The Order Of The Shining Plume [IC]

[JNAProductions]

It's easy to gather the villagers-they're looking for you, demanding explanations.

[Athaleon]

As the crowd quickly gathered, Variel made himself look as presentable as he could given the circumstances. He climbed atop a wagon to use it as a makeshift podium, cleared his throat, and spoke as he'd been taught: Loud enough to project to the whole audience, but without shouting. Calm, confident, and clear.

"Last night, the so-called Slaughterhouse sent one of their lackeys to destroy your village—you may have seen the glimmer as she approached in the night. She was duly put down, as all such evil deserves. However she is neither the last nor the most powerful of the enemy's agents, and her failure to return will surely be noted, if it has not already. Hence I must urge you all to continue to safety, until such time as justice is meted out to all her kind."

"Well, for how long?" came one voice out of the crowd.

"Truthfully, I do not know. The foe has damaged our order, it is true." Damn near wiped us out, Variel didn't add. "Though that will delay the counter-blow, it has also ensured that yesterday's events will never be forgotten, let alone forgiven, and word of it will spread. They have painted targets on their own heads."

"Who was it that attacked the village?" asked another villager.

"We never got her name. Our victory was hard-fought, and she... did not afford us the opportunity to bring her down alive for questioning. I can say she was a powerful mage, of some sort—the glimmer around her was from the stained glass windows of our hall, shattered in the same moment as the windows in your village, in their attack." That reminds me, was it her I heard singing before the assault? "In any case, I must reiterate that they have other agents to carry out whatever designs they had for your village."

Spoiler

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Persuasion: (1d20+7)[24] + (1d4)[2] Guidance

[JNAProductions]

The villagers, while still somewhat disgruntled, look at your cuts and bruises. They accept your words, and continue their travels.

Meekly comes to you, and says "Thank you. This is... A difficult time, for all of us, as I'm sure you can imagine. Indos shouldn't be more than three more days out, though-do you have any way of sending a message ahead, to make sure it's safe?"

[Xihirli]

Leff nodded and sat down on top of a cart.
"Write up a message and give me an hour," she said, and withdrew a small bronze brazier from her component pouch. She laid incense and charcoal in it and lit the concoction with a touch.
"Matzah mochair... Malakh lah'orev... Matzah mochair..."

Spoiler: OOC

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After one hour and ten minutes I shall summon a raven that is secretly a celestial.

[JNAProductions]

Turning to the others and letting Leff perform her ritual in peace, the mayor asks "Should we tell Indos everything? I don't want to cause undue panic, but I admit, this is pretty far outside my area of expertise."

[Athaleon]

"We will need to tell them the truth, so long as we make sure to deliver it to the right people first. We don't want to cause a panic, but we cannot afford to downplay the gravity of the situation."

[JNAProductions]

"I've a relative in Indos-my sister," Meekly replies. "I'd trust her with my life, being family, and she would know better than I who we can alert safely about the situation."

[Xihirli]

After over an hour of chanting, Leff reached into the brazier and pulled out the burning coals. She molded them like clay, and guided them with her voice.
"By fire your beauty was hidden, your prismatic feathers burned black. By fire your beauty is revealed, bleeding every color under the sun through your feathers once the light is behind them. I name you and bring you into this world. I name you Harök, the Scorched Bird!" She released the coals, and the fire receded under the black coals, which expanded out into the feathers of a raven that perched on Leff's arm. She found herself looking at Eris first after this, for whatever reason, a bit of a proud smile on her face.

[Xihirli]

She accepted a pen and paper and began to write.
"If you have some way to tie the note to Harök, I would appreciate that."
And with that she wrote out
To the town of Indos - with all the honor its authorities are due - from the Order of the Shining Plume.
I regret that I am delivering news of grave danger. The Slaughterhouse has dispatched its most dangerous agents, attacked a contingent of our ranks, and has since sent out at least one party with the goal of slaughtering entire villages. We three - Eris, Variel, and Leflabah - are delivering a group of refugees to your esteemed lands. On behalf of the Order of the Shining Plume, we ask that you receive them and provide for them to the best of your ability. We will be up within three days of this letter's writing along with the refugees.
We three agents shall be able to provide more information upon our arrival, and we hope to discuss what actions must be taken to keep both your hold and the world at large safe from further assaults.
At your service,
The Order of the Shining Plume.

[JNAProductions]

Meekly nods, and gathers some twine from a villager's cart. He comes back, and attaches the note to Harök's leg. "Safe travels, little bird," he offers.

[Xihirli]

Leflabah instructed Harök to fly to Indos and bring its letter to the largest building it could find within the city before using its mimic ability to say "a letter for you!" and then allow the letter to be taken before flying back.
"Fly with speed and our hopes, Harök."

