[IC][Exalted 2.5] The Emerald Labyrinth

[dreamking89]

"Take it easy," Orca says to Lover, "If she wanted to kill me, she'd have tried to by now. As for why I'm here, monk.....Let's call it a very elaborate bet." Orca silently thinks back to that fateful night in the Diving Sea Snake. Plentimon better not be taking me for a ride, he thought silently to himself.

"A better arsenal: my three favorite words," Orca suddenly says with a grin. "I had a few ideas, mainly about these." With a flick of his wrist, one of his flame pieces is in hand and showing it to the Alchemical. "I can always go for more firepower, but the real issue is efficiency. One shot and the piece is spent. If I didn't carry so many on me, I'd be corpse food. What I need is something with multiple barrels that fire in succession."

He takes a look around, "Perhaps I should show you my sketches back at the warehouse."

[Magnusar]

After looking over the burnt corpse the Lover comes back to the captain looking over his mechanical arm cannon."I think I will need to upgrade our arsenal before we go into the labyrinth captain I find ourselves to be a bit underarmed for this kind of expedition. Is this woman giving you trouble ?" The Lover turns his purple eyes to look at Xixa.

[The Revenge of TV Head]

Orca chuckles, thinking back to those five days he spent in the Celestial City. "That was a fun Carnival. I really gotta go back sometime soon." A look of realization crossed his face, "Wait, I remember you! You chased me for an entire day through that orchard! You might have caught me too if I didn't hide in that Joybringer's townhouse. I was lucky she was more curious than angry about finding me asleep in her chambers...." He chuckles again, thinking back on the day, seeming to forget entirely about Xisa for a moment.

"So what happened after Yu-Shan? Did the Order decide I wasn't feasting on enough infants to continue the chase?" He adds sarcastically.

At Orca's brief reverie, she recalled precisely what irritated her about this man, how easily he forgot her. Arrogant, self interested, upstart of a pirate.



"Wouldn't know, I'm not very popular amongst the Order these days. It's what brought me to Last Chance." She fairly growled. "I'm to clear my mind of all the deviltry you've supposedly infected me, while resting here here. Until further notice. As far from the Blessed Isle, where I can do the least amount of damage to their perfect little...lie." She breathed out, banishing the hostility. "So, what brings you to Last Chance? Surely not these Zombies, I'd figured you have enough of the Undead after Island #5."

[Belkra]

The Prodigal hesitates for a second when the Lunar mentions his seeming lack of abilities. He decides that he can explain the vagaries of commanding undead creatures to him later. Something more pressing was calling for his attention.

He proceeds rapidly through Last Chance, fighting an urge to take all the posters the creatures had placed down and burn them. It would draw attention to him and that wasn't something he needed right now. No, he needed to find Merciful and let him know what was going on. The plan he had started to formulate might still be feasible, but he would have to ask the others to adjust the roles he had already cast them in.

The real question now was where Merciful had gotten off to. Marian hadn't seen the other Exalt since landing in last chance. It wasn't an overly odd thing for him to disappear, but he would need to be found before more of the creatures showed up to do it.

[dreamking89]

Orca chuckles, thinking back to those five days he spent in the Celestial City. "That was a fun Carnival. I really gotta go back sometime soon." A look of realization crossed his face, "Wait, I remember you! You chased me for an entire day through that orchard! You might have caught me too if I didn't hide in that Joybringer's townhouse. I was lucky she was more curious than angry about finding me asleep in her chambers...." He chuckles again, thinking back on the day, seeming to forget entirely about Xisa for a moment.

"So what happened after Yu-Shan? Did the Order decide I wasn't feasting on enough infants to continue the chase?" He adds sarcastically.

[The Revenge of TV Head]

"Well there were quite a few of us on Danaa'd's Talon, of course." Xisa replied, breathing in and gritting her teeth. "Less so at the Library of Bones, Or during that chase over Island #5. And as I recall, there was only one chasing you through the bloody Streets of Yu Shan!"

[dreamking89]

Orca kicks his dropped flame pieces into the air, catching them and beginning to reload them (his mind going to a design for a multi shot flame piece). "Funny Deathknight," He says as he slides the reloaded weapons back into his coat, "I thought your kind COMMANDED the undead."

Which reminded her. She turned to the Prodigal. "I don't know, who he is." Then to Lover "I haven't the slightest idea what you are." Then she whirled about to face Orca. "But I damned well remember you!"

Orca raises an eyebrow at the monk, "You're gonna have to be more specific, miss. I've pissed off a LOT of Immaculate Monks back home...."

[The Revenge of TV Head]

(Alleyway)

Orca's flame blasts burn away their target, while the last zombie collapses into a burning pile. Success! Everyone gains 300 levels and a small bag of flaming corpse pieces! Sadly, since Exalted doesn't use levels, you only get the satisfaction of a job well done. You can all have flaming corpse parts, though, if you'd wish.

What will you do now?

