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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 82 – Reinforcements Have Arrived – Ganan (290XP 232DX, 285/231 spent; 20WhP 83GP 42SP), Jinabar (290XP 232DX, 276/232 spent), Gifty (???XP ???DX, ???/??? spent)

Tepet Ganan, Cynis Jinabar, and Dragonsgift of Cadet House Saber Edge stand in Shining Kren – a large Jadeborn settlement, hidden beneath the Firepeak mountains. The Jadeborn have given them use of a tower so that they can clear a vast tunnel leading thousands of miles across the South. The Exalted plan on looting a lost underground city of the First Age that lies part way across the tunnel, by using an army of bound demons to clear the hundreds of miles of rubble.

Our heroes rendezvous with their compatriots, who have travelled to meet them from the Blessed Isle.

A pinched, yet willowy woman glares at the trio as they approach.

“Who is this?” Jin asks from the side of her mouth as they approach.

Ganan raps his knuckles against his palm and whispers back, “It’s on the tip of my tongue…”

The woman makes a gesture half-way between dismissive and a salute, “I am Alinos Kerin, and I’ll be taking command of this operation. Tepet Cynis Ganan, I believe you’re already acquainted with the plan – you may join the other sorcerers and begin summoning.”

Ganan whispers to Jin, “That’s Alinos’s sister, Kerin. She’s a sorcerer.”

Jin gives a short bow, “I am Cynis Jinabar, and I am terribly sorry for any confusion: this is Tepet Saber Edge Dragonsgift, she is the one ‘in command’ of this operation.” Jin gives an apologetic smile.

Gifty unslings her massive, two-handed blade and leans on it. Her massive height towers over the Dynastic matriarch, who remains unflappable.

“My niece mentioned that we would be receiving aid from her husband and some… consultants from outside of the House. You can be assured that I will put your… expertise to good use. But this enterprise is being undertaken by Great House Alinos. I am Kerin, of Great House Alinos, granddaughter of Empress Mnemon herself. You are an Outcaste, a Traitor, and…” She gestures hopelessly at Ganan, “A Man. If my granddaughter – or my niece – were here, then, yes, an argument could be made for leaving this… ambitious gambit in your hands. But they’re not. And my Matriarch requires someone she can trust in command of this operation.”

Gifty smiles predatorially, “Well, that’s kind of insulting. I mean, I, personally, am not insulted. I’ve never met Madame Alinos, yet she’s bankrolling my venture based on my expertise. Can’t exactly expect the woman to hand a blank check to someone she doesn’t know. It’s not like I’m her son-in-law or anything.” She jabs a finger in Ganan’s side, not quite playfully, “I mean, if she’d known me for decades, fought alongside me in battle, watched me marry her daughter and still didn’t trust me… that would sting. Parent to her grandchildren, and if she still didn’t trust me… I don’t know about you, but I’d find that a devastating blow to my self-esteem.”

Ganan ignores her and gives Kerin a short bow, “Dragonsgift is also a capable sorcerer: she should join me. I don’t know what you want to do with Jin.”

Kerin gives a signal as she speaks, “Actually, I think I know exactly what I want to do with Cynis Jinabar.” At the Dynast’s command, legionnaires in Alinos colors and Jadeborn warriors pour into the room, blocking the exits, “Took us some time to assemble and make it here to Shining Kren. As we were assembling, and you were… traveling, House Alinos’s Jadeborn allies traveled to Hiram to verify your story about saving the city from a Deathlord.”

Jade Walker enters the room, with Indefatigable Klar at their side. Neither of the Jadeborn looks pleased.

“Shit.” Jin curses and looks at the ground.

“Imagine everyone’s lack of surprise when Jade Walker confirmed that whilst, yes, House Alinos had saved the city, a priceless suit of armor had been stolen. I can’t say I expected better from a scion of Fallen House Cynis, but I was pleasantly surprised by how swiftly the Jadeborn justice system works. A nice, swift, execution.”

Gifty makes a hand gesture excusing herself and takes a couple of large paces away from Jin.

Jin gives a casual, off-hand gesture, “You would have thought I was entitled to some kind of trial?”

“You are literally wearing the stolen armor right now!” Jade Walker screeches hysterically.

Jin remains unflappable, “I took this armor from Lady Magnificent: she’s the one who stole it. Pretty sure this is the kind of detail that usually comes out during a trial, you know, the thing we have before the execution.”

Ganan clears his throat, “I realize the Jadeborn are protective of their technologies, but the defense of Hiram would not have been possible without Jin’s efforts. And whilst she did not return the stolen armor straight away, surely it is telling that she is here in Shining Kren, putting the armor to the defense of the Jadeborn.”

“Fine!” Jade Walker exclaims, “Trial…”

(Jin whispers to Ganan, “You’ll be my co-counsel, right?”

Ganan nods, “I gotchu.”)

