Session Start: Mon Jan 03 19:41:26 2005 Session Ident: #ethresh * Logging #ethresh to 'C:\Documents and Settings\Dave\My Documents\Exalted\Abyssal\Logs\AB-01-03-2005' We left off before when you struck a dark bargain with the Bloody Hand spirit Edmon. In exchange for safe passage to the town of Genove (where Crimson is apparently at the moment), you will slaughter the citizens of the town using your Exalted prowess. Edmon leans against the door, facing out into the fog covered street. He turns his head slightly to address you. "This town is so dreary. Don't you think?" He chuckles. "Perhaps some new paint. Red perhaps." He grins and flicks away some blood from his gloved right hand. "They have all gathered in the Temple of Ander. The entire town is there you know."* * Echo nods and grins. "You know, I don't typically massacre people. It's much easier for people to do that themselves.." Echo waves to Cho and Greggory to accompany him. As he slowly walks towards the Temple he takes a quick look around, eyeing the empty town. It would be a pity- he had wanted a decent meal tonight. "Cho, Greggory. Keep three alive for me. Age regardless." (remember you don't get nourishment from blood, just motes.) * Echo pushes his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose and approaches the entrance of what he can only assume to be the town temple. Judging from the lights flickering from inside, it would be a fair assumption. (Yep yep) "Only four living beings come back out this door. One will be me, three will be our cooks for tonights dinner. Other than that- kill anyone else." With that, Echo lays his hands on the doors and throws them open.* Inside is a rather large wooden temple. It is as modest as the town and speaks to the tough living the peasant eek out in the wilderness. Their primary spirit, the lesser wilderness god Ander, apparently watches over and guides the little town. Or at least he used to. You have walked in some heated debate amoung the town's elder council and several mothers. Tears run freely and you remember that the issue at hand is whether or not they should turn over their children to Edmon. Little do they know the discussion is moot. Several people in the back row turn to you, eye your clean white cloth and frown.* "Greetings." Echo says loudly as he allows the doors to shut behind him. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything- it's just that your friend Edmon and I have been having a discussion about you all. About your conundrum."* The hall falls silent and the entire town turns to look at you. Most are just dumb stares, several are distrustful, and more than a couple are horrified. A young woman standing in front of the elders, however, seems bold enough to smile. Someone from the front stutters, "Wh-what do you want?"* "Want? I want dinner. I came upon this land looking for a nice, hot meal. Now, I am not so selfish at heart to be ignorant of your anguish. I could smell it in the air the moment I arrived. Now, I have spoken to Edmon at great lengths- and if you'll have me, I would like to explain his intentions." (rolling perception + awareness) (3 successes, you notice something moving above you, in the rafters, but you cannot see it entirely just out of the corner of your eye.) (*?) (Hmm) (letting on that there is _something crawling above them_ would terribly panic the people, btw, you can play it cool and use a wits+social roll to try to sneak a glimpse at the moving thing without alarming them) (I shall do just that then, wits+social) (Echo aaaalways plays it cool) (3 successes on 9 dice, the townsfolk are far to scared to notice your smooth move, and you now see Edmon crawling across the rafters. His body is contorting to the shape of the ceiling, giving him an unearthly look. His head is twisted backwards, looking at you with red pupils. He's smiling.) * Echo rubs his eyes and then continues. "Edmon is a spirit, and not a particularly pleasent one. He asks death of you- and sadly, you are obligated to give it to him. That, my friends, is the bad news." Echo smirks. "Would you like to hear the good news?" He says, gazing at the woman up front in particular.* None dare speak. The vast majority of the crowd seems to think they've fallen afoul of another spirit, or demon, or whatever and they've just shit out of luck. Only the woman up front manages to weakly nod. You could hear a pin drop in the room. You glimpse Edmon stop his crawling. He seems to be enjoying the moment.