Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Light =&gt; Light: Exotic Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Azuresun on 08-09-2019, 18:01:47</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>08-09-2019, 18:01:47</strong>
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				<div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/lmDjrEf.jpg)</div><br>Lilan, the captain of the Dragon's Wake was starting to regret many choices she'd made. Some of them were distant--taking over the captainship of the vessel when the previous holder had been eaten by a siaka, moving into the abundant smuggling trade going in and out of the Azure Sea--but others were more recent. Chief among them was not asking more questions when the mysterious woman had approached them in Jiara and asked for passage, while not seeming too bothered about where the passage was to. None of that was unusual--Lilan had figured her for a deserter from the Imperial legions, out to vanish into the Threshold. And that wasn't anything she found objectionable, so long as the money was there. But now she was having second thoughts, because--<br><br>"See it? There on the horizon?" she asks her guest, pointing behind the ship, to the solid blot behind them. If you squinted, you could just make out the unfurled sails bearing the symbol of House Peleps. Though considerably heavier, the warship was keeping pace quite easily.<br><br>"They normally ignore small fry like us! Hey, stranger, any idea why we've got a Realm warship snapping at our heels? Either they're really cracking down, we're just having real shit luck or there's something you haven't told us!"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>10-09-2019, 00:03:16</strong>
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				Looking over the captain's shoulder, Kisara tilted her head to one side. "I have no idea why a Realm warship would be following us." That was the simple truth. They didn't send warships after deserters, her parents - or Dragons forbid, Grandmother - wouldn't have bothered, and the Hunt wasn't known for their navy.<br><br>The silver-haired woman squinted a bit, making out the sigil on the sails. "House Peleps, hmmm. Nope, not a clue, Captain." Kisara leaned back against the railing, braced up on her elbows. She hadn't expected to enjoy the feeling of being at sea so much, but she really did enjoy it. She would hate to have to do something . . . rash to the Captain if the other woman decided to press the issue. "Perhaps they're just heading in the same direction, and hope to catch us in some wrongdoing." Her voice turned bitter, not entirely feigned, as she added, "They do enjoy feeling superior."<br><br>Of course, even if she told the captain the truth, the smuggler likely wouldn't believe her. 'I'm an Anathema, trying to right the wrongs the Realm has done that's turned good people - like you - into lawbreakers and turned the world upside down.' Yeah, that would go over well. Like veil dancers at an Immaculate Calibration ceremony.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>10-09-2019, 00:59:35</strong>
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				"Or maybe I could throw you overboard and see if they stop." said Lilan. There was an awkward silence for a moment, then she shrugged.<br><br>"You're probably right. Maybe they got a new Dragon-Blood overseeing this area, who doesn't get yet that you leave some things alone. And we just had the shit luck to be in his way." she said, before shaking her head. "All right, let's try something else."<br><br>With one muscled arm, the captain pointed ahead to a patch of sea that looked.....off. Even from here, the waters seemed unnaturally still, and to have a different, darker hue than the water around it.<br><br>"Whoever's in charge of that ship, they're not licensed to sail it into a shadowland. Cut through there, and we can be out before the sun sets. We'll be fast enough to outrun anything nasty in there...but all the same, get ready to fight."
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>10-09-2019, 01:11:26</strong>
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				Kisara raised an eyebrow. Not so much at the casual suggestion of throwing her overboard, largely because Captain Lilan could <em>try </em>it, but it was unlikely to happen. But sailing into a shadowland . . . she had no idea the woman was so bold. And possibly suicidal. She felt pretty certain she could handle herself, but the rest of the crew might be a different matter.<br><br>And if . . . things happened and she started glowing . . . they might throw her overboard anyway. Should she tell the captain her secret?<br><br>"It would likely stop them, and if it doesn't, well, it'll likely stop them anyway." Kisara straightened up, tossing her head so the silvery curls flowed over her shoulders in the steady wind of their passage. "Just promise if I do anything to surprise you, you'll wait til you and your crew are safe before deciding to throw me off the ship, hmm?" Kisara slipped her axes from the loops on either side of her belt and started stretching a bit, watching the unnaturally still waters. A shadowland . . . she'd never fought an undead sea monster before.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>10-09-2019, 16:38:55</strong>
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				"Strange? What, you're an exorcist or something? We're fresh out of dogs to bleed into the sea to keep ghosts away!" said Lilan.<br><br>The warship seemed dedicated, keeping distance right up to the edge of the shadowland, and Kisara could hear the curses from the crew as it became clear they would actually have to go in, with the sun perilously low in the sky. Ignoring the obvious mutterings of disquiet, the captain drove the vessel forward. A wall of mist that hadn't been there a minute before welled up, and--<br><br>For a moment, Kisara was elsewhere, or maybe elsewhen. Rather than eerily still water, she instead seemed to stand on the streets of a city, and a glorious one at that. Needle-topped towers rose up, great winged shapes flitted through the hazy air, the streets gleamed as if polished, the stonework was so elaborate it seemed almost to have been woven rather than carved. People of many kinds walked the streets, and maybe some of them were not human at all....<br><br>Just for a moment, enough to catch barely a fleeting glimpse of the wonders, and then it was gone, leaving only dark water all around them.<br><br>"Don't like this...." she heard one of the sailors muttering, as he glanced over the side into the obsidian water, and then back to Kisara. "Count yourself lucky, miss! Don't reckon you'd be lookin' so calm if you knew what were down there!"
