Session Start: Thu Sep 02 19:54:51 2004 Session Ident: #ethresh * Logging #ethresh to 'logs\Sept2-2004.Stratics' Last time we meet the terrifingly powerful dead companion of the Primordials, Ankh (for short). In a chatty mood after several thousand years of dormancy, and prompted by your former (kinda) friendship, he divulged important information to the Circle. Among the tidbits, was the existence of a power "Mirror Abyss". Though it is unknown exactly what it is, it must be powerful to be the shadow of the Abyss itself. However, what it is and where it is are questions still to be answered. It is certain this information was stumbled upon by The First and Forsaken Lion. What else could drive him to gamble his entire army, perhaps even his immmortal existance? So now the circle travels south in search of clues. The Thousand once housed 750,000 fierce warriors, enemies of you Leige. Lets go on in, shall we? (Let's) Let's go on in, shall we? Finding the abandoned horses was easy. The dead beasts didn't have sense to run from your show of power, nor Ankh's arrive, they just stood, dead eyes staring at the horizon. The Circle made good time to the outskirts of The Thousand without incident. At the moment you are on a rather wide, paved road with several huts and bunkers lining the streets. You can't tell if this was a garrison or a mining town. Massive mountain rise in the distance. In the bowels of this land mass the troops of the Lion slept and trained, waiting for the day of the invasion. So far you haven't seen any ghosts that looked interested in challenging you. The few in armor looked like lackeys with better things to do. A hundred feet away in a rather ominous double door leading god-knows-where. Looks important at least.* * Echoing_Words cracks his neck. He's been travelling for too long. His circle is too stubborn, too simple to manipulate. He couldn't simply make conversation wherever he went...it strained even he to constantly make chit chat. The little talk he did make with his group was mostly regarding Ankh...but it seemed like the Circle was more afraid of him than anything else. What fools. They couldn't see his potential. Their loss. * Echoing_Words pushes his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose as he leads the Circle towards the menacing double doors. Honestly, he was growing tired of the Underworld. The other Abyssals seemed to rejoice in the gray darkness of this place, but the dreariness was beginning to get on Echos nerves. The whole death-worship thing as well. Take the double doors for instance. Did they -have- to be emblazoned with skulls and built with bones and blackest iron? No. It was all part of the illusion this place always maintained...an illusion of grandeur in death. Echo was grander in death, yes...but only because he wished it. Annoyed by the trek and the dull looks from the locals, Echo smiled nonetheless as they approached the ominous gates. Well...at least it's a step in the right direction. Hopefully. He stops in front of the double doors and takes a quick glance around.* The Circle ambles up behind you. Despite the rather obvious choice, none of them are particularly interested in jumping into the belly of the beast. After all, their Leiges have told them of The Thousand. It is more than a city of war ghosts, it is the resting place of the great undead champions, the Lion's prized elite warriors. The Soul's Twisted Design clears his throat and looks at you. Crimson Tears of Regreat does the same whilst Betrothed of Pain busies himself staring at the ground.* * Echoing_Words sighs. He doesn't really mind always being the one to lead, but good lord, couldn't one of them take SOME initiative...? Fine. Echo snorts and slams an open palm against the door. The ensuing crack is a bit louder than he had expected...all the better to get your attention with...whoever you are...Echo ponders.* (BRB, cat) The door shudders and at first it looks like nothing else will happen. Except it continues shuddering and the left side opens inward slowly with a loud grinding noise. Entirely unlocked and unguarded. Good or bad? You just now notice the marks on the ground. At first you thought it to be the rough design of the road, but now you see hoofprints and boot marks. How many thousands have passed through this door? And to where? The door now stands open, no one around. Pain snorts in disgust, "See? Nothing to be afraid of!" He sounds as though he is convincing himself. He marches into the darkness beyond giving you slight push out of the way. In the distance, the light of a single door and the sound of voices can be heard.