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Dynasty of Dovak	By : JohnDoe Category: +A through F > Exalted RPG Views: 4983 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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Session 67 – The Man Who Would Be King – Reya (215XP 172DX, 203/143 spent; 9GP 36SP), Melody (215XP 172DX, 208/146 spent), and Ganan (215XP 172DX, 187/153 spent; 8WhP 59GP 74SP)

The tension builds as our heroes pick their way through the Imperial Manse. Amon Mora, V’neef Bijar, Sesus Eshuvar, and Aharon Saber Edge are dead.

Nula looks panicked, “We are all going to die down here!”

Melody lays a hand on her heavily pregnant stomach, “Yes, we probably are. Regretting making that thirty-hour flight to be part of this battle?”

Ganan puts an arm around his daughter, “When you were a girl, you used to be terrified by Nanal’s ghost stories about the Imperial Manse, remember? About the Anathema breaking loose from their prisons and seeking revenge against the Exalted for imprisoning them.”

Nula stares at him with incredulous anger, “Father, whenever you want to comfort someone in the future, say the exact opposite of whatever it is you think you should say! You are not making me feel better!”

Ganan shrugs as Nula pushes him away, wrinkling her nose in contempt.

Melody sidles up to Ganan, “You piss her off on purpose?” She whispers.

“Angry is more useful than frightened.”

****

Eventually, they come to a deadly gauntlet – the only path through is a narrow walkway, perhaps a yard wide. On either side of the walkway, there is a drop that is further than the eye can see – knowing the nature of the Imperial Manse, it could well be a drop that falls forever. Pendulum blades swing from the ceiling. Great stone slabs set upon metal pistons smash down from the ceiling. Arcs of lightning splice across the room at seemingly random paths. The walls are studded with holes, as if they might fire darts. Set above the entrance to the room is a single Old Realm glyph: Dodge.

“I’ll do it.” Ganan volunteers, “I’ll turn into shadow and walk across the room.”

Melody cranes her neck looking this way and that, “There’s no lever or anything at the other end. There’s no door.” The ball of golden string is halted at the opposite end of the room. Melody studies the swinging blades, and crushers, and lightning bolts.

Reya shakes her head, “This is crazy. Even an Anathema couldn’t cross this room.”

Swift sets River’s body down. She fishes out a flask and takes a drink, before offering the water to River.

“I can do it.” Melody says, “I can cross this.”

Ganan takes off his Belt of Shadow Walking and offers it to her, “I know you don’t need it, but what if you get to the other side and it is just a dead-end after all?”

Melody shrugs and refuses the belt, “Then we’re all dead anyway, right?” She stretches and limbers-up, and then says, “Wish me luck!” And runs out onto the walkway.

She twirls around the first blade and music starts to play. It sounds like the ringing of glasses. She throws herself flat as poison darts pepper the walkway then sprints forward, dropping into a forward roll as a crusher drops from the ceiling. She comes out of her roll with a jump, avoiding the electricity arcing across the floor. An unexpected hazard strikes when the floor gives way underneath her as she lands: but she grabs for the ledge and hauls herself up, dodging more blades and a surprise horizontal buzz-saw. When she makes it to the end of the passageway, the music ends, the traps grind to a halt and disappear, and the blank wall ahead of Melody opens up and the golden ball rolls on.

Ganan puts his belt back on, and leads the others over to Melody, “That was amazing.” He confides with measured sincerity.

****

They proceed on, the corridors growing dimmer, and rounder, until they can more rightly be called “tunnels” than “corridors” – though these tunnels are still large enough for a Warstrider to walk through. Sparking tubes of lightning bound in aether, and pistons which seem to serve no purpose join the arrange of cables, pipes, and vents that line walls.

The golden ball next stops at a section of blank wall. A single Old Realm glyph is written on the wall: Speak.

The Dragon-Blooded go to study the wall when suddenly it starts to shine with light. A hologlyphic projector powers up and an image of light appears to walk forward out of the wall.

