Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

Dynasty of Dovak	By : JohnDoe Category: +A through F > Exalted RPG Views: 4983 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: White Wolf, Exalted and Exalted 3rd Edition are all trademarks of White Wolf Publishing AB, and official characters, names, places and text are copyrighted by White Wolf. I do not own Exalted and I'm not making money from this fiction.

Chapter List
- 79
- 80
- 81
Session 73 – Guile 1 – Ganan (245XP 196DX, 243/193 spent; 20WhP 24GP 87SP), Melody (245XP 196DX, 235/183 spent), Jinabar (245XP 196DX, 244/195 Spent)

Our trio of heroes shelters in the tunnels under Urza Arcus. Their ambush on what was supposed to be the Gift of Merciful Silence had turned out to be a trap: Hellknight Midnight Flamebough and her undead servant Whims-of-the-Flesh had been waiting for them. Flamebough was apparently killed (her body dissolving to shadow). Whims was also apparently killed (his body retrieved by Ganan who fitted a Collar of Dutiful Submission to the corpse’s neck).

Whilst traveling with Yochanan, the normally pitch-black tunnels glow with a soft golden light. Our heroes rest in a wide-open cavern, furnished as a barracks. Tinkara’s bearfolk allies (and the wounded god Qiqirn) rest. Ganan takes apart some of the furniture in the cavern and repurposes it into stocks, into which he locks Whims’s corpse (-10SP: 9GP, 4SP). Meanwhile, Melody treats Jin’s wounds. The Dynasts bunk down for the rest of the night.

After a few hours Ganan wakes to hear Whims breaking out of his bonds.

“Stop that and lie still.” Ganan commands and rolls over. The noises continue for a handful of seconds as Whims’s collar constricts around his neck and starts to throttle the life out of him. Whims goes still. Ganan goes back to sleep.

A few more hours pass, then the cavern grows brighter as Yochanan wakes. The Dynasts stretch out.

“Urgh, I need a bath!” Jin moans loudly.

Tinkara throws a damp, foul smelling rag at her. Jin scowls and tosses the rag back.

“They’ve got hot water in the Gift’s court,” Whims entices, “Traitor.”

Yochanan approaches the Dynasts in time to overhear the last word, “Who’s a traitor?”

“I am,” Jin confesses, “I told the Gift of Merciful silence that I would deliver you and your sister to him. This one,” She jerks a thumb at Whims, “And that woman were in the throne room.”

“You should be careful about what you promise Anathema.” Yochanan warns.

Jin folds her arms across her chest, not in the mood to be lectured by the would-be King, “Well, the promise of hot water is tempting. I am a Cynis scion in good standing.”

“You are a Cynis scion in good standing…” Ganan muses.

“Which means I can get a hot bath and be back before Yochanan’s army arrives!” Jin cheers enthusiastically.

“Which means,” Melody chimes in, catching on, “You could easily walk into Dovak having successfully captured, say, Ganan and the Princess.”

Yochanan rolls his eyes and makes an exasperated noise.

“The Gift of Merciful Silence has a flare for the dramatic,” Ganan explains, “You could walk us right into the throne-room-”

“And then Oka could murder you where you stand. This is a bad plan.” Yochanan says firmly.

“Well, what do you suggest?” Jin huffs.

“We travel to Urza Arcus. Clearly there are bearfolk who are willing to fight against Oka’s rule.” He motions to his sister’s troops, “And obviously Oka is making no journey to there after his trap for us failed.”

“We are not beloved by the beastfolk.” Ganan says, pulling a face.

“Especially Ganan.” Melody adds.

“Why especially me?” Ganan says, hurt.

“Well,” Jin joins in, “You are particularly unlikable.”

“That’s…” Ganan can’t quite bring himself to say ‘not true’ so finishes by saying, “hurtful. Besides, I’m surprised Tinkara raised so many troops: your family isn’t exactly beloved by the beastmen.”

“Bearfolk,” Tinkara corrects, “As it turns out, they hate Dynasts more than they hate us. So, House Cynis and your general unlikableness is actually good for something.” She sneers at Ganan.

“To be clear, our options are ‘go to a bunch of unwashed barbarians who hate us’ or ‘end this war by tackling our enemy head on’.” Melody pretends to weigh the choices with her hands.

“I think we should talk with the bearfolk.” Ganan interjects.

Jin looks at him sideways, “Okay, what are the signs of your allies being replaced by Anathema?”

“You’re still wounded. Give it a day to heal. And even if we do kill Oka, we know there’s a bigger bad behind him. Even bypassing his guards on the way in, we’ll have to fight House Cynis and the army of the dead on the way out. It’d be nice to have a bearfolk army waiting for our signal.”

“The bearfolk are good at conquering Dovak,” Melody concedes, “But they’re also really good at betraying us right when we need them most.”

“Which is all the more reason for you to wait for my army to arrive!” Yochanan says, with just a hint of impatience entering his voice.

“Right,” Jin sneers sarcastically, “Because the Anathema and his giant army isn’t going to betray us?”

“All the more reason to talk to the bearfolk,” Ganan insists, “Then, when they betray ‘us’ they can fight against Yochanan’s army.”

“That… does make sense,” Melody nods thoughtfully.