* (by the way, I need your char sheet, if you would email it to me quick) oops, alright (Need ta find it, one minute) (Working...it's attaching) (Dunno why hotmail hates attaching) (heh) (sent) (thanks) * Echoing_Words sighs again. Pain is such a ..pain. The man is as tough as a sheet of paper, and is just as transparent. Much as Echo enjoys being paranoid about enemies personalities, it's obvious that Pain is little more than a child with anger issues. No real threat there...just a pet to be trained to sit and stay. Still, Echo would have to permit the otherwise intolerable Pain his moments. With a quick motion Echo commands his ghostly guardians to gather in close to the Circle...it would be best if his bodyguards were not picked off by snipers. And yet...it didn't seem like an ambush. Echo 'follows' Pain for a few moments, but he strides towards the one light in the distance on his own- if the circle follows it will be on their own volition. That is how Echo leads. He goes, and those who do not follow are weak. It work (Is it bad that that is how we were taught to lead ppl in the military?) (It work ) * (yeah, nice) As Pain enters the hall beyond he gives a quick look over his shoulder to you. Doing nothing against his bullying has given him a strong impression of you as well. He smirks at the wimp of the group before heading on. (That's the difference between leadership and command. Commanders tell the leaders what to do...the leaders go over the wall first.) The hall itself is rather Spartan. This area must have been built in haste to house the armies of the Lion. Several flickering torches line the walls, their eternal sickly green flames providing barely enough light. (makes sense) Bright yellow light pours through the open doorway beyond and voices are now clearer. "No! It can’t be this way! How? How?! How?!!" "Calm yourself..." One is irate and high pitched, the other deep, mellow, and menacing. Crimson raises her fingers to her lips, signaling silence. She moves against the wall to listen into the conversation. It strikes you she seems an old pro at this. The others follow suit, carefully creeping into position. (rolling Dex+Stealth for entire group) (holy crap, you got 3 successes!! I'll let you pose it in a sec) (everybody succeds handily, against the odds I might add. You can evesdrop if you'd like for awhile.) * * Echoing_Words smiles at Pain, his visage beaming with confidence. His green eyes reflect the light of the torches. If the eyes are the windows into the soul, then surely his are mirrors. In them one can only see themselves, never him. In his eyes you are weak, decaying and writhing in agony. You are dying, and he is watching you die. In his eyes is inevitability scouring your bravery from your heart. Pain pays no attention. "I'm going to kill you." Echo says to himself in his mind. He says it into his own head with such vigor that for a moment he wonders if Pain could feel the very sensation of hatred seething out of Echos mind. Between his internal berating of Pain, he hears the speaking from beyond. Echo takes note of Crimson, and quickly signals his men to take cover before doing the same.* You all manage to get close to the door without alarming anyone inside. At the moment the discussion is getting quite hot. "Calm? Calm!? When all I've worked a millenia for is ground to dust! And for what? He doesn't even tell us! How... how!" The squeeky one squeeks in outrage. (phone...grandpap) "You question the Lion's divine motives?" The deep bass of the voice carries the implication of a threat, but it is lost of the smaller voice. "Yes, by Stygia's Gates, yes!" "For how many hundreds of years did I painstakingly plan this invasion? How long Vin? And he just goes and throws it all away for nothing! Some dream he will not reveal to the rest of us. One day he just wakes up and 'bam!' its invasion time and all he wants from his armory is that worthless crystal. I don't understand Vin, was my service not excellent? Was I not loyal? This is a disgrace! I will not stand for it! I quit!" With that the irate ghost storms out of the room, right passed the Circle, oblivious to you.* (oh, that's he doesn't see you, not that you are obvlivious to him. Bad wording, sorry) * Echoing_Words continues waiting and listening, terribly surprised about this. He could probably confront the ghosts, but this will undoubtedly reveal more. A sword might do more, but alas, he has none. Best just to wait and pray the rest of the Circle is thinking the same.* The ghost doesn’t look old, but ghosts have a way of hiding their ages superficially. He is wearing ornate robes and seems to be a member of the Lion’s elite circle of advisors. If anybody knows of the Lion’s scope of power and secrets, it’s this man. He quickly exits out the large double doors and mumbles to himself as he ambles up the road you came in on. The deep voice calls from the lighted room. “You will not leave this place intact elder ghost.” (blocks equal ", sorry) Vin, it seems, is more than a simple ghost. Layers upon layers of rock-like ebony armor coat the large framed man. His dead eyes barely visible under the massive domed helmet, he looks to be a beast of murder. The four foot long sword at his side speaks volumes to this attribute. Vin stands at the doorway, thinking about what to do next as another surprise greets the Circle. "Let Yoshin go Vin, we can track him later if need be. As it is we have nine visitors, four of which are Abyssals. Quite the tea party we’ve assembled." The voice is coming literally from the wall behind you. It continues, "But you weren’t invited, dear guests, and we must ask you to leave. Now." * (Wait a second, what's the team roster...who all is in my circle) (I always forget the names) The Soul's Twisted Design, Crimson Tears of Regret, and Betrothed of Pain (Design...he's the dude I saved.) (yes) * Echoing_Words stands straight up and smiles, adjusting the collar of his armor turned trenchcoat for travelling. He flicks his glasses back onto his nose. "Found out, are we? Good, I wasn't enjoying hiding one bit. After all, what do we need to hide from here?" Echo smirks. "Nothing."