* "The good news is, you are now under the watch of an Exalted. I am the Echoing Words From the Darkness, deathknight of the Bodhissatva Annointed in Dark Waters, foe of the First and Forsaken Lion." Echo lets that sink in for a moment, eyes the crowd for possible uproar, and then continues. "Edmon has sworn you to debts, and you must pay them. In any amount, however. He requires death, but it is not a matter of who, just quantity." "As such I put it before you to decide. Although the firstborn need not die, an equal number -must-. So I ask you, as parents, do you die to save your children, or forsake them?"* You count nine children standing in the crowd, each with at least one horrified looking adult standing behind them. For a long minute the entire crowd stares in silence. Then suddenly someone speaks up, a scruffy looking fellow with a beard and a lazy eye. "Them's the one's that need pay!" He points to the children, "Our deal says it so!" Another man, this one younger wearing a smeared shirt jumps in front of you, "I can cook! Spare me, I make the best potatoes around, ask anybody!" The entire crowd erupts in commotion and noise. People point back and forth exchanging swears, and older gentleman in fine cloth comes up beside you. "I owe the bar, I can buy you the best food in all of Shallowater!" Another brushes up beside you, this one pudgy and pink, "I'm the banker! You can have all the silver we've got good sir, spare us!" In the racous crowd the bold woman in the front remains silent and bows her head in shame. He moves to the front of the temple, to the altar of Ander. The other parents and children line up away from the seething crowd. "Sir, at least if you take our children, take our forsaken souls as well. We're not deserving to live." With that the parents and children fall silent, while the crowd continues to swarm about you offering bribes and good times.* (eer, She moves to the front...) (compassion roll!!!) (Abyssal style...) (Oh fuck off) (lol) (Aha, abyssal compassion. Funny how it is the perfect opposite of what we'd consider 'normal' compassion) (1 die... 0 successes. You fail to see the joy that bringing the proud children and parents to an eternity of bliss in death would bring, you are free to choose as you will. No effect basically.) * * Echo remains steadfast as the men leap before him, begging for their lives. "Gentle folk, -I- cannot do this for you. I have bargained so that your children may live. Now nine must die. It matters not who. Choose, and choose now. I will not do it for you. In the next five minutes there -WILL- be NINE heads at my feet." Echo yells out, magic pouring into the air and into the minds of those around him. Hopefully it would be poison enou (Hopefully it would be poison enou) (Haunting Inflection Trick, tossing 4 motes into it, giving me 8 bonus die) * (How many people are in here btw?) (Your words are far more than enough to start a riot within the crowd. Soon the old petty problems that plagued the town - jealousy, lust, revenge - wins out and neighbors shout for each other's heads. (uh, like 75) (Hmm, excellent) Three of the more nimble of those being singled out for death leap out the side windows. A pair of screams and a gargled cry for help reassure you that your bodyguards are on the scene. That leaves six. Before long, six of the more scroungy looking fellows have been dragged before you. Four plead for their lives, but are unable to free themselves from the grasp of stronger citizens. Two others simple sit and wait to die. A male citizen shouts, "These are the ones! Take these!"* "Calm yourselves! You obviously cannot possibly decide this for yourselves, so I MUST intervene! I shall choose for you." Echo growls, sending a piercing gaze towards the citizens who brought him the would be sacrifices. "You six here, line up with the rest. I will not murder the elderly because they cannot fight back. All of you listen to me now! Line up in four rows, 15 citizens in each. One shall face each wall so I am not swayed by either beauty, nor age. Do so now, or I shall give Edmon more than he asked of you!" Echo barks out.* The townsfolk swallow as a collective and stop their bickering. The shuffle into the ranks you order, each looking at the ground or to you with pleading eyes. They are all duly horrified. Above Edmon claps silently. This is better than he had hoped. So much misery!* "Look to the walls! Do not let me catch your eyes on mine! I take no pleasure in this, but I -will- be a fair council." Having said that, Echo looks around for the plump banker and the potatoe cook he saw earlier, as well as the tavern keep. They would do nicely. He walks along the rows quietly, the squeek of wood underfoot the only way to measure his coming. A line of black essence dribbles from his hand and sways sluggishly towards the ground until it forms the base of Azalgrial. Another line of essence falls upon it, summoning its taunt string from the void. He grins and continues looking for the three that caught his eye.