[Athaleon]

"Should we go ahead of the caravan to scout for danger? Perhaps check on the disposition of the city before the main group arrives?"

[Xihirli]

Leff sharply turned her head, a bit surprised at the suggestion.
"I'm more concerned about what's behind and following than what's ahead and waiting."
Leff molded her mount from purple fire over eleven minutes and then brought her horse next to Eris to trot next to her.

"I don't know what I'm doing," she said as quietly as she could.
"Are we really the legacy of the order? Terror, fire, and violence?"

[Athaleon]

Leff sharply turned her head, a bit surprised at the suggestion.
"I'm more concerned about what's behind and following than what's ahead and waiting."

"The foe's reach may be longer than we think," Variel grumbled somewhat peevishly.

[Xihirli]

"We know they're behind us, we only assume they might be ahead."
Leflabah reached into her component pouch and withdrew the glass she'd put in earlier. After a few minutes of primordial chanting, she dropped the glass off to one side.
"Just glass."

[JNAProductions]

The trip to Indos is tense-mostly for you all, but also a little for the villagers. There are a few animal attacks, but with your skill, they're easily driven off. What few injuries result are easy enough to heal. At no point, though, does Leff's familiar return.

As Indos comes into sight, you see why there weren't more attacks from the Slaughterhouse's abominations. They're outside the city, laying siege to it. You see a massive horde of the smaller ones, and a few animate siege towers, made of flesh and blood.

[Valmark]

Eris lazily woke up much later then the others, getting filled up on the details of everything that happened as fast as possible."We could do both, scout out up while one or two stays in the back. We can always keep in contact with our earrings- we said those were alright to use, right?" she says, joining in in the conversation showing her earrings in her palm.

Later, when Lef goes up to her, she ponders on the question for a second.
"It's true that we may not have been the best people around..." her voice trails down thinking at that corpse mutilation of before "...mainly referring to myself, I guess. But up until now we've been doing the best we can- that must account for something. I mean, look at all of them. We saved them" she says, briefly jesturing all around her.
"We can't be perfect. You should have heard plenty about me to know I'm far from it, not that you haven't seen it. But as long as we strive to help, and to better ourselves- that is all the world should need out of us"
Eris thinks about something for a second, then flashes a smile.
"YOU shouldn't worry about it. Your actions have been basically perfect in my book. And if Varis hadn't been able to scare her I highly doubt you'd have crossed that line. Hell, you burned yourself and ordered us to strike without esitation in hope to kill that... thing..." she turns forward, not smiling anymore "I... I'm not sure if it had been up to me I'd have restrained my hand. Can't speak for him, of course"



Upon sight of the siege, Eris represses a curse and finds the mayor.
"Keep all of the villagers out of sight, at no point should they get anywhere near there!" she then turns to her mates.
"Right, the hell do we do? I've got a plan, but it involves only the three of us against dunno how many of those monsters!"

[Xihirli]

Spoiler: FLASHBACK

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Later, when Lef goes up to her, she ponders on the question for a second.
"It's true that we may not have been the best people around..." her voice trails down thinking at that corpse mutilation of before "...mainly referring to myself, I guess. But up until now we've been doing the best we can- that must account for something. I mean, look at all of them. We saved them" she says, briefly jesturing all around her.
"We can't be perfect. You should have heard plenty about me to know I'm far from it, not that you haven't seen it. But as long as we strive to help, and to better ourselves- that is all the world should need out of us"
Eris thinks about something for a second, then flashes a smile.
"YOU shouldn't worry about it. Your actions have been basically perfect in my book. And if Varis hadn't been able to scare her I highly doubt you'd have crossed that line. Hell, you burned yourself and ordered us to strike without esitation in hope to kill that... thing..." she turns forward, not smiling anymore "I... I'm not sure if it had been up to me I'd have restrained my hand. Can't speak for him, of course"

"You were an... assassin, I believe. I was a doomsday cultist. Bent on the destruction of society." She kept traveling for a bit without talking, listening to Eris.
"I was taught that civilization was aberration, and that it was our - fire's weakness, its easy domestication, that had led to it. That's the story I referenced, actually. The raven brought fire down from Har Zephon - ah, a volcano - to share it with people. In the process its feathers were charred black. The fire didn't want to be domesticated, it wanted to eat. But that simplicity, that predictability allowed it to be tamed, and civilization to be built up from it." At this point she realized she'd strayed off-topic.
"When I was trying to save the glass lady's life it was not just out of a need for information. I thought... I wondered, if after the destruction of my cult, if Scribe hadn't saved me... would I have joined the slaughterhouse? Would I have allied myself with them out of a blind drive for revenge, ready to support evils I found unforgivable in order to forward the evil I wanted? Yes, I've been throwing my life into the creed of the Order. I am afraid that it might be all that separates me from people like her. Thank you, Eris. We may not have been the best remnants to save this world, but we were the best remnants to destroy the Slaughterhouse. And I say there's enough overlap there to suit my needs."

