[Exalted 3e] Winter is Coming (IC)

[HalfTangible]

"Everyone stay calm! Stumbling about and making wild guesses won't help!" Brandr's voice cuts through the darkness. "If you don't have good reason to move, stay where you are. You're less likely to get hurt that way. As to what did it... an Exalted could have snuffed one fire, but the whole street at once? I doubt it."

He starts moving through the crowd, keen senses and preternatural grace helping him avoid collisions. "I'm going to talk to Whispers. Nobody kill each other until I get back." The last is mostly directed at Butcher.

"I'm an Earth aspect. Idiot."

Reflection shifted, she didn't like new situation. Was this related to the theft? Possibly. Malfeas Below all she wanted was one night off to enjoy her sake and relax? "Yeah. This is probably some sorcerer or alchemist had an accident or something. Everyone just... stay where you are. I'm going to see whats going on outside." She hefted her maul over her shoulder and gave the assembled mortals a wry smile, it couldn't be seen in the dark but it still bled through her tone, confident and in control. "Ten Thousand Dragons circle the world. And you've got a personal one tonight. I won't let anything get out of hand. Trust me. Just don't do anything rash." And with that she turned and began to head out of the sake-den, seeing what the city looked like outside. Was it localized to here or...?

The barmaid scowls. "Not what I meant, you're a dragon blooded, you probably know dozens of fire-aspects! ........ ma'am." Her tone just barely borders on respectful.

Reflection, when you go outside, it doesn't take long for you to realize that whatever's happened at Whispers' den is happening all over the city. As far as you can see, there are no fires or lights. The sun is going down. However, it's cold out and with the sun going down it's only going to keep getting colder. If you want to go further, you're going to have trouble (it's an environmental hazard), and you aren't sure where you're going yet anyway. Fortitude is new to you. Sorcerers could fix this, but you don't know where they are. One of the gods, maybe, but where to find them, either?

You don't know where you would find the Solar heroes Syl Geas insists are here, but surely this sort of crisis would draw their attention? Yet you see no golden auras, either. This city is dark.

---

Brandr, Butcher growls at you and Ilari shrinks away towards where the fire used to be. As you go through the door and up the stairs to the third floor, you see Larin Tanas, held in place by a group of four guards, knelt down in front of a regal and attractive southern man with tattoos on his neck; Soft Whispers, surely. He glances over as you arrive. In the closed cell behind him, there is a woman with long red hair, a blanket pulled around herself.

"Brandr, isn't it?" The man frowned. "From your sudden intrusion I take it this sudden extinguishing of all light and fire occurred downstairs as well?"

[WarDragon]

"Yes, and outside as far as I could tell through the open door. I suspect one of the city's gods might be responsible; we need to deal with this. You and I can discuss how much I hate being kept waiting later." He sniffs the air; it reeks of lust, making him suspicious that Whispers was procrastinating for no good reason.

[Volthawk]

Larin shrugs again. "Those who say that about assassins tend to be simply unable to deal with the unexpected and problems outside of their speciality. For the sake of civility, I'll let your doubts about my abilities stand - later, perhaps, you can find my order and find the truth." He sighs. "Mortal criminals is understating it already, given who I saw waiting for you - Brandr isn't one to delay, incidentally. However, in that case-"

Brandr's arrival interrupts him, and he stays quiet for a moment before continuing, addressing Brandr with somewhat more familiarity than their actual amount of previous contact would suggest. It still benefitted him for Whispers to think that he was in a better position than just working alone based off hunches. Hopefully Brandr reacted in a fitting way. "Ah, Brandr. Is that little thief still here, or has he scurried away in all this darkness? Whispers here claims he had nothing to do with it and, presumably, that the incident below happened here coincidentally, so any more information will have to come from the source."

[Justanotherhero]

Stark turns to the barmaiden:

"I do not know, but what would the reason be?"

Turning to Vor he speaks loud and clear:

"Sir, shall I arrive by your side or.. "

He gazes towards the door and the beings headed in that direction.

"...comply?"

Using Subtle Speech Method: (3m)

Spoiler: Subtle Speech Method

Show

Vor please offer that we help the Dragon-Blooded.

[Eurus]

Even though it's only a brief glimpse, what Saint of Heroes sees through the doorway is enough to unnerve him. This spell of darkness seems to be widespread... and it's going to get very cold and very dark, if it lasts much longer.