Jin shakes her head in disbelief before sighing, “We’ll take it as read that the princess sides with her brother. So, it looks like I’m out-voted.”

****

The Dynasts ride on the back of Clapper through the tunnels to Urza Arcus. Ganan orders Whims to not speak unless spoken to, never to lie, follow behind them, and not to harm his allies. This last order is met with some wheedling which eventually defines the Dovaks and their troops as Ganan’s allies. Melody performs for them during the journey and Ganan whittles together a moving toy with wooden cams (4SP). By the time they emerge from the mines on the north of the bearfolk city, Jin no longer looks as if she is on death’s door.

The bearfolk toil in the mines of Urza Arcus, but the dead do not. Loads of stone and ore are being shipped out of the city by the overland route to the Dovaki mines. The miners pay little attention to the Jadeborn army and giant Shieldback marching through their mines. Tinkara’s bearfolk warriors get little more than a furtive glance or occasional nod.

Tinkara leads them to Mishra’s Tower in the center of the city. “There’s a council,” She explains, “They took over after Oka killed Reaper. There’s not a lot of fight left in them: it’s like some Dynasts slaughtered all their best warriors or something.” She throws a dirty look at Ganan and Melody, “The council refused to help me, but a few warriors decided to join me anyway.”

“Okay, so we just need to convince our sworn enemies, who we enslaved and oppressed-”

“‘Whom’,” Ganan corrects, Melody shoots him a look, “Continue.”

“And whomses warriors we horribly butchered, to march their civilians into battle against an army of the dead, reinforced by demons, and led by an Anathema necromancer of unsurpassed skill. In, what, two days?” Melody summarizes.

Yochanan clears his throat, “I believe I said, ‘a few days’ not ‘three days’.”

“So,” Ganan says slowly, “We need the bearfolk to raise an army and attack Dovak in an indeterminate number of days?”

“It’s not a precise science.” Yochanan says defensively.

“Or we could go with my plan,” Jin jumps in.

“Your plan?” Melody and Ganan say incredulously.

“Fake capture: walk right into the throne room.” Jin makes an open palm gesture.

“We know what the plan was-” Ganan blusters.

Melody shushes him, “Let her have this one.”

****

Yochanan, Tinkara, the silent Whims, and our heroes enter Mishra’s Tower. It hasn’t changed significantly since Melody convinced Reya to leave it all those months ago, though it smells of wet bear again. Ganan wrinkles his nose as they enter, but the others keep their composure.

Tinkara makes their presence known and asks for an audience with the council. They are show through to the throne room. The old throne has been removed and in its place on the dais is a table behind which seven elders of the bearfolk are seated: Ganan reckons on four of them being women of various ages and three being old men, but his ideas of gender and age are obviously biased.

Cynis Jinabar approaches the Council: her bearing immediately marks her as a hero. She strikes a pose taking a read of the room, “Honored council, Oka Dovak, a Deathknight and usurper to the throne of Dovak holds your people in thrall. I know your council does not see the Dovak’s as the legitimate rulers of this land, but behind me stands Oka’s father. Oka has no claim, not even by the laws of the Dovaki. All he has is the might of the undead. And a few, weakling, by-blows of the Dragons. I am Cynis Falen Jinabar, and I stand the forces of death that plague our lands. I don’t come here to ask your friendship nor that you accept a Dovak as your king: I ask that you stand with us, on the side of the living to fight against the dead and their unholy masters!”

There is a pause in which Jin expects more of a reaction from the Councilors.

Ganan leans in to whisper to his sister, “They don’t speak High Realm.”

Jin smiles effortlessly, “What do they speak?” she asks from the corner of her mouth.

“Dovaki. Maybe a little Foresttongue. The shaman speak Old Realm.” Ganan shrugs apologetically.

Jin looks to Melody, “Do you speak Dovaki?”

Melody shakes her head apologetically.

Jin cracks her knuckles, “Okay kids, buckle-up, because you’re about to witness something special.”

“Or Tinkara could translate.” Ganan says, stealing his sister’s thunder.

Jin gives a sigh of relief, “Yeah, actually, that is better.”

“If you’re finished, I can speak for myself.” Yochanan addresses the council in their own language.

The Dynasts can follow the tone and the body language but have no idea what exactly he is saying. Jin and Melody have an easier time following the reactions of the council: they smile, they contort their faces with rage that gives way to sorrow, and generally they seem to hang on his every word. When Yochanan finishes, the woman leading the council speaks, then the entire council rises and moves out the back of the room to confer in private. Guards usher our heroes back out of the throne room and back to the reception area.

Jin rounds on Yochanan, “What did you tell them?”

Yochanan gives an easy shrug, “Basically the same thing you did. I called on them to cooperate with us against the dead and assured them I would respect their cultural traditions once I ascend to the throne of Dovak.”

Jin scrutinizes Yochanan, who is stubbornly unreadable. Melody focuses her attention on Tinkara: she seems to be ineffably smug, clearly pleased with whatever Yochanan told the council.

“Uh-huh,” Melody says, “And did they give any indication as to when they might have an army ready by?”

“They said they would need to consider my proposal.”

Melody turns to Tinkara, “What do you think of Jin’s plan? Have her sneak us into the throne room and take-out Oka ourselves?”

