Trials of Tokuisei

[Techwarrior]

Mellisandra, the Scarlet Wanderer

Mel drops her bow slightly, but is still at the ready. She had to head this off quickly, or there would be blood.

More blood. Be careful old girl.

Mel speaks calmly, an edge of the darkness she's studied so well creeping into her voice.

"Reiaz. Perhaps not all is as it seems. Let him explain his actions. Trust me, should his answers not be satisfactory, I have more torturous ways of retribution than flame at my disposal."

Spoiler

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Is Reiaz doing anything Sublime? Take 10 on Martial Lore for 13, 15 if related to Shadow Hand.

Mel wants to determine the motives of this other girl. Perhaps there's more to her than there seems to be? Take 10 for 28

Hopefully Reiaz knows something of Shadow Sun Ninjas, and knows that she speaks the truth. It's Knowledge (Arcana) though, so maybe not. Unless he's encountered one before.

[Morbis Meh]

Acerbus rolls his eyes, growing tired of the delay This is why I work alone... He looks directly at the green swordsman "Tomoko was right, you are definitely going to fail your mission, too much emotion not enough clarity. Though I suppose this could be an act as well or you're just a patzee but only time will be the judge of that."

Turning his head he gazes at the prince "I'm surprised you of all people have restrained themselves from slaughtering all the heretics. If these people were actually devotee's to the all mighty they would have taken one moment to check that The Chosen was selected from humans only. By the way his 'sister' plans to abduct your sister and use them for their purposes since this oaf aparantly fancies her. So if you insist on acting like an incompetent then your corpse will be walking her down the isle because the majority of people who say princess' are useful are only interested in breeding with them."

Directing his eyes at 'Scarlet' "I am not required to explain myself to you, I serve a greater power than yourself and the only reason you see me is because I choose to. Those there" He points his stained blade at the corpse and at the remaining survivor "are not children, as to what they are who knows, I personally watched Tomoko transform the two huge burly men you met at the bar into those 'children'. She told them to repair the wards that we apparantly got through effectively sealing us here. Not exactly a vote of confidence for your new found 'allies' she also plans to kills us and stop our plans. Ask your friend about his ulterior motives, he has a mission that does not align with ours, his sister already betrayed that bit of information"

Taking a moment for the information to sink into their heads the gnome sighs "I am surprised at how thick headed you all are, trusting anyone at all who we meet here, this is the Realm of Dex the manipulator. Did you not stop to think that he would place decoys like this to gain your trust so he could fool you. From what I observed i would imagine his sister is a priestess to Dex or some other type of minion. Now feel free to chat amongst yourselves and waste more time, I have more important things to do."

After saying that piece the gnome vanishes from sight.

Spoiler

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Hide (1d20+41)[42] move silently (1d20+37)[44]
After hidden shadow stride 50 out of the way but in a path to block the escape of the 'girl'

[Sallera]

With a rumble of discontent, Eikaba reaches out a long arm, gently - but firmly - pinning the 'child' to the ground with one hand. "Stay. Wait."

He turns to Reiaz with a stern look, although he manages to avoid looking threatening. "These are 'annoying people' you speak of before? Priests of Dex?" While he speaks, he silently calls upon the connection to the divine his helm provides him, holy power touching the child and looking for a weakness in the mask.

Spoiler

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Eikaba will use Dispel Evil on the 'child.' He'll test the Dismissal usage first; if there is no response (i.e. it's not an evil outsider), he'll try the other instead, automatically dispelling one Evil spell or one enchantment from an evil caster.

[Mura-neechan]

Reiaz seem to take a moment to calm himself, glaring at the gnome as he spoke against him. He'd relent a bit, as Melisandra and Eikaba tried to calm the situation. However, his eyes diverted for a moment when pushed on it.

"Not exactly, they-"

And in the moment Eikaba tried his luck on the child, there would be a gut wrenching scream, as the girl would collapse, quite lifelessly to the ground, her eyes going dull and her body slumping over.

[Techwarrior]

Mellisandra, the Scarlet Wanderer

Mel's eyes have just about exploded with concern, not only over the 'child' doing.. whatever that was, but something else bothers her too. Her voice is quiet as a whisper, with a hint of sadness.

"Reiaz. We have been open and honest with you, as would be expected between those initiated in the Way. I believe it is time for you to do the same."

[MrE]

"The gnome speaks true, there were demons in those girls, they were not girls at all. I tire of these games: we know that this is a trick, let us throw off the pretense and defeat Dex's minions here!"

"Reiaz, until we are done here I charge you in the name of the Supreme Authority to hand over your weapons and give yourself into our custody. You have my oath that we will not harm you unfairly, if you refuse we will have to make you comply."