Upon sight of the siege, Eris represses a curse and finds the mayor.
"Keep all of the villagers out of sight, at no point should they get anywhere near there!" she then turns to her mates.
"Right, the hell do we do? I've got a plan, but it involves only the three of us against dunno how many of those monsters!"

"Lay it on us," Leff requested.
"Even if we can't take the army we can weaken it enough that Indos can. What would be really useful is getting in touch with their generals to form a coordinated strategy."

[JNAProductions]

The villagers, eye-to-eye with the Slaughterhouse's forces, manage to avoid panic. Or at least, panicked running-they're certainly whispering quite frantically.

Looking out at the forces arrayed against the city, you know one thing for certain-going in alone is suicide. Without an army by your side, the siege is far too large to handle on your own through direct combat.

But, you can also see that the Slaughterhouse (at least appears to be) content to wait Indos out. Their forces have no worries of morale, and might ignore food and other basic necessities too. Regardless, more information is needed for certain before any rash decisions are made.

[Xihirli]

"On second thought," Leflabah began.
"What we really need is a way inside the city, so that we can communicate with the generals in Indos. If there are no objections, I will fly into the city and get in touch - may as well see if these earrings work. Together we can coordinate a real plan."

[Valmark]

Spoiler: Flashback

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"I think what makes you different is also the lack of a prensile spine, but yeah, I get what you're saying" Eris chuckles "And I believe that if you had been truly evil then Scribe couldn't have saved you, but that's conjecture I guess"

"Well, my plan was to either beeline for some Slaughterhouse' official member -they should be the only non-monsters around- or murder the catapults. I mean, they are made of flesh and bones, they should be killable..." she looks at the earring in her hand
"Are you sure that you want to go alone? You'll have to cross their army and enter a city without knowing if they'll shoot you down... and I can't fly. Variel?" Eris says, worried.
"I'd tell you to carry a white flag but that would make you stand out more, I believe"

[Xihirli]

"I can only make one of us able to fly at once. And if it fails partway through I'll only be able to re-up it on myself. But before we do anything rash... Azër." Leflabah tossed out three fistfuls of white fire to bolster her teammates' life force once more.

Spoiler: Aid

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All three of us increase our current and max hp by 5.

[Athaleon]

"We can't just fly over the walls without being spotted. And what do we do with all of them?" Variel indicated the villagers. "Unless the enemy has grown so overconfident that they don't bother to watch their backs, we will be spotted soon with such a crowd behind us. I fear the best option will be to send them on their way while we deal with this situation here."

[Xihirli]

"Yes, a day's journey back the way we came until we get back in touch with them is a good idea," Leff agreed.
"And yes, we absolutely will be seen but that can't be helped. We're too small for siege weapons to target us and the only archers we've seen are from Indos. We should make it, especially if we fly high enough. I can protect us from a fall of up to six hundred feet."
She laid a hand on Variel's shoulder.
"I'll have to go alone if you don't help, and that's a lot more dangerous. Please, Variel."

[Valmark]

"If we can go together then I'm alright with this plan. Thought I still think we should wave a white flag, maybe unfurling once we're within range" Eris says, then gesturing towards the villagers "I think that finding a safe spot for them to wait in should be our first move though. Although I haven't got the slightest idea of what a safe spot would be here. Probably sending them back is the best bet, yes"

[Athaleon]

"Very well. Once the villagers have had time to get under way again, I will summon my steed and grant it flight. Then, provided the enemy has no mages or the like, we should be able to scout with relative impunity."

[Xihirli]

"Excellent. Meekly, I want your people to travel for a half-day back the way we came. You don't have to wait for us before you take your next course of action, but if you move we won't be able to contact you when we break the siege."
Leflabah then turned to Eris.
"A white flag's a good idea. I don't have one. If you can get one while Variel is summoning his friend, waving it would be useful."

[JNAProductions]

Meekly nods. "The others won't be happy, but they'll understand. I'll get you a white cloth before you go-though I have my doubts they'll listen."

[Athaleon]

"The force outside the walls certainly won't, but maybe it'll help prevent our side from shooting at us."

"Now, while we wait for the villagers to reach a relatively safe distance, I suppose we should lie low until we're ready to go up and over."

[Xihirli]

"We’re ready." Leff insisted.
”They’ll have put on enough distance by the time we’ve mounted up. Summon up your Steed and let’s fly."