very well, Tervila Dena, I will comply,", says Evamae promptly, and begins to pass on orders to the Rubies as Dena rises on the wings of her warform. She moves so swiftly there isn't even time for normal senses to even pick up a blur. Dena is gone, traversing the same hall space the Air scouts move through in a fraction of the time.

Dashu is already there. The scouts step into the vicinity of the Night Caste and immediately find themselves under attack. They can't even pinpoint who, where or how many beset them, only that they seem to come from everywhere at once, tearing them apart with black jade claws once worn by one of their own. Dena reaches them, essence lash crackling as she contributes to the attack -- more intimidating than damaging, in her case, but both go a long way to demoralize the scouts by the time the Ruby Warriors rush in.

They're still picking themselves up from the double-team Celestial attack when the group of young Air Immaculates are swallowed up and crushed by the torrent of red carapaces, razor sharp forearm blades and acid-dripping mandibles. Only a single figure, the apparent leader of the scouts, manages to extract himself far enough to make a last ditch attempt to escape the fate of the others, but Dena catches up to him before he can get more than a few paces away.

[Private to Tervila Dena; Peleps Dashu: You are 900 yards north from the larger group of Water and Earth Immaculates on this floor, the ones you prevented the Air scouts from reaching. You are also 1100 yards south of the western staircase leading up. Will you proceed to clean up the rest of the Immaculates waiting southward, proceed straight to the stairs, or both? Or will you rejoin Danae and the others at the central column?]

---

OOC: Just need a decision from each group before I continue fast forwarding, we won't dwell here long. Details in PMs.

Plenty of jade equipment, if you want it: The Air scouts encountered by both groups have blue jade lamellar and infinite jade chakrams. The Air scout leader encountered by Dena and Dashu carries the lamellar and chakram along with a blue jade baneclaw and a hearthstone amulet. The Earth leader encountered by Danae's group carries a grand goremaul, white jade reinforced breastplate and hearthstone bracers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:50, Sat 14 Nov 2009.

Third sheathes its blade once again, looking at the corridor. 'Our best option, Third is inclined to believe, is to use our mechanical aids to hold the barriers open, so we are able to move through. Ideally, with at least one barrier open, we should be able to make our way through with time.' It looks towards the others. 'Though perhaps we would be able to figure out the triggering mechanism, if we wish to devote more time and care. Third leaves it up to you, Danae.'

Fiddling with the controls of his slowly cooling shock pike, Veldygar raised an eyebrow upon contemplating the tunnel. "Will keeping the doors open prevent the magnetic force from affecting our equipment?" He asked. "What about the sensors?" He wondered if the spell of Emerald Countermagic could disrupt the workings of the trap long enough for them to cross the corridor. And there was still the problem of the barrier.

[OOC: 11:55, Today: Veldygar Arhandor rolled 4 successes using 7d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9,2,1,7,9,9,2. Per+Occult.]
This message was last edited by the player at 10:56, Sun 15 Nov 2009.

Garnet Cog answers Veldygar's first inquiry promptly. "Leaving the outer barrier open won't entirely eliminate the magnetic trap, it will only prevent us from being trapped in it permanently, and keep the humans from suffocating without air. The material, sadly, is also spirit proof, I do not think any of us can pass through it dematerialized."

The trap itself is not purely a sorcerous effect; if countermagic could affect a trap with permanency built into the design, then countermagic ought to also effectively neutralize the powers of an artifact of appropriate level. As Veldygar has never seen such occur, he is reasonably sure countermagic would have no effect here. Even if it would, he is pretty sure Emerald would not suffice; Sapphire Countermagic or better would be more appropriate.

Harmony's jarringly mechanical voice rises soon afterward. "IF-DEMATERIALIZED, GARNET-COG-AND-I-WILL-BE-UNAFFECTED-BY-MAGNETISM. I-PROPOSE-THE-FOLLOWING.

1. INSTRUCT-THE-SENTINELS-DESIGNATED-BLUE-STRIPES-TO-HOLD-OPEN-THE-TRAP-BARRIER.

2. I-AND-GARNET-COG-WILL-WORK-MANUALLY-ON-THE-INNER-BARRIERS-TO-UNLOCK-THEM.

3. CELESTIAL-EXALTED-MAY-PROVIDE-VERBAL-AID-FROM-BEYOND-THE-TRAP-PERIMETER, OR-TEMPORARILY-REMOVE-EQUIPMENT-AND-WORK-WITH-US-DIRECTLY."