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>11-09-2019, 05:01:20</strong>
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				The mist hadn't taken her by surprise so much as the vision she'd had. The sailor's words shook her a bit. "A city . . ." she murmured, then drew in a sharp breath. "Likely not," she said more loudly, "but I expect brave lads like yourselves are equal to the task."<br><br>She hefted her axes, comforted by their weight. "Besides, your captain tells me we can outrun more or less anything here, so perhaps there won't be any fun today."<br><br>Unlikely. It was possible, though she didn't know for sure, that her nature would draw whatever was lurking here to the surface. Whether by similarity or opposition she didn't know, but bad things were known to follow Anathema. Kisara leaned back against the railing, watching the unnaturally still water slip past on either side. This place felt like death, not a shock, but it was so much worse than she'd imagined. No wonder Shadowlanders were pale and grim; the place felt apt to suck the life out of you after a few minutes.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>11-09-2019, 11:15:18</strong>
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				The sailor squinted at her. He was a small and wiry man despite his age, with his heavily weathered and scarred skin and abundance of tattoos making him look a bit like a living treasure map. <br><br>"A city, you said? Yeah, that's right." he said, sounding like he was enjoying the chance to tell a story and scare a landlubber. "They say there's a whole other city down there, even bigger than Hacre. Just dropped into the sea in a single night, it did, when the ol' queen tried some unholy magic.<br><br>"It's what made this place, and you still get the odd dead folk washing up onto the beaches over there and goin' wandering. They say it's still intact right under us, with ghosts walkin' the streets. Of course, no sayin' how anybody knows for sure. Every now and then you got treasure hunters with more guts than brains--they got stories in Hacre about some sharkmen or Dragon-Blooded who reckoned they could swim down, and this ol' scavenger lord who used some sort of machine he said could sail underwater, but they never got in to the city proper....or never came back at all. On a full moon, they say you can hear the old queen still crying--"<br><br><em>"Balam! Get your ass over here and help pull! You got time to gossip like an old biddy, you've got time to do what I pay you for!"</em><br><br>He let out a wheezing laugh and walked off. He must have been a good storyteller, because it was almost possible to hear crying over the sounds of the ship--no, that was real. Somewhere out there, inaudible to most normal people, somebody was calling for help.<br><br><br><em>OOC: Your Awareness word makes the perception check an auto-pass.</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>13-09-2019, 00:56:55</strong>
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				Kisara thought she was hearing things at first. It seemed a little too coincidental to be real, hearing crying from the sea when Balam had just finished telling her about the legends of this place. Combine those stories with her odd visions upon their entry into this patch of water, it was really too suggestive. But she turned around, leaning forward towards the sound as she scanned the seas.<br><br>It was more or less impossible that someone had gotten lost at sea here and was still alive to call out. "Captain," she called, gripping her axes tightly, "you did say we were faster than anything that might come at us, yes?"<br><br>She didn't want to fight whatever it was. She wouldn't hesitate, of course, but there was one of her, and an ocean full of whatever was down there. And the crew, of course. She didn't want to have to fight them; hell, if she had to, she'd likely be stuck here regardless. Kisara hoped that whatever was out there - whether it was the queen who dared try forbidden magics or just a giant squid - stayed out there.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>13-09-2019, 01:29:33</strong>
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				Lilan stopped where she had been dashing by, one eye on the horizon.<br><br>"Of course we are, why--" she asked, then stopped as the shouts filtered through. In the distance, through the mists, something became visible off to the side of the clipper--the overturned hull of a small ship, to the front and left of the ship.<br><br>"It's a trick." said one of the sailors.<br><br>"I know that! There's no way anyone else would be dumb enough to come here...but it doesn't sound like a ghost?" said Lilan, glancing at Kisara. "You spotted it first! Don't suppose you can make out what's on there and if it's alive?"<br><br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Lilan and Balam</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://i.imgur.com/VzLn40rl.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/vW48ESIl.jpg)<br></div></div>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>14-09-2019, 02:28:18</strong>