Jade Walker’s expression darkens, “By combat.”

(Jin whispers to her brother, “You got this, right?”

“Nope, I’m out.”)

Jin clears her throat and gestures to Klar, “Seriously? You’re going to pit one of the Mountain Folk against one of the Dragon-Blooded?” She flicks her wrackstaff out to full length, “I mean, I know I’m innocent, but this just seems mean.”

Indefatigable Klar gives a nod to Alinos Kerin, “With your permission, this might be an opportunity to resolve our other problem?”

Kerin’s nose wrinkles in obvious disgust – whatever this other problem is, even Ganan can tell it makes her uncomfortable. She gives the slightest of nods. Jade Walker smiles from ear-to-ear.

“Please remove the armor and follow me.” Klar instructs.

Jin gives a shrug and gestures to the room full of soldiers, “I’m a little naked under here. Change of clothes. Breastplate, maybe?”

Klar gestures and the Jadeborn and Realm troops leave the room. Dragonsgift and Kerin follow out, as a human servant brings in some undyed, rough spun wool garments and a simple breastplate. When Ganan and Jin are alone in the room, Jin immediately begins looking for other exits.

“Think you can tunnel through the floor?”

Ganan attunes his senses to the cavern below, “Lots of soldiers under us.”

“You sure you don’t want to fight this Jadeborn champion for me?”

Ganan snorts, “You want me to say it again? You are a better warrior than I am.”

Jin smiles ruefully, “In the armor, sure.” She starts stripping out of the power armor: she is, of course, fully dressed underneath it, though she gratefully straps herself into the breastplate provided. “Who do you think I’ll be fighting?”

Ganan shrugs, “Not Klar?”

****

Outside the room, Gifty addresses Jade Walker and Kerin, “Obviously Jade Walker will be taking the armor back to Hiram, as is proper. But, I assume no-one has any objection to my taking Cynis Jinabar’s other artifacts once she’s dead? No?”

****

The Jadeborn lead our heroes to a different cavern, then into a wide, blood-sports, arena.

Ganan mouths, “Good luck.” And the spectators take their seats in the stands as Jin walks out into the killing field.

Jin stands alone. She twirls her staff and her cape theatrically. There’s quite a turn-out: a number of subterranean humans and Mountain Folk fill out the seating. Jin cannot see her opponent anywhere.

An announcers voice echoes out around the stands:

“The condemned stands accused of stealing Jadeborn technology, murder, face-stealing, making war against our Empress Mnemon, and espionage.”

Jin makes a face. “That’s quite the trumped-up list of charges.”

In the stands, Ganan leans over to Gifty, “That doesn’t sound right.”

The announcer continues, “He will be facing the Realm’s Champion, Cynis Falen Jinabar.”

Gifty’s eye’s glitter, “Do you think they have popcorn?”

(Ganan spies a vendor, “No, but they have beer!”)

A twisted bronze gate at the opposite end of the arena creaks open. A hulking figure, bound in heavy chains, shackled and muzzled, pulls forward into the arena. Four burly Jadeborn keep the giant, leonine figure barely contained. He froths at the mouth – or rather, maw – and his eyes are wild. A silver disk is prominent on the lion-man’s brow.

Jin takes in the half-man, half-lion, war-form before her. “Of course, it’s a Lunar.”

In the stands, Ganan leans over to Kerin, “That’s an Anathema! Did you know there was an Anathema here?”

Kerin makes a dismissive gesture, “Apparently you weren’t as discrete as would have been prudent. This adherent of the Wasp Queen infiltrated the city. He killed several of my guards before we brought it to heel. The Jadeborn are keen to keep the peace with the Anathema of the surface. Obviously, we can’t let it go. Nor can the Jadeborn kill it. But if the Realm does the deed, then the Jadeborn are blameless.”

“And if Jin kills him, House Alinos doesn’t make an enemy.” Ganan grinds his jaw.

Kerin gives a sadistic giggle, “Don’t be absurd! When the Anathema kills Cynis Jinabar, he will have won his freedom in trial by combat. He’ll return to the Wasp Queen and inform her that it is House Cynis at work here.”

The Jadeborn warriors release the raging Lunar, who races over to Jin in great bounds. The former Magistrate holds her ground and keeps her guard open. The Lunar leans over her, his spittle-flecked, breath hot on her face. She looks up at him, “Cynis Jinabar, pleased to meet you.”

The ravenous, wild, Lunar’s eye’s swivel down at Jin and seem to come into focus. He leans closer still, and purrs into her ear, “Abbas. First time?”

“Gladiatorial combat or fighting a Lunar?” Jin quips back.

“Dying.” Abbas growls.

“Well, I can’t say I make a habit of it,” Jin clears her throat, “I don’t suppose you’re open to teaming up and breaking out of here together?”