* You see them eventually, they are some of the ones most visibly shaking. You also notice three others that enticed you with goods and services, all to spare their lives in exchange for the lives of the children. All six wait, scared, yet confident that their bribes will see them through.* * Echo lays a hand on the bankers shoulder and violently yanks him out of the line. He growls out just one word- "ONE." And pulls the man towards the center of the floor. He quietly instructs the man to stay face down, then he goes back to his business of collecting the other two he wanted. The potatoe man and the tavern keep would do.* They dutifully follow your orders, too scared to do anything else, bewildered as to why you are singling them out.* Having found his three survivors Echo walks towards the door. He stops at the edge the row that stands facing the doorway and gazes at them for a moment. He stands now looking at the last person in the row, all others neatly in line. He raises his bow swiftly to the persons neck, a bolt of essence appearing in his hand. As he draws back he shouts, "Keep your eyes DOWN!" and fires right into the mans neck, driving the bolt right down the line towards everyone else in the row as well. The arrow, Echo hopes, will easily pierce each person in the row, and hopefully kill all 15 in one shot.* (That is so much harder to describe than it is to visualize, heh) (And I will use Bloodthirsty Arrow, 3 motes, if just for dramatic effect) It does so rather easily and the entire line falls to the floor. Blood splatters the far wall and more than a few people glance up to see what is happening. Before you can react, screams tear through the temple and utter pandamonium insues. At least a dozen people stare dumbfounded at the corpses, and otherwise make no moves. The rest bolt to the door and out the windows as best they can. As in any town, this has its share of women, children, and the elderly, and some move faster than others.* "Oh come now, a little blood is better than a lot of blood, wouldn't you all agree..?" Echo smiles, moving towards the crowd attempting to push their way out the only door. A pity that Echo stands in front of the only doorway, and he is drawing back his bow yet again. The windows, Echo assures himself, are covered by his favored assassins. Besides, there was nowhere to run. * Echo points his bow towards the ceiling and fires into the rafters. Not at Edmon, but at the bolts holding the ceiling up. He looses a pair of arrows towards the two struts he intends to tear asunder, hopefully weakening the integrity of the roof. A few more shots and he'd likely kill the lot of them when the roof caves in.* From the ceiling, Edmon squeals with delight and claps his hands. Such violence! Just what he had been hoping for. The desperate cries of the townsfolk and their flight is just what he’s been looking for these long years in the wilderness. The shots hit perfectly and the ceiling whines and bends as it weakens. It'll take at least five more shots like that to bring the sturdy temple down, but you have other problems right now. By blocking the only exit (besides the meager windows) the entire surviving town has placed it's sights behind you. Its a fight or flight reaction so instincual it cannot be denied. All realize they will die if they stay and they choose to run, even if it is futile. The mass of people rush to the door like a deluge. Suddenly, those that were mere feet from you are surrounding you, trying to push past and you realize the folly of your actions. Its too tight to dodge, and they aren't really trying to fight you. Terrifying them might make them back off, but more likely it'll just goad them more, and those rafters above where Edmon sits seem so far away... (dex+athletics roll diff 3 to jump up and grab the rafters. or you could try a manipulation+presence roll at diff 3, but chance are only half will stay stunned long enough in awe. You'll be crushed if you stay in their path...)* * Echo smirks. The foolish, panicked animals are so easy to manipulate. Echo falls back before the weight of the mob and opens the door just a crack, just a moment before the wall of human flesh falls upon him. His caste mark breaks open and a small bit of blood dribbles down his forehead. His anima lights at its best, burning with darklight and casting the entire room in shadow and terror. "FALL AWAY FROM ME!" Echo shouts, the Elegant Tyrants Majesty darkening his shadow and making him all the more terrible. Who would dare flee past such a beast when they know what he is capable of?