* Vin wheels in disbelief at this turn of events, but seems to keep that same, creepy calm in his voice. “Summon the men, Recluse.” Crimson points her finger into the air in interjection, "We've come on a diplomatic-" and is cut off by another voice. "Done." The wall/man says bluntly. Faster than you believe possible, you catch a glimpse of the man in the wall. He is black, pitch black, as though his face were covered in perfect oil. Only his eyes, those blazing blue eyes can be seen clearly. They show a shrewd and cruel intelligence that you must find familiar. An instant later the blue eyed man-creature reaches towards you, his hand forming out of the wall itself... (rolling perc+awareness to see the sneak attack coming...) (BOTCH) (Sons of bitches.) (your horrible ability to see the attack doesn't even grant you the ability to use _charms_ to dodge, you are struck quite handily....) And everything goes black. Total. Complete. Black.* (Am I still...awake?) (Or just blind?) (yes, it is as if you are standing in a pitch black room with no sound) (Hmm...interesting.) * Echoing_Words is hit still smiling, hiding behind a shield of arrogance and bravado. It didn't save him this time. After an instant of pain, Echo looks around, confused. He's not entirely sure if he's even standing anymore...blackness has overtaken him. Oh no, is he dead? Impossible! Well...quite possible, really, but how...unexpected! So this is what the abyss is like..? Not much here, from the ..looks of things. "Damn." Is the only word that springs to mind at the moment. He offers that one curse to the sudden darkness, and then just waits for a moment. Curious.* The words echo loudly and almost hurt your ears in the deafening silence. In time your eyes see to adjust to the light and you realize you can see nothing but yourself, and even you are made up of muted colors. You can’t even see the ground, though it feels hard to the touch. To your horror, you are standing in a simple smock with a beggar’s pair of sandals. Your hands are empty. You get a brief recognition of the situation... you once had a nightmare like this as a mortal. Helpless, unable to assess the situation. Afraid. "So how do you like my little side of the Abyss. Some call it Hell. I call it home." The voice from the wall rings out.* * Echoing_Words waits a moment, allowing the voice to finish. Quickly Echo responds, "And you are?" He isn't sure of the situation at the moment, but it sure seems out of his control.* "Recluse is my name Abyssal." With that a startling pair of blazing blue eyes appearing in front of you - directly in front of you! You can almost see the slant of the eyebrows as they turn in anger. Recluse grunts in exertion. (rolling Ess+Wits) (another good roll, 6 successes out of 7 die) (It's good to be bad) You don't know how... but you can _feel_ the attack coming and you think you've discovered something important about how this place works, but you don't know what now. Despite your attempts, the hit lands soundlessly. And you reel back in pain. It isn't in your chest, but in your head the pain thunders. Somehow it isn't physical pain... you feel your resolve slip away slowly and the need for sleep begin to overcome you. (You have lost a point of willpower. Now at 5/6. Helpful hint: best to discover how this place works... Recluse will not wait for you to find out. You may roll Ess+Wits again to learn more or attempt to run.) * * Echoing_Words reels. This simply will not do. It is an illusion, and no amount of bullshit is going to kill Echo. Not tonight anyways. Echo growls and tries to regain some balance and regain his wits. It's the same as any illusion, he thinks...you just need to see the trick coming...and with that he concentrates on the task at hand: Survival above all else.* (Roll then) (very well. 1 success...) You blink and draw from your depths the very essence that makes you an Exalt. This is a supernatural place you realize. This is not real. Here physical strength and agility means nothing. A thought comes into your head and you act on it, speaking out a coercive phrase. As though it were solid, the words form around your hand into the shape of a sword and then just as quickly, flutters away. Give yourself a smile, Echo, the game is on. (your seven success, which I might add you gained soooo quickly, told you all you need to know about this place. Here, your social and mental stats replace physical stats. Pick from the six social/mental stats for your Speed, Attack, and Defense. Your health is your willpower.) (Hmm, alright. Speed will be based on wits (4). Attack on Charisma (4) and defense on manipulation (5) (very well. simple rules. you each roll speed, winner goes first. Attack rolled vs. Def. Recluse wins all ties mind you, this is his world.) (How nice) "So, what's this? So few have realized how to use this place to their advantage. Little