Abbas roars. It is a thoroughly disquieting (and extremely loud) sound, even for those in the stands. “This is trial by combat. I kill you. I go free. And I stop House Cynis. I will never side with the Realm’s slave masters.”

“Yeah, I thought you’d say that. Doesn’t hurt to ask though, right?” Jin sucks in air through her teeth, “I’m not big on the whole ‘fight to the death’ thing, that’s more my brother’s deal. Are you sure you don’t-”

Abbas cuts her off mid-sentence, whipping the great chains shackled to his wrists at her with lethal force. Jin twists, flurrying her cape to disguise the movements of her body as she spins through the air, dodging between the deadly chains.

Before Jin even hits the ground, she has brought her weapon down for an overhead strike. Purest green jade, backed by her entire falling body weight, comes crashing down directly in the center of Abbas’s head. The Lunar doesn’t even flinch, and he snatches at the wrackstaff and twists it out of Jin’s grip. With a flick of his wrist, he sends the artifact hurtling behind him until it crashes near the gate by which he entered the arena.

Jin’s face contorts to a mask of fury, “I needed that.” She chides.

Ganan stands. Kerin snaps at him, “Where are you going?”

Gifty turns her attention to the drama unfolding in front of her.

Ganan looks down at Kerin, “You said I could join the other sorcerers. When my sister wins, send her down to me.”

“That was before-”

Ganan cuts her off mid-sentence, “You can take control of this mission, and take the blame for whatever consequences may befall. You can sentence my sister to death. But I’d like to see you try to make me watch.” And with that he storms off.

Jin pulls the glowing of her anima from her skin, condensing it into swirling balls of fire as she mantels her elemental power.

Abbas lunges forward at the space where Jin’s billowing cape is. As an expert matador, Jin allows him to bull past as she dances her body out of the Lunar’s path. Gifty applauds enthusiastically from the stands.

As soon as he is out of sight, Ganan dissolves his form into shadow. The wind carries his words to Jin, “Lure him over to your wrackstaff.” He circles round the arena, silent and away from (most) prying eyes.

Jin disengages away from the Lunar, firing a blast of flame as she flees. The bolt of elemental power scorches Abbas, who roars again in pain and frustration.

His furred hide smoldering, Abbas rushes at Jin, powerful legs bounding forward as he pounces. The force of the Lunar’s leap drives Jin to the ground and they skid together, coming to a halt an arms-length away from the gate and Jin’s wrackstaff. Abbas sinks his powerful claws into Jin’s shoulders, drawing blood. Abbas’s assault shows no sign of losing momentum.

Blazing with elemental power, Jin twists like fire and rises like smoke, slipping free of Abbas. She stands over her weapon and fires another bolt of fire at the Lunar, whose burns are already starting to heal in front of her eyes. Abbas’s anima, a great argent lion, roars up around him, seeming to take the blow on the Anathema’s behalf. The Lunar’s feline eyes seem to pierce Jin down to her very soul, standing out in unusual prominence where Jin had hardly noticed their cat-like appearance before.

Abbas stays on all fours as his anima dissolves into a pillar of light. He springs at Jin, who dodges as best as she can as his bulk smashes against her. Jin staggers back against the gateway into the arena.

“Any time now!” Jin hisses under her breath as she fires another bolt of fire, point blank at Abbas. The smell of burning flesh assails her senses but the Lunar is unperturbed.

“Give me a minute.” Ganan whispers back as he charges the power of his tetsubo.

The Lunar’s mighty, paw-like hands batter at Jin like a cat playing with a mouse. Without her weapon, wounded, and forced up against the gate with no room to maneuver it is impossible for her to avoid his attack. The assault leaves her wishing she was still wearing her (stolen) power armor.

“Cover for me,” Ganan murmurs to Jin from the shadows.

Jin gives a fearsome war-cry, billowing her cape dramatically as Ganan slips forward across the ground in shadow. He brings his immaterial tetsubo crashing into Abbas’s leg, his own kiai ripping it through into the material world as he hides under Jin’s capote de brega. Jin dips to the ground and recovers her staff.

Abbas staggers back, his leg shattered by Ganan’s attack. He shifts his weight awkwardly, lunging forward at Jin again. This time, the Dragon-Blooded is able to fend away the attack, the superior reach of her staff allowing her to stay on the Lunar’s wounded side as she sends a shower of sparks from the Lunar’s claws against her weapon into Abbas’s eyes.

Unwilling to risk her staff again, Jin sticks to the winning formula of fighting Lunars with fire. Abbas raises a palm to protect his face from the barrage of flame that licks over him.

Abbas lets out a noise unlike that of a lion, or any other beast that walks the face of Creation, a keening shriek, a howl of a wounded god. His blood turns from red to silver and his eyes shine with the light of the moon. His crippled leg seems to be entirely encased in shifting moonsilver, as do his talon-like nails. He stands upright, holding himself with the countenance of a god.