Tinkara looks obviously conflicted: calling it ‘Jin’s plan’ and riling Ganan has clearly helped, and it appeals to her natural instinct to action; but her loyalty to her brother is stronger than her trust in the Dynasts. “We don’t even know if the bearfolk will help us…” She offers lamely.

“They’ll help us,” Melody says confidently, “The question is whether you’re going to help us. To save Dovak.”

“I didn’t bring you here to die on a fool’s errand.” Yochanan admonishes sternly.

“And we didn’t come here to sit around and wait for an army of goblins to swoop in and save us!” Jin shoots back, “You want Exalted champions to lead your army? Well champions don’t sit around and do nothing, not when they could do something themselves. Exalted or not.”

Yochanan seems about to protest, when the guards usher them back into the throne room to hear the council’s decision. The Dragon-Blooded do not need to speak Dovaki to know that the council has accepted the alliance.

Tinkara immediately steps in and says… something. The council is taken aback. Yochanan is unreadable, but Tinkara speaks animatedly. The council says… something and the party is shown out.

Tinkara addresses our heroes as soon as they’re out of the tower, “A full invasion is out of the question. But the bearfolk are willing to attack Dovak tomorrow. Draw the main body of their forces out of the city after Jin has ‘captured’ us. We go in, the bearfolk draw off the army, we take down Oka and slip away. When Yochanan’s army arrives, we siege Dovak and put down the leaderless army of the dead.”

“Unless Oka kills you all. In which case: when my army arrives, you’ll be dead and my army will be trapped underground unable to fight.” Yochanan says disparagingly, “I am king, and I order you not to do this.”

“With respect, your highness,” Melody says, spreading her arms apologetically “I had some small position in Dovak, and I can tell you definitively that The Realm recognizes Tinkara Dovak as the queen of Dovak.” She flicks a finger between the two siblings, “You two can argue about the line of succession between yourselves, but Tinkara wears the crown – she’s physically wearing the crown, right now – and no Satrap has acknowledged your claim. If you’re going to recant your heresy and acknowledge Dragon-Blooded superiority, the Realm could be persuaded to legitimize you. But right now, you’re not ‘king’ of anything.”

“That’s right,” Jin adds, standing between Yochanan and Tinkara, “Oka calls you a ‘pretender’: considers Tinkara his only legitimate rival. You’ve given the Realm no reason to legitimize you.”

“In short,” Melody smiles, “Don’t give us that ‘king’ crap.”

****

Jin gives her orders to her archons, telling them to support the bearfolk warriors, and spends the rest of the day resting as Melody tends to her and Clapper. Tinkara acquires three sets of false manacles. Ganan gathers supplies and at sundown conducts the ritual to summon an agata: Inyosi, whom Ganan places inside his Yasal crystal. As the others bed down in the tunnels leading from the bearfolk mine, Ganan takes Whims aside.

“We’re going to win, Whims,” Ganan starts.

“No, you’re not. Yochanan is right, The Gift is going to kill you all.” Whims holds Ganan’s eyes for a long stare.

“Why are you helping the Mask of Winters? You know his army is a violation of the natural order. I thought that meant something to you?”

Whims grits his teeth, “It did… once. Not anymore.” There’s a pause, and then, “We weren’t helping the Mask of Winters... or the Gift of Merciful Silence. It was us.”

“What was who?” Ganan asks, leaning in.

“Thorns. Lookshy. It was Midnight Flamebough… and me. We spread discord throughout the Scavenger Lands to break up the Seventh Legion. She infiltrated the Mask’s army and goaded them to attack. I sabotaged the Seventh Legion’s fleet of airships. And together, we lured the Mask of Winters into range, and destroyed all of them in one blow.”

“How?”

“You remember Ligier, The Green Sun? He built a weapon. I placed that weapon upon a fault in the manse at the heart of the city and detonated it. It caused a chain reaction that destroyed the city, the Mask of Winter’s army, his Deathknights, and his Juggernaut.”

“But not the Deathlord himself.”

“No. He is truly a lord of death and cannot be killed so easily. Which is why we came here – to thwart his next move.”

Ganan pauses, “You know you are to tell me the truth.”

“And you know that Flamebough was no ordinary Deathknight. She served the demon princes, not the Deathlords. Hell desires chaos and strife in Creation – not the calm order of the grave. Hence our Cynis allies: murder and mayhem are what your kind specialize in, Breaker.”

“So, you’re helping the Mask of Winters to hurt him?”

“We are helping the Mask of Winters to hurt you.” Whims smiles, “You mortals don’t understand the half of it. Whatever you think he has lost here above, is nothing compared to what he has lost in the Underworld. You think he’s concerned with conquest? He is concerned only with survival. He is all but destroyed, and he will wreak a merry hell upon Creation… with the help of my masters.”

Ganan takes a step back, “Yochanan was right: you aren’t the man I knew. You’re akuma!”

“Call it what you want. I have power now such as I have never had before.”

“And yet, it’s not enough to defeat me,” Ganan folds his arms, “How do you plan on controlling the Mask of Winters?”

“You had help,” Whims rues bitterly, “I’ve killed hundreds of your kind. And leashing the Mask is a job for my masters.”