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				"I can try," Kisara said a bit doubtfully. Her sight had definitely improved, since . . . things had happened, and she had a few tricks, but was reluctant to use them. She moved towards the farthest part of the deck towards the sound, and that overturned hull. She took a deep breath and centered herself as well as she could on a fast-moving ship through ghost-infested waters.<br><br>She shifted, closing her eyes and hoping the sailors wouldn't notice what she was doing, grateful for the railing supporting her body a bit. It was still awkward for her, trying something like this. Calling upon the power she had been given (<em>earned</em>, a little voice said), that she had been taught all her life was the source of all evil.<br><br>Kisara took a deep breath, feeling the strain of pulling this power here, in the shadowland, and opened what she thought of as her transcendent eye. Maybe just the drop of power she had to use for this wouldn't bring too much grief, wouldn't make her glow.<br><br><em>OOC: Kisara is committing Effort to use Eyes Above to try and get a better view on whatever it is.</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>14-09-2019, 19:29:52</strong>
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				Kisara's senses pierced the haze, and what had been a vague blob in the dimness became visible with perfect clarity. She could see the capsized ship, and the grimy, ill-maintained wood of the hull. Clinging to it was a bedraggled woman in a long dress, trying to keep her fotting on the hull while holding onto an unconscious man whose hands were bound. She was casting terrified glances around the water, and the pale humanoid shapes moving just below the surface around the wreck, almost invisible.<br><br><br><em>OOC: As per the rules for Incandescent Power, you can commit one Effort per scene with no visible effect. The next one causes your caste mark to appear, but it can be concealed. It's at 3 or higher than it becomes impossible to ignore.</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>15-09-2019, 20:52:38</strong>
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				It was a trap. There was nothing else it could be, and all her training and instincts were telling her it was a trap. An obvious trap. Captain Lilan had even said that ships didn’t come this way.<br><br>But then, they had.<br><br>Dragon’s tits! Kisara studied the scene on the rotting hull of the capsized ship and felt herself idly chewing her lower lip, as if from a great distance. Maybe it was, given where her perceptions were. She sighed. Telling the captain meant the possibility of the woman deciding to do something stupid like heading over there and trying to save what was likely a hungry ghost or two.<br><br>But what was right? Kisara was trying very hard to do what was right, trying to keep her moral code to show the people she interacted with that maybe the ideas of Anathema they had learned were wrong. Pasiap’s stony moustache, it was easier when she was just a soldier. The right thing was to share the intel.<br><br>Kisara closed her far-seeing eye and turned back to the Captain. “It’s probably a trap, but there is a woman in a ragged dress, and an unconscious man on the hull of that rotting ship. There are ... things in the water around them, pale, almost invisible shapes, almost like people. She seems scared of them.”<br><br>Her fingers tightened around the axe handles. “I recommend that we avoid it, but you’re the captain.” That was the other side of it - a captain was the boss on a ship, dynast or no. Not that it stopped her family from being high-handed, and that was part of why she wouldn’t be, even if it killed her. It might, come to think of it, given where they were.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>15-09-2019, 21:43:56</strong>
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				"We're not here for charity." said Lilan brusquely. "It's their own stupid fault they got caught, so we're not going to--"<br><br><em>"Can you hear me!"</em> the woman called, audible only to Kisara's sharpened senses. <em>"It's a trap, they'll destroy your boat like they did--"</em><br><br>And then, before there was a bump from below. Sailors cried out and some lost their footing as the boat lurched to the side, the cracking of timber audible as something hit it from directly underneath. Lilan let out a curse as she lost her footing and went over the side entirely. Ahead of them, the roadblock was becoming visible, breaching the surface.<br><br>For a moment, it simply looked like a wall of rotting, slimy flesh, gnawed and eaten away--it was possible to see small carnivorous fish thrashing around inside the holes chewed in it, suddenly high and dry. Then the toothy upper jaw and a single huge eye became visible, and it became clear that this thing was a whale, or at least it had been in life. But this was no unintelligent beast, it had stopped them on purpose. Stopped them in order to--<br><br>Behind Kisara, there were the sounds of scrabbling, as if of bony fingers on the hull. Near-panicked shouts rang out among the smugglers.<br><br>"Get some fire! Get some fire!"<br><br>"The ship's damaged!"<br><br>"We gotta get moving before the sun sets!"<br><br>"They're coming up the side! Shit, that's a lot of teeth--"<br><br>"Where's the captain? Is she gone?"<br><br><br><em>OOC: I made a mistake earlier--Eyes Above doesn't require Effort to use, so you still have a full stack. Also, did you roll your d20 from the War intrinsic benefit? If not, this might be a good time to do so.</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>16-09-2019, 02:25:00</strong>
