Strange Tails [IC]

[BrotherLeonidas]

The Tale began with.....

Did the travelers hear the horn or the river first? A bellow split the air, heralding the change. Where once stone or wood or grass graced the dragons mother, now her rippling waters roared.

Cold and dry becomes cold and wet for the nestling woman. The breath of Daana'd consumes all in its path, human and building submerged then swept forth. Syveris surges upward in search for air, snatching at wooden constructs to keep afloat. The Bajas youngest tumbles by in the newly formed tributary. Rushed forward by terrifying current, the remnants are deposited into deep waters.

Silence permeates the cold air as the travellers slumber on matted grass. A thousand stars twinkle in the night sky above Odu Gobege. A trumpeting sound pierces the calm, the two roused awake. Heavy blankets are shed in twin panics, and bodies rise in response. Both dash their way separately in the direction of the call. Both with eyes amazed find a large pond past the ridge, populated with a washed away yurt.

Few slept through the din of celebration in Nuir Marmot. The caravan from Nexus had arrived that morning, its merchant prince bringing exotic drinks to trade for the red wool. Bottles lay uncorked, Marukans, travelers and mercenaries alike embide. Silk sashes and jade obols trade hands while laughter and storytelling spar. The cry is barely heard, puzzled eyes before ears search the doors.

[ChaosArchon]

As Marik hears a cry ring through the tavern, he feels his heartstrings pull. He hated when people wept, people should want to do good to their fellow man, not cause harm to others and when people cried out, it was almost always because someone else was bringing harm to them. He gives Senri and Slip a look and stands up from the crude table they had been sitting at and looks to see if he can tell who had made the cry.

Spoiler: Cryed out like a wolf in the night!

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Wits (4)+ Awareness (0): (4d10)[7][2][6][9](24)
Sorry it's a short post, I promise as more becomes info available I'll have more to say

[Kell_tamer]

"21, 22, 23, 24..." An obol lifted from earlier jumps up and down as the plucky dragon blood passes it from limb to limb. Slip was keeping it up pretty nicely all things considered. As it balances on her nose she glances at Marik.

"So what's da plan?" She bobs her head back sending the obol up and down catching it with a quick snap of her hand. "I means dis is kind of a smorgasbord fer me an I'm gettin boad"

Suddenly her ears prick up as the sound is heard. "Or maybe I fink da fun found us!"

Spoiler: wits + awareness

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7 dice + 1 if trouble is available., 3 motes personal spent to add possibly 4 dice 3 definitely. depends if specialty is viable. 10 dice here
(10d10)[9][5][4][2][8][5][7][7][7][5](59)

if specialty viable (2d10)[1][10](11)

stunt if applicable
(3d10)[7][6][4](17)

[BrotherLeonidas]

Slips ears catch the ephemeral sound from outdoors, a woman's scream for sure she thinks to herself.

[GenericMook]

Senri leaned back in her creaky chair as she watched Slip play with the newly-lifted obol. She didn't necessarily approve, but hey, the thief actually was richer than she was, so complaints were in order.

Senri grabs her daiklave, which had been leaning against the table, somewhere in the second or two of silence between Slip's mention of trouble and Marik standing up.

"I think I heard something too. Should we take a look?'

Spoiler: Rolls

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Wits+Awareness

(6d10)[4][4][8][10][6][1](33)

The rest of the post is pending the number of successes I get.

[souffle_girl]

Syv barely managed to draw a breath before the tide washed over her. She cursed silently in her head, thinking that she definitely needs to pick up a water-breathing shape, and tried to swim upwards in the swirling current, desperate for air.

Spoiler: Roll

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Stamina 3 + Resistance 1.
(4d10)[25]
Whoops. It added them all up - what's the formatting for leaving them separate?

[dancrilis]

Arana

She had enjoyed the stars before she fell asleep, remained her of nights out in camps standing guard - but that was someone else's job tonight - not that she had been caught of guard in a while now sleeping or not, a somewhat disconcerting thought in and of itself.

The abrupt break in the silence roused her immediately - grabbing her backpack as she dashed out, stalling could be hazardous.

She stopped to look at the scene, thoughts went through her mind: broken dam, enemy action, angry god etc.

Ultimately she couldn't be sure but part of her trip to the area had been for potential strategic importance and history - she tried to recall any stories regarding sudden appearances of lakes before, particularly in the region. If this was a more widespread issue it was possible that her home in Ehloze was also at risk.