With a motion he called his two thralls to his side and both adopted fighting stances beside him, the dragon facing Reiaz, the eagle looking outwards alert for other signs of attack.

[Morcleon]

Aralia flinches slightly at the scream, then shudders. "Hm. So you were right, Acerbus. My apologies."

She turns to Reiaz and nods, smiling sheepishly and looking him in the eyes. "Ah, yes. I'm sorry, we are going to have to take you into custody. Until we can prove that you aren't under the control of Dex, we can't be too careful. Don't worry though; I'll take good care of you~"

[Techwarrior]

Mellisandra, the Scarlet Wanderer

Mel steels herself for what is about to come.

I hope this doesn't come down to a fight... But I've done all I can to stop it now.

Mel holds herself at the ready, hoping she can keep up with Reiaz.

Spoiler

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Mel Readies an action, with the trigger of "If Reiaz attempts something hostile, or otherwise initiates another maneuver."

If you require specific actions to be readied, she'll Ready Shadow Jaunt to a position as close as possible to where Reiaz finishes movement.

Maneuvers Ready (6)
Shadow Jaunt (Shadow Hand 2, Standard Action) [Teleport]
Move 50 ft. as a Standard Action
Cloak of Deception (Shadow Hand 2, Boost)
Invisibility for 1 Round
Shadow Garrote (Shadow Hand 3, Strike)
Ranged Touch Attack deals 5d6 damage, may flat-foot target
Sapphire Nightmare Blade (Diamond Mind 1, Strike)
Concentration check allows attack that deals +1d6 damage vs. Flat-footed AC
Baffling Defense (Setting Sun 2, Counter)
Use Sense Motive as AC versus 1 attack
Pouncing Charge (Tiger Claw 5, Strike)
Charge with Full Attack

Stances (3):
Island of Blades (Shadow Hand 1, Stance)
You flank with all allies adjacent to your target
Assassin's Stance (Shadow Hand 3, Stance)
You attack with precision (2d6 Sneak Attack)
Dance of the Spider Shadow Hand 3, Stance) (Active)
You gain the ability to spiderclimb

[Sallera]

"Hrm, yes." Eikaba is somewhat taken aback by the violent nature of the spirit's departure, but nods, withdrawing his arm. "I ask Authority, banish evil, demon leaves."

Despite the royal siblings' call for a surrender, Eikaba merely looks to Reiaz invitingly. He stood ready to protect the others should it come to battle, but he was always willing to listen to both sides of a story. "Not exactly?"

[Morbis Meh]

Finally these people pull their heads out of their rears and begin acting professional, killing all of them would have been too much of a hassle and such a waste in resources... With the sudden death of his quarry, Acerbus began moving slowly towards Reiaz but not too close. This was a volatile situation that he wanted to avoid because this was an experienced enemy that was backed into a corner. If the others hadn't forced his hand he could have gathered a little more information and eliminated the swordsman at a more convenient time. Once in range he readies himself against any possible hostility.

Spoiler: Actions

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Moving until within 30 ft of Reiaz then readying Shadow Noose while in Assassin's stance.

Hide check (1d20+41)[49]
Move Silently (1d20+37)[47]

[Mura-neechan]

Reiaz frowned as he would look to the group, staring at Aralia for a hard moment, before shaking his head in annoyance. His attention drifted to the troll and girl briefly, but he seemed to have become somewhat resigned to the situation, his righteous fury dying out, becoming colder.

"Tomoko is a priestess of Yorimi, but she doesn't undermine me. She just doesn't have anywhere else to go. And... if any of you try to hurt her, you'll die. I won't even need to lift a finger. I'm all for going off and killing Dex together, but it seems you want to focus on little incidents instead. I don't need you, and if you insist on causing problems, I can incinerate you."

[MrE]

"The deaths of two girls and their possession by murderous spirits is not a little incident to me," Jarlyn responds righteously. "You cast threats at us too often! I say surrender now, and if you prolong this any further I will act against you. Surrender now, Reiaz."

[Sallera]

Eikaba shakes his head sadly, taking a step forward to stand between the two parties. "Be careful, not child. You say, not needed; you hear, matter of Chosen not yet decided. Alone, may be you cannot kill."

[Thokk_Smash]

What a clusterf*ck this had turned into. Jarry's right, these things aren't "little" no matter how much you whine that they are, he snaps.

He then sighs when Eikaba steps forward. But Eikaba's right, and besides this is probably what Dex wants: us fighting each other instead of him. We need to be focusing on Dex, not trying to kill each other, and I can't believe that I have to be the one to remind everyone. So Reiaz, either make us trust you or stop complaining about us not trusting you, he says with a shrug.