“I don’t know if there’s anything of you left to save. But you’ve heard our plan – we’re going to go put down a necromancer and put a lot of unquiet dead back in their graves.”

Whims falters for a moment, “Please, go through with your plan. The Gift of Merciful Silence will slaughter you.”

“Which is what you want. Me dead, the dead wreaking havoc on the land of the living?”

“I…” Whims, pauses, “I can’t lie: it doesn’t matter what I want. There are powers at work here beyond your comprehension.”

“And if it did matter, what would you want?”

Whims clenches his jaw and fingers the collar on his neck compelling him to tell the truth, “You to stop them. You to wait for Yochanan’s army and stop them. And for you-”

“That’s enough!” Ganan snaps, “You’re to hide in the tunnels for the next two days. Obviously, if I die that’ll unlock,” He motions to the Collar of Dutiful Submission, “I’d hoped killing Flamebough would set you free, but it’s obviously more complicated than that. You have a choice: if the Yozi had completely enslaved your will, you’d defy my commands, and the Collar would just kill you. But some part of you is still you. I’ll always regret leaving you behind and I’m going to try to save you. But I must stop the Mask of Winters first.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m going to do? What I’m going to do the second you are dead and this collar comes off?”

Ganan turns and walks away, “No.”

****

Next morning, the Dynasts travel back to Dovak. Jin places Ganan, Melody, and Tinkara in the false manacles (procured from somewhere by her archons who seem to appear the exact moment Jin needs them then be gone the next) and marches them into the city. The Rulinsei delegation have been removed from the stocks, but otherwise the city is as they left it: Melody and Tinkara are obviously shocked by how bad things have gotten.

As predicted, they are shown back to the court, but The Gift and his stranger undead servants are conspicuously absent (as are the zombies from the Royal Market). Instead, a muscle-bound woman over six-foot tall sits upon the throne. She smiles as Jin herds the ‘prisoners’ into the throne-room.

“Sorry it took me so long, Satrap, Tinkara Dovak – the exile, as promised. And as a bonus…”

Cynis Petalin interrupts her, “Former garrison commander Gracious Pealing Melody and Cynis Falen Ganan.” Petalin stands and draws her daiklave pointing it at Ganan, “The only reason I don’t kill you where you stand is because what the Gift will do to you will be so much worse.” She eyes his invulnerable bronze skin suspiciously and Ganan looks back at her defiantly.

“They don’t look wounded,” Petalin says suspiciously. The guards in the room ready their weapons and the fancier looking courtiers discretely shuffle to the exits.

“I took them by surprise,” Jin lies easily, “And of course, my success is your success, but I should like to deliver them to the prince personally.”

Petalin is not mollified, “You do look wounded.”

“I had a run in with an old rival – Lady Magnificent – I doubt she’ll be any more than an inconvenience to your operation here, but it’s a personal matter. You understand.”

“I understand that two days ago, one Cynis Falen Jinabar turned up here unannounced and impersonating Cynis Pipos, the ranger I had hired, had an audience with the Gift of Merciful Silence. I understand that this Jinabar was insolent and ignorant of our most basic operations. I understand that after she left, the project was attacked, and our master made his displeasure with me known personally. And I know your brother does not look beaten.”

Ganan’s eyes glisten, “Oops.” He says with obvious relish as he bursts out of the false cuffs and blurs forward toward the Satrap. The larger woman is ready for him, but the hundreds of pounds of Ganan’s bronze body bowls over her defense as he grapples her into a body lock.

“Boring conversation anyway!” Melody shouts as she takes her bow back from Jin (who passes Tinkara her warclub). She fires an arrow straight into the restrained Satrap, which clangs against her breastplate, driving the wind out of her.

“I never even got my bath!” Jin complains as she rounds on the mortal guards closing in on them from behind. She flicks out Calumny, extending it to its full length to smash the guards aside. The elite warriors of Petalin’s personal guard are scattered like children before her attacks.

Petalin herself struggles in Ganan’s grasp. She awkwardly brings her daiklave to bear, but her attacks do little more than beat Ganan into Earth Dragon Form – his aura rising up in a bonfire around him.

A pair of Cynis scions fancy their chances and close on Tinkara. They start to glow with power, the first batters her warclub out of her hands and the second rams her blade into Tinkara’s gut, smashing through her armor.

“Sextus Jylis!” Melody curses as she fires on the Cynis scion with her sword in Tinkara’s body. The arrow takes them in the neck, and they drop dead.

Jin turns her back on the fleeing mortals and fires a blast of flame at the other Cynis scion. The flames engulf him leaving telling burns.

Ganan smashes Petalin’s face into the ground. “Where is Oka?” He demands.

“You hit like a little boy!” Petalin snarls as she tries to struggle out of his grip. Even with his great bulk and vast strength, Ganan feels his hold begin to loosen.

The burning Cynis recovers his senses and charges in to finish off Tinkara. The wounded god-blooded throws herself to the right. The honed Cynis blade misses her heart but bites into her elbow, parting the arm at the joint. Her severed forearm crashes to the floor with a thump. Tinkara grips desperately at her bleeding stump as she goes down.

Ganan throws Petalin bodily to the ground. There is a sickening crunch as something breaks. Ganan pulls his tetsubo from his anima and stands over her.

