A Spiral of Shadow and Light, Part 3 [IC]

[Kobold-Bard]

Wing

"Well then, I guess we're going in the front door."

And with that, Wing will Shapeshift into a wolf, and do exactly that.


----
3m personal - Shapeshift into non-True Form.

P: 16/19
Pp: 36/36 (44) [Anima - 0]
W: 10/10

[Cespenar]

Arda shrugs, wields his spear, and steps into the stance of his familiar Immaculate style.

He nods briefly, ready to dash in after Wing.

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Getting into Five Dragon Form. I'm away from my pdf, but I think it was 5m?

Personal: 15/20
Willpower: 9/9

[Kyeudo]

Arda opens the door and lets Obsidian Wings trot right on in. A group of four thugs sits around a wooden table, playing cards. Judging by the small pile of dinars in the middle of the table, it looks like a low stakes game of three-dragon ante. Heavy wooden cudgels hang from their belts. They stand up as the door opens, hands going to weapons, then look puzzeled when a wolf strolls through the door. "What in Malfeas is a wolf doing here?" one of them asks.

[Cespenar]

Ignoring the comment about the wolf, the monk shows an astounding display of shrewdness as he questions the thugs.

"Is this where you keep the slaves?"

[Kobold-Bard]

Wings

Resisting the urge to break character and facepalm, Wing instead trots into the room and his sensory organs quiver with unseen essence, reshaping themselves subtley before he starts sniffing & listening for anything resembling slaves (other people, different air within hidden passages, generic "labour" sounds, etc.).

--
Combo: Silver Sensory Upgrade - Hybrid Body Rearrangement x2 [Enhanced Sight (1m P) & Enhanced Hearing (1m P)]

Perception (3) + Awareness (0) + Enhanced senses (2 or 4) = (7d10)[3][8][4][4][5][3][9](36)

P: 14/19
Pp: 36/36 (44) [Anima - 0]
W: 10/10

[Kyeudo]

The guard looks at Arda as though the monk has been struck a few too many times in the head. "Take your pet there and get out. Come back in the morning if you want to buy something."

Obsidian Wings can both hear and smell a large number of people nearby, behind a second set of double doors that are tightly padlocked. It would seem this room is an annex, serving as a place for the guards and slave handlers to relax and as a place to keep the books. Behind that door, you mostly hear sounds of sleeping, snoring, rustling, and the like, along with an occasional wimper. You smell the scent of too many bodies crammed into the same space without proper hygiene and beneath it the scents of despair, fear, and pain.

[Cespenar]

Arda takes a step forward, seemingly not getting the clue.

"Are there any people from the villages you're keeping here? Villages like, Matashi?"

[Kyeudo]

"Bugger off, old man. That's none of your buisness."

[Cespenar]

"If it's my people, it becomes my business."

The old man tries to walk past the thugs and deep into the warehouse.

[Kobold-Bard]

Wings

Wolf-wings will indicate to Arda where the slaves are, and proceed to growl menacingly at th guards when they inevitably try to stop the monk.

--
I don't recall off hand if Exalted has readied actions, but if it does I'll prepare to give myself a chomp mutatikn and bite through whatever a guard tries to hit me with (preferably a leg so I can bite his foot clean off).

[Kyeudo]

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The door is locked, as I noted a few post ago.

The guards draw their cudgels and come around the table. "Get out of here now, or you'll find more trouble than you want."

[Cespenar]

The monk wields his spear in return, brandishing it in a fluid motion.

"Don't make the wrong choice now," he warns the thugs, tilting his head.

[Kyeudo]

"I'm not afraid of an old man with a pointy stick" He rushes forward, attempting to bat Arda's spear with his club, the others following behind him.

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Sorry, lost the internet for a couple of days and this got buried.

Join Battle:
Obsidian Wings:(4d10)[2][10][3][6](21)
Arda:(5d10)[8][4][3][1][2](18)
Thugs:(4d10)[6][6][8][10](30)

Action Order:
Tick 0: Obsidian Wings, Thugs
Tick 1: Arda

[Kobold-Bard]

Wings

Wings pre-empts the attackers, lunging at the nearest one's leg and biting down hard. Essence infused teeth tear through muscle like daggers, and once he hits bone he twists, shattering the bone and severing the bottom of his leg entirely with a flash of blood.

