[IC][Exalted 2.5] The Emerald Labyrinth

[Magnusar]

(Warehouse)

[Sorry, I forgot to include this before, Wonderandawe.

Ilse's motivation is Well... while Lukas' is to reforge or find his 'Sword of Light.'

51 dinar is a solid Resources 2 amount of funds. The asking price is also actually slightly less than market value, being around 4 dinar per deciton.]

"It's been here for around three months, since the last explosion of activity. Delivery is included. Don't worry. I want this out of my warehouse. I can feel it in my gut, there's going to be a good haul this time," Ilse smiles, " So, what do you say?"

Meanwhile with Orca and Lover, the specter blinks, flattens her robes and says, " The White Sea's inhabitants are a variety of fauna, ranging from the temperate to the subartic, from the lush temperate forests of Bak'Ng Zuda to the harsh cliff-lined fjords of Zustar Fen. The most populous animals are insects, from the Greater Huskroach to the Lesser Dailyfly. The most distinctive, though, are the furred whales and the Flying Pterowyrms, great flying reptiles whose flocks can be seen throughout the north. I could go on, but to describe every animal would be somewhat taxing upon you. Is there anything else?"

Lukas says, " Mr. Eisen, you said you've seen this sort of thing before, and could help me with me sword. You know about this stuff?"

Unrestrained Lover stops turning around and comming a bit uncomfortably close to Lukas before saying with a metalic voice.

"I exist for the sole purpose of creating technological weapons Lukas should your sword be the weapon I think it is I can build one and show you how to do so but it is a long and difficult process. If you have the will to learn the secrets of magitech I will teach you. Come to Lin Zarah's warehouse tomorrow for now I have work to do."

Turning around...Again Unrestrained Lover leaves the boy with Orca to meet up with Zarah and Ilse as they are still dealing.

"You have an interesting companion miss Ilse, as the price been negotiated Lin Zarah ?."

[wonderandawe]

Weighing the different market factors, Zarah decides that Ilse’s Whipwood trade is a fair deal. She holds out her hand and says “I believe we have a deal.”

After making arrangements to transfer the funds, Zarah leads The Unrestrained Lover (and Orca, if he is finished with Lukas) to the warehouse.

"What can you make out of the Whipwood we just bought?" Zarah asks the Unrestrained Lover.

Zarah unlocked the door. “The warehouse is in about the shape I imagined it to be. However, I was not expecting all this junk…or the smell.” She covers her face with the sleeve of her coat, after opening the door. “The former owner was a trapper, so I assume there is some dead thing rotting in here.”

She walks around, checking in one of the crates. “Perhaps we can find something interesting in this mess. “

I hope I am not going too far with the smell thing I added to the warehouse. It could be some dead thing or it could be Zarah being a prissy bitch.

[dreamking89]

Orca shrugs, shutting the book, "This could prove to be very useful once we learn more about what the Labyrinth was when this book was written." He hands the book back to Lukas, "It was a certainly pleasure, Lukas. I'd love to read this again, preferably when I have explored the Labyrinth a bit more." He lifts off his hat and gives a nod to the young man before turning around to join his companions.

Orca wrinkles his nose as soon as he enters the warehouse. "I don't suppose any of us hired anyone to open these crates for us?" He asks Lover and Zarah. After a long silence, he claps his hands together, "Right then, let's see what wonders this smelly warehouse holds!"

Perception+Investigation Roll to find any awesome stuff in the warehouse

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4792683/

That would make 5 successes.

[Wise Old Guru]

OOC: 3 successes on smellin'.

Nergui, determined not to be distracted again as he made his way to the market to purchase supplies for his airship...found himself once again distracted, by an enticing odor.

[Noodle]

" The name's Joachim," the steward says, "I'm from a small town not far from Iceholm. I make it my occupation to slay strange monsters and beasts, especially those from the Wyld."

Setting down a drink in front of Zan, Joachim takes a hearty drink of his own, savor in the earthy flavors of the drink before continuing. "Some friends of mine came here to set up business, and I came along to safeguard their interests from the local wildlife. Or the local wyldlife, as the case may be. Care to tell the story of how you took down that beastie? I'd be more than happy to offer another story in exchange."