Ganan slips back through the gate, before someone notices his shadow on the arena floor. The bonfire of Jin’s anima rages around her, burning fiercely, as the Anathema stands, shining with profane Celestial power.

Jin leaps forward, striking out with her wrackstaff. Controlling the tempo of battle, she makes a follow-up attack. Her blows drive Abbas back, but it’s like trying to herd a rhino with a limp frond. The reverberations of her enchanted weapon rebounding from the Lunar’s hide causes her wrist to ache with effort.

Abbas launches himself at Jin with murderous intent. Razor sharp claws puncture Jin’s breastplate and Abbas drives his fingers deep into the Dragon-Blooded’s chest, piercing her lung. Buoyed on the tides of battle, the Frenzied shows no signs of slowing his murderous pace. The crowd howls and cheers.

Jin draws a ragged, bubbling breath and spins Calumny in her hand. The great staff collapses to the size of a hairpin and she points it directly in the Lunar’s face, before extending it to it’s full length. The force of the blow staggers Abbas back, his fingers coming clear of Jin’s body with a sick sucking sound, audible over the sound of the cracking bones of the Frenzied’s face. The spectators go wild, standing and jostling.

As Abbas is driven back towards the gate, he swings out with the superior reach of his lashing chains. Jin uses her last reserves of power to parry the otherwise lethal blow, running a current of air along her weapon to deflect the chains.

Ganan risks another shadow strike with his tetsubo. He clubs the Lunar to the ground. Perhaps the spectators would attribute the Lunar’s sudden fall to the Air Essence used in Jin’s parry?

Seeing Jin on her last legs, Ganan seizes the chains of the Lunar and pulls them through the gate. Ganan’s muscles strain as the Lunar pulls against him.

Abbas pulls against the invisible force restraining him as Ganan tangles his chains in the gate. A murmur comes up from the crowd – Ganan is not in the arena proper, and the shadowy entryway provides him with adequate concealment, but it is clear that something unusual is going on.

Jin fires a blast of flame at Abbas as she retreats back to put some distance between herself and the Lunar.

Ganan feels the chains slipping from his fingers. He gives a desperate wrench that would have ripped the arms off of a mortal man. Abbas hardly seems to notice.

Jin blasts Abbas again, continuing her retreat to the far side of the arena. She casts a glance up to the stands and throws a quick salute to Gifty and Kerin. “What, they don’t have popcorn?” She quips.

Abbas wrenches his way free of Ganan’s shadowy grasp and bounds across the arena toward Jin, clearing half the distance with a single leap.

Jin smiles to herself and raises her palm, pointing the flat of her hand at the silver blur bearing down on her. She tries to take a steadying breath, but with the hole in her chest, all that does is send spasms wracking through her body. Cursing herself, she charges directly at the ferocious beast, and once they are face-to-face she slams her open palm into the Lunars face – the snot on his snout smearing across her palm as she summons one last elemental bolt.

The blast of fire washes over the Lunar’s skull, roasting his brain. Abbas drops, heavily, falling on top of Jin. The two combatants lie perfectly still in the middle of the arena. A hush falls over the crowd, even Gifty puts down her beer and leans in to see which, if either, of them will rise. Finally, Abbas’s body stirs… as Jin pushes her way free from the dead Lunar. She staggers unsteadily to her feet, then brings her wrackstaff down, again and again, smashing the still smoldering skull of the beast to pieces.

The crowd starts chanting Mnemon’s name.

Jin leans on her wrackstaff, “Eh, I’ll take it.” She thinks to herself.

****

Our heroes reconvene at the tower put aside for the use of House Alinos.

Gifty points a finger at Jin, “I almost had you.”

“You almost had me?” Jin raises an eyebrow.

Gifty makes a dismissive gesture, “Me, the Lunar, whatever. You mixed me up with Melody. What’s the difference?”

“Told you Jin would win.” Ganan says, shooting Jin a wink.

Jade Walker clears their throat. A couple of non-descript Jadeborn workers come into the room holding Jubilant Ore’s armor. Jade Walker motions to the armor, “Given your obvious innocence, it is clear that you did, indeed, take this armor from Lady Magnificent, the true thief. And I have no reason to doubt that you will return it as soon as you have finished helping my people. Thus, I entrust it to your care.”

Gifty chuckles to herself, “She’s ruined it somehow hasn’t she? Can’t get the stink out?”

Jade Walker ignores her and continues to address Jin, “I will calibrate the armor’s life support functions to your Dragon-Blooded physiology: it will help with your wound.”

Ganan motions to Gifty, “Come on, we’ve got demons to summon.”

****

Ganan and Dragonsgift join a score of other sorcerers, summoning circles already prepared, and begin the rituals to summon forth blood apes – a military backbone to help clear out the tunnels in advance of the hopping puppeteers and earth elementals that will do the heavy lifting of clearing the debris. The summons go without incident.