Shifting his weight Wings spins and releases the man's limb from his blood soaked maw and launching it at another man as a makeshift weapon, hitting him square in the face and fracturing his nose as it's former owner screamed in pain.

---
Speed 5 Flurry: Hybrid Body Rearrangement [Teeth] + First Dex Excellency + unarmed attack + thrown attack.

(The aim is to do 4+ damage to the first guy; enough to cause a disability, thus severing his leg, then using it as an improvised weapon on the second guy. Lets hope the dice are kind or I'll feel very foolish. A few stunt dice wouldn't hurt either.)

Atk 1 -
Acc: (13d10)[3][4][9][10][4][9][10][9][8][7][1][2][5](81) = 9 successes + stunt dice (if any)
Dmg: (3d10)[4][2][6](12) 3 + acc successes = 12L Raw Damage + stunt dice (if any)

Atk 2 -
Acc: (4d10)[21] + (5d10)[5][8][6][4][8](31) (excellency) = 5 successes + stunt dice (if any)
Dmg: (1d10)[6](6) 1 + acc successes = 6B Raw Damage + stunt dice (if any)

(in case I fail to sever the guy's leg, use the spoilered rolls for Atk 2 instead, as Wings lunges at the other guy's face, teeth barred and snarling like a snoring Earth Dragon)

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Atk 2 -
Acc: (12d10)[9][3][2][8][5][4][1][3][4][5][2][4](50) = 2 successess + stunt dice (if any)
Dmg: (3d10)[4][9][10](23) 3 + acc successes = 5L Raw Damages + stunt dice (if any)

P: 8/19 (13/19 if using the spoilered atk instead)
Pp: 36/36 (44) [Anima - 0]
W: 10/10

[Kobold-Bard]

OOC: Unspoilered Atk 2 base rolls, because I messed up: (4d10)[2][7][3][6](18)

[Kyeudo]

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2 stunt dice. You got 1 extra success on the first roll, and 2 extra successes on the second.

BTW, 6s aren't successes unless a Sidereal is involved, so your second roll is only 3 successes.

The hired muscle swing their cudgels at Arda and his pet, trying to pin them into a corner of the room.

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Attacks on Arda:
(6d10)[4][3][8][6][3][4](28)
(6d10)[1][2][3][5][7][8](26)

Attacks on Obsidian Wings:
(6d10)[2][2][10][4][1][4](23)
(6d10)[4][10][3][5][8][7](37)

Two of the thugs find out quickly that they aren't dealing with any normal opponents. One goes down with a scream as his leg is torn off, the other receives a boot to the head - his friend's boot, to be specific. The blow is only glancing, but it leaves him with a nasty bruise across his cheek and covered in blood.

[Cespenar]

It might as well be a whip on the monk's hand, and not a solid piece of wood. The spearhead swats away the clubs before the thugs can even get in range, and lashes forward. Instead of a deadly thrust, though, the side of the steel tip moves to smack one of the thugs on the cheek. The monk revolves with the spear, but the butt slides forward this time, hoping to catch the thug in the jaw and send him reeling backwards onto the playing table.

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Flurry of two, plus pulling blows. A total of -3 and -4 on attacks, but there should also be the onslaught penalty on the thug's defense, I guess.

Atk - (12d10)[10][5][10][3][4][5][4][7][2][4][10][5](69) + possible stunt
Atk - (6d10)[8][3][2][9][5][8](35)

Atk - (11d10)[9][6][1][6][7][8][10][9][10][7][2](75) + possible stunt
Atk - (6d10)[10][1][1][5][1][4](22)

Personal: 15/20
Willpower: 9/9

[Kyeudo]

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Two stunt dice. You get more one success on the first roll and none on the second.

One thug crashes sideways into the wall, his head hitting the wall with a solid thud. He slumps down the wall, unconscious. The other goes flying backwards and crashes onto the table, coins and cards flying everywhere. He doesn't move, likewise out cold.