[The Revenge of TV Head]

It was a humble abode, to be sure. Nevertheless, she bowed to Sister Fran after hearing her tale.
"I am in your debt for this hospitality, Sister. If you need help, do not hesitate to call on me."
With that she placed her pack in the corner and walked out into the streets, lost in thought as she puzzled over what she knew of her Uncle's side of the family. Unerringly, she arrived at a Teahouse.

2d10.hits(6)=1

[Dietaku]

(Warehouse)

"Wait, Mister Orca. I really appreciate you telling me all this. If you need anything, I have a smithy in the business district. You come on down if you need anything, 'kay?" he says, bowing.

At Zarah's warehouse, the smell is overwhelming, a mixture of rot, ammonia, and the must of neglect. Orca's searching, however, comes up with a small section in the back hollowed out of the boxes and other rubbish. There was a cot, several hides stretched out on racks, and a series of parchments tacked onto a nearby wall. Of note, there are a trio of pieces:

"Rehhanz: Poison, blades, arrows, traps. Nothing works. Maybe blunt force? I've secured the hardest hides I can. This ought to protect me from his fangs.

Xa Borugo: He is always seen in water. I bet if I dam his marshes, the bastard would be weakened. Gotta beware his tongue, though.

Yrmanaea: I see her flying everyday. She seems to have no interest in ground targets. I observed her motions all day. I'm unsure what, if anything, I can do. Ugh, my head aches. I need to open my eyes. My eyes are open, though. I'm abandoning my disguises now, I don't need them, even in the open. It'll be cold tonight. What am I doing? Is this all in vain? No, I need to hold on. There can be no shame.

On another page, there read:

"Ugh. No more skywatching Yrmanaea. She messed me up something fierce. However, when in my trance, I found the name "Salamandarian." I've seen that on several pillars near the Forest Folk's territory. I better check it out."

With that, the notes end. What will you do?

[Dietaku]

(Nergui)

The lumbering Steward follows the scent to a side alley of the marketplace, where she sees a coughing man in robes. He turns to Nergui.

"Sorry, Guv," he says in a squelchy voice, before hacking up a strange, pinkish, brackish liquid, and collapsing, a large pink flower erupting out of his back. The man's visible flesh collapses like a deflated balloon, overtaken by a onrush of vines and similar flowers growing out of the body with supernatural speed.

"Oh, Forest Folk Illness. I'd stay away if I were you, kind sir," a fishwife says, sauntering over to the Lunar, " Explorers who get too close to the Forest Folk get like this. Some say it's the Will of the Labyrinth itself, to kill those who displease it and its ancient goals."

Well, that was odd, what will you do now?

[Dietaku]

(Bar)

"Ah, well met, Joachim. Oh, how I took it down? Well, I'm blessed by the Dragons with great power, and my family knows some tricks. I joined Rudolf to earn some dosh, and the work seemed easy enough. Then he takes us to hunt that thing. It ambled out of the brush like the trees around it were water to be brushed aside. He approached us, and trampled one of our number like they were a bug. It then took three arrows to the face like they were nothing. Rudolf then did his thing and cut off its horn. All that did was make it mad. I had to fight it. It took me three days to wear it down, and that was because of my family's special techniques. I guess it lost too much blood and was too ill with all the flesh I ripped off it. That's my one weakness, I can't fight partway," he says solemnly, taking another shot" What of you, then? I suspect that a hunter like you isn't ordinary if you came here of your own free will, eh?"

[Dietaku]

(Xisa)

You realize in your reflection that there is no Ledaal household called Hayama. Hayama is in fact, a gens from Lookshy. As you enter the teahouse, you see that the establishment has a few patrons at the moment, but your gaze turns to a tall, elegant woman in glasses, reading a scroll.

What will you do?

[dreamking89]

"Damn it," Orca says, "Ten minutes after I let the book walk out of here." He gathers up the papers off the wall. He begins walking between the crates, focusing on the four names on the paper. "Rehhanz....Xa Borugo.....Yrmanaea....Salamandarian...." He repeats the names in his head again and again. "Have I heard those names before? They appear to be either places or the names of hunters....looking for this Salamandarian beast..."

I'm gonna make an Intelligence+Lore roll to see if Orca knows anything about what is written in these papers. Namely the three names Rehhanz, Xa Borugo and Yrmanaea.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4793486/

A grand total of 4 successes.

