Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Araph]

((Just finished typing this before being ninja'd by Shoruke. Pretend it's from before Rudra reacted to Anya.))

Vulsano jumped down the stairs to the lower levels of the ship, taking them three at a time. The sky was cloudless and blue, the waters were calm, and he was in a great mood. Rae even seemed to be getting over her depression, which was a nice change of pace. As he pushed open the door to the galley, he spotted Rudra seated at his usual spot; his head was resting in his hands, and Anya was sitting next to him.

"Hey Anya, Rudra!" Vulsano said cheerfully. He raised an eyebrow at Rudra's dejected appearance. "What's wrong? Seasick? Nauseous? Possessed?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

Anya nodded to Vulsano in greeting before turning back to Rudra and listening to his concerns. "Keep what to yourself? Concern over stopping Bano? ...Or is it something else?" She reached over and smoothed his hair down. "You can tell us about your troubles, dear. Maybe I can help."

[Shoruke]

Rudra is silent for a moment.
"...You're right, there's not much sense keeping it to myself. You remember that Brachina that corrupted Rae? Well, we're likely to meet her again. Not only is she collecting the god-weapons, like us, she's also working to take over Hell. All of it. And she's doing a pretty good job. She also took the Celestials out of the picture, and she's working on something called a Hell-engine."
Rudra's eyes take on a slightly hollow aspect. "And she's got mortals working for her, too. In some place called Dannon."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Hmm... that IS disturbing." Anya frowned and steepled her hands in front of her face. "I'm not sure if we can tell Rae about it or not. I'm sure she wants revenge against the demoness but at the same time, Brachina's already had hold of her once. That might make it easier for her to manipulate our elf again. Or perhaps it would make it more difficult, like how you can't get the chicken pox twice?" A fascinating idea... but not one she wanted to put to the test. From what she gathered, Brachina had used a series of tricks to break Rae down and make her think they were lovers. Who's to say some lingering bit of affection didn't remain there?

"It'll have to be us that puts her down. Ria and Toman would want to be there too. Tali as well, possibly. Rae's a dear and will want to help, but I don't want to risk her getting hurt like that a second time." Anya drummed her fingers on the table for a moment. She didn't ask Rudra how he knew all of this; she was born with an innate connection to magic, but even though she was aware of its many capabilities she didn't know everything it could do... while Rudra studied it his entire life, wanted it, and so knew a lot more about it than she did. But she knew enough to know he'd definitely used quite a bit of divination magic.

"We'll have to back-burner it for the moment, though. Bano is the immediate threat. Ten to one if we leave Brachina alone she'll be a serious problem, so we'll have to get on that soon, too..." She patted Rudra's shoulder. "Thanks for confiding in me. I'll keep Brachina's existence a secret from Rae, trust me." She had the Bluff skill - and had peeked at Rae's sheet to know she had terrible Sense Motive - to be able to lie her ass off to the elf if necessary.

[Shoruke]

Rudra nods.
"Rae is one of my concerns here, too. I don't know whether it's a good idea to let her get near that Brachina again; she might have another breakdown. But I also don't want her left alone... for that exact same reason. The Brachina's agents in Dannon are apparently setting up some kind of extraplanar travel system for her, so I wouldn't discount the possibility of her teleporting onto this ship just for an easy shot at Rae when we're not here.

Rudra's eyes are focused again.
"Speaking of which, do you know anything about the continent of Dannon? I'm unfamiliar with it..."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Not particularly, but I have some friends who might. Let me send them a letter." Anya withdrew a scroll and a fully-inked pen from... somewhere... Hammerspace?... and penned out a quick note to some of her gambler friends. "I'll send it by pigeon and see what we get. In the meantime, maybe we should see if one of our more experienced travelers knows anything about it." She looked at Maximin until she caught his eye, then beckoned him over. "Maxie, do be a love and tell us what you know of Dannon, won't you?"

Anya uses Profession: Gambler (+8) to contact some friends and find out the local flavor of Dannon. And queries Max, too, since he's right there.

[Skyrunner]

((ARGGHHH!! I wrote up a paragraph, and safari CRASHES!! I hate iPod and its frequent crashing!))

Maximin was about to open his mouth, but he collapsed. Behind him was Scion. He calmly said, "Sneak attack sap up the head,"

He dropped the weapon and sheepishly said, "He had it coming. He ripped me off of a gamble. ... Anyways, Dannon is ... here. He pointed to the tiny tip of a landmass under Myirki. "They are hostile to outsiders. You could say they are the opposite end of the spectrum from Noire. Even the merest child on the street casts prestidigition in a pinch. People who don't have the talent are oppressed and become the lowest level of society. Sorcerer foreigners are accepted, however. They believe them to be closest to theirselves. Wizards, despite their similarity to sorcerers, are treated even harsher than nonmagical people. In short, wizards are thought to have stolen magic from nature and bend it to their will artificially, with spellbooks and arcane formulas."