Jin and Melody go into action simultaneously. Jin rushes over to Tinkara’s prone form, Calumny fully extended to defend her downed ally. Melody fires an arrow at the remaining Cynis scion, staggering him.

The male Cynis scion charges at Jin, who surges forward to deflect his attack with her own killing blow. The superior reach of Calumny bypasses the wounded Cynis’s clumsy strike and smashes in her foe’s face. He falls to the ground.

Petalin rises from the ground, buoyed effortlessly to her feet by the rising power of her essence. She swings at Ganan, knocking him off-balance as her sword bites into his invulnerable skin.

Jin makes a dash to close with Petalin. She strikes the much larger fighter, sticky threads of essence spilling out from Jin’s wrackstaff to bind her opponent.

Melody fires an arrow at Petalin which explodes into a mess of thorns. The Satrap curses.

Ganan steps up and drives Petalin to the ground with an overhead blow from his tetsubo. Jin’s vines pin her to the ground. “It’s over! Where is Oka?”

Melody rushes over to Tinkara to side to treat her arm and gut wound. Reattaching it is beyond her skill, but she staunches and sterilizes the wounds and gets Tinkara into a position where she can walk – if not fight.

Jin stands over the downed Satrap, “The Gift of Merciful Silence, where is he?”

“The masters anticipated your treachery. We knew there was no way the exile and her merry misfits could bring down Mistress Midnight and her pet, so when they did not return, the Gift led our forces out of the city. Right now, I imagine he’s butchering those treacherous bearfolk.”

(“They prefer ‘beastmen’!” Ganan ‘corrects’.

Melody shakes her head, “No, they don’t.”

“They don’t?” Ganan mouths back as he pulls a confused face.)

Jin ignores them and barks her orders, “Ganan, warn the others. Tinkara, change of plans: we’re going to take the Satrap here with us – how do we get out of here.”

(Ganan sets sends his words on the wind to the bearfolk warning them of Oka’s attack, all too aware that they are almost certainly too late.)

Tinkara takes up her warclub, forcing herself not to look at her severed arm. (Melody has the presence of mind to bandage the stump and take it with them so the enemy cannot use it for necromantic purposes.) “Five of us? We could go down, use the escape tunnel. But Oka knows about it – it could be trapped.”

Jin ties the Satrap’s arms behind her back, “Escape tunnel, I like it. Ganan, bring the Satrap.” Jin leads the way down the tower with Tinkara behind her and Melody covering them with her bow.

Ganan tries to lift the Satrap’s sword, but even for an artifact its impossibly heavy. He hefts it from the ground but realizing he can’t carry the sword and the massive Satrap, he drops it. Petalin laughs, loud and clear as Ganan hauls her up to her feet.

“Too heavy for you little boy?” She teases.

“I AM NOT LITTLE!” Ganan shouts as he pushes her towards the door, “You are freakishly tall!”

Petalin strides towards the door, easily catching up with the others and forcing Ganan to trot behind her. “I am six-feet-and-four-inches tall. A perfectly normal height for a Dynastic woman.” She looks over her shoulder, exaggeratedly looking down on Ganan and raising an eyebrow.

“Just walk!” He nudges her with his tetsubo.

****

They make it to the escape tunnel, and indeed through the tunnel and out of the city, without incident. They pick their way through to the staging ground where the bearfolk forces were supposed to be waiting for them and find the site of a battle. Dozens of corpses – bearfolk and Dovaki (some corpses clearly older than others) – litter the ground. The trail of the battle is easy to follow – the bearfolk have retreated toward one of the underground tunnels. None of Jin’s archons are among the dead.

“Come on, let’s go!” Jin says, charging in the direction of the carnage.

Ganan stops by the corpses, “We should burn these bodies.”

Jin stops and rounds on her brother, “Unless you’ve suddenly become Hesiesh, we don’t have time.”

“Every body we don’t burn now, is a zombie we’ll have to kill later.” Ganan says, folding his arms.

“And every bearfolk warrior we lose now is a warrior we won’t have to kill those zombies!” Jin throws back at him.

Melody takes charge, “Jin, you stay and burn as many of the bodies as you can. Ganan, come on! We need to get to the bearfolk as quickly as possible.” She runs down the trail with Tinkara.

Ganan nudges Petalin forward as Jin reluctantly starts stacking bodies.

****

“Did you notice?” Melody asks as soon as Jin is out of earshot.

“Notice what?” Ganan asks, cluelessly.

Melody shoots a look at Petalin, “I’ll tell you later.”

****

Dusk has fallen by the time the Dynasts catch up with the bearfolk who are mounting a fierce tunnel-fight against the forces of the dead. Even given the darkness and having to watch their prisoner and defend the wounded Tinkara, the conditions are favorable for the Dynasts who catch the zombie horde in a pincer. Ganan hammers them against the anvil of the bearfolk, casually smashing through the zombies and war-ghosts as Melody picks off the stragglers. By battle’s end, Jin has lit the pyres of bodies and made her way up to the others. Hundreds of zombies fall before they are reunited with what’s left of the bearfolk. Clapper is also present, and surprisingly another familiar figure is fighting side-by-side with the bearfolk.

“Whims?” Ganan asks, seeing the shifting figure wielding his wicked looking Soulsteel scythe to cut down the dead.