[Morcleon]

"Mhmm..." Aralia smiles kindly at Reiaz, stepping forward to place her hand on his arm. "If she doesn't hurt us, we won't harm Tomoko at all. So, please, won't you help us kill Dex? After all, if we work together, I'm sure we can make it happen!"

Spoiler

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Diplomacy! (1d20+27)[2](29)

[Mura-neechan]

Reiaz would frown as the conversation seemed to work against him, his stance would partially shift, as the air around the area would suddenly spike in temperature, if but for a moment. However, it would seem mid maneuver, Aralia's words would make it through, as his temperament quickly cooled, and his body vanished back into the darkness, much as it had at the tavern.

Acerbus's hand would close, as the shadows converged on the vanishing Reiaz, with the boy gasping as he reappeared, leaning on the tower, as he simply stared in the direction Acerbus had been hiding at, his hand laying flat upon the stone.

Spoiler: Acerbus

Show

Roll damage, he made the save.

"Fine... we'll kill him then."

The tower would react to Reiaz's touch, the bridge would shimmer somewhat, as a translucent white light would flow out from it, taking them away from the mountain and into the sky. A literal walkway composed of some kind of light, leading all the way to Dex's mansion.

"I'm going now, if you want your shot, you'll follow."

[Morbis Meh]

Acerbus gathered the thick shadows forming them into physical strands, when Reiaz sought to escape the gnome quickly shot the coiled shadow strands around the boy's neck.

Spoiler: Damage

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(8d6+4)[38] he takes only half

The gnome materializes "You're not going anywhere, you will truthfully speak about your mission or die..." The assassin slips back into the shadows without another word.

[Techwarrior]

Mellisandra, the Scarlet Wanderer

Martial Lore

Spoiler

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(1d20+5)[18]
Also, that maneuver deals full damage on a save. The save only negates the rider effect (Stunned for 1 round).

Mel wary eye catches a glimpse of Reiaz struggling against the gnome assassin's attack, as she quickly ripples through the shadows after him. As she reappers near Reiaz, she turns to face both the party and Reiaz. At the distance she is from the party, none can truly see what little of her face is not hidden by her scarlet scarf, but she is quite clearly agitated.

"That's enough!!

How, by all the gods in the Heavens and Hells are we supposed to take on anything together with all of this fighting?! Acerbus. You need to take your self-aggrandizing ego and shove it somewhere deeper and darker than where you hide. Reiaz. I understand that you have family you want to protect, and a vision of the world you want to see realized. But that gives neither of you the right to threaten each other. Reiaz, we all wish to see these 'Avatars' destroyed, for the good of everyone in this world and all others. We should all be willing to work together on this, but we must have some measure of trust between us if we are to do so. Reiaz, would you please answer the questions we have put to you without evasion or deceit?"

[Mura-neechan]

Reaiz would gasp as he narrowly avoided the entirety of the choke hold, his stance wavering a bit as he took a step back towards the bridge of light. His eyes narrowing at Mellisandra.

"I have been extraordinarily forthcoming. I'm not going to spell out every detail of my life, nor am I going to hesitate any longer. My sister is not exactly morally...observant. Could she have killed a couple villagers and replaced them with demons? It is certainly possible, I suppose. I don't think she did, but I've been a little busy. But you aren't going to go after her, if you have a problem with her, you have a problem with me. As for my weapons... I really don't need them to take you any of you, the Supreme Authority has made me strong enough to stand against the forces of gods, you guys are pretty good, but... I am a master of the path of Desert Wind. You two both seem to have understanding of what that means."

[Techwarrior]

Mellisandra, the Scarlet Wanderer

Mel stores her bow and raises her hands in a surrendering gesture.

"You seem to misunderstand. We ask not after your sister. We wish to know of you. I implore you: do not take us lightly. We may not have mastered one of the Nine Ways, but we can still help you if you will let us. Remember Reshar's teaching. Each of us has traveled a different Way: some Sublime and some others. Together we are more powerful than any of us alone. We just want to know we can trust you. That's all we ask."

[Mura-neechan]

Reiaz would sigh lightly, keeping his ground.

"Then tell me, what it is you wish to know. What is so damned important that saving the world has to wait for you to find out?"

[Morcleon]

Aralia begins to fly up toward Reiaz and Mellisandra. She looks up at him, smiling. "...I don't have any questions myself, but I think everyone else wants to know if you have any motives that may cause you to hurt us..."

[Sallera]

Eikaba makes his way forward, directing a disapproving look in Acerbus's general direction. He could not truly blame the 'tool' for his impulsive behaviour; someone with no sense of self would surely think strangely and use not the reason of others. But that was all the more reason that he had to try and correct the flaw in the little one's being - something made very difficult by the fact that he seemed determined to never be around to talk to.