The twenty-foot tall giant is almost fifteen feet broad. It looks almost like a ball, but for the arms, legs, and head that give it a humanoid shape. Its skin (Shell? Armor?) is translucent, revealing an array of gears and hydraulics. Melody recognizes an approximation of human anatomy – four pistons drive its heart, clockworks turn thick oil through kidney-like filters, pneumatic lungs inflate like bellows.

The voice is something like that of a kindly old man’s in tone, but not in volume as the giant projection soft whispers hit them almost as a solid wall of sound:

“Verily, thou art not approved users. Access to Level 2 is restricted. You may not pass. Speak.”

“Who the hell is this?” Melody asks.

Ganan looks up at the giant projection, “It’s an illusion. A simulation. But I think it’s… I think it’s Autochthon.”

The projection speaks again, this time in High Realm and its voice noticeably quieter, “Language assimilated. You are not approved users. Access to this level is restricted, you may not pass. Eliminating intruders in five, four-”

“Wait!” Reya yells, and the countdown stops, “We have the Imperial Seal, the Empress is missing, and Ragara is trying to claim the Realm Defense Grid by treachery. We’re here to stop him.”

There is a clicking and a whirling noise, “Dragon-Blooded Level 3 Administrator detected. You are not authorized for Level 2 access. Would you like me to return you to Level 3?”

Reya squints up at the illusion, “I want to stop Ragara. Can you return all unauthorized users to Level 3? There should be another party of Dragon-Blooded with a-” Reya stops as the curses laid on the Heptagram bind her tongue.

“Sidereal!” Melody jumps in, “There should be another party of Dragon-Blooded and a Sidereal in the Imperial Manse somewhere.”

Another click, whirl, and this time a soft humming, “Inaccurate. There are eight unauthorized users on Level 2: you six; an unidentified Dragon-Blooded and Ylva Wataru. Recalculating. There are a number of unidentified Dragon-Blooded corpses, it is possible that your information is out-of-date.”

Ganan tries, “Mighty Autochthon, is it within your power to return all eight unauthorized users to Level 3?”

“No.” The simulation lets off a rapid-fire series of clicks, “An unauthorized interdiction field prevents the expulsion of Ylva Wataru and her companion.”

“Then,” Reya jumps in, “You need to let us through to stop them. They don’t even have Level 3 access, do they? They have sabotaged the manse’s defenses and are trying to seize control. There are no authorized users in the manse, are there? We are your only chance of stopping them. Let us pass.” She starts to glow with power as Essence smooths over her words.

“Calculating.” There is a low whizzing sound, “Your argument has flawed assumptions, but the basic premise is sound. Transporting.”

“Wait,” Ganan says, “Transporting?”

****

The heroes are enveloped in light. They close their eyes against the glare and when they open them, they find themselves in a large, domed, hexagonal arena of marble facing Ragara and Ylva, who regard them with surprise. Strange machines with interlocking cogs grind in the corners of the room. The ceiling is eighty feet clear in the air, and the floor is a solid slab of highly polished, indestructible adamant. There’s only one set of doors into the room – it is immediately behind our heroes.

Swift gingerly lowers River to the ground and stands protectively over her with her goremaul.

“You are nothing if not resourceful.” Ragara’s voice is congenial, but his eyes have a twinkle of danger as they flick over our heroes, “How did you get this far, and with so many of you intact?” He gives a small smile, “And where is dear Berit?”

Ganan readies his weapon and Melody begins to circle.

A low electric thrum fills the round as the cogs in the corners of the room begin to turn.

“You really should just worry about us!” Reya challenges as Nula starts shaping a spell behind her.

“Actually…” Ylva gestures behind Reya. A practiced warrior, Reya knows better than to look, but Nula turns.

“Uh… mom…”

Reya takes her eyes off Ylva just in time to see a massive, mechanical spider seem to punch its way through the adamant floor as it materializes.