“Two things, Breaker,” Whims says, “Firstly, it’s all one tunnel complex, so technically I’m still in the tunnels behind the mines. And secondly,” He hands Ganan back the Collar of Dutiful Submission, “These things have a range limit. They come off if you move too far away.”

“Touching!” Jin exclaims as she elbows her way forward, “Yes the corpses are burning as we speak, you’re welcome. Now where’s Oka?”

“The Deathknight wasn’t part of the attack.” One of the bearfolk snorts.

The heroes curse in unison.

“Okay, what now?” Melody asks.

“We take the tunnels: go back to Urza Arcus. If Oka is attacking, we need to stop him. If he’s not attacking, we need to rally with Yochanan.” Ganan slams his fist into his palm for emphasis.

“Okay, do the thing!” Melody makes a swirling motion with her hand.

Ganan looks at her blankly.

Melody throws her arms in the air, “The sorcery thing! Whoosh!”

“I… don’t know how to cast Stormwind Rider.” Ganan says slowly.

Melody blinks at him, “I thought you taught Reya magic?”

“I taught Reya history… (at magic school). She’s a far more competent sorcerer than I am.” Ganan nods up the tunnel, “Shall we?”

Whims points in a different direction, “Urza Arcus is that way.” The bearfolk nod in agreement.

****

Oka is not attacking Urza Arcus. The Exalted and Tinkara traveling ahead of the bearfolk, make it to Yochanan’s camp by the mines late into the night. Jadeborn sentries stop them and take them to Yochanan.

Yochanan stares wordlessly at Tinkara’s missing arm. She doesn’t say anything either as she kneels before her brother, removes her laurel crown, and awkwardly offers it to him. Yochanan takes the crown and places it on his head.

“I take it Oka escaped you?” Yochanan says at last.

“He knew we were coming and withdrew his forces,” Jin reports, she gestures to the captured Satrap, “Apparently to attack the bearfolk. His zombies attacked our forces, but he was nowhere to be seen. We were worried he was here, attacking the city.”

“If he is, then he’s being incredibly subtle about it.” Yochanan answers.

“On the plus side,” Melody adds brightly, “We killed a lot of zombies. Jin burned a bunch of bodies. The bearfolk have burned a bunch of bodies. Oka’s lost a good few hundred troops off his army. Not bad for a day’s work.”

“And we have an Exalted ally, who fought with us against Oka’s army of the dead.” Ganan places a hand on Whims’s shoulder.

Yochanan gives Whims a dirty look, “You’ll forgive me if I don’t jump for joy. I have a bad back.”

Tinkara rises and points at finger at Whims, “That thing led the attack on Dovak. Either it’s still loyal to Oka and trying to infiltrate our ranks or it betrayed it’s old masters and is likely to betray us.”

Yochanan steps in, “Ganan, Melody, a word? Jin, Tinkara – why not show our guest to her room and see if we see feels like talking to us? And keep an eye on that thing.”

Whims, Petalin, Jin, and Tinkara head down the tunnels, led by the Jadeborn.

Once they are alone, Yochanan asks them earnestly, “Is there anything you can do to restore my sister’s arm?”

Melody raises an eyebrow, “It’s Anathema magic that regrows lost limbs – I was hoping you’d have something.”

“I’m not a healer,” Yochanan confesses, “I wouldn’t know where to start, Ganan?”

“Whims might be able to help there. I don’t know about ‘healer’ but-”

“That monster isn’t going anywhere near my sister.” Yochanan says firmly, “What about sorcery?”

“Well… it’s not impossible,” Ganan says slowly, “It will take some time. Weeks. And it’s… not a precise science.”

“He means the arm will be all weird and cursed.” Melody interprets.

“It won’t be cursed it’ll just be… different,” Ganan shoots her a look, “But it’ll work. As an arm.”

“But it’ll take weeks?” Yochanan asks.

“Three at least, maybe longer. Can I assume your army will be here before then?”

“The army will be here but given that we’ve tipped our hand and Oka now knows you are here; the war might not be over by then.”

Ganan sucks his teeth, “Then I supposed I’d better start. As I don’t have anything else to do until this mysterious army arrives.” He turns to leave, and grabs Tinkara’s severed arm as he does so, “I’ll need this.”

Melody cringes as he tosses Tinkara’s arm over his shoulder, “I’d better…” She jerks a thumb over to Ganan and smiles apologetically to Yochanan.

****

“Oka is not going to win this,” Jin says patiently as she holds Petalin under guard. Jadeborn warriors train crossbows on the captive Dragon-Blooded and they tie her to the wall. “Now is the time to switch to the winning side.”

“In the end,” Petalin smiles without mirth, “Death always wins.”

Jin nods sagely, “Princess, would you care to punctuate my point for me?”

Tinkara swings her warclub into Petalin’s gut.

“What are you going to do?” Petalin says, “Kill me? You think your crude torture is worse than what the Gift of Merciful Silence will do to me?”

“We are Dynasts! Where’s your pride? How can you side with these monsters?”

Petalin chuckles and shakes her head, “Dynasts? We’re not Dynasts. There is no Great House Cynis. We are those who have lost everything. Side with monsters?” She looks long and hard at Whims.