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				Kisara had a second, just one, where everything froze as she tried desperately to figure out what to do. Should she go over after the captain and try to save her? No, stupid, stupid! A ship full of people needed her to save it. Hopefully (and what a small hope, with those bony fingers scraping at the hull), the captain could keep her head about her. Saving lives mattered, and to save all their lives, she had to kick some undead ass.<br><br>The next, she was in motion, calling orders and surging towards the disgusting behemoth that had stopped them. "The captain went over, drop a line for her to catch if she can - we can't stop! All hands that can fight, get ready to stop boarding undead along the sides!" She reached the bow, eye to giant, moldering eye with the beast. "If you can't fight, get your ass belowdecks and start fixing the ship!"<br><br>Her eyes fixed on the beast and she started to run up the bowsprit, axes at the ready. She would show this thing they were not to be trifled with.<br><br><em>OOC: Sure hadn't, thanks for the reminder! At 2019-09-15 19:11:36, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 13. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139445) Kisara is also committing Effort to use Hope of the Dawn (assuming I can here) to inspire and direct the crew.</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>16-09-2019, 19:27:48</strong>
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				So far, Kisara had mostly been ignored by the crew, as they worked around "the landlubber". But then she spoke, and she was suddenly the centre of attention. Something about the natural command in her voice killed the growing panic in a moment. Where there had been a rabbled of ill-equipped and barely-organised smugglers, suddenly there was a disciplined and organised crew....<br><br><em>The hosts of the Dragon-Blooded stood firm, holding the broken gates against the armies of madness. The Fair Folk host consisted of a sea of howling and misshapen hobgoblins, dotted by great ogres and mutants, and the nobles atop their lionlike steeds, clad in their armour of silk and dreams and wielding razor-sharp glass swords. In the distance were the hulking forms of behemoths, including a great steam-spitting panther and a shaggy, two-headed dragon. Hundreds of scorched, frozen or poisoned bodies already lay before the shield wall of Creation's defenders, yet it could not hold forever against these numbers.<br><br>But they did not need to. A cheer arose from the bloodied Terrestrials as the general disembarked from their aerial chariot to take the field personally. The sound was echoed with a wail of despair from the common Fair Folk. Victory was now certain, with the might of the Dragon-Blooded host reinforced by the strength and tactical genius of--</em><br><br>The moment passed, and Kisara was back on the boat. The waterlogged corpses climbing from the sea resembled a hybrid of shark and human, which would have looked intimidating enough before they died. Maybe they were the same would-be scavengers that Balam had been spinning a story about. The flesh had largely fallen away from their jaws, making their saw-like teeth even more pronounced. To one side, the undead whale slowly turned, raising a massive tail to strike down onto the boat.<br><br><br><em>OOC: Combat!<br><br>Rotting Leviathan: AC 7, Saves 12+, Morale 12<br><br>Small Mob (Undead): AC 7, Saves 16+, Morale 12<br><br>And allied (and under your control for this fight):<br>Medium Mob (Crew): AC 9, HD 28, Saves 15+, Two Attacks +1, Damage 1d8, Morale 12, invincible defence vs mental powers.<br><br>You and your allies go first. Remember that Mobs make their attacks against all enemies in range. Since it's in the process of striking, you and your allies can attack the undead whale this round.</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>17-09-2019, 01:04:18</strong>
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				That tail was going to be a problem, no question. Kisara knew getting all the way off the boat would be a bad idea, but how else do you fight something in the water? Answer: Throw something. She grinned and pulled her arm back, whipping forward to throw it and hopefully make the Dragons-damned beast rethink it's "crush the boat with my tail" strategy.<br><br>Behind her, she could hear the roar of the crew as the prepared for the onslaught. This felt, good, felt right. She should be here, should be leading the fight. Leading the fight? She <em>was</em> the fight. As the axe sank deep into the flailing tail, she held out her hand and called it back, then threw back her head and bellowed a war cry louder than should have been possible for someone her size. They would learn what it meant to fear the coming of the Sun.<br><br><em>OOC:<br>Committed another Effort for Terrifying Mein.<br><br>Kisara's attack: At 2019-09-16 17:42:31, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 17 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139465) 17+7+7=31, hit. I assume that since I'm chucking it, it's 1d8, so . . . At 2019-09-16 17:47:49, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 3 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139466) 3+3=6, 2 dmg done.<br><br>Crew's attack: At 2019-09-16 17:59:20, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 9 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139467) 9+7+1=17, miss. Second attack: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At 2019-09-16 18:01:21, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 14 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139468) 14+7+1=22, hit. At 2019-09-16 18:02:17, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 6 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139469), 2 dmg done.<br><br>Mnemon Kisara: AC: 4 HP: 14 Effects: Terrifying Mein Saves: 17+</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>18-09-2019, 02:05:35</strong>