****

Jade Walker helps pry Jin out of the ruined breastplate and into the power armor as she makes the necessary adjustments. The armor immediately begins to feel better, and Jin’s breathing immediately improves.

****

“Twenty sorcerers?” Gifty sneers as they turn into their bunks.

Ganan nods, completely missing her tone, “I can’t remember the last time I saw such a mass summoning.”

“We need hundreds of demons to clear the tunnel.” Gifty reminds him.

Jin shrugs, still wearing her armor, “You didn’t expect us to clear it overnight, did you? We have more sorcerers here in this tower than there are total in the Lap.”

Gifty looks about to protest, then catches herself at the last moment, “Of course. You’re right. It’s been a long day, we’d better get some sleep.”

Something about Gifty’s tone makes Jin worry that the Lap might really be hiding some massive cabal of sorcerers. Some kind of demonic cult, in service to Sondok, secretly murdering Dragon-Blooded and emptying the city’s streets for their dark purposes. Jin shakes off the feeling of foreboding, and lays herself down to sleep.

****

Come the morning, the Alinos sorcerers begin shaping elementals for the task of clearing the tunnels. Indefatigable Klar leads our trio of heroes and their scale of Blood Apes through the city, out and back to the same service tunnels the Dragon-Blooded first used when they came to the city. Klar bids them good luck and seals them in under the same conditions as before – kill everything between themselves and the tunnel car entrance.

****

“Summoning an elemental takes about four hours – so no need to rush.” Ganan lectures the others, “Gifty and I will go up-front, Jin you direct the Blood Apes.”

The mass of Blood Apes shifts uncomfortably, the individuals look instinctively to Gifty for command.

Gifty turns to her father, “Why don’t you and Jin go up front, and I’ll direct the Blood Apes. They naturally follow the biggest and strongest, and, no offense auntie, I think I have a little more tactical experience at leading troops.”

Jin shrugs, “There is a reason I keep Mott around. Group tactics aren’t my strong point and demons are…” She gestures at Ganan and Gifty, “Your thing, not mine.”

Ganan folds his arms over his chest, “You’re still wounded.”

Jin pats Ganan on the chest, “Then don’t let anything hit me.”

The Blood Apes fall in behind Gifty. Jin, not knowing the specifics of how bound demons behave, doesn’t see this as suspicious. Ganan, oblivious at the best of times, notices nothing amiss.

****

The access tunnel is empty. The corpses have been hauled away – presumably not by the Jadeborn – but the Dune Folk have not moved back in. A couple of Blood Apes carry flickering torches that bathe the otherwise dark tunnel in eerie, flickering, light.

Ganan leads the way, stomping over the blood smeared floors. Jin and the Blood Apes follow, with Gifty bringing up the rear. They come to the fork in the road.

“We go right this time, right?” Ganan says with a grin.

“Left.” Jin interjects, “We should clear out the path to the city, then advance along the main tunnel. Otherwise we risk getting flanked with no path of retreat.”

Gifty shrugs, “Be bold! Let’s take the fight to the enemy, it’s not like they could stop us before we had a demon army on our side.”

Ganan sighs, “Jin’s right: we’re clearing the tunnel for a reason. We should make sure the excavation team has a clear path and set up a forward base.”

The Dragon-Blooded proceed to the main tunnel, then walk back to the great blast door leading back into the city. The corpses closest to the access tunnel have been hauled away, but the bodies near blast door still litter the ground. The stench in the confines of the underground tunnel is powerful. Rats and other small scavengers scamper away into the shadows as our heroes approach.

Ganan unslings his firewand, but Jin puts a hand on the barrel.

“I know you don’t want to cause a cave-in, but it’s one thing to use a flame weapon in an enclosed space with limited air-flow when we’re fighting for our lives, and it’s another thing to deliberately start a fire that’s going to fill the tunnel with smoke. Do the magic thing.”

Ganan holsters his weapon again, wrinkling his nose. He touches the bodies, purifying them with the power of his essence and burning them to ash. His powers only work on the Dune Folk corpses: their massive riding beasts are too alien to be burned away with the power of the Dragon-Blooded. Having secured their escape, they proceed down the tunnel.

****

Piles of rubble obstruct the long, straight, tunnel car tunnel: some are an inch or two off the ground, making the terrain treacherous, whilst others fill the tunnel from floor to ceiling. Dirt and mud have been smeared over the glowing crystals in the tunnel walls, dimming the light of the tunnels from a soft dusk to a starless night, almost as black as the access tunnel.

“You get the enhanced optics in your armor working yet?” Gifty asks Jin.

“Optics? I’ve barely got the life-support working!”

Gifty directs the torch bearers to fan out to provide better light. Our heroes don’t have to go much further than the access tunnel before they see something much bigger than a rat scurry away into the shadows.

“Be on your guard!” Jin warns, extending Calumny to fighting length.