((I realize that I have many continents that dislike outsiders ;P)

[Araph]

((Grar! Ninja'd again, this time by Sky. ))

Vulsano frowned at the new information.

"On the metaphysical side of things, I'm pretty sure there's some way we could ward Rae against influence from the fiend; aside from emotional turmoil resulting in a relapse into depression, we could probably keep her safe."

Vulsano make Knowledge (History) and Knowledge (Geography) checks with +15 and +11 modifiers, respectively, to recall knowledge about Dannon.

"What I really don't understand is how it could keep celestials barred from interfering. I'm not even sure how that could be possible for any being, much less some random devil."

Vulsano makes Knowledge (Religion) and Knowledge (The Planes) checks at a +13 modifier each to try to understand how such a feat could be possible.

He switched topics slightly. "Do you know anything about the 'hell-engine'? I mean, that sounds like it could be anything from some infernal war-machine to an artifact capable of, say, keeping celestials at bay."

[Shoruke]

"One of the Brachina's minions was saying he completed her 'secret mission' to distract the Celestials. I didn't hear what it was.

And she's apparently not just some random she-devil. She has minions. She even has Horned Devils, normally stronger than Brachina, serving her. I'm sure you're aware that's not common in the Lower Planes."

[The Fool]

Luke was sitting on the mast of the ship gazing aimlessly out at the blue waters, life seemed to be as calm as the water on the horizon. It was simple to just sit there and watch the clouds roll by as the time passed effortlessly. The waters seemed to sway in the winds, which blew at the sails making the repetitious sound of the white canvas cloth flapping in the wind every so often. Everything seemed so calm and serine, even Rae seemed to be doing better, not to mention that she found someone that she loves. Luke wasn't all that surprised. He'd been with the two for several weeks now, and to him it seemed obvious. Maybe that's the curse of being a detective, reading signs before anyone should know.

He dropped backwards from the sail, flapping his wings to turn and slow his descent. He landed only a few feet from Rae, Ria and Tali. "So how is everyone doing today?" He placed his hands on Tali and Rae's shoulders drawing them closer to each other. He smiled, and turned to Ria, "So I saw that Bael is catching fresh fish for dinner tonight. Do you know if he wants any more help?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

Rae jumped slightly as a hand was put on her shoulder from behind. She didn't know he could land and move so lightly! "Hello, Luke. I didn't know you were back there," she said, turning and looking at him over her shoulder. She'd noticed he had pulled her and Tali closer together, and was happy for his approval at least. "I'm... recovering," she said evenly after giving his question some thought. "I've received some very good news, and... while I don't think I'm worthy to be part of the clan again yet, I'm going to do my best and earn the name. You'll see." She smiled at him.

"What about you? How are you feeling?" Toman suddenly asked Luke from nearby. As the perhaps second-most stealthy member of the group (or, the stealthiest without trying; Tali could hide better than him by a good margin but it seemed like nobody paid attention to him half the time) he'd been in a good position to observe the crew and noticed that Luke seemed disturbed by something, although he had no clue what. Possibly his own transformation. Both were undergoing one, even though they were very different, so Toman thought he could perhaps lend an ear. As for his own metamorphosis, he had noticed that even when not covered by the armor his hands ended in claws, and his teeth were becoming more pointed. Additionally, he felt a burning deep in his throat - somewhat like drinking bourbon; a pleasant heat, but uncomfortable at times. He'd found he could expel it as a gout of flames, although he wasn't quite sure yet how it measured up to a full dragon's breath.

He also nodded to Rae, Tali, and Ria. Having known Tali and Rae for a few years now, he'd long suspected they had already had this conversation, so the only surprise to him was that it had taken them this long. Rae smiled back at his appraisal; in response, he took off his helmet and hung it from his belt. She immediately reached up and mussed his hair for him, earning a somewhat annoyed glance and a quick sweep of his hand over the top of his head to fix it. "Rae, Tali. Miss Ria," he said to each before returning his attention to Luke.

(I need to start putting points in Profession: Psychologist for Toman. Give him something to do for the crew besides move boxes. :3)

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Alith followed, although he drew his short sword just in case.

[The Fool]

The Saint called out to Luke from the ladder to the lower deck, “Luke. I have something to tell you. It’s important. I’ll only get to say this once, so all I ask is that no one stops me from saying it. Everyone will have to trust me one last time.” He walked up to Luke with his head held high, but his voice told another story. “You’re an exile from Celestia. The High Council approved an attack on Mahlhevik’s Castle despite the longstanding treaty.”

Tabbytha who had been lounging near the railing almost fell off the edge when the Saint said it. |“You do know how many inter-plane crimes you’ve just committed? We could banish you within moments.“| Her voice was strained, trying to hide her fear as the mechanical man started walking towards the feline.