“Gan, deal with that! The rest of you focus on Rag-” Reya’s instructions die in her throat as another five giant spiders materialize around the arena, surrounding them.

Ragara seems to blink out of existence for a moment, then suddenly he is on top of the closest spider. He rams his daiklave through its head, and the construct explodes into a dozen fragments. Ragara lands on the ground smartly, but heavily. A coy smile spreading across his face.

“Oh… wait for it…” Melody says pessimistically.

The fragments seem to melt into the floor, and another giant spider materializes next to Ylva.

“Yeah, there you go.” Melody rues as she falls-back to Swift and River, punting a quick shot into the closest spider.

Ganan crosses over to the spider behind Nula and Reya and punts hit with an underarm swing, sending the creature flying backward.

The spiders close in – two probe Ylva, whilst the other four start to round River.

“Nula, Ganan! Back-up!” Reya calls as she flicks open Bijar’s journal and starts frantically turning the pages.”

“Seriously?” Melody asks, “Fucking seriously?! You’re looking this up? You need to help us fight these gods-damned things!” She fires another arrow into the advancing spiders. It shatters into pieces, then reforms, closer to Ganan.

“Yes, I’m sure the thing that you’re doing is helping…” Reya responds, without looking up.

“I’ve got your helping right here!” Ganan says as he rushes past the spiders to hammer the cogs turning in one of the six corners of the room. There’s a sickening crunch as his tetsubo bites home and the gears come to a crashing halt. He pulls his tetsubo free, and a large panel comes off the machine. It doesn’t seem to have any effect on the spiders.

“Much helping. Incredibly impressed sweetheart. Keep doing that.” Reya says as she runs her finger over the green ink in the margins of Bijar’s notes. Suddenly she snaps her head up, “No, wait! Do that to the other ones! And get me over there!” She sees that they’re surrounded by the spiders on all sides “Oh, shit.”

The first spider leaps for River, and Swift interposes herself, smashing it back. The next leaps onto Swift’s back and pins her to the ground. A third scuttles in, squats on her chest, and opens a pair of mechanical jaws: they bur and whirl as the spider beast starts to eat River alive. She futility punches it, to no avail. The final spider seizes one of her feet between its jaws and starts to feed it into its mouth.

Ylva moves almost too swiftly to see and shatters both of the spiders attacking her. The reconstitute next to Ragara.

“Perfect.” Nula purrs as she unleashes Death of Obsidian Butterflies, targeting Ragara, the two spiders, and the control panel behind him. Ragara seems to blink out of existence the moment before the butterflies hit, then reappear. Both spiders are shredded, and the gears behind Ragara come to a grinding halt. The spiders re-materialize between Ganan and River. “Oh… shit.”

Melody pops two shots into the spiders eating River, shattering them both.

Reya breaks formation, speaking the burning name. One of the two spiders in her path erupts into flame and breaks apart.

Ganan closes on the other spider and hammers it into the ground. All four downed spiders reconstitute around Swift.

Ylva eyes Reya suspiciously, “I think she’s on to something.” She calls to Ragara, “Break the other terminals open!” She rushes over to the machine hit by Nula’s sorcery and starts to fiddle with the mechanism inside. The spider on Swift’s back winks out of existence.

The other spiders attack Swift. One knocks her to the ground, whilst the other four each savage a limb.

Ragara, leans on his walking stick, “I’m not in any hurry. We can afford to delay a little longer.”

Ganan moves on to the next intact machine, smashing it open with his tetsubo.

Reya closes with the first machine he broke open. As expected there are circuits of hardened magic inside, as well as clockwork gears. She studies the machine carefully for a moment then hits a sequence of buttons, pressure sensors, and levers. Another spider fades away, giving Swift back an arm.

Melody fires on the spider on Swift’s chest. The arrow sticks obscenely out of the creature's neck, but it does not fragment.

Ylva moves to Ragara’s side, and the pair stand ready.