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				The impact threw off the tail enough to send it crashing down into the water, sending a spray of water across but nothing else. Across the ship, battle was being joined, the shark-toothed boarders being fought off and thrown into the sea. Even when there was the occasional yell of pain or spray of blood as the gnashing jaws closed on one of the crew, they stayed calm and kept fighting like a disciplined military unit. Even the zombies seemed to hesitate to go anywhere near Kisara, leaving the great beast to rear up out the watter, snapping with a half-dislocated jaw across the deck towards her.<br><br><br><br><em>OOC: Both saves against Terrifying Mein are passed. <br><br>The leviathan misses. The zombies use Blood Like Water. They automatically hit with their attacks, dealing 3 damage to the crew. Attacks against them automatically hit for the rest of the round. Also, don't forget your Fray die, which dealt 1 damage to the zombies.<br><br>Rotting Leviathan: AC 7, Damage 2, Saves 12+, Morale 12<br><br>Small Mob (Undead): AC 7, Damage 4, Saves 16+, Morale 12<br><br>And allied (and under your control for this fight):<br>Medium Mob (Crew): AC 9, HD 25/28, Saves 15+, Two Attacks +1, Damage 1d8, Morale 12, invincible defence vs mental powers.</em>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>20-09-2019, 00:37:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She'd managed to throw the rotting beast off its target, so that was a win. But there was more to do before they were fully done. It was rising from the water, snapping at her with broken, black teeth. One axe was covered in slime and reeking flesh, but she held them up before her, then darted to one side, hacking at the beast's rheumy right eye with both blades.<br><br>The undead horde was hurting the crew, but she was proud of them for staying together, for standing firm. "Keep going, men! We can take care of these damn fool corpses that don't have the Dragons-damned sense to stay down!"<br><br><em>OOC:<br>Kisara's Attack: At 2019-09-19 17:31:01, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 10 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139546) 10+7+7=24, hit. At 2019-09-19 17:32:09, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d10 Result: 5 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139547) 5+3=8, 2 dmg done.<br>Fray: At 2019-09-19 17:33:19, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 7 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139548) (apparently she caught them on the backswing!)<br><br>Crew's Attacks: At 2019-09-19 17:34:10, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 3 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139549) 3+7+1=11, miss. Second: At 2019-09-19 17:34:16, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 19 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139550) 19+7+1=27, hit. At 2019-09-19 17:35:34, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 3 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139551), 1 dmg done.<br><br>Mnemon Kisara: AC: 4 HP: 14 Effects: Terrifying Mein Saves: 17+</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>20-09-2019, 01:41:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As massive as the body of the sea monster is, it was obviously in an advanced state of deterioration even before Kisara got to work, and the impact against the ship was only shaking it apart faster. A spray of congealed blood came out as she cut into the eye, slashing through it. The beast began to slide onto the boat, causing it to lurch dangerously and causing both sides of the combat to slide down the deck, but with Kisara's presence helping to overcome their revulsion, the sailors smashed and slashed at the wall of rotting meat with gaffs, daggers and clubs, slashing at the sides of the jaw.<br><br>Pulling back, its jaw almost coming off entirely, the undead beast reared up, preparing to smash down onto the boat with all its massive weight.<br><br><br><em>OOC: The mob takes an additional 2 damage from that first attack from the crew (they're using Blood Like Water, so attacks against them always hit). They use the ability again, dealing 1 damage each to the sailors and to Kisara. Attacks against them hit automatically for the next round.<br><br>Note that Mobs attack all enemies in their range, so the sailors hit the leviathan twice now it's closer, dealing another 2 damage. The leviathan will spend an action winding up, causing its next attacks to automatically hit.<br><br>Rotting Leviathan: AC 7, Damage 9, Saves 12+, Morale 12<br><br>Small Mob (Undead): AC 7, Damage 9, Saves 16+, Morale 12<br><br>And allied (and under your control for this fight):<br>Medium Mob (Crew): AC 9, HD 25/28, Saves 15+, Two Attacks +1, Damage 1d8, Morale 12, invincible defence vs mental powers.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>22-09-2019, 02:36:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kisara growled low in her throat, eyes narrowing as the reeking, gluey blood splatted off her body and onto the deck. The thrice-damned thing was winding up for what seemed like a massive attack, she could not let that happen. These men were depending on her, whether they knew it or not (and, thinking about it, they most likely did), and she would not, could not let them down.<br><br>Besides, what was so scary? A big, nasty pile of rotting meat? Might as well be scared of a midden, or a funeral. She was the rising light of the Sun at dawn, and she would bring the Light to this blighted piece of water.