* (Going for the intimidation route-+3 dice from Elegant Tyrants Majesty) And many do just that. Who could stand in the face of such a beast? Not many it seems. At least a dozen fall to the ground an weep, pressing their faces to the floor, praying for Ander to deliver them from this evil. Above, Edmon cackles at some inside joke. However, those who in fact could not stand to be in your presence are all the more horrified and more than a few people are simply running forward with their eyes closed, screaming at the tops of their lungs. The effect is kind of what you wished, but today Echo learns a lesson in human nature. Terror is great, but unguided it can be disasterous. A full forty people continue to push against the door until it gives way. The pressure of their bodies against yours is painful, and in the moments before the door breaks you struggle to breath. A woman who gets close to your face opens her eyes and sees your horrific visage and faints. The crack of wood is the last thing you hear before... (reflexive strength+athletics roll to push away from the crowd...) (See, this is why melee is badass. I could be all up ons) (...2 die) (yep... an odd route to pick, locking yourself in close range with FREAKED out people) (yeah, 0 successes. You're not face down on the ground along with a dozen other people, the mass of humanity is surging out into the open air, stomping those that have fallen viciously.) (you take 6 bashing damage from the whole ordeal. Your armor saves you however, no damage done.) (Ugh. I had assumed my magics would cause more effect.) (Well, they did. Now they're supernaturally scared for their lives.) You're face down in the dirt, you hear people around you, still screaming, but there are far less now.* * Echo stands up and brushes himself off. He adjusts his glasses, which miraculously survived the trampling. "Well that didn't work as well as I had hoped. Nevertheless." Echo raises his bow towards the ceiling and continues firing away, attempting to bring the roof down on those that remain. By his calculations a good 40 escaped, but another twenty or so are still in here. Plenty of blood to spill.* (See, I was going to use flickering wisp technique to escape outside then burn the place down, but after reviewing the rules I realized that was impossible) You make short work of the temple ceiling, those inside are too far gone to even notice. The temple crumbles to the ground with a roar of splinters and dust. Greggory and Cho run up to you and ask you if you're injured. You see the sides of the building they were guarding have about a half dozen corpses each and your bodyguard's weapons are covered in blood. In the distance, a good many people are fleeing into the thick fog. Tracks lead in every direction. Cho looks at you, "Shall we pursue?"* * Echo laughs heartily and shrugs. "How about it Edmon? Shall we pursue them, or was this grand display of bloodshed enough to sate your hunger?" Echo asks, throwing his gaze back towards the shattered temple.* A shifting comes from the rubble of the former Temple of Ander and a figure emerges from the wreckage. Patting dust from his black leather coat, Edmon laughs heartily, "Splendid! Absolutely splendid! Never have I seen such fear, such hatred, so many people turn upon their brothers and sisters in fear for their own lives!" "My friend you have paid your debt to me in full!" He slaps your shoulder, leaving a bloody hand print. He breathes the air deeply and smiles, "What a glorious day for travelers! Rejoice Genove, terror this way comes!" With the upbeat tempo the spirit promptly marches north along the road, leaving you behind.* "Hrmph. Indeed. I had intended on simply burning the temple down, but that didn't feel...dramatic enough to me. Would have killed more, but so is life. Ah well, I'm sure we can find some manner of food around here. We should also visit the now abandoned bank...I'm sure..." Echo says, but then he realizes that Edmon has started wandering off. "Hrmph." Echo restates. "Fine then, we'll acquire some more resources and food elsewhere. Ah well...I suppose fire cooked...animal..isn't so bad." The deathknight sighs as he begins following Edmon on his way.* (I haven't eaten dinner.) (Oh crap.) (We can end there if you'd like. Don't worry about money or anything, the town didn't have anything substantial and Edmon will treat you to conjured food throughout the journey. He did promise safe passage and he means to keep that promise.) (Cools) (About time one of Echos grandiose ideas failed) (Tommorow night! Bah bah bum bum! Genove. Citystate with some serious leadership issues. Also, expect some surviving citizens to show up to testify at your trial. Next time, on ... shit, I don't have a name for this campaign yet. Hahahaha surviving citizens trials awesome yep MANIUPULATED! or... spelled correctly! Mabye some birdman defense council, you never know heheh alright, i need food lata might go get my succubus then... later Session Close: Mon Jan 03 21:22:12 2005