The mechanical spiders ignore Melody and focus on savaging their downed foe. Swift hammers a fist into the beast on her chest, driving Melody’s arrow home, and it shatters to pieces. The other spiders rip at her, tearing flesh with their mechanical mandibles.

“Sorry about this Swift!” Ganan says, closing in with the spiders and stomping on the ground. A powerful shock-wave blasts them all into shattered crystals, but it also wracks Swift’s body. She rolls over and coughs up blood.

All four spiders reform around River.

Reya makes a dash for the next control panel, her anima glowing brightly. Having divined the shut-down sequence, she punches it again and another spider disappears.

The spiders fall on River. One of them tears out the ex-Immaculate’s throat. Swift forces herself to her feet and screams in rage. Bloodied but unbowed, she readies her goremaul to charge… and Ragara punches his daiklave through her chest. Swift looks down at the wound with the same expression of surprise that graced Cainan’s face, and like Cainan, her anima seems to be drawn through Ragara’s sword and into Ragara. The youthful effect is not as pronounced as when he absorbed Cainan’s energy, but again he looks younger and more vital.

Ylva withdraws quietly and smashes open another of the spider generating machines.

Ganan surges forward. He steps over Swift’s corpse to get a clear shot on Ragara and hammers the ancient. Ragara funnels the force of the blow into the adamant floor – hairline cracks spreading throughout the indestructible material. Ganan whirls in spot and hammers Ragara again, sending him flying backward, but the elder manages to stay on his feet. Ragara gives a hacking cough, and a thin trickle of blood runs from his mouth. He wipes it away on the back of his hand and squares off to fight Ganan.

Reya takes out a spider. Melody drops the other two. All three reform around Ragara.

Ylva taps in the deactivation sequence and one of the spiders disappears.

Ragara charges at Ganan, hammering him with a furious series of blows from his daiklave. The elder Exalt slices at Ganan’s body, even as he takes Earth Dragon Form, and batters him off balance. Ganan stumbles over Swift’s corpse.

The spiders jump on Ragara. They latch onto his arms, weighing him down, and trying to leverage purchase with their mechanical mouths. Ragara yells and drops his daiklave.

Ylva moves on to the next panel and pries it open.

Melody shoots at Ragara, her arrow erupting into thorns as it rips at Ragara.

Reya speaks the burning name and hurls flames at Ragara. Ragara’s anima roars into a raging bonfire of magma – molten gemstones shifting like blown glass in elemental fury.

Ragara gives a scream that seems to shatter the fabric of Creation itself. His iconic anima flares around him for a moment, an enormous, flawless ruby. It sinks into his skin, seeming to meld with him. His bright red hair shines like the gleaming crystal of his anima as the blazing storm of his anima seems to be drawn within him in a storm of rock. The spiders on his arms shatter under the pressure of the elemental energies released by Ragara’s transformation, but simply reforms behind him.

One spider leaps right back on to his left arm: its rending metal jaws clamping down viciously. The other spider hurls itself at Ragara once more as he hammers it aside.

Ylva deactivates the next spider: the construct clinging to Ragara’s arm disappears.

Seeing an opening, Nula rushes forward, a wicked-looking iron knife in hand. Ragara’s lashes out with the Starmetal walking stick, and smashes into Nula. She is thrown back by the great doors leading into the room, and lands crumpled in a heap on the ground.

Ganan surges forward, his head feeling light as if he has a new lease on life, and he hammers Ragara, driving the elder to his knees. Something turns in the tide of battle, and Ganan strikes him again with an upswing, smashing Ragara onto his back.

Ganan stands over Ragara, looking down on him, “Vengeance!” He cries, bringing his tetsubo straight down onto Ragara’s face. Ganan expects his skull to smash, but instead, he feels dull resistance. Vibrations travel up his tetsubo that make his arm numb. Ragara begins to laugh.

Melody snaps a quick shot into the downed Ragara, but the elder only laughs harder. Reya burns him with sorcerous flame, but any effect is minimal.