<br><br>Bellowing a war cry, she hooked the end of that barely-attached jaw with her axes and threw her weight backward, yanking opposite the force of that huge body. With a thick popping sound, like when her uncles would rip the drumsticks off a roasted chicken but a thousand times louder it seemed, the jaw loosened, sagged, and came free from the leviathan's body.<br><br>Kisara crowed in triumph and dropped the axes to grip the slimy, pockmarked bone with both hands. "Get out of here, you stinking corpse!" she screamed, swinging with all her might at the retreating half head of the beast. She could hear the rallying, echoing cries of the crew, and laughed out loud as she felt the jaw connect with it.<br><br><em>OOC:<br>Kisara's Wrenching: At 2019-09-21 19:16:57, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 10 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139672) 10+7+4+2=23, that jaw is coming off.<br>Attack, with Jaw: At 2019-09-21 19:21:02, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 7 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139673) 7+7+7=21, hit. I assume it counts as 2H, so At 2019-09-21 19:26:37, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d10 Result: 8 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139674) 8+3=11, 4 dmg.<br>Fray: At 2019-09-21 19:28:10, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 2 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139675)<br><br>Crew's Attacks: At 2019-09-21 19:29:35, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 4 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139676) Assuming the Undead are still using Blood Like Water, that hits. At 2019-09-21 19:30:34, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 5 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139678) 1 dmg. Second Attack: At 2019-09-21 19:29:39, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 20 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139677) Hits regardless, At 2019-09-21 19:31:26, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 7 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139679) 1 dmg.<br>Vs Leviathan (assuming he's still in range for them): &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At 2019-09-21 19:33:04, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 3 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139680) Swapping for reserve, 13. 13+7+1=21, hit. At 2019-09-21 19:34:50, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d8 Result: 3 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139682) 1 dmg. Second Attack: At 2019-09-21 19:35:22, Ivory Dawn (uid: 67904) rolls: 1d20 Result: 1 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=139683) Nope.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>22-09-2019, 19:49:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The massive weight of the undead whale hung poised to smash down upon the boat, when Kisara grabbed onto the toothy jaw and with a surge of strength, wrenched it free with a painful-sounding snap, and swung it back round.<br><br>The impact caused the mass of flesh and blubber to explode in a shower of rotting meat that pelted the decks, sending most of the whale's head flying into the sea. What remained stood and twitched for a few moments, before the animating force dissipated and it collapsed into the ebon waters.<br><br>A roar of triumph rose up from the crew, and they fought back against the undead boarders. The mindless ferocity of the sharkfolk zombies made them tenacious, but left them vulnerable as they savaged fallen enemies. Within a minute, they had been bludgeoned into submission or decapitated, the bodies shoved off the side. There were some dead sailors scattered among the debris on the deck, but far fewer than had seemed likely a minute ago.<br><br>As she finally had a moment to look around, Kisara could see several things happening. One was the captain being dragged back onto deck, semi-conscious and with a nasty-looking bite wound on her leg. Another was that the battle had taken them closer to the capsized ship, and the survivor was waving frantically.<br><br><br><em>OOC: I'll treat the damage as 1d6/level (Hardiness for half). The save fails, and the damage is enough to kill it. The crew also finish up the zombies. Nice work!</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>23-09-2019, 00:48:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kisara stood, the half-shattered jawbone gripped tightly in her hands, breathing heavily. That had actually worked. Gods, it worked! She was being drenched in the sticky, sickly glop raining from the now-motionless corpse, but totally worth it. That had been . . . epic was the only word she could supply.<br><br>But she turned around, hearing the cheers of the men (<em>your men</em>, the voice inside her head whispered), beaming a bright smile. They'd come up against something wretched, terrible, and they'd survived, they were alive, and the captain . . . shit.<br><br>She wasn't thinking about the sigil on her forehead as she rushed over, seeming to be on the far side of the deck one moment, then almost teleporting to where the other woman was lying. "The ship has a doctor, right?"&nbsp; Dragons, let him not have been one of the ones the sharkmen killed. "Get him, now," she said to one of the men who was standing and staring in shock at the bleeding gash that appeared to have nearly severed the captain's lower leg. He blinked at her, and she snarled, "Run, man! Unless you want her to bleed out here!"