[Exalted] The Gord Debacle

[Dave ST]

The Gord Debacle

The heavy fist slammed into Large Gord's abdomen for the seventh time, or was it the eighth? Hell, he's lost count a long time ago, not because the blows were to many, but because he couldn't very high. He was bruised and it was actually starting to hurt, kinda. He hung from the wall, his arms above his head with heavy manacles keeping him in place with pitons and rings firmly mounted into the wall. The Terrestrial's interrogation room was solid and built up to typical Terrestrial standards with solid stone walls and nothing that could burn or erode swiftly, a precaution due to their natural animas.

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"Where are your circle mates, Anathema?!" The earth aspected Terrestrial's granite hard fist slammed into Gord's abdomen again. He felt that one, and think a rib might have cracked. No big, it'd be okay in an hour or so... he sure loved how rabidly his new body healed. His interrogator, a solidly built earth aspect in heavy, white jade armor, paused so Large Gord could catch his breath. He wiped some sweat from his brow with a damp rag, rubbing over his face and across his smooth bald head in one smooth motion then tossed the rag in a bucket of water. "My men saw you consorting with others. Tell me where to find them and I offer you a swift, honorable death. Test my patience and you will die slowly, screaming like Nexus whore."

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He took a step back and spat onto the floor, leaning against the ornate metal table. His retinue of guards lined the walls, about six in all although they weren't exalted, he could tell... they smelled like armor sweat. On the plus side, the Interrogator smelled like freshly tilled earth in the springtime after a good rain. Gord liked how he smelled... it was going to be shame to hurt this guy in four...

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Three...

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Two...

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Game on guys. Large Gord, if you can't tell what's going on, then seriously... I can't begin to help you.

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Everyone else... you're scouring the city of Goodharbor (north of Lookshy on the Scavenger Lands map) looking for Ol' Gordo... who seems to have disappeared after some commotion at the docks this morning. You knew he was there, because they leveled nearly an entire shipping warehouse and sank a small fishing boat. Sounds like Gordo written all over it... but where has he slipped off to?

[Large Gord]

Gord had tuned out most of what the Terrestrial had been saying for so long while he recovered his wits. Aww, but this wasn't going to be very fair for them. Then again, the Immaculates never seemed to get that Gord was not a demon! And they called him stupid. Anyway, the manacles were well-made, Gord could tell, but he knew instinctively that a good flex would rip them apart and he could get free.

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To the Earth Immaculate's perspective, the Northerner Anathema seemed to yawn as if finally stirring to attention, the big man cracking his neck from side to side. "How to find the others? Go and look for them." Gord stated, staring at the Dragon-Blood as if that was the obvious thing to do. "How would I know where they are? But question."

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The last sentence cut off the sudden angry shift in the Earth Aspect's face and body language. "If I'm big and bad demon, why just you with-" Gord paused to count, out loud and slowly. "One... two... three.. four... five... six? No.. oh, yes. Six. You and six mortal guards..."

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Gord took one long last smell of that nice scent, before jerking himself forward with one concerted effort. To the shock of the soldiers, more so the Terrestrial, with great creaking, snapping and cracking, the pitons and rings tore part-way out and the manacles shattered, dropping Gord to his feet upon the floor. "And they call Gord slow."

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With sudden Solar Essence enhanced speed, Gord moved and grabbed the Terrestrial by the arm, and hurled him into the solid stone wall with an effortless hurl. The Dragon-Blood was not too banged up - he was a tough guy - and as he recovered from the surprise, Gord moved in and his hands were wreathed in gold swirls, swinging two handed into his captor's abdomen.

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Gord was still willing to let him off. "Want to give up and let me go?"

[Dave ST]

Gord heard the rumble of freshly turned earth, like rocks and pebbles all rolling down on a slope. As he heard this the Terrestrial's flesh hardened and his eyes faded to white pupiless orbs. "I think not Anathema." His voice was like the grinding of stones. "I already grow weary of your weakness."

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His fist came up and slammed Large Gord in the side and this time it was, indeed, like getting hit my a battering ram, a solid stone one. History seemed to repeat itself on the opposite end of the same coin: it was Large Gord's turn to soar across the room and slam into the wall. As he stood, so to did the Seventh Legion Immaculate. He reached out his hand and an officer leaned the handle of a mighty testsubo into his palm which he grasped firmly and them effortlessly lifted. "There is no honor in killing an unarmed man, but know what I do today I do for the League of Many Rivers and it's people."