Ragara strikes Ganan with his walking stick. The blow does almost no damage against his Invulnerable Skin, but it hurls him back with tremendous force. Ganan sails through the air, smashing into the far wall, then falling twenty feet to the ground. Ganan lands badly, his body twisted in the fall, coming to rest in front of the great doors leading out of the arena, next to Nula. Ragara rises from the ground.

The last spider tries to maul Ragara, but a swift pulse of earth essence knocks it back. It dissolves into crystals and reforms next to Ganan. The shockwave does blast open the last machine, exposing the shut-down mechanism. Ylva does not move to shut the last spider down.

Reya screams the burning name until her lungs burn. Flames wash over Ragara, and he raises a hand to protect himself as they roast him alive.

Ragara strides past Reya, closing the distance between himself and Ganan.

Melody fires a shot into the last spider. It shatters but then reforms immediately in front of her. Melody curses.

Ganan staggers to his feet, his head spinning. He sees Ragara drawing closer.

Ylva still watches, impassively.

The last spider jumps on Ganan, he parries its attacks, but it draws his attention away from Ragara for a moment.

Reya dashes to the last panel and deactivates the last spider. The great doors into the room thrum with energy. Golden sunlight starts to pour in through the cracks in the door and the doors start to open.

“Thank you Danireya,” Ylva says, giving a short bow.

“Yes, thank you!” Ragara says as he closes with Ganan. Both Earth Aspects carry grievous wounds, though you would hard-pressed to tell. He swings a gem-like fist at Ganan who desperately tries and fails to interpose his tetsubo.

Melody sends another arrow crashing against Ragara, and his pace slows.

Ganan takes advantage of the opening to swing into Ragara at full force, smashing him back a step.

The doors move with agonizing slowness, but the light between them starts to get brighter.

Melody loses with a vital shot, that takes Ragara in the knee. His stance buckles.

Ganan takes advantage of the break to hammer Ragara in the face once more, and the elder goes down – the light in his eyes going out. Exhausted, Ganan topples over next to him. Melody rushes over to him.

“Get them out of here!” Reya calls.

“How?” Melody shouts back, as her golden ball of string rolls through the still opening doors. She drags Nula’s unconscious form with her.

“Pull on the string!” Reya replies.

Melody wraps the golden string around herself and Ganan, keeping the other hand tight on Nula’s collar, and pulls on it sharply. The world around them seems to blur, and then they are back outside the entrance of the manse – not in Cainan’s drill shaft, but by the main door. Berit and her troops are waiting for them in the courtyard.

****

“Well done, Danireya!” Ylva says with the warmth of an old friend approaching and extending a hand. “Shall we claim your prize together?”

Reya dimly thinks that she should gather the war-gear of the dead, but she feels numb, almost underwater. She knows only that it is of the utmost importance that she take Ylva’s hand. She nods dumbly and reaches for Ylva’s outstretched hand. She half-leads, half-drags the Sidereal to the door.

Ylva chuckles at her, patronizingly, “Don’t be so impatient. The Sword of Creation isn’t going anywhere. And we still have the Level 1 defenses to bypass.”

Reya focuses on pulling Ylva through the door, not bothering to respond. The Sidereal relents and quickens her pace. They squeeze through the doors before they are anywhere near fully open. Golden light assails them… And then they too find themselves at the entrance to the manse, surrounded by Berit’s troops.

Ylva looks at her, bewildered.

“I asked Autochthon to send us back to the entrance.” Reya smiles at Ylva, “You will never get that prize, Anathema.”

Ylva’s face turns from bewilderment to rage, but the word “Anathema” was all Berit needed to hear. Dozens of archers rain arrows on the Sidereal. She twists, under the onslaught and tries to turn into a dragon to escape, but Berit is on her and she runs her through. Ylva falls to the ground, her green eyes fixed open in the stare of death.
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Dynasty of Dovak