Spoiler: Roll

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Int+Lore(4d10)[5][5][8][5](23)
Stunt (if applicable): (3d10)[5][10][9](24)

[ChaosArchon]

Marik sees that his two companions seem to have figured out where the cry came from and says,"First we should at least go to where it is coming from and see what's going on. Then we can help whichever party is in need of help."

He begins to walk towards where he thinks he heard the sound, although he realized Senri or Slip probably has a better idea of where its origin is. Nevertheless he continues to walk forward, determined to help end whatever suffering is taking place here. At the same time he is considering the incantations and rituals for a few sorceries that could work depending on what is the issue. If someone is being attacked... well Senri, Slip, and he would ensure the attacker would think twice before assaulting another human being. If someone had been injured, either by animal, disease, or just pure misfortune, he could help patch them up and help make them comfortable while they healed up.

[BrotherLeonidas]

Syveris fights to breach the surface of the cold water, ever searching for signs of the child. Eyes blurred by water she comprehends her surroundings, where the Nemegun was narrow and shallow it is now wide and deep. Debris floats in the lake, hiding the location of other survivors.

Arana looks down from on high, her mind searches for mention of a lake but comes up empty. The Nemegun only had one tail in the maps, cutting around the Odu Gobege, never depositing in front of it.

[dancrilis]

Arana

Nothing immediately significant came to mind - not that this surprised her, her studies had not been focused on areas.

She let out a sigh the important thing now was whether she should try to assist anyone caught in the water, if there was need to warn other areas with haste, if it was enemy action or if ultimately it was just one of those things to ignore.

She focused on the scene before her. She let her eyes note if the water was still expanding, and her ears to listen for sounds of victims or enemies -now would be a good time to attack the town. If this was some invasion plot of the dead in the south she tried to pickup anything of smell - but that was a long shot to be sure. Still basic training - trust your senses, unless you have direct cause not too.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Assuming you are happy for me to roll for this - if not please disregard.
Perception+Awareness:(6d10)[4][5][10][9][3][9](40)
Possible Stunt: (3d10)[10][3][3](16)

[Kell_tamer]

Slip is already making her way through, and occasionaly over and under the crowd, out to where its happening. "Padron me, scuse me, Nice 'at! Down below biggie!" Her body flows and weaves amidst gaps and the cracks in the crowd.

When she manages to breach the door she scrambles out and clambers up the signpost of the establsihment into a perch. Slip gazes out into the crowd to see where its coming from. "Oi! Wut's 'appenin'?"

Her keen eyes look for where the sound was coming from, much like an eagle as she scanned the crowd.

Spoiler

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Perception + Awareness + specialty 7 dice
(7d10)[8][3][9][2][10][9][1](42)
stunt if any
(IN OOC)

[souffle_girl]

Finally reaching more shallow waters, Syv stands up coughing and spluttering, then takes a look around. She'd heard of the floods of the Nemegun river, but she didn't expect them to be so sudden at all. Is the River God upset?

She recalls a young child that was washed away by the tide with her, but she can't see him now. Fearing the worst, she calls out loud for help, then frantically begins to search for the kid.

Spoiler: Roll

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Perception 4 + Awareness 3
(7d10)[8][4][7][6][3][6][3](37)

[BrotherLeonidas]

Arana glares at the destruction below with eyes and ears, and first hears the young woman clinging to wooden frames. Soaked and bewildered she appears to be calling for another. The victims head bobs under the water, but quickly resurfaces, a beautiful girl perhaps and Arana feels her face warm.

Amidst the calming, lapping waves the finely dressed lady frantically looks about. To no avail, wood and rug is all that her sight can find. The water weighs heavy on shoulders and legs, threatening to drag below. But the will of a Moonsilver Child can move mountains, and she broke the shifting barrier a second time.

In the clamor of town the young Slip darted to view from on high. And what her glassy orbs gleaned amazed, the Nemegun was not one but two. Splitting through the town the second tail tore through building and roads, creating holes where they should not be. The source of the wailing was clear to the young girl, a woman, most certainly a mother, lay on her knees before her eviscerated home.

[dancrilis]

Arana

Taking in the scene somewhat impassively she saw the victim - a woman clinging to wooden frames, and she stopped and did a second take - the figure was beautiful there was no question about that, but that didn't mean dangerous. Attractive water spirits seeking to drown people were not uncommon in stories after all.

Still better to try to help - or kill as needed, than allow a potential innocent to drown or a capricious spirit to drown others.

Fastening one of her javelins securely to her leg - in case the worst needed to occur or beasts were in the water, she left her bag at the edge of the new found lake and moved to save the drowning person. If anyone stole her bag she would be fairly annoyed - but the design meant getting to the bottom if it might be handy enough.