[wonderandawe]

Zarah removed her coat sleeve from her nose and tries to find the source of the stink. She meanders through the warehouse, checking any suspicious crate or puddle.


Upon hearing the word “Rehhanz” from Orca, Zarah says “Ilse said that someone killed one of Rehhanz’s kids. We should probably see if we can take a look at the corpse before it is parted out.”

Investigation Roll to find source of smell - Perception 3 + Investigation 3 = 6 Dice (3 Successes) - http://dice.brainclouds.net/Result.aspx?ID=Q2BGW2HF

[The Revenge of TV Head]

(Xisa)

You realize in your reflection that there is no Ledaal household called Hayama. Hayama is in fact, a gens from Lookshy. As you enter the teahouse, you see that the establishment has a few patrons at the moment, but your gaze turns to a tall, elegant woman in glasses, reading a scroll.

What will you do?

Xisa was pleasanty surprised. She honestly was not expecting the locals to be literate. As she passed behind the woman had to remind herself that reading over someone's shoulder was terribly rude and unbecoming of a priestess of the great dragons.

Funny how a few sparse weeks can change a person. Time was, that mode of thought would have stopped her.

• Per+Linguistics to read the Scroll: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4794140/ 4 Hits
• Wits+Stealth to not get caught:http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4794142/ 9 Hits

[Exthalion]

(Plaza - Twenty-Fifth Merciful)

There is a certain trick to layering false emotions. It served Merciful's purpose to appear to be overwhelmed, and it served the character he was playing to seem in control. The end result was a flash of uncertainty followed by what looked to be the practiced act of restoring a mask of calm. It was calculated, deliberate, and unnatural in its way as lasting peace to mankind.

The man of Whitewall had been something of a liar as a child, before the rod broke him of it. Yet he had never learned the art of it. Even the Echo of the Abyss had not been able to impart the zen of freedom. Instead the demon prince had been ammused to teach him the ordered ways of deceit. In some ways that was better, for it made every lie a choice rather than the emmanation of a truthless heart.

Begin by securing the mercenary. Appeal to his gallant worldview before dismissing him and begin suduction.

"Lord Razor, you do my hou- I mean you do me a great honor." The woman accepted the token gravely, planning to examine it later for potential traps. "I accept this gift though I have none of equal worth to offer in exchange, save what treasures and glory lie within the deep Emerald. With you by my side of I have no doubt we will succeed mightily. I must only request that when we are not among the crowds you will consent to display your skills. While I have no doubt of your quality, I could not bear the thought that you would risk too much harm on my account."

Make it personal, don't separate them from their services and make them think there was more promised or hoped for.

The woman turned to regard the remaining merchants. "I have no doubt that I will need of all of you. From what you have already displayed I believe there is much we could do together."

Hint at future business with the tact of one only moderately skilled at the game of negotiation, while more subtlely indicating that she wouldn't be able to refute the prices they would quote.

"The Labryinth is a trecherous place, and the expedition I will be putting together will need every chance of success. Moreover, I will need those with an eye for value to know best how to use what we recover."

Finally, appear superstitious and in need of more expensive wares. Offset the minor slight to the fishmonger and clother merchant with requests for favors to build trust.

"Were I divine I could meet with all of you first, but I am afraid that I am not. Master Ironsong, I would dearly love the aid of the Great Goddess in my venture. With her blessing I will surely prosper. Might you have other protections for the other members as well as our provisions?"

[Dietaku]

(Warehouse)

Orca recalls that he has heard of Rehhanz before; a great black beast that bedevils Last Chance every so often, having done so for decades. Its origin or species being unknown. He also recalls an airship sailor at the docks turning to the horizon, where some unusually violent clouds were forming muttering the odd prayer, 'Orame, Orame, Deus Vult, Yrmanaea," under his breath, although what that could mean is anyone's guess.

The others, though, especially the Salamandarian? You recall nothing.

Zarah's quest to locate the smells turns her towards the tanning racks. She then tries to locate the rotting smell, and finds another nook in the rubbish and boxes to find a stone slab, upon which a piglet has been gutted. From the gruesome removal of its guts and the 'Divination for dummies" manual in Rivertongue nearby, you'd surmise that the previous owner used this space for trying to gain insight into the future. A gross, intestinal future.