"...Well, shoot. This feels like magic, and I don't know much about magic."

This is true, but considering that Saint doesn't know much about most things, it's also unsurprising. Still... he chews over the question for a minute. What does a hero do, when something's wrong and he's not sure what it is? He goes to whoever's in charge and demands answers. Looking at Usho, he scratches his barely-stubbled chin thoughtfully.

"This city has gods, right? Like Whitewall? If anyone should know what's going on here, it should be them."

More loudly, he addresses the room in general.

"Hey, where do your gods hang out? I'm going to ask them what's going on!"

[Apogee1]

As the fires cut out, Allev freezes and drops a hand to his blade, expecting something to happen back at the center. When instead rumors begin to swirl about why the fires in this saloon and, perhaps, across more of the city have all stopped, he frowns. This seems like the working of magic, but by who? The Keeper, for all that he had degenerated over the years, did not seem to be a likely culprit, and would another god in the city have the ability to do this? Something to consider, perhaps, but Allev would guess there was some other foe out there. Regardless, this city was going to be in dire condition if the fires were out. Too many people would not have the warmth needed to survive. Yet another disaster in Fortitude that he would work to fix.

While considering the situation, Allev walks, stepping carefully, around some of the people near him, asking if they were hurt as the lights cut. When a man by the doorway calls out about finding and meeting with some of the gods, he considers for a moment, then walks towards the door.

"Which gods do you seek to meet? Soft Whispers resides here. I am familiar with some of the others, and could accompany you to them, but I cannot promise they would be looking for visitors with what has just happened."

[Eurus]

Saint of Heroes looks blank.

"...Whichever one's in charge, I guess?"

[Apogee1]

Saint of Heroes looks blank.

"...Whichever one's in charge, I guess?"

"That would be the Warden, or the Keeper of Cages, pretty much the ruler of the city. He's ... well, I think its difficult being a god of prisons in a city of gangs and he is not the god he once was. We'd may be able to find him, but he, or more likely his enforcers, might not appreciate that much at the moment."

A tinge of panic creeping into his voice as he explains, Allev glances over Saint of Heroes another time, and more calmly asks.

"You new to the city? You seem a bit ... enthused regarding this whole thing."

[WarDragon]

Larin shrugs again. "Those who say that about assassins tend to be simply unable to deal with the unexpected and problems outside of their speciality. For the sake of civility, I'll let your doubts about my abilities stand - later, perhaps, you can find my order and find the truth." He sighs. "Mortal criminals is understating it already, given who I saw waiting for you - Brandr isn't one to delay, incidentally. However, in that case-"

Brandr's arrival interrupts him, and he stays quiet for a moment before continuing, addressing Brandr with somewhat more familiarity than their actual amount of previous contact would suggest. It still benefitted him for Whispers to think that he was in a better position than just working alone based off hunches. Hopefully Brandr reacted in a fitting way. "Ah, Brandr. Is that little thief still here, or has he scurried away in all this darkness? Whispers here claims he had nothing to do with it and, presumably, that the incident below happened here coincidentally, so any more information will have to come from the source."

He was still there when last I saw. I stopped him from getting gutted all over Whispers' floor."

[Eurus]

"Of course! I..."

Saint's stance suddenly shifts, pushing out his chest in a swaggering posture.

"...am the infamous wandering warrior, Saint of Heroes. And I'm going to get some answers from this Warden, if he's letting his city fall into such vile darkness!"

[HalfTangible]

Spoiler

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"Yes, and outside as far as I could tell through the open door. I suspect one of the city's gods might be responsible; we need to deal with this. You and I can discuss how much I hate being kept waiting later." He sniffs the air; it reeks of lust, making him suspicious that Whispers was procrastinating for no good reason.

Larin shrugs again. "Those who say that about assassins tend to be simply unable to deal with the unexpected and problems outside of their speciality. For the sake of civility, I'll let your doubts about my abilities stand - later, perhaps, you can find my order and find the truth." He sighs. "Mortal criminals is understating it already, given who I saw waiting for you - Brandr isn't one to delay, incidentally. However, in that case-"

Brandr's arrival interrupts him, and he stays quiet for a moment before continuing, addressing Brandr with somewhat more familiarity than their actual amount of previous contact would suggest. It still benefitted him for Whispers to think that he was in a better position than just working alone based off hunches. Hopefully Brandr reacted in a fitting way. "Ah, Brandr. Is that little thief still here, or has he scurried away in all this darkness? Whispers here claims he had nothing to do with it and, presumably, that the incident below happened here coincidentally, so any more information will have to come from the source."