Slowly at first to get used to the temperature she than dove in and swam under the waves to the figure - her eyes held open for danger and to see the trashing.

Spoiler: Rolls

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I assume this is is Dexterity + Athletics rather than Stamina + Resistance for endurance (temperature etc). The dice pool is one less if I am wrong.
Dexterity + Athletics: (8d10)[2][2][10][1][5][2][1][8](31)
Potential Stunt Dice: (3d10)[7][6][8](21)

[ChaosArchon]

Marik watches as the river cuts through the town and cannot stand idly by while it occurs. Quickly drawing up the plans in his head, he rushes towards the mouth of this new tail and begins his work. To the surprise of any mortal watching, he works at surprisingly quick speed and with such eloquence others would later say it was as if a god of crafting himself was at the scene.

"I must do this, otherwise innocent people may die and I will NOT let that happen." he keeps saying as he works, repeating the phrase as if it was his own personal mantra, his statement to the world. As he works, it almost looks like the elements were created solely for this precise purpose.

After some work, Marik stands up and washes his hands, confident that he had done a good job. Where he had toiled now stood a dam capable of holding back the torrent of water which had threatened the town.

Spoiler: Wonder Powers Activate! Form of: Dam

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activating Craftsman-Needs-No-Tools+Second Crafting Excellency+channeling Virtue (Compassion) -13m, 2wp (-7m,1wp from CNNT, -6m from Excellecy, -1wp from channeling virtue) 6/19 Personal Essence 7/9wp
Crafting (Dex(2)+Craft(5)+Compassion (5)): (12d10)[7][10][1][7][10][8][1][1][8][7][9][5](74)+3sux

[Kell_tamer]

Slip didn't even think. Darting with effortless grace she leaps from the pole and make a dash toward the new river, feet touching atop heads and shoulders as she made her speedy tracks. The water aspect moved and flowed toward the woman as the water crashed down. "'ang on lady! your ouse' aint worf yer life! Grab on an lets get outta 'ere!" The water that is dragging things away becomes footing for her. She leaps down and grabs the lady springing back onto the now crashing water from a swell.

[GenericMook]

Senri was barely behind Marik as he began to work. The moment he began moving debris to build the improvised dam, she began hauling larger pieces to put into place for him. Marik was an excellent craftsman and designing a dam on the fly probably wasn't too hard for him, but the manual labor required was a different story.

Senri moved everything large that she could find. The remnants of pillars, smashed by the current, would serve as braces, while larger pieces, broken off from the sides of various residences, would be uses as part of the dam itself.

Spoiler

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Instead of Craft here, I suppose Senri's contribution is going to come from actual manual labor. I'll be rolling Strength + Athletics to determine how many successes Senri adds to the effort. I'll be adding 4 dice through First Strength Excellency and using one of my Solar Bond dice to assist Marik:

(Strength + Athletics): (12d10)[9][3][8][9][7][1][8][8][1][3][9][7](73)

Stunt Dice: (3d10)[2][8][3](13)

Personal Essence: 15/19
Solar Bond Dice: 3/4

[ManOfSand]

Having lost her flock along the way Delilah sees nowhere to go other than the yurt, she slowly wades through the pond frightful of who or what lies within. The sound that awakened her frightened her a great deal, but her curiosity got the best of her as usual and so she ventured on. To calm her nerves, she begins to sing an old Marukani rhyme her mentor had taught her, though she gets many of the words wrong, "brightest eyes on brightest skies the winds and rocks guide me tonight, never alone please guide me home to the place where the flocks do freely roam."

Spoiler: Rolls

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Intelligence+Lore:(3d10)[2][1][1](4)
Charisma+Performance:(5d10)[7][6][3][8][7](31)

[BrotherLeonidas]

Whispers ripple outward from the main street. The heroics of few becoming quick gossip, onlookers marveling at the spectacle that halted the rivers flow, and of those who snatched innocents from its aqueous grasp. Marik built it of little more than wood or dirt, summoning it to act at his divine command. The haste but sound construction held firm, truncating the branch of the normally docile Nemegun to a slow trickle. Senri knelt exhausted and panting while her mate accepted acknowledgements. As Slip reintroduced the saved woman to the townspeople the horns of Ura men blew once, then twice, and finally thrice.

Far from town Syveris scrambled about, eventually hearing the rustling of another in the lake. A lean, muscled woman tossed aside debri as she swam. Her eyes looked up at Syveris, a quick smile appearing. A song sang just short by and caught both pairs of delicate ears.