“Don’t give me that, he was on your side before he was on ours.”

“Was he?” Petalin stares at him, “The master always had his doubts.”

Jin smiles pleasantly, “Well that’s good to know.” She sighs, “You used to be beloved. A hero. I had cousins who couldn’t stop singing your praises. They’re dead now: and if your master has his way, a great deal more of our kin will join them. Come back to the side of the living. How many zombies does Oka have?”

“Millions. Dozens. You’ve destroyed them all already. Apart from the ten legions left.”

Jin folds her arms across her chest, “Is that meant to be a riddle or are you just being obtuse?”

“I’m being obstructive. The more I talk, the longer I distract you for.”

Jin sucks her teeth, “Tinkara, hit her again.”

Tinkara smashes Petalin across the mouth.

“Not in the mouth!” Jin complains, “We want her to talk.”

“Well, be more specific next time!” Tinkara shoots back, her voice laden with rage.

“And the greater dead? Nemissaries? Nephwracks?”

Petalin says nothing. Ganan and Melody walk in.

Jin turns to her brother, “She’s resisting the process.”

Ganan tosses her the Collar of Dutiful Submission, “Try that. I need Tinkara.”

“Is that my arm?” Tinkara says in a daze as Ganan drags her out of the room.

“Well,” Jin says with a smile, “This could work.”

****

“Are you… going to reattach my arm?” Tinkara asks, breathlessly.

“No,” Melody says firmly, “We don’t have that kind of power.”

“Well…” Ganan considers as he eyes the arm, “I mean, I could… it’d probably start to smell soon though.”

Tinkara waves her warclub threateningly.

“I was thinking wood: I could carve you a replacement out of wood, Melody could graft it to your stump, and I could animate it with sorcery. It would work the same as your old arm… but it’d be made of wood.”

“Where are you going to get the wood from?” Tinkara asks, her voice filled with the natural skepticism of one who distrusts sorcery, “Not the Heartrot Tree, I hope?”

“Apple. Grown in Dovaki soil of a cutting from the Empress’s own orchard.”

Melody gives Ganan a confused look.

Tinkara is exasperated, “It will take years to grow such a tree!”

“I’ll have the wood tomorrow night. I’ll shape it over the next week. Melody will graft it to your stump, another week for it to take root. A week for safety. And you should have two working arms.”

“You could give me my arm back in two weeks?”

Ganan gives Melody an exasperated look, “I might as well not say anything! Did I stutter? A wooden arm in three weeks. If you’re amenable. I’ll need to take some blood. And some measurements.”

“Yes!” Tinkara says eagerly, “I’m amenable! Do it! Please.”

****

Jin sets the Collar about Petalin’s neck, “Now, I order you to answer my questions honestly.”

Whims clears his throat, “I could probably answer any questions you had about the Gift’s forces… you don’t have to do... this.”

Jin turns and forces a smile at Whims, “Well, I’m afraid I can’t trust a single word that comes out of your dead mouth. And frankly, I’m still not convinced that I shouldn’t smash your skull in. But, sure, does Oka have any Nephwracks?”

“No,” Whims says simply, “You’ve met his lieutenant, Leshak. I don’t know what manner of being it is. I’m given to understand the Gift’s first tutor was a Nephwrack… he doesn’t work well with them.”

Jin nods, and turns her attention back to Petalin, “Does Oka have any Nephwracks?” She asks, as if Whims hadn’t spoken.

Petalin says nothing. The Collar tightens about her neck. Her body spasms, first in pain, then from lack of air. But still, she remains silent.

“Don’t think I am going to blink Petalin. You will answer my questions. Does The Gift of Merciful Silence have any Nephwracks? Are there any Nephwracks in Dovak?”

Petalin starts to glow with power as she turns her Essence futilely against the collar. She sags against the wall but still says nothing.

“I really don’t think-” Whims begins, but Jin cuts him off with a wave of her hand.

Jin leans in and touches her wrackstaff against Petalin’s skin, listening for her greatest secret. The two words she hears cause her to pull a face.

“Really?” Jin says to herself as she leans back, “What would people think if they knew?”

Petalin says nothing, but Whims is intrigued, “Knew what?”

“That ‘she’s alive’?” Jin says with a smirk. An undeniable look of horror crosses Petalin’s face, as Jin continues, “A little stir in the Realm perhaps, but I think we’re quite past that. No, the real drama would be if the Mask of Winters found out.”

“Don’t,” Petalin chokes out quietly.

“How many Nephwracks?” Jin repeats.

Whims takes a step back as Petalin’s anima comes into full bloom, whipping at the rope bonds. The Jadeborn guards also back off to avoid being torn to shreds by the toxic petals. Petalin falls away from the wall and drops to her knees. She shakes her head, trying to clear it. Jin stands in the maelstrom, her Exalted nature protecting her from the elemental storm. Petalin collapses, face down on the ground.

Jin asks a final time, “How many Nephwracks does Oka have?”

Petalin’s anima dies. Her chest stops rising and falling. The petal storm ends. The Collar of Dutiful Submission unlocks from her neck.

“Shit.” Jin curses as she picks the Collar back up.