The rubble is deeper here: the entire floor is covered with shifting, loose debris, and the large piles of rubble practically fill the whole area, necessitating that our heroes squeeze by in single file. Hollowed out alcoves in the rubble show signs of habitation and fortification.

Our heroes stand before a collapsed section of tunnel: ceiling and floor bow down a clear four-feet into a sloping pool of dirty water. Ganan and Jin wade forward into the chest high water without pause, Gifty wrinkles her nose and orders the torch bearing demons to move forward: the Blood Apes have to awkwardly hold the torches above their heads as they wade into the water. At its deepest point, the water laps up to Jin’s chin, then the pool starts to slope upward again.

The water is still waist high on Ganan when the Dune Folk spring their ambush.

From behind barriers and atop towers made of rocky rubble, the Dune Folk pet the Dragon-Blooded with rocks fired from their sling-crossbows. A spear-wall stands ready to force the Dynasts back into the water if they manage to struggle free.

Slowed by the water, Ganan goes through the deliberate movements of Earth Dragon Form as the hail of projectiles smash around him. Jin dodges with a flourish, cutting through the water as though it were open ground. Gifty shields herself with the flat of Abrojo’s blade as she orders the Blood Apes forward into the teeth of the assault.

Something living shifts in the water, coiling itself around Jin’s leg. She thrusts Calumny into the water and expertly detangles herself from the creature. Blazing forward, surrounded by a bonfire of fire essence as her anima ignites, she disengages the underwater lurker and smashes head-long into the spear wall.

The spear wall tries to drive Jin back into the water, but the flashing speed of her jade staff easily turns aside their blows.

Ganan slams a foot down into the water, striking out at the lurker. His foot connects with something… squishy.

The Blood Apes surge through the water, churning it as they move forward. The lurker in the water entangles and slows them down. The demons beat their fists and clubs in the brown water, frothing it white with their fruitless rage.

Gifty pushes forward, directing the Blood Apes to ignore the underwater lurker and continue on, even as she drags her great sword through the water, hammering the spongy creature.

Jin lashes out with her wrackstaff. The first sweeping blow knocks the spears of her enemies aside, and she slips into the gap created, then catches the off-balance Dune Folk with an arcing backswing. A second rank rises from behind the barricade, jabbing forward with their weapons.

Ganan sucks a great lungful of air then plunges under the water. His metal fingers sink into the soft flesh of the lurker as he grabs a hold of the hidden foe. Serpentine tentacles envelope him in return as he twists and tears at the lurker’s body.

The Dune Folk fire another volley. Rocks pelt the water around Ganan, but do no real harm. Gifty shields herself effectively. A few of the Blood Apes stagger back under the force of the blows – each rock fired with the power to smash a man’s skull is plenty powerful enough to bruise and slow the combat demons.

Driving forward lashed by Gifty’s orders more than the Dune Folk assault, the Blood Apes wade through the water. The torch bearers drop their flames, which sizzle as they hit the water. The raging bonfire of Jin’s anima lights the way as the Blood Apes pull themselves out of the water and fall on the spear-line, smashing it aside with their inhuman strength. The spear-line breaks and runs.

Jin scales the debris tower to deal with the archers, rising effortlessly as the stone yields handholds wherever she places her hands. Atop the tower, she devastates the archers with a storm of blows delivered with inhuman speed. A few throw themselves from tower and run, but most are too badly injured to continue fighting.

“Mop them up!” Gifty orders the Blood Apes before turning to Jin, “Conserve your strength next time: there’s no need to go all-out on every encounter.” She is soaked in the dirty water, and the stench clings to her.

Jin jumps down in front of Gifty, her anima still raging, “Where’s Ganan?” She asks, turning a blind eye to the demons tearing apart the Dune Folk too wounded to flee. The water of the pool has beaded up and dropped off of her armor, leaving her unmarred.

Gifty gestures vaguely back to the pool of water behind them.

Ganan and the lurker continue to grapple underwater. Ganan yanks and tears at the pliant flesh of the creature as it tries to squeeze the air from his lungs and hold him under the fetid water. Ganan’s anima glows beneath the surface.

Gifty and Jin leap the short barricade, and look down at the water, as it starts to light up from below.

“Well, he’s dead.” Gifty shrugs nonchalantly, and she mimes walking off. A dozen Blood Apes head deeper into the darkness to slay the fleeing Dune Folk.

Jin extends her palm and shoots a blast of flame into the water. The fireball evaporates in a burst of steam as it plunges into the dirty water, the lurker seems to be unharmed by the attack.

Strangled, inhuman screams come from the darkness as something unseen rips apart the Blood Apes. Half-a-dozen of the massive, heavily muscled brutes run, wide-eyed and terrified, out of the darkness back to the raging bonfire of Jin’s anima: the flames of Jin’s essence reflected in their wide eyes.