The last guy, suddenly standing alone against two enemies that just dropped three men in less than a second, bolts for the door.

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If you want to run him down, here's the action count still, but otherwise we can move on.
Tick 5: Obsidian Wings, Thugs
Tick 6: Arda

[Cespenar]

The monk glances respectively at the fleeing thug, the one on the ground with its leg torn off, and finally the Lunar. One of his brows arches very slightly, which might say "Was that really necessary?", or it might just be a twitch.

[Kobold-Bard]

Wings

The wolf allows the sensible man to live, but trots over and finishes those wounded but alive, sinking his teeth deep into the flesh of their throats.

Satisfied they have expired, Wings retakes human form, his eyes still bestial and his ears overly long. He addresses the monk as he wipes the blood from his face using the water/beer/misc. that the guards were drinking (it's Neus, who really knows for sure what it was).

"Not bad for an older fellow. Anyway I hear what sounds distinctly like an overcrowded chamber through there. Either break the door or find a key and you can be their saviour."

----
I guess Perception + Awareness to look for a key?

(4d10)[8][8][1][3](20) = 2 successes

P: 12/19
Pp: 36/36 (44) [Anima - 0]
W: 10/10

[Cespenar]

"I don't care who gets to be the 'saviour', as long as they are safe," Arda replies sternly, but moves forward to the door nevertheless. Still in the Five Dragon stance, he steps hard onto the ground and kicks the door, near the lock.

OOC:

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Is a 8 (2 Str + 4 Athletics + 2 Five Dragon Style) in 'feats of strength' thingy enough to break down that door?

[Kyeudo]

Obsidian Wings finds a ring of keys on the belt of one of the dead guards, just as Arda kicks the door. The lock doesn't break - it tears right out of the door, causing them to swing open and slam into the walls with a loud boom. Startled yelps and the cries of disturbed sleepers come from the room beyond.

By the light from the guards' room, you can see much of the warehouse beyond and a warehouse it is - one where humanity is shelved like so much dry goods. Hard berths are stacked four high along the walls and in islands throughout, with barely a pace to walk between them. All the berths you can see are filled with slaves. Iron chains run from ankle bands on every slave to thick rings sunk into the rough beams of the berths, with only enough slack in the chains for the slave to stand and take a few steps. The warehouse is without windows and no lights are lit, though you can make out the shapes of occasional sconces for torches or lamps within.

[Kobold-Bard]

Wings

The Lunar sighs.

"Now that's no good. This lot are clearly going to leave with us because of how crappy their lives are. But if they were fed and warm, they'd probably think twice about running off with two strange men. It's like this idiot wants to lose his slaves. Alright folks, up and at 'em. Fall behind and you're left behind."

[Kyeudo]

One of the slaves rattles his chains, a mute testament to why he didn't leave before.

[Cespenar]

Arda takes in the situation of the slaves with a grim look on his face. He glances at their chains, and looks for a mechanism or lock to free them by the whole, taking one of the lamps to light the way if necessary.

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Do I need to roll? He essentially searches until he finds something.

[Kyeudo]

The key ring Obsidian Wings found quickly proves to have the keys you need. The slaves look to you for leadership.

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So, now that you have a few hundred slaves following you, what are you going to do?

[Kobold-Bard]

Wings

Whilst unlocking their bonds, the Lunar asks the huddled masses the same question.

"Are any of you from Matashi, or do you know where those from Matashi are stored?"

[Kyeudo]

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No one from Matashi was taken. It was from some of the other villages attacked.

[Cespenar]

The slaves freed, Arda looks at them blankly for a second before turning to Wings.

"I don't think these men are from Matashi nor the surrounding villages, but there must be some clues in here somewhere."

"Could you look for a ledger of some kind? An organization this big, they have to keep records, I believe."

[Kyeudo]

Locating a ledger isn't hard. Inside are notes on the expected number of slaves housed inside on a given day, notes about any slaves that managed to escape or died, and short descriptions of all the merchandise housed in the warehouse. Figuring out if the ledger tells you anything is another story.

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You can roll some Int + Bureaucracy now or take the ledger and study it later.