*****

A great clamor rises from the tunnels, the Jadeborn fall back gathering our heroes as they go. Spine chains – zombies cleaved in half and joined head-to-torso to form unliving battering rams – scamper through the tunnels on dozens of dirty, claw-like, scampering hands. The half-ton amalgams of flesh and spiked metal set the Jadeborn to rout – sending them fleeing deeper into the tunnels.

Jin flicks out her wrackstaff, bringing it down heavily on the head of the lead torso in the chain closest to her. The green jade smashes through the dead-flesh as if it were an overripe fruit and the whole chain goes limp for a moment. Then, with a sickening sucking sound, the next torso in the chain starts to decouple its head from the chest cavity of the corpse in front. Jin takes a moment to push the glowing power of her anima out of her body – it surrounds her in swirling orbs of flame – then she extends a palm and fires bolts of elemental energy along the chain of dead bodies, setting them alight. As the crippled spine chain burns, she falls back with the Jadeborn.

Meanwhile, Melody ignores the dead and runs straight for where they have been keeping Clapper. She hastily mounts her riding beast and drives it with a speed which is seemingly impossible for such a ponderous mammoth back to the fray, rallying the Jadeborn behind her as she goes.

Ganan lets the Jadeborn break and flee, sending the one-armed Tinkara off with them. He reaches into a fissure in the mountain side and draws forth his tetsubo. As a spine chain comes barreling toward him, he stands unmoving until the last second before bringing his mighty weapon down on the restless corpses. A shockwave ripples through the line of bodies as they are blown apart by Ganan’s raw elemental power. For a moment, Ganan considers pressing forward to Urza Arcus, but he knows the tactically sound thing is to fall back with the others. He turns and tracks through the tunnels in the wake of the Jadeborn, only to be surprised by Whims heading in the other direction.

“I thought you head more sense than that,” Ganan admonishes suspiciously.

“I’m not going to rejoin the Gift,” Whims reassures him, “I’m here because I thought you had less sense than that – I thought you’d wade straight in and get killed,” He gestures further into the tunnels.

Ganan nods and the pair regroup with the others. Yochanan has ordered the Jadeborn into organized battlelines with barricades to stop the spine chains. The Exalted take their positions in Yochanan’s battle order, and Ganan draws his dragon sigh wand. The low moan of the shuffling dead echoes down the tunnels.

“Stand firm!” Yochanan orders.

The massed dead groan into view. Yochanan gives the signal and a hail of crossbow bolts cut the shuffling zombies down. Melody puts arrows into the stragglers from the back of Clapper. The dead keep coming, pressing hard against the weight of fire and closing the distance. Bearfolk corpses are shuffled in with the human dead. Jin and Ganan add their blasts of flame and drive the zombies back.

And then Leshak lumbers into view. The creature pulses with sickly green light barely contained by the old, dead wood that makes up the frame of his body. The zombies stop going down under the Jadeborn’s quarrels and continue wading forward even as Jin and Ganan set them alight: green light spills out from their wounds as they press forward despite their horrific injuries.

“Melody! Collapse the tunnel! Now!” Yochanan bellows.

Melody doesn’t hesitate. She goads Clapper into swinging his mighty tail into a load-bearing corner of wall and the tunnel collapses on the dead – cutting our heroes off from both their attackers… and the way out.

****

Ganan spends 8XP to train Spirit-Shredding Attack and 7DX to train Craft: Artifact 5.
Jin spends 8XP to train Impervious Skin of Stone 12DX to train the custom Evocation No Holds Barred.

No Holds Barred
Cost: 1m or 5m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Resonant, Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: None

Mere locks cannot deter the Lady from acquiring the object of her affections: she slips past them with the grace befitting Creations premier thief and lady adventuress. This Evocation Supplements a lock-picking attempt.

Against mundane locks, this Evocation costs 1m – the user may apply the following benefits:

Firstly, in lieu of rolling the user may convert every die in her pool to a non-Charm success. Secondly, she may open the lock simply by touching it (if she has lockpicking tools on her person, she may still benefit as if she were using them – for example by gaining the bonus die for Exceptional Equipment or by accessing Evocations – but she does not require lockpicks). Finally, she may open locks as a Miscellaneous action (no matter how complex the lock is or how long it would usually take to pick) which may be placed in a Flurry.

Against magical locks, this Evocation costs 5m and works slightly differently:

Firstly, the user may challenge magical locks with mundane lock-picking tools. Her methods may be impossible, but must at least be logical: for example, a set of mundane lockpicks might be able to challenge a moonsilver tumbler that reconfigures itself against any tampering, but not a series of enchanted crystals that give off resonant tones when struck – these might require a glass tumbler and a tuning fork in order to deduce the correct series of tones instead. This Evocation may explicitly challenge otherwise perfect magical locks. Secondly, after rolling the user may convert (Essence) dice to non-Charm successes.

Lady Magnificent’s Visage must be attuned and on the user’s person in order to use this Evocation, but it need not be worn.

Dissonant: This Evocation may not be used to challenge perfect magical locks. In order to challenge magical locks, the user must be wearing the Visage and disguised as Lady Magnificent.

Resonant: If disguised as Lady Magnificent and wearing the Visage, double the number of non-Charm successes added by this Evocation.
- 79
- 80
- 81
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Dynasty of Dovak