“Rally to me!” Gifty bellows as she leaps up on top of the barricade. The Blood Apes form ranks in front of her and prepare to face the beast lurking in the shadows.

Jin looks back at the top of the archer’s tower, and resignedly climbs back to the spot she just jumped down from.

Underwater, Ganan rends and tears, his bronze grip finally finding purchase as it hits something harder than gelatinous blubber. Thick, black blood spills out of the lurker as Ganan rips its “torso” in half with his bare hands. The ichor stings and burns Ganan as he fights his way out of the creature’s death grip and staggers out of the water – his eyes streaming.

The approaching shadow materializes into a beast. The thing that steps into the gloaming shadows cast by Jin’s flickering anima is a Tsuchigumo: an enormous spider, easily large enough to take an elephant as prey. Its massive body and wickedly barbed legs practically fill the tunnel: Dune Folk squeeze between their way the beasts legs – its forelegs already drip with the blood of slaughtered demons.

The Dune Folk fire a volley against the intruders.

The Tsuchigumo contracts and expands its body, letting out a terrifying hiss as it rears up. Its fangs drip with venom.

“Nee-ope.” Gifty says as she jumps down from the wall and runs back for the water. She barges past Ganan and almost puts a foot in the water before she notices the waters surface is bubbling and hissing. Toxic fumes are rising from the water’s surface – the dead lurker’s blood having turned the entire collapsed section of tunnel into an acid bath.

Despite being accustomed to the horrors of the Demon City, the behemoth before them that has so casually slaughtered their kin is a terrifying sight for the erymanthoi. The Blood Ape’s discipline wavers, a couple break and clumsily climb over the barricade. One half-wades, half-falls into the acid bath, which strips its flesh from its bones right before Gifty’s eyes.

Jin cocks her head sideways, “Giant spider?” She says, completely unfazed.

“Must be Saturday.” Ganan shrugs, also unimpressed. The ichor and muck of the water sloughs off his body (even his clothes are unstained). He plunges hand into the tower of rubble and pulls out his tetsubo.

The Tsuchigumo flexes its body against the walls of the tunnel, sending tremors under the Dragon-Blooded’s feet and dislodging chunks of rock from the ceiling.

“PUT THAT THING AWAY!” Gifty barks, her eyes wide with terror, “You’ll bring the whole tunnel down on us!”

“But-!” Ganan protests, motioning at the spider behemoth, before making a noise of desperate frustration and banishing his weapon back into the rock, “Fine!”

Jin’s anima falters for a moment as she draws off its power to recreate her elemental mantel. Instead of a raging bonfire, controlled orbs of flame orbit her body, which still blazes with light.

Ganan rushes forward, leaps over the barricade, and pushes his way through the Blood Apes. Standing in the front rank, he focuses the power of the forge into his hands, which glow red hot.

The Tsuchigumo barrels down on Ganan, shaking its body fiercely. Dune Folk rain off the creature like spiderlings, rappelling on silk ropes, in among the Blood Apes. They slice at Ganan’s bronze body with their crude weapons: he catches one of the blades, melting it between his fingers as the other blows glance harmlessly from his body.

The spider creature itself swipes out with a powerful limb. The blow shatters Jin’s tower, spraying rocks over the Blood Apes below. The arm continues its killing arc and skewers a Blood Ape, ripping its guts out before smashing into Ganan. Ganan’s anima rages into its full strength, shinning with bright white light as sand whips around him. The blow that would knock a rhino to the ground is blocked on his metal forearm.

Jin skids to a stop beside her brother, having kept her footing and slid down the collapsing tower in style. She brings her wrackstaff to bear, “Show off.” She chides, before tearing into the Dune Folk with a flurry of bone breaking blows that sees her aura rage back into a bonfire.

Gifty climbs onto the barricade and starts bellowing orders to the blood apes. The demons swallow their terror and lay into the (essentially) human attackers in their midst, laying into the Dune Folk with preternatural speed and unnatural strength.

Ganan charges at the spider, smashing into its barbed legs with his burning fists joined together for a powerful, two-handed strike. The spider-god barely registers the blow, even as Ganan realigns his aura with the element of earth.

The Dune Folk slash out at the Blood Apes. Without the element of surprise, and with Gifty rallying the demons, their attacks do little.

The Tsuchigumo focuses its attacks on Ganan: instead of a sweeping arm, it plunges two of its forelegs down aiming to crush him. Ganan throws his burning palms up to catch the descending claws, his muscles straining against the overwhelming force pressing down on him.

Jin dances through the melee, slaughtering the Dune Folk. Even bolstered by their spider-god, the Dune Folk are overwhelmed by the assault as Jin and the Blood Apes rip them apart.

Gifty points her sword at the terrifying spider-thing and bellows a single order: “Attack!”