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The six men all accompanying the Earth Aspect drew their blades and surrounded the large Exalt against the wall. How did Large Gord get himself into these messes?

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Hold off here and give people some time to post their character searching for Gordo, then I'll see to it you all end up together... trust me.

[Karren Gaunt]

A small, unremarkable woman paused in marketplace some distance away from the fight, hooded features registering suprise and relief at a series of sounds only she seemed to hear. The toning of bells and distant blast of a trumpet contrasted with the gentle struming of background fate, giving Kaede a direction and a sign her missing Circlemate was still alive, assuaging a fear that had been gnawing at her gut ever since he had vanished amidst his usual flash and thunder.

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There were things out there that could kill an Exalt, even one so tough as Big Gord.

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Kaede drew her cloak more closely about her, checked her pouches of medical supplies and her knife, and nodded to herself, violet eyes taking in the sky. Right. One Solar charm and some kind of terrestial essense use, maybe a charm, maybe not... The problem, whatever it was, couldn't have been going on too long. They'd get there in time. All she had to do was find more of the others and keep an ear out for more familar tones to stand out against the background melody of the city's fate. Home them in on the problem and get him back or get him back up if he needed it.

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Telltale Symphony for fun and profit.

[SalmonMax]

That moment also marked the timely arrival of a medium-sized white pointing hound that Kaede had last seen about a half an hour ago when one of those selfsame circle-mates had changed into it. Eilessa, an exalted of the goddess Luna, possessed all the fierce independence that most of Luna's Chosen did. She viewed Kaede with suspicion still, no doubt told awful stories about the Maidens and their Chosen by her 'packmates,' or whatever Lunars had. Even so she accepted Kaede's skills and talents, and seemed to respect her as an equal, if not necessarily a friend.

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She was in high spirits at the moment though, loping across the marketplace with tail and ears pointing straight up and tongue lolling out. Once she was sure she had Kaede's attention, Eiless turned and assumed the 'pointing' posture, with neck and tail held flat out aligned with her straight back, and left foreleg half held up.

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It was, of course, the same direction that the whiff of Solar magic had come from.

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With a glance back over her shoulder, Eilessa the hound yipped and forged off through the crowds, following the unmistakable scent of Large Gord that stood above even the myriad smells of the market and a city full of unwashed citizens.

[Hyoseph]

Kevere, quite unlike his nearby friends, was very much distinctive. A phenomenally attractive man even when not calling on the power of his hearthstone, and dressed in the clothes of one who was moderately well off, he mingled with the assorted social strata of Goodharbor. Admittedly, tracking Large Gord was not entirely his forte. However, it was a fairly safe bet that Gord had been either arrested or taken off somewhere. Otherwise he would be back with his circle and they would not be doing the city-scouring they were now.

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Kevere, for his part, was making certain that he was aware of which groups and organizations of the city did what and, more importantly, who they were connected to. This way, just in case the most obvious solution for Gord's recovery, being the good old smash and grab, wasn't a viable option, he could pull on a few of society's strings and possibly even have Gord released without a fuss.

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Over the sounds of his current discussion, he heard Eilessa the hound's yipping and noted her running off, forging a path through the crowds. Excusing himself from his conversation, Kevere made his way through the crowd in the direction the hound went.

[trebius]

With Eilessa obviously sure of what she was doing, Shinku began to follow her as quickly as possible. Staff gripped tightly in hand, he began shifting through the crowds. He knew not much would bring down Large Gord, but he refused to be needed by one of the chosen and be shown wanting.

[Karren Gaunt]

Between keeping one eye on darting white shape that was her Lunar Circlemate and not bumping into too many other people, Kaede managed to spot Shinku and adjusted her course to get within talking distance of the Terrestial. The Sidereal wasn't the most athletic Exalt, so she was breathing heavy by the time she did so, but was able to muster a smile regardless, a few rogue strands of hair framing her face.

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"I heard a solar charm and some... terrestial essense being used in the direction we're going. There... could be trouble, so be careful, okay? I don't... want to need to patch more than one us up," she exhaled, worry dancing in her gaze, the worry she always felt heading into a probable fight. Kaede refocused on where she was going after nearly barreling into someone, flushing in embarassment.