Xisa took a long hard stare at the burnt corpses, attempting to discern the origins or category of undead creature Orca had just destroyed.

Per+Occult, I think.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4841573/

6 hits

Which reminded her. She turned to the Prodigal. "I don't know, who he is." Then to Lover "I haven't the slightest idea what you are." Then she whirled about to face Orca. "But I damned well remember you!"

[wonderandawe]

Zarah almost chokes on her drink when Alma says this. "Surfs the shores of Reality?" Zarah says, covering her shock at the revelation of Zan's "faith". She will have to ask him about it later. "How does one surf the shores of realty?"

[Dietaku]

(Pub)

"Zan sees me as a sign that the god-kings of legend are returning. His family has a long-standing reverence for the sun-kings, and he sees me of proof of his faith's concreteness. His family has surfed the shores of Reality, so this sort of danger in the Labyrinth is second nature to him," she says," Or that's what he says. I've not ever seen this palace of ice he keeps going on about."

[wonderandawe]

Zarah nods and was silent for a moment as she collected her thoughts. Alma was not was she expected. But then, everything was not what she expected since she came to the threshold. Keeping her hand on her knife, Zarah asked the question she really wanted an answer to.

"How does Zan feel about your status?" He was the real reason why she asked about Alma. The Labyrinth was dangerous and Zarah was sure that either she or her companions would not be able to keep their secret for long.

[Dietaku]

(Pub)

Alma sighs, then in a flash, a giant appears where she stood. Easily nine feet tall, with red-bronze skin, several horns jutting from her temples, as reddish-brown fur rustles here and there on her figure. She flexes taloned fingers, and he looks down at Zarah for a minute, before the smaller armored woman returns to view. No one else seems to have seen this terrifying vision, with the pub owner puttering around with his glasses and Zan still sleeping soundly.

"What you hear is correct. By your reckoning, I am "Anathema." What I am, though, I cannot say. I bear the memories of Alma, a princess in the line of Mereving in the land of Tarkh, in the region called the Hundred Kingdoms. She was betrothed to a man in the kingdom of Zell, to the east of Tarkh, and their union was supposed to unite the two neighbors in harmony, cementing friendships that had been built up over generations. However, then they appeared. Two men, sowing the seeds of strife and war. Kharas, the Lord of Blades, and the Sun-King of Flame, himself, Oda Noodlnaga. The two had armies of beastmen armed with unusual weapons that blew fire like the breath of the gods themselves. They sowed mistrust between Tarkh and Zell, and the princess was slain in the final battle for her home of Asterberg. However, her beloved still loved her, and sought any way to bring her back, employing even dark magicks and the shrines deep beneath Asterberg, baptized by an fell god at the end of time, whose Ichor is said to have stained the earth itself black. It was this that I recall, for I awoke to these two. I was not Alma, and yet, I am, and for this reason, I use her name, for it is the name in the memories in my head. However, when my birth was sussed out, I was called an evil spirit and fled, hounded by the Wyld Hunts of several nations. Which is why I am here. I have an unnatural hunger for blood and flesh, I know this, but I do not wish to prey on innocent humans if I can help it. The creatures of this place share my taste for blood, so I see it as a fair trade. Does that answer your question?" Alma asks, lazily.

[Belkra]

"That went in a direction I didn't want it to," The Prodigal starts as he gazes around at the devastation wrought by his unlikely companions. "I would like to thank all of you for ensuring that these beasts didn't get to sup on my remains." The Daybreak lowers his staff from it's defensive position and any cracks that may have shown in his mask of composure have disappeared. He nods once, more to himself than the others and starts to head out the alley.

[wonderandawe]

"So I see." Zarah is silent for a moment. I will most likely be dead in a month, so why not? Under the table, Zarah slips her hand into her sleeve to grab the handle of one of her throwing knives. She wants to be prepared in case Alma responds badly to her next question.

In a low voice, not to disturb the slumbering Zan, Zarah asks, "I heard a rumor that you were 'Anathema'. Now, I have never been particularly devout follower of the Immaculate Dragons and I always thought the Anathema were a bed time story the Scarlet Empress used to keep the Dragonblooded in line. So what are you really?"

I hope I read Alma's character correctly, otherwise I'll need to make a new one myself.

[Dietaku]

(Alleyway)

Orca's flame blasts burn away their target, while the last zombie collapses into a burning pile. Success! Everyone gains 300 levels and a small bag of flaming corpse pieces! Sadly, since Exalted doesn't use levels, you only get the satisfaction of a job well done. You can all have flaming corpse parts, though, if you'd wish.

What will you do now?

(Pub)

"It's....It's not that w-we're not propaned, Zala. It's that we're professionals. W-we have the tools and skills to go out. W-we also have seen a lot of-of....of...." Zan slumps over, asleep, as Alma strokes his back.

"He means we've seen the horrors the Labyrinth will throw out at us, " she replies," Besides, the sooner you begin to work on acquainting yourself, the easier ti will be to go out yourself," she says, looking at Zarah coolly.