Emboldened by the blood of their fallen enemies, the Blood Apes bound forward and smash at the spider-thing as it grapples with Ganan. Despite possessing the brutal strength of gorillas, the spider thing shrugs off the demons’ blows, treating them as no more than ankle-biters.

Ganan strains as the Tsuchigumo flexes, pressing its weight down upon him. His burning fingers dig into the spider-god’s talons as they wrestle.

Jin turns and sprints diagonally toward the spider-god. She scrambles up the wall of the tunnel and leaps onto the creature’s back, bringing her wrackstaff down on the giant spider’s head. The beast’s head is no less protected than its mighty legs, and though Jin’s blow matches considerable power with precise aim, it fails to do significant damage. The retinas behind a dozen eyes shimmer as they swivel up to look at Jin. She brings her wrackstaff down again for a second strike.

Gifty charges forward. Behind considerably taller than Ganan, the Tsuchigumo’s forelegs are the perfect height for her attack. She swings Abrojo into the leg Ganan holds with his left hand, the massive daiklave wreathed in flame. The creature lets out another warning hiss as it releases Ganan and backs off a step. Gifty follows up, swinging again for a second blow.

“Thanks!” Ganan yells as he runs forward, crests a small pile of debris, and leaps at the spider-god’s face. He winds back his fist as he sails through the air, punches the beast in the fanged maw, and drops to the ground in a three-point landing. A human sized opponent would be floored, but to something the size of the Tsuchigumo, it is like being stung by a bee.

The Tsuchigumo reaches up to its head.

“Oh sh-!” Jin has time to exclaim before the creature has her.

With a single sweeping motion, it rips her from its back, entangles her in a web and hurls her to the ground. Though her body is wrapped in silk webbing, her helmet is exposed, and it’s that helmet that smashes into an outcropping of debris. For a moment, Jin’s world goes black and a screaming pain sears into the left side of her face. Then the armor’s life support systems kick in and her face goes numb. She blinks – at least, she thinks she blinks – and the world comes back into focus. Mostly. She cranes her neck, this way and that, feeling that something is blocking her vision. She tries to bring her hand to her face, to find that she’s bound tight.

Gifty closes the gap, swinging her mighty sword at the creatures legs, harrying it with rapid strikes.

Ganan turns and rips at the silk binding Jin with his burning hands, tearing the webbing off of her. He winces as he sees his sister’s face – the left side of her helmet is staved in, and blood trickles from the optical lens.

The Blood Apes continue to harry the giant spider. Between their warclubs, brutal fists, and bone-shattering bellows, they batter at the enormous creature.

The Tsuchigumo holds its weight on three legs and rains down blows with the other five. Four Blood Apes are skewered, pulped, disemboweled, or decapitated. Gifty is driven to the ground by the force of the blows, but is overwise unharmed, rolling away with the force of the attack.

Jin rises unsteadily and extends her left hand, palm facing the spider. She closes her right eye, the better to sight along her left arm. She works out what is wrong with her vision: she is blind in her left eye. She opens her right eye and shoots. The burst of fire strikes true, hitting the Tsuchigumo directly in the open mouth, burning at its insides.

Ganan charges at one of the legs the spider god is using to support its weight – the same leg Gifty had attacked whilst he was grappling the creature. He smashes into the wound Gifty caused, breaking the limb off at the joint. For a moment, it seems as if the behemoth can balance on only two legs. But only for a moment. The spider-god’s bulk comes crashing prone on the ground.

Gifty swings her sword over her head in a great arc as the spider falls on top of her. Between her own prodigious strength and the weight of the Tsuchigumo, she is able to rip though the beast’s carapace as it falls, creating a small, yet telling wound. (And avoiding being crushed in the process.)

Most of the Blood Apes are pinned beneath the bulk of the spider, but pinned or not, they continue to fight – even it’s only biting, scratching or tearing.

The Tsuchigumo stirs, bracing itself against the sides of the cavern as it tries to stand. Beneath it, the Blood Apes writhe; Gifty is practically inside its body; and its mouth smolders. It hisses again as it staggers to its feet and tries to reorientate for its next attack.

“Ah, fuck it.” Ganan mutters to himself, drawing his tetsubo from his anima as he runs at the spider god.

The entire tunnel trembles, just as it did when the Tsuchigumo leant its bulk against the tunnel walls. Ganan leaps again, smashes the monster in the head, spins in mid-air, smashing the creature again. Ganan falls to the ground as the spider god is hurled backward with tremendous strength. As Ganan touches down, the Tsuchigumo impacts heavily against the tunnel wall. The ceiling caves in on top of it, burying it under countless tons of rubble, crushing the life out of it.

Dirt and rock rains down on the Dragon-Blooded, but the spider-god does not stir.

****

Ganan spends 7DX to train Integrity 5.
Jin spends 12DX to unlock the Internal Life-Support Systems of her armor.
- 90
- 91
- 92
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Dynasty of Dovak