[Dave ST]

"Hrrrggggggaaaaa!" The Terrestrial Jailor lunged for Large Gord but the big man ducked in time. He felt the splatter of blood on the back of his neck as the Jailor's tetsubo obliterated one of the men standing next to Gordo. His foot came up and kicked Gordo in the chest as the Exlat of the Sun tried to dodge the blades of the soldiers as well, knocking him into the wall. This didn't look good. The area was too cramped for him to dodge effectively and with out vast expenditures of essence he could keep deflecting the soldier's blades with his bare hands.

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It was inevitable, eventually Gord found the wrong side of the Tetsubo, or, rather it found him. The studs of the large wooden pole slammed into his abdomen and he found his wish had come true. He was outside again. The warmth of the Sun invogorated him as his world became a bit blurry.

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"How do you propose we investigate?" the Sidereal asked her assembling circle mates.

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"I highly doubt he's going to just fall from the sky," Shinku said calmly. "Perhaps if we-"

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The second floor wall exploded outward showering the street with lose stones and debris. Everyone who didn't run was either crushed by large stone slabs or covering their head from the rain of pebbles and broken mortar. Out came Gordo through the large break in the walls surface. Down he fell until he slammed into the cobble stones at Shinku's feet. Gordo was already getting back to his feet when the young Sidereal looked to Shinku, then Gord, then Shinku again.

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"Wow... you're good."

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The rest were fairly speechless. Granted this wasn't the first time Large Gord had found trouble and made a grand entrance, but it was certainly the first time he'd ever just fallen from the sky. The Jailor appeared in the large hole. "Ha! The Dragons favor me this day." He didn't recognize any of the others right away, and his face twisted into a snarl. "Men! Bring the large one down! His head will adorn my wall!"

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The circle could hear the clamor of men in armor beginning to assemble not far from them. Either guards for the city or the Jailor's personal Talon. Horns began to blow from inside the room Gord was just launched from... reinforcements were on the way.

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You can run, or fight. It'll take them time to catch up with you. Discuss in the OOC thread and post your PCs relpy here. If you choose to fight, roll a join battle in the OOC thread.

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If your Valor is rated 3 or higher, you will need to fail a Valor roll or spend a point of willpower to run (and accept the limit).

[Large Gord]

Gord pulled himself up off the ground, offering a cheery smile as he saw his circlemates next to him. "Just in time." He winced from the exertion of an injured body strained, even with Solar constitutions. There was no particular passion in him to stay, but... "Before we go, we need to get my Smashfists back. And the breastplate. You can't buy those things, you know. I might stand another round with the Jerk of the Earth."

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Valor Roll

Jeremy *rolls* 3d10e7: 6,4,4. Successes = 0

Join Battle

Jeremy *rolls* 5d10e7: 2,7,7,9,8. Successes = 4

[Karren Gaunt]

Kaede nodded. Gord wasn't going to run, and much as she wanted to run, she wasn't going to leave him now that they just found him. She reached underneath her cloak towards her knife and the words to a protective charm mustering in her thoughts. "Point us in the right direction. We'll find them while you work," the Sidereal offered, sixth sense on the music of any further essense use.

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Rolled Join Battle

envoy *rolls* 3d10: 9+5+3: 17

[envoy] 10:31 am: one success, i think.

[Rubio-Working] 10:31 am: Yep

I think Tell-Tale Symphony is still on.

[SalmonMax]

Eilessa, the hound stared at Gord, then quickly shook her head as if she were trying to dislodge a biting fly, then wheeled about and ran, vanishing around the side of a rickety old building next to the one Gord was being held in!

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Once out of sight, she stopped and made a soft, keening growl as her skin pebbled and writhed, and her bones lengthened unnaturally, stretching up and out as she resumed her human shape. Getting a little distance before joining the fight suited her fine, as the bladed boomerang at her side attested, and this was a lot less conspicuous than just blasting into her warform right in the middle of the street.

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And it was just good policy to try to avoid connecting her various shapes to 'anathema,' or they'd start hunting down every white dog they could find on general principle, and compromise her disguise.

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(Join battle! SalmonMax *rolls* 7d10: 9+9+1+7+5+1+6: 38
[salmonMax] 12:52 pm: Behold the join battle.
[salmonMax] 12:52 pm: Heya Jordan
[salmonMax] 12:53 pm: 3 successes on 7 dice...acceptable, if not amazing.)