"I ask only: will you abide by last agreement we make?" he says to Reiaz. "This so, then we remain friends." He studies Reiaz calmly, hoping to finally resolve this dispute and move forward.

Spoiler

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Sense Motive: (1d20+2)[6]

[Mura-neechan]

Reiaz sighed as Aralia poked him with that kind of question, and then the followup by the troll...

"I told you all my motives, the only danger anyone in is your Chosen. However, it doesn't matter yet. Until we get to Meian, there's no concern for me. He's safe for now."

[Thokk_Smash]

Lucien walks over just in time to hear Reiaz declare him "safe". He rolls his eyes and says, How reassuring. Acerbus, wherever you are, you need to keep your eye on the prize, short stuff. We're supposed to be killing the Fallen, not other people who want to kill the Fallen. So why don't we just head out and deal with the other stuff as it comes.

Without waiting for the obnoxious assassin's reply, he gestures to Reiaz to lead the way.

[MrE]

Jarlyn had been so close! He had thought they'd be able to take Reiaz into custody and then continue their quest unimpeded, but once more the others had wavered and allowed Reiaz to join them. Were they afraid of him? Or did they fear Dex and lack the courage to face him without the boy?

Jarlyn stepped on to the glowing bridge and turned to the others. "We are decided: let us face Dex now and then we shall hold Tomoko to account later. Reiaz is at least right that saving the world is the most important thing for now. Let us be about it." And if you betray us, I at least will not be the only one watching you.

He turned back and started to advance along the path.

[Techwarrior]

Mellisandra, the Scarlet Wanderer

Mel spends the time during the journey trying to catch Acerbus' attention, and if/when she does, passes him a return note out of view from Reiaz.

Spoiler

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What did you see earlier? You seem convinced that Reiaz is secretly against us. I know I yelled at you, and for that I apologize. Reiaz being with us puts us in a good position to observe him and keep him from doing any harm. Don't underestimate him; he has totally Mastered at least one portion of the Way. He is not a typical opponent, and we must be careful.

[Morbis Meh]

Acerbus silently trails the group, debating whether or not to allow the people he was forced to travel with to suffer the consequences of their foolhardy decision or to aid them. Noticing the not so subtle attempts to gain his attention the gnome moves in and takes the note before moving back to read it. Honestly the note perplexed him, no one had ever apologized to him and to think that someone else considered their actions upsetting to him was even more bizarre. Acerbus takes time and jots down, in detail his, previous encounter.

Spoiler: @Mel

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As Acerbus would stay behind, he'd find that the act was quite well played. As soon as the others were far enough away, the rowdy crowd completely dissolved, with Tomoko sighing to herself, pointing at the lanky man who'd spoken before.

"He's going to botch it at this rate. Make certain they don't disrupt his quest. You two, get my things, the Mistress has an interest in stopping that traitor's plans."

The three she selected would simply nod their heads, heading deeper into the hall.

"The girl. She might be valuable, a princess of Feralia. The idiot seems to like her as well, bring her to me as soon as possible."

The rest of the group would nod, as Tomoko smirked, and spoke in some sort of arcane language, the hulking man and his friend from before completely changing form, into that of a couple of little girls.

"Repair the wards, I don't know how they got here, but I don't want any more surprises."
That is what heppened, feel free to interpret as you choose but I see no reason to trust this man even if he is a patzee. I could care less about his skill one does not acheive success by fighting on equal terms. If necessary I can slit his throat while he sleeps.

When he is finished he replaces the piece of paper into Mel's hand then goes back behind the group.

[Morcleon]

Aralia smiles, happy to see that some semblance of order had returned. She floats along beside Reiaz and spends most of the time chatting and playing with her light orb.

[Mura-neechan]

Dex's Stronghold - Abyssal Mansion

Reiaz would be fairly quiet along the path, although he'd respond to Aralia some, his heart wasn't much into it. The party would march along, as the floating island the mansion was placed on came to view. It was foreboding to say the least, a massive residence with extravagant and properly cared for property holding around it. A small lake sat in the western front, with a paved path leading from where the path of light ended, along a similar bridge to the mansion itself. Tall, black, with reds and greens in outer decor, it almost seemed to be inviting any who wished to enter the place. However, before one could even take a step forward, greater oddities would be for show. It was not magic or a supernatural effect that kept this place maintained. Anyone could see that there were several women, all dressed as maids carefully tending to the lawn, doing laundry, and other mundane tasks. The mansion was staffed, likely by followers of Dex, but for the place to be so immaculate, it had to be cared for even when Dex was too weak to properly form. Reiaz didn't seem to care much for it, simply marching forward, prepared to go right on through the front.