<br><br>Looking over the side, she sighed inwardly. Now there was another problem. She didn't trust the pale woman in the tattered dress, but it wouldn't be right to leave them. She gathered up the rope the crew had used to pull the captain back up and tossed it over the side, leaning after it to call down to the woman, "I'll come down and help you up, if you promise me you - and he - mean no harm to the people on this vessel."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>24-09-2019, 00:20:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I promise!" she yelled, her voice hoarse. "Kill me as soon as I come on board if you want, just don't let them take my body!"<br><br>As the ship's surgeon began to attend to the captain, the crew holding oil lamps to provide some light, the girl and the man she was tied to were heaved on board. She sat there shivering as the crew ran around trying to get the ship moving again, and the rotting meat and sharkfolk corpses heaved overboard.<br><br>"They thought someone might come for me!" she panted, shivering with both cold and apparent terror. She looked up at Kisara with a mixture of relief and fresh fear. "That's why they used me as bait! They didn't....they didn't realise who I am. My name's Kersinta...they took me off the shores along with all the others, and bought us here! The others....they took them to the island."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>24-09-2019, 00:57:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Now there was an island full of captives involved. And a "them". Damnation.<br><br>Kisara sighed and grabbed a blanket from a crewman who was walking by with a stack of them for some of the other wounded. She wrapped the woman in it, and crouched down to be at eye level with her. "I see. Well, Kersinta, I'm V'neef Lisana. Let's start at the beginning. You said they didn't know who you are. Who <em>are</em> you? And, while we're at it, who are they?"<br><br>She also looked at the unconscious man, tethered to Kersinta. "And who's he? Do you want me to cut the two of you apart?" She reached for one of her axes, ready to cut the binding if needed.<br><br>It would be her luck if this woman was the scion of one of the other houses - Kisara didn't recognize her, but that didn't mean much.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>25-09-2019, 03:09:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Apha--he was one of my escorts, from the village. They knocked him out and tied me to him.....they wanted to make sure I did not swim for safety!" said Kersinta, hugging the blanket close gratefully and raising her hand to make the bonds easier to cut. She was trying to conduct herself with a degree of confidence and privilege that didn't fit with either her bedraggled appearance or the rustic accent in her voice. The man stirred slightly with a groan.<br><br>"I was to be an offered bride of the Sea Lord himself, but the ones who took me cared not for such blasphemies! There were others, sailors, farmers and hillfolk amongst them! They went to an island...there." she said, pointing into the dimming light to where a lump of rock protruded above the surface of the sea, a dimly visible silhouette near the edge of visibility. Calling it an <em>island</em> seemed to be ambitious.<br><br>"Please." she asked. "From what I heard....nobody will be left alive when the sun rises again. The ghosts there....they have evil intent. But after what I saw you do--!"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>26-09-2019, 23:57:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Kisara blew out a breath. Well, crap. She cut the bonds holding Kersinta to the man. "I see. Well." She stood and stretched, hands in the small of her back. "I suppose I'll have to see what I can do."<br><br>She looked down at the woman, her eyes sharp and assessing. "How many of your people are there? And who took them?" One eyebrow quirked up. "It would be helpful in stopping whatever may be happening if I know what I might be looking at, and how many there are."<br><br>It was possible the woman didn't know, but she should be able to at least give a description of the people who had taken her hostage. Unless, of course, she was actually bait.<br><br>Reaching out one hand, Kisara grabbed the bosun's arm as he darted past. "Hey, friend. I need to get to that island over yonder," she pointed towards the silhouette Kersinta had indicated. "There are people being held hostage there." She forced out the words, reluctant but absolutely certain of them, "And it's the right thing to do, save them, if I can."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>27-09-2019, 01:59:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"T--twenty of us." said Kersinta, now shivering from what looked like both the chill and the shock. "But there will be more. Some of them....stayed behind to gather more. They were led by a man in black armour who did not feel heat or cold, and spoke....like something <em>dry</em>. There were--there were people. Living people. But we came to the island....and there were ghosts. Many of them were mindless monsters. But something....guided them. Told them to hold us until it was ready. Set a trap."<br><br>Her hands began to tremble. "The Sea Lord was meant to protect us from them!"<br><br>The bosun grimaced, looking to the horizon. "Bad enough we're in a shadowland after dark, but you want to go save some folk who should have known better? You know they'll be dead and eaten by now?