good it will do you." Recluse says flatly, a tremor in his voice. (you may form a weapon and armor/clothing as you please and we'll get started. Btw, you can always see where Relcuse is, his eyes are impossible to miss.) * (oh, and your 'real' arm is back, if you'd like to admire it :) * Echoing_Words smiles, if that means anything in this world. As his left hand extends it morphs into a bow of his design, very similar to his artifact bow..except..made out of illusory powers of his own mind this time. His other hand draws back on the bow and he aims at this Recluse character. It's obvious he doesn't intend to talk this over peacefully, and frankly, neither does Echo. An arrow appears from a whisper escaping the Abyssals lips, an (Abyssals lips, an ) An arrow appears from a whisper escaping the Abyssals lips, and he levels his eyes on his prey. Black spines protrude from his flesh until his entire body is little more than a mass of ebony spikes...a nice little design, if he may say so himself. Glad he thought of it.* (he beats you on speed by 1) (bastahd) Recluse lunges forward, darting side to side, eyes blazing the entire way. His hand is a wicked looking claw, its shape barely visible in the light his eyes give off. It strikes at you and hits! (3 succ vs. 2 succ. You now have 4 out of 6 willpower remaining.) (your hit succeeds by 1 success, pose as you wish) * Echoing_Words releases a missile just as quickly as the claw strikes him, and he hopes it flies true. Perhaps he gave up some defense to release his initial attack, but it had to be done...he needs to know the rules. At the moment, it would seem the rules are favoring this Recluse person, because once again the feeling of sleep attacks Echo. * Echoing_Words shakes it off and preps a new arrow. This time, he will hit truer...hopefully. No. No. He WILL hit truer this time. With a smile, Echo readies another shot.* Recluse growls in pain and back up. "You will not beat me at my own game scum!" His eyes droop slightly and the darkness around you becomes slightly less murky. You can now see Recluse a bit better. (Ties when you attack go to you now.) (speed tied, he goes first) Once again he charges towards you, barbed fingers flailing outward. His style is pathetic, but the motions mean little, just the impact... (you dodge, easily I might add. You attack ties his and you hit him. pose as you will)* * Echoing_Words focuses a bit more this time. Even as the fingers move towards him seemingly inexorably, he just focuses. In the last moment he appears behind Recluse, raises his bow and fires into the ..things back. All rules can be bent, even if not always broken. The game is afoot.* Cursing and screaming, Recluse turns to face you. You can see the outline of his body now with regulatity. What you see is a skinny man with spiked plate armor and barbed gauntlets. I appears to be an unimaginative costume for a fantasy world, and you see the extent of your opponent's power. His is all bluster and surprise. (It appears to be...) (rolling) (you win speed, pose attack please) * Echoing_Words moves forward on the offensive this time. He won't be taken by surprise again..and the sooner this dream fades the better. Even as he runs across the ..ground..he raises his bow to attack. At the last moment, however, Echo leaps into the air...quite high into the 'air', actually. So far, he disappears as a dot into the inky sky. Recluses blue eyes strain to see him in the blackness, and just then the tip of an arrow appears next to his temple. With a smile, Echo fires.* (rolling, +1 die for stunt. mind you with such little die more than 1 would be too much :) (Nice, Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson just came up) And you miss! But how? You struck the area under his eyes where his temple should be. With a laugh Recluse reveals himself for a split second… upside down. You fired ‘over’ his head. The tilt of his eyes deceived you somehow and it seems he is not going down without a serious fight. Without giving you a chance to recover he ‘drops’ down towards your position in the air in a vicious arching swing which catches you cleanly on the side of the head. The blow is hard enough to knock you crashing to the ground below. Recluse lands with a soft patter of feet and laughs. This will be tougher than you thought. (you are down to 3 willpower, Recluse has 2 remaining but we shall stop on that climax for the night if you don't mind.) (you only managed 1 success on that attack roll btw :) (Yeah we can stop there) (Weak) It is less exciting to not see the rolls and just listen to me describe the rolls, but oh well. i'll live i like the noncombat combat yeah, actually if you loose this fight, you won't die, not really. things will just be bad for you and your circle will loose some important ground. but it's late and I don't want to keep you. loose? lose? geez, it's late for me :) haha ok, so tuesdays work for you then? my verbage usually takes a nosedive around 10 anyways sure i fly frequently still but i'll keep an eye on it k, let me know ahead of time if you can, if not, don't worry about it night, cya at 7pm tuesday! k later * Echoing_Words has quit IRC (Quit: ) Session Close: Thu Sep 02 22:01:40 2004