Mission 9: Session Play - Zealot

Professor Marle Aunkh was no more. After dismissing his guards down the hallway to assist the Hand of War in his fight against Opal, the small, mousy man shed his disguise, confirming the rumors that Marle Aunkh was a resplendent destiny for the Bronze Faction Chosen of Serenity, the Caretaker of Meaningless Excess. Caretaker was clad in her familiar flowing white, though she was adorned with a hearthstone amulet, in it set a crimson stone that made her appearance considerably more menacing. She brushed her short, black hair from her face, shaking her head slightly as she looked to Zealot, who was already poised in a combat stance. She smiled, speaking calmly to her adversary.

"You're awfully bloodthirsty, even as assassins go. Do you even know what you're getting yourself into? Why you're really here?"

Zealot shook his head, shifting his customary bladed nunchaku between hands with an embellished spin, making sure his limbs didn't get sluggish while waiting for the inevitable fight to begin. He met her gaze and replied coldly, "Doesn't matter." Although he spoke with an equal degree of control, the intensity just beneath the surface was hard to miss - Zealot was here to do his job, and if he had to gets his hands dirty in the process... All the better. He continued, tired of Caretaker's rhetoric, making judicious use of the information he'd learned during the mission briefing.

"You want to talk about bloodthirsty? What about your elusive Bronze Faction? What about slaughtering untold thousands in the name of a religion you fabricated just to control a population desperate for hope? How many died just so you could put another oppressive regime at the seat of power in the Blessed Isle?"

Caretaker's expression revealed that she took offense to the slight, although the tranquility still present in her voice hid it well.

"You're fighting a battle you don't understand. None of you do. And based on your recounting of our history, you don't understand that either. Still, my good Zealot, I can see why you'd take offense to our... tactics. I know your feelings on religion."

Zealot shook his head, equally tired of the veil of mystery the Sidereal Exalted had a habit of casting over themselves. His patience, unsurprisingly, ran out before Caretaker's did.

"No, you don't. But I think, over the years, I've found a good way of expressing them."

With that, Zealot shifted his nunchaku back his dominant hand and lunged for Caretaker, who braced herself and brandished her Starmetal goremaul, ready to defend from the Air Aspect's aggressive lunge, unfailingly graceful despite the rage powering it forward.

((Does Zealot have any join battle bonuses? Let me know, and I'll get ball rolling with Join Battle. My assumption was that Zealot has been dying to kick some Bronze Faction ass since Mission 5, so I went ahead and started the battle. When can always re-write this if I've played Zealot incorrectly.))

Dan 20:06, 11 September 2010 (EDT)

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((Zealot has join battle minuses not bonuses but thanks for asking.))

• Zealot Join Battle: 1, 1, 1, 6, 6, 6 - 0 successes, triple botch
• Zealot Nunchaku Parry DV: 6
• Zealot Dodge DV: 6

((I will more than likely spend 2 motes of essence to roll 4 Martial Arts excellency dice to increase my Parry DV, if applicable.))

Kirkland 01:33, 15 September 2010 (EDT)

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Suggested Music: Madvillain - Money Folder

The Caretaker of Meaningless Excess smirked, calling out to Zealot as he approached.

"Seems none of you Dragon-Bloods are ever satisfied until it comes to violence. Still, I suppose I can oblige if you're going to be this insistent about it."

Hoping to end the fight before it started, Caretaker's razor-sharp reflexes were enough for her to get the jump on Zealot's sloppy approach, allowing her the battle's first attack, despite Zealot's eagerness. She calmly stepped to the side and whirled around, swinging her starmetal goremaul around horizontally in an attempt to catch Zealot in the chest as he approached, mid-attack.

Although he was too late to drop away from her attack, Zealot was still able to recognize that imminent danger presented by the whirling hammer. Picking up seed as he spun his nunchaku, he plucked several strands of Essence from the air with their blades and wound them around his weapon, improving its defensive capabilities.

Zealot: Martial Arts Excellency - 10, 5, 10, 1; 4 succsses Zealot PDV: 6 base, 4 more from excellency = 10 against first attack

As the Caretaker swung her goremaul, Zealot looped his nunchaku upwards, causing the chain to catch the shaft of the swinging hammer and wrap around it. He snatched the other blade on its way back around, securely stopping the weapon. After a fleeting, boastful glare at Caretaker, he retained an iron grip on the blades and flipped sideways, using the momentum of his entire body to attempt to rip the goremaul from her hands.

Zealot disarm attempt: (6, 2, 1, 4, 6, 1, 7, 10, 2, 6, 9, 10, 10) - 2 external penalty for disarm = 6 successes

The hammer was wrested from her hands and thrown to the floor by Zealot's acrobatics, sliding about a foot from its owner. Zealot landed gracefully, bringing the whirling blades briefly to a stop to assess the pair's new relative orientation and reset his perspective for the next wave of attrition.

Seeing that Zealot would not be so easily dispatched, Caretaker unlatched the ornamented belt she wore around her waist, yanking it sideways, revealing it to be made of Starmetal. She snapped it outwards, deploying the Serpent-Sting staff and striking a blow in Zealot's direction. As the staff whipped towards Zealot, it seemed to pull purple, nigh-invisibly thin threads of Essence outward from Zealot. They wrapped around the weapon, surrounding in a gently glowing envelope as the weapon struck Zealot.

Battle Sequence

1. Caretaker attacks Zealot, Zealot parries and disarms Caretaker
6. Zealot acts, Caretaker draws Seven-Section Staff and attacks using a strike augmented by Unobstructed Blow

((Does Zealot wish to raise his Dodge DV? This attack is unblockable per Unobstructed Blow.))