Of one thing Delilah was certain, she could not recall this particular lake. Her goats would relish a drink from the deep lake she contemplated, continuing her tune. And then with her most beautiful of eyes she spied a youngling. A little ugly it was, but wasn't everything thrown in the light of Luna's Daughter?

[ChaosArchon]

As the townspeople begin to lay adoration and thanks upon Marik, he warmly smiles back at them and says,"Thank you for your kind words, all of you. But I only did what I thought was right, and I couldn't have done it alone either. Thank my friends as well, for they are even more worthy of your gratitude."

As he says this, he looks upon the dam he just built and, finding it pleasing, goes to fetch Senri some water to quench the thirst she must have built up while moving the debris and earth while she helped him. When he returns, he looks at both Slip and Senri and says,"We did good today, I'm glad we were able to help these people."

Marik then seeks out the woman who had lost her home and says,"Miss if you require a room to stay, you are more than welcome to take my room for the night, I am more comfortable sleeping outside anyway. Also if I can find the sufficient materials, I would be more than happy to rebuild your house. Although my work would never be able to compete with the sentimental worth of your original home of course, but nevertheless it would be my honor to restore your home."

[ManOfSand]

"Come here, don't worry!" Delilah calls out to the youngling as she slowly wades toward it. Once at the shore she finds herself drenched from the waters and looks for a dry and safe place to camp and start a fire. Staring upon the young animal, a sense of joy overtakes her that she may not be completely lonely for a while now. "You and I, we're not so different at all, just a couple wild animals lost in the wilderness. I'm just a lot prettier, but don't worry, you've got time to grow."

She hangs her clothing up to dry a safe distance from the flames and peers into the sky, hoping to survey the clouds for an accurate evaluation of the coming weather. Her eyes then descend to the lake before her, seeking out any other stray younglings or better yet, someone to give her conversation.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Building a fire in a suitable spot:
Intelligence+Survival(6d10) [1] [6] [2] [5] [9] [3] (26)
Potential Stunt Dice: (3d10) [8] [7] [1] (16)

Observing the skies to predict the weather:
Perception+Survival(6d10) [5] [10] [6] [4] [6] [6] (37)
Potential Stunt Dice: (3d10) [9] [1] [5] (15)

Trying to spot other significant signs of life:
Perception+Awareness(6d10) [10] [4] [2] [9] [5] [4] (34)
Potential Stunt Dice: (3d10) [1] [5] [8] (14)

[dancrilis]

Arana

Reaching the other person was some comfort - finding her way in the dart and with the waves from shore could easily have went poorly - swimming to the her.

"I'm getting you to shore - don't panic or struggle as you might drown us both. I won't allow that" her voice calm "hold onto the driftwood - it should make this easier", with that she unceremoniously took hold of the back collar of the other woman and began to do a one armed backstroke mostly kicking with her legs for direction, and regulating her breathing in the event that she needed to offer any words to her 'cargo'.

Spoiler: Roll

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I suspect that with the other person this is more resistance swimming:
Stamina+Resistance: (7d10)[4][6][3][7][7][4][5](36)
Stunts: (3d10)[3][9][3](15)

[GenericMook]

Senri nods and accepts the water from Marik with a brief smile. After taking her drink, Senri stood back up, walking over and standing beside Marik, as he began speaking to the woman that Slip had just saved.

Senri smiles at the gathered crowd for a moment, before turning back and looking at the improvised dam that the two of them had built. It wasn't much, but it would probably hold, simply by virtue of being made by Marik. Still, this bothered her.

This wasn't really supposed to happen. She wasn't a native, but she was pretty sure that people wouldn't build a town in the same area where the Nemegun could flood. Even back in the West, in Senri's now-destroyed hometown, the only thing that would be near the coast were the docks for the various fishing and trading boats.

There was definitely something fishy about this situation. She'd have to ask Marik about it, but she could do that when he was fixing the house.

[souffle_girl]

Syveris let the other woman come close and grab her, breathing deeply of the air. She had started to panic, but now she felt safer. By the time they were close to the shore, Syv tried to contribute to staying afloat, at least.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Strength + Athletics
see OOC

Spoiler: Assuming they make it to the shore

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"Thank you," she said, crawling awkwardy on solid ground, legs still shaking, "but there was someone else with me in the water, a young..."

Her words trailed off when she lifted her eyes to her saviour. The young woman in front of her might as well have been the most beautiful being in the whole Creation, because Syv felt herself flush with embarrassment, unable to tear her eyes off her.

It's her, she thought, Luna's Light, it has to be her! Had she finally met the one she was destined to?

