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 a weapon. She snapped it outwards, deploying the seven-section 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.))

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It was Zealot's turn to smirk. He was disappointed that Caretaker got a jump on him, anticipating his thirst for blood. He must be more careful, and less predictable, if he was going to win this battle. Fate was a fickle monster, a power that he did not understand and his opponent wielded skillfully. With his opponent's starmetal goremaul cast to the floor, Zealot moved swiftly to get as close as he could to the weapon, and between Caretaker and the weapon if possible.

Zealot met the incoming attack with two attacks of his own. His spun his bladed nunchaku under the incoming seven-section staff, the first blow targeting Caretaker's attacking arm and shoulder. He then spun the nunchaku around horizontally, making a second attack across her abdomen.

• Dodge DV: 6 (no excellency used)
• Nunchaku attack #1: Dice pool 13 + 4 (2 mote MA excellency) = 17 - 2 (multiple actions) = 15
  • 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 5, 10, 10, 10, 1, 2 = 8 successes
• Nunchaku attack #2: Dice pool 13 + 4 (2 mote MA excellency) = 17 - 3 (multiple actions) = 14
  • 2, 3, 3, 5, 9, 6, 7, 8, 5, 4, 8, 1, 1, 3 = 4 successes
• Nunchaku Damage: 5L (base) + 3L (strength) + extra successes
• Zealot should act again on tick 9 (speed 3 actions)
• Personal essence available: 5 (I accounted for essence used earlier in the session, plus the 6 used in this battle so far)
• Peripheral essence available: 25
• Willpower available: 4

((OOC question - how disastrous would it be if my anima flares? The answer to this will help me decide how conservative to be in my spending. If the answer is "not at all" then I would likely spend 2 motes increase my Dodge DV. If the answer is "very bad" then I'll save it.))

Kirkland 10:00, 21 September 2010 (EDT)

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((I'm still working on this reply, but wanted to ask you about your anima. You'd be shut out from going into the main room - that'd simply attract too much attention - but any uninformed servants in the upper quarters would know better than to question a Dragon-Blood. You could still move about the top floors without raising too much of an alarm, provided your anima wasn't flared up enough to be doing damage to the room, and that nobody came up who could account for the DB's present and realize that you weren't someone who should be up there. This is a possibility, although an unlikely one, at least for the next couple of minutes (presumably it would take awhile for people to go see where Marle Aunkh went. Let me know what you want to do with your dodge DV. I'll post the results of your attack either way, even if I haven't heard back, and append the post as necessary, to keep things moving.))

Dan 04:16, 25 September 2010 (EDT)

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((I'll stick with my original post and a regular Dodge DV of 6.))

Kirkland 12:18, 25 September 2010 (EDT)

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Zealot's first attack struck Caretaker solidly as she tried to feint around it while maintaining the velocity of her attack. The blade cut deeply into her right shoulder, and although she did not cry out, she gritted her teeth visibly. Not so easily deterred, she followed through with the lashing of her staff, but much to her dismay, Zealot was proving to be a hardier opponent than she anticipated.

Zealot had forgotten all about the White Veil Society, at least for the moment. That was his mission, of course, but it wasn't in Zealot's nature to contemplate these things with something more... engaging at hand. All that mattered to Zealot was the intensity of the duel at hand, and it was his airtight focus that allowed him to preempt the segmented staff being swung in his direction. As the world faded into a blur for but a moment, Zealot ducked the staff as he simultaneously delivered his blow to the Sidereal. And Zealot smirked.

There was a moment of silence between the two, and Caretaker's expression changed. It was clear to Zealot that she respected him as an opponent. What wasn't clear is what that meant for the immediate future.

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. Zealot hits, Caretaker misses.
9. Zealot acts

((You're up, sir. Let me know if you have any questions.))

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Zealot sensed he had the advantage after drawing first blood against his Sidereal appointment. At the risk of leaving himself exposed to a counter, Zealot made his next move with the goal of ending this battle early. He didn't know the extent of Sidereal power but did not want to underestimate it. The shorter this fight was, the less chance Caretaker had of turning the tables with some bizarre twist of fate.

As they stared each other down in a brief moment of silence, Zealot took small steps forward, spinning his nunchaku aggressively. Caretaker simultaneously took steps back, maintaining a defensive posture with her seven-section staff. Zealot then quickly lunged forward, the nun-chucks spinning with blinding speed. His first attack was at Caretaker's right arm, meant to throw her staff in an awkward position. He followed with a second, shipping the nun-chucks around her exposed left side in an attempt to strike her lower back. The third was an aggressive final slash across her neck, an audacious move that left his defenses further weakened but a risk worth taking if it could connect. ((Zealot spends a point of willpower to channel his Valor virtue into his third attack.))

• Nunchaku Parry DV: 6 - 3 (multiple actions) = 3
• Dodge DV: 6 - 3 (multiple actions) = 3
• If attacked, message me, as I want to spend essence to increase dodge/parry DV
• Nunchaku attack #1: Dice pool 13 + 4 (2 mote MA ex.) = 17 - 3 (multiple actions) = 14
  • 10, 7, 9, 3, 10, 6, 4, 3, 10, 10, 4, 8, 7, 5 = 12 successes
• Nunchaku attack #2: Dice pool 13 + 4 (2 mote MA ex.) = 17 - 4 (multiple actions) = 13
  • 9, 4, 4, 3, 7, 4, 1, 1, 10, 4, 1, 1, 4 = 4 successes
• Nunchaku attack #3: Dice pool 13 + 4 (2 mote MA ex.) + 5 (Valor channel) = 22 - 5 (multiple actions) = 17
  • 10, 8, 6, 7, 3, 1, 5, 1, 5, 9, 8, 8, 8, 6, 2, 2, 4 = 8 successes
• Nunchaku Damage: 5L (base) + 3L (strength) + extra successes
• Zealot should act again on tick 12 (speed 3 actions)
• Personal essence available: 0
• Peripheral essence available: 24
• Willpower available: 3

Kirkland 20:08, 28 October 2010 (EDT)