The Saint took a few steps towards the cat, and squatted next to it. He talked over the cat as he moved, almost as if he was trying to ignore her words. “I’ll hear my charges in a second, cat.”

|“Excuse me!? You can’t-”| Tabbytha was cut off abruptly when the Saint grabbed a hold of her head and held it shut. Tabbytha started desperately pawing at the Saint’s hands as her paws started changing shape into hands. Her suit flexed for a moment before expanding to assume the new shape, which appeared to be that of a fairly short winged celestial. The Saint kept his grip firm on her jawline, ruffling the sides of her long flat blonde hair. Tabbytha’s white-pupiled eyes were quivering.

Luke was shocked by the sudden turn of events, and attempted to pry Tabbytha free from the metal hands that held her. “What in Baator are you doing!?” His voice was confused and desperate as his fingers started slipping as he failed to muster the strength to remove Saint’s grasping hands. His fingers were going red as he wore down a few layers of skin.

“She’ll banish me as soon as I let her go. Listen carefully, Luke. I will only be able to say this once, and then I’ll be leaving for Arcadia for sentencing.” Luke paused at the words coming from within the faceless metal head long enough to stop scratching at its hands. “You and several others defended the castle until Mahlhevik and the planar travelers inside the castle could escape. You were then charged with treason and exiled here.” The Saint slammed his fist into the floorboards of the deck. “I want justice, Luke! If you can find that Celestial bastard who approved the attack on those innocent people then all of Arcadia would thank you. Arcadia cannot bear to allow a secretive tyrant to rule such an important plane while our hands are tied by treaties and traditions.” He turned to the celestial, who he had just released from his deathgrip. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, guardian, but I needed him to know the truth. Please issue my charges.”

The girl rubbed at her jaw, which had an irritated red outline from where the Saint was holding her mouth shut. She flicked her pale blonde hair and brushed off the dust on her suit as if to spite the Saint. She spoke calmly and clearly in Common, but there was a hint of hesitance in her voice. “I, Neciel of Celestia, banish you to your home plane of Arcadia for judgement after breaking the inter-planar treaty of Cuthbert and releasing forbidden information to an exile of Celestia.” What had once been the cat, that Luke had simply known as Tabbytha now piercingly glared at the Saint with scornful celestial eyes, “And with that I thank you. There is no place for corruption in Celestia, but your methods are heavy handed at best.” She smiled at the Saint, but she spoke in a sombre voice. “Since Luke didn’t receive the information you gave him of his own accord he may act on it however he wishes. I hope that’s what you intended, because there is little I can do to help you now. Good luck with your sentencing, I hope that your information was right for your sake. You may be thrown into the chaos of Limbo if nothing can be proven within the next two years when your sentence is carried out.” She waved her hand and uttered a single word, “Banish.” A light engulfed the Saint as pieces of his armor started fading into a void.

The Saint turned to Luke to say one final thing, “If anyone can uncover this mystery it’s you.” The stones of the symbol of St. Cuthbert started to decay and fade, and the Saint went stiff and quiet as the rest of his body cascaded into the light surrounding him.

Tabbytha, or rather Neciel glanced over at Luke, “I’m sorry that this had to be like this. I’ll see what I can do. I have to go to the sentencing. I’ll be back in a few days.” With that a light engulfed her, and she vanished, however it was much faster than when the Saint vanished.

Luke turned to the others. “D-did that just happen? Please tell me that didn't just happen.” Too much just happened within only a minute or two, his mind was simply reeling at all the information that had just been thrown at him.

((Sorry if this was rather long. I wanted to be thorough if I wanted to build on it later.))

[SeriousConcentrate]

Toman raised an eyebrow as he watched the events unfold. "That was... most unexpected..." he said. He hadn't attempted to stop Saint from manhandling Tabbytha since, as a creation of St. Cuthbert, whatever he was doing was sure to be on the level. He turned to Luke. "If you want help with this, you need only ask. Saint believed in this cause, and you're my friend. That's more than enough reason to render aid." He rubbed at his goatee for a moment, looking down. "That banishment was really St. Cuthbert's command...? What reason would he have for such a thing?"

Rae, too, was unable to quite believe what had just happened. "He's... really gone?" she asked, looking at the last spot Saint had stood in.

[The Fool]

Luke backed up a few steps from where the Saint was standing. "I think he really is gone." The shock was wearing off, and what had happened started to sink in. "I'm not sure why he would be banished, but I'll have to ask Tab-, err.... 'Neciel' when she gets back." Luke palmed his forehead with his hand, his black hair slipping between his fingers. He absent-mindedly began talking to himself in a somewhat quiet tone. "Would I really have been taken away like that if Neciel knew that I was looking into my past?"