[dancrilis]

Arana

Once the water was shallow enough to stand she let the other woman go unceremoniously and made her way to the shore with her back turned - if this was going to be an ambush she would expect her training to allow her to notice it, calling over her shoulder "you should be able to walk from here".

Once fully on dry land she began to squeeze the water from her clothes, not a perfect solution but should be sufficient.

She shrugged at the mention of someone else - "can't help who I can't find - only noticed you", her eyes met the other woman's and than noted the hair - silver. She didn't particularly like silver - it reminded her of losing the life she had and the rabbit woman. But that wasn't the fault of the woman in front of her.

"Suppose I should introduce myself: Arana - Former Chuzei of the First Field Force, Lookshy" she paused for a second "currently on extended authorised leave" it was a sore spot for her.

"So with that out of the way, who are you and what brought you here instead of inside Nuir Marmot?", it was a blunt question, which a hint of suspicion.

[Kell_tamer]

Slip revels a bit in the attention. Recognition of Awesomeness was always a welcome thing for her. "Yep a'hm exalted, yep, water, yep, uh huh, yep. " She very much enjoys not being chased. The booze was a nice perk too as people started buying her drinks. She never thought she'd have to turn some down to not pass out. "Yousee! Fing bout bein Zalted is you jus start doin fings wifout finkin!" She explains in her drunken fashion to the even younger kids. No one seemed at all against giving the water aspect alcohol given what she was. "Sum powerz come all naturullike! like me an walkin on water! ovvers you gotta learn!" She blinks as they ask questions about her more mundane things. "yea Zalted still gotta work out, abs like dese don't just come wif it!" The girl rambles on and on and on.

[BrotherLeonidas]

The distraught woman thanks the kind Marik with tearful eyes but refuses his first offer, explaining that she has family to live with. "The debt of gratitude i already owe you is burden enough, i insist on paying you in some manner for your skills". Her brow furrows as she thinks, "my father was a collector, surely he would thank you from Lethe for what you have done here this morning. He has many grave trinkets that were found in the hills of these lands. Perhaps one would be payment enough?"

Word travels quickly on flat land, and soon the chatter swings from jubilation back to worry. Six more tails of the Nemegun have seen sighted by shepherds and Bortu scouts. Townspeople begin to disseminate, scuttling away to homes and kin. Only five brave (or drunk) souls remain in the streets. Three of them Exalted, one devastated by her loss, and last looking curiously on from the doors of the Nuir Marmot.

Delilah locates two more survivors making their way out of the lake in tandem and what should become a a warm sunny day. The silly fools had swam to the other side, and the young child whimpered on and on. A speck of red caught the shepherds eye, no doubt one of her goats. It ambled awkwardly in the morning glow, picking at this and that, inspecting nails in the washed up wood.

[ChaosArchon]

Marik smiles at the woman,"If it would not trouble you so, I would be more than happy to accept one of the trinkets your late father found. It seems I may have to deal with the other tails of the river, but I promise soon I will return and rebuild your house."

Marik then turns to Slip and says,"Aren't you a tad young to be drinking, my friend?" grinning slightly as he said it but he then turns to Senri, and the smile on his face vanishes as he whispers,"I don't think this was a natural flood, do you?"

[souffle_girl]

Snapping out of her reverie, Syv started to squeez herself dry too, wondering what that "extended authorised leave" meant. If she really was her Solar Mate, it made sense she would have been driven away from the Legion. She desperately needed to find out if her instinct was right.

"Oh, yes. Excuse my manners; I am Syveris, but people around here also know me as the White Fox," Syv said, stepping out of the water. "What I do is... complicated. I'm an explorer and student of the old times. This area is filled with ruins from the First Age. I was making my way back to the town, but the sunset caught me still in the wilderness. The Bajas family was kind enough to offer me shelter for the night."

She turned around again, looking at the lake. "So much destruction. I'm sad I couldn't repay their kindness; had I not been surprised by the flood I might have helped them get out of the current."

She finally looked back at Arana with a smile.

"I am in your debt, Arana of Lookshy. Is there any way I can help?"

[dancrilis]

Arana

She looked over the lake "nothing that can be done for them now - they either survived are didn't".

Well the story was reasonable enough - battles had occurred here, but that left a few primary locations for Syveris to be based.

"So Syveris known as White Fox, you didn't tell me where you are from" ruin exploring was dangerous work - and this area might still have strategic merit. Where the woman's loyalties were mattered.

She shrugged at the idea of a debt "don't worry about it - other than your location and loyalties if your aquired knowledge indicates anything about this lake formation that might be useful to".

Looking around absently until she got her bearings "there is a fire up there - possible more survivors, and were I left my stuff - we can walk and talk".