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>28-09-2019, 01:27:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She looked at the bosun, eyes narrow. "It is pretty terrible, yes. But we've survived thus far. They thought their god would protect them, and," she lowered her voice a little, "while they were wrong, it isn't enough to condemn them to death."<br><br>Kisara gave the man a fierce grin. "Besides, I feel confident" <em>maybe too confident</em>, the voice in her head whispered, "that we won't be too late, and that we'll be equal to the task." Her fingers tightened around the bosun's arm a bit. "None of you even need to leave the ship, frankly. I should be able to handle it."<br><br>Her eyes traveled to the island on the horizon, considering, assessing. "And if you're worried about the dark, I can help with that, too." She wouldn't want to - it would give her away, that golden glow so unlike a fire-aspected Dragonblood's. But she could at least give them some light. "So let's go, man. We're headed in the direction anyway."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>28-09-2019, 20:42:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, they sure won't be expecting us to do anything that stupid...." grumbled the bosun, but when he turned and sarted yelling at the crew to get the sails back up and turn the ship, nobody disagreed. Instead, a feeling of optimism and invincibility seemed to pervade the crew, and the boat sprinted across the ebon sea. Kersinta and her companion stood by the mast, seeming to want to be as far from the water as humanly possible.<br><br>The island drew near. It didn't look like a normal island, so much as a rocky hilltop that had been abandoned by the land around it. The structure on it might have once been a palace, temple or Manse--or a prison or garrison, so badly damaged was it by the march of time and the slow corrosion of the sea and wind. Stone pillars jutted out of the water, the skeletal remains of some other structure, and they made a natural quay for ships to anchor. Two could be seen--a larger ship that looked empty, and a smaller boat tucked into its shadow. The latter was inhabited, Kisara catching sight of a figure ducking out of view as they drew closer.<br><br><em>"It's too quiet...."</em> muttered Balam.<br><br><em>"You know there ain't no such thing out here. You temptin's fate or something?"</em> demanded another sailor.<br><br><br><em>OOC: Charisma check passed, with a bonus from a relevant Fact. Wisdom check passed, to notice the boat.</em><br><br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ivory Dawn</strong> on <strong>30-09-2019, 04:23:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Sighing again - she felt like resignation was the word of the day for her - Kisara made sure her axes were tightly strapped on and that her armor was in place. She turned to the bosun and the first mate, both of whom had banded together to try and talk her out of this. "I'm going, it's the right thing to do. If I'm not back . . . well, before things get too ugly for you, head off and leave me." She glanced at Kersinta and Apha. "And take the two of them where they want to go, use the money left in my cabin if I don't come back." There wasn't any, but it would keep them from dumping the two overboard without a second thought. She hoped.<br><br>Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the rope ladder the crew had brought and shinnied down it, landing on one of the stone pillars. She hopped from one to the other as quietly as she could - this was like the training mother and father had made her do when they still thought she might be a Dragonblood and could learn their martial arts. She didn't call out, but she kept a level eye to see if whoever was in the smaller boat heard her coming and was preparing an ambush. Maybe they were there to help too. But that seemed . . . unlikely.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>01-10-2019, 00:24:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Get them back! Please!" called Kersinta. "It's because of me...."<br><br>"Right, you heard her!" said the bosun, sounding like he was making an effort to be quiet. "No noise! Weapons at the ready! Lookouts in every direction, make some noise as soon as you see a ghost, you got that?"<br><br><br><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/cEZ5DVNl.jpg)</div><br><br>It wasn't far to the ruin--there was little to the island but the ruin. Up close, it looked like it might once have had a domed ceiling, but now only the strongest parts of the original structure remained. The effects of the shadowland bleached out colour, and even Kisara's light seemed to flicker and gutter as if realising that it wasn't welcome here. It was quiet, but there was a sound that was little more than textured silence from within the structure, a faint sound that was probably just wind, but sounded like a deep breath being taken. As she looked around, she could see a third ship off to one side, looking like a true ghost ship with ragged sails and a patched hull. It seemed to be empty, but for the other, she could see a lone man crouching in the boat trying to stay still--as far as it was possible to see from this distance, he was alive.<br><br>However, unseen eyes were watching her in turn.....
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Words of Creation Prelude: Kisara</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Azuresun</strong> on <strong>03-10-2019, 14:16:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Moving to the Group Prelude (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=311428.0) thread.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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