The bottom floor of Five Coils is where the most undesirable of Anathema are kept when they are not currently serving their purpose. 'Undesirable' in the sense that their crafty minds and darker affinities would serve as a danger to the rest of Coils' society, if they were ever let loose -- those whose Castes tend toward the shadows, to endings, to taboo knowledge.

Even Dashu, who has served in the past as a criminal investigator, is also feared and treated much as a criminal himself. He, along with Reva and Xurizu, are currently kept in separate locked rooms equipped with devices that bar them from channeling Essence. Though the rooms are somewhat better furnished than a prison cell might be, they are still cells nonetheless. Each of them wears a collar on their neck that marks them as one of the Anathema, and limits their Essence use outside their 'rooms'.

It's difficult to tell time while the Exalts are kept in there. It's been a couple days for them, maybe. But on the third day, sometime after the midday meal is shoved into the room via chute (much too small to squeeze through), they feel something strange.

Or rather, the absence of something: the block on their Essence is suddenly, entirely gone.

At first, the strange feeling was nothing of note, then as she reached up to scratch her neck, she noticed the lack, and almost screamed out. She was free! How did this happen? It didn't matter. She quickly scarfed down the food and very carefully moved over to the door. Now, she already knew mundanely she wasn't going to kick down the door, or pick open the lock, more so seeing as how she lacks any lock picks, or even pins to work with. No she needed to use her cunning mind, and skill to get this door open. She took a moment to think, her first thought to grab the device, just in case it came into use.

She knocked on the door, hard, the guard couldn't be too much farther away, "Hey, work quickly, and there is nothing at all strange with my food, it taste better than normal." A grin on her face. She was a skilled liar, and with her magical powers able to aid, she knew it was work, it had to!

Why would a prisoner say nothing was strange? Ha, this stupid prisoner was so dumb, she just told him that her food was strange, and of course he had to go in and see what was going on. So people, they couldn't lie at all, this dumb girl was one of them, of course.

Grabbing the device proves to be tougher than it looks. First of all, it's embedded in stone just above the cell doorway quite securely. Second, pulling it out may very well harm the artifact itself.

There doesn't seem to be an immediate guard response to Reva's call. Curiouser and curiouser. The other cellmates in the area actually hear Reva speak, though.

---

OOC: Pulling out the Essence-dampening device: you can prop yourself up on a chair and either try a Craft roll (probably Magitech, maybe Earth if you try working around the stone) or you can try to punch the stone out of the way (Martial Arts attack vs. inanimate object). Any of you are welcome to try but doesn't guarantee the thing won't break from the effort.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:38, Thu 30 Oct 2008.

Xurizu is sleeping, his usual half-dreams of things he almost remembers disturbing him enough that sometimes he cried out, cries the other residents of this floor had perhaps heard on occasion.  As suddenly he found himself able to channel though, the change of sensation woke from his dreams.  And then he wondered if he had.  Was this some strange new fantasy, another nightmare, or perhaps, he dared to consider, reality?

Reva's shout confirmed that it was apparently the latter case.  There was no way his subconscious would insert something that bizzare into his dreams.  He didn't reply immediately however, instead reaching within him for his own power.

And on the floor of the cell, there was a snake.  As a snake, Xurizu decided to investigate the food chute, to see if it would lead anywhere at all...

Dashu has been sitting quitely all day.  That was his stategy when it came to the gaurds.  After all, the old saying goes "The nail that sticks out is the nail that gets hammered."  Suddenly he felt it, his untapped raw abilities.  He quickly decides to use this ability to take a look around the cell to see what he had missed before.  He hoped to find something small and slender or something larger which could be easily broken down into something which could be used to pick the lock.  He  didn't particularly want to cause a scene but he would if he needed to.

[Private to GM: I rolled 5 successes and spent bought 2 more for a total of 7.  Personal Essence Spent: 4.]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:47, Wed 19 Nov 2008.

All of Dashu's best efforts lead to a single and maddeningly simple truth:

The door is already unlocked.

Apparently whatever deactivated the Essence dampening had also powered down the locks, which Dashu discovers upon closer examination are also magical in nature, and would not have responded to normal lockpicking attempts anyway. Clearly someone else out there must have set them free... it's the only conclusion Dashu can come to at this time. But who?

Meanwhile, Xurizu in his king snake form slithers through the food chute a short ways (discovering that the walls of his cell are fairly thick) and reaches a hinged door at the end of it. Nudging at it, he discovers it's currently unlocked, and the floor below is only a few feet down. From having been led this way before, he recognizes it as the hall just outside his cell.

Xurizu drops from the chute, his serpentine body coiling on the floor as he lands.  He lies there for a few moments, listening to the tremors of the ground beneath his scales as he tries to determine if anyone is walking around, his tongue flicking out also, to taste the air, the scent of the guards still lingering but barely ...

His first taste of freedom in a long time, too.

[Private to GM:
If I have stunt, let me know (and, as always, feel free to roll)
23:53, Today: Ledaal Xurizu rolled 6 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7. Casting senses about (+4 from 1st Perception Excellency).
I'm also activating Eyes Of The Cat (for sensing invisible stuff)
2m peripheral for Hide Of The Cunning Hunter
6m personal for Eyes Of the Cat
4m personal for Excellency
]

Hmmm, that was ... simple.  Dashu thinks to himself.  If I'm going to get out of this place I'll probably need some help. I wonder if the girl who was talking so loudly will be of any help.  With that he opens his door and looks carefully from one side to the other to make sure the coast was clear of guards.  Once he was confident no one was around, he steps into the hall and walks in the direction of the girl's voice.  Once in the hall, Dashu notices the food chute to his neighbor's cell is open and a king snake is at the opening.  Dashu chuckled to himself and, not knowing it's true nature, says softly to the snake in a joking manner "Don't think you'll be able to help me much unless you can get bigger."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Wed 19 Nov 2008.

Xurizu's keen senses take in his surroundings, and beyond. He can both perceive and separate the minute vibrations from various sources of disturbance.

[Private to Ledaal Xurizu: +2 more sux from stunt, so 12 total! whoo! okay let's see what you sense...
- The roar, thump and chanting of a crowd one floor above: very likely the Gladiator Pit, currently packed, the two opponents circling one another in the arena, fighting for life and glory...
- The rushing sound of water from some underground source deep below, shunted upward by some unknown mechanism...
- Dashu, his footsteps like an earthquake, his voice booming...
- The quieter breathing of another cellmate further down the hall, in the direction Dashu is headed...
- And footsteps, clambering toward them from a short distance away: a fang of heavy-booted men and their leader. Xurizu feels there will be about five minutes before they reach this hall.]