[Private to Danae Adela; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge; Veldygar Arhandor; Broken Eternal: To keep this from stalling again, my suggestion is mostly to let the spirits/machines handle it, but if you want to risk it you can also participate. Ideally, whoever has the highest Wits OR Int + Lore OR Larceny total should lead, and the rest will add to the roll(s) via teamwork rules.

Bonuses for First Age knowledge from Past Lives may also count, but a lot more so should a PC be leading the attempts.

However, those of you stepping into the 'heavy air' region beyond the outer barrier may also be subject to penalties (lesser if you remove metal/magical material equipment). Let's not dwell on this long, I'll wait until tonight (about 12 hours from now) for a decision.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:36, Fri 20 Nov 2009.

Danae nodded after a moment's consideration.  "It's a good plan I think, we should be able to neutralize the worst of the traps this way...  Third?  Would you mind take the lead here?"  She glanced back to the Twilight.  "You've got much less equipment then the rest of us, and you're the best with actaully reprogramming these kinds of things.  I'll provide what support I can, as will everybody else-but it's probably for the best that we hurry up, before that last patrol winds up being missed."

Third bows its head, placing the jade daiklave on the ground. 'A wise suggestion. Third should be able to do so.' it says, carefully removing the modest armor it wears under its robe, prepared to enter and aid directly with the work, once the blue stripes have gotten into place.

"I am not an expert on such matters, so I will defer to your judgement," Veldygar said. The Eclipse was leaning against a nearby wall, resting after the harsh battle.

"I believe it's time we headed for the stairwell." Dena suggests after a moment's thought.  "We'll pause there and wait in case the enemy army decides to try attacking again, it will make a decent defensive position anyway.  If the terrestrial army doesn't move we'll head inside to back up the others."

Central column, south barrier

At Danae's command, a pair of Blue Stripes position themselves in front of the grooves that Third found, purposefully triggering the descending outer barrier. Catching the bottom edge with their massive gauntleted hands, they hold position and keep it lifted high enough for Third and the machine-spirits to move through.

Third immediately feels the heaviness of the air in this area pressing down on it, an uncomfortable, claustrophobic weight. Nonetheless, the Twilight Solar concentrates its efforts on coordinating the disarmament and opening of the barrier. Where its hands cannot easily reach, Cog uses her affinity toward magitech to manipulate the delicate mechanisms remotely, while Harmony patches herself directly into the circuitry, attempting to reroute any security measures triggered by the tampering. Third's prodigious mind provides the programming technique and ingenuity needed to work around the traps in a timely manner, aided by advice drawn from Danae's own practical experience with First Age machinery.

Finally, the heaviness lifts, returning the privileges of easy breathing and posture. The task is complete -- or as complete as it can manage.

According to Third, the trap has not been completely deactivated, only temporarily bypassed. As soon as it issues the final command to open the barriers into the central chamber, there will be only thirty seconds for all of them to step through before security systems and barriers are reset. On the other hand, their attempt succeeded well enough that they will have several minutes of reprieve before a general alarm is sounded. Time to bring them away from the source of the alarm, even to let Dena and Dashu into the central column from the outside.

Western staircase

Dena decides not to pursue the Water and Earth Immaculates, moving straight toward the staircase. She, Dashu and the Ruby Army find the way there clear of monks, though that may not last long, now that they've eviscerated one of the scout groups.

Then they hear word from Danae's group. They succeeded at breaching the center of the Inner Temple, and will be entering immediately. No time to wait or meet up -- their window is only 30 seconds long.

Using her memory of the Hive Queen's map, Evamae suggests that Dena, Dashu and the Rubies take the stairs up, then head due east until they reach a barrier. She tells Danae's group to open up the eastern barrier into the central column on Inner Temple Level 2, assuming they find some mechanism on the inside by which to do so.

"We should meet and recombine our forces as soon as possible, Creators," the Hive Princess advises over the comm so all the Celestials can hear. "The real opposition will be at the center, and they will know we are here. If we move fast, we should be able to crush the Immaculate guards and ascend to the Gatekeeper's level before they have time to organize."

All together

No one can argue that haste is needed. Danae, Third, Eternal, Veldygar and their various followers hurry through the barriers before they lose the element of surprise. Dena and Dashu climb the western stairs to the next level, shielded by the might of the Ruby Warriors of Irix Chilomena.

They will meet in the middle, upstairs.

---

OOC: As explained earlier, I assumed some decisions so that we could fast forward through tedious traps and battles. Therefore, this thread will now close. You will meet with all PCs in 'Floors B25-B22 - Inner Temple, Central Column' once I have finished narrating how everyone gets there.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:30, Wed 18 Nov 2009.