Stark turns to the barmaiden:

"I do not know, but what would the reason be?"

Turning to Vor he speaks loud and clear:

"Sir, shall I arrive by your side or.. "

He gazes towards the door and the beings headed in that direction.

"...comply?"

Using Subtle Speech Method: (3m)

Spoiler: Subtle Speech Method

Show

Vor please offer that we help the Dragon-Blooded.

Even though it's only a brief glimpse, what Saint of Heroes sees through the doorway is enough to unnerve him. This spell of darkness seems to be widespread... and it's going to get very cold and very dark, if it lasts much longer.

"...Well, shoot. This feels like magic, and I don't know much about magic."

This is true, but considering that Saint doesn't know much about most things, it's also unsurprising. Still... he chews over the question for a minute. What does a hero do, when something's wrong and he's not sure what it is? He goes to whoever's in charge and demands answers. Looking at Usho, he scratches his barely-stubbled chin thoughtfully.

"This city has gods, right? Like Whitewall? If anyone should know what's going on here, it should be them."

More loudly, he addresses the room in general.

"Hey, where do your gods hang out? I'm going to ask them what's going on!"

As the fires cut out, Allev freezes and drops a hand to his blade, expecting something to happen back at the center. When instead rumors begin to swirl about why the fires in this saloon and, perhaps, across more of the city have all stopped, he frowns. This seems like the working of magic, but by who? The Keeper, for all that he had degenerated over the years, did not seem to be a likely culprit, and would another god in the city have the ability to do this? Something to consider, perhaps, but Allev would guess there was some other foe out there. Regardless, this city was going to be in dire condition if the fires were out. Too many people would not have the warmth needed to survive. Yet another disaster in Fortitude that he would work to fix.

While considering the situation, Allev walks, stepping carefully, around some of the people near him, asking if they were hurt as the lights cut. When a man by the doorway calls out about finding and meeting with some of the gods, he considers for a moment, then walks towards the door.

"Which gods do you seek to meet? Soft Whispers resides here. I am familiar with some of the others, and could accompany you to them, but I cannot promise they would be looking for visitors with what has just happened."

Saint of Heroes looks blank.

"...Whichever one's in charge, I guess?"

"That would be the Warden, or the Keeper of Cages, pretty much the ruler of the city. He's ... well, I think its difficult being a god of prisons in a city of gangs and he is not the god he once was. We'd may be able to find him, but he, or more likely his enforcers, might not appreciate that much at the moment."

A tinge of panic creeping into his voice as he explains, Allev glances over Saint of Heroes another time, and more calmly asks.

"You new to the city? You seem a bit ... enthused regarding this whole thing."

[Larin and Brandr]

"Stop trying to make an enemy out of me, Larin Tanas, I can assure you you already have."Soft rolls his eyes. "What possible motive could I have for eliminating all heat from the city? If anything I would eliminate it in the surrounding area but keep it here to lure in more subjects. If I had no care for the lives of others."

He waved at Brandr dismissively. "Frankly I thought you'd left already. But yes, we can discuss matters later. Come, the Warden will likely be responsible or know who is." He blew a kiss back into the cell, and walked past Brandr. "Sorry sugar, emergency. You can stay if you wish."

"He was still there when last I saw. I stopped him from getting gutted all over Whispers' floor."

Soft stopped.

Slowly - VERY slowly, like a great gate grinding open - he turned his head back around to lock eyes with Brandr.

"... I'm sorry, I know the fire is more important, but... This place is supposed to be neutral ground. Repeat that for me... who was about to gut whom in MY tavern?"

Spoiler: Persuasion roll

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Persuade: Tell me who was about to gut who, don't lie to me. (4sux)

Check versus your resolve (3).

None of your intimacies apply here from what I can tell. He's not trying to scare you, so your specialty doesn't apply either. You can boost your resolve with motes or resist automatically with 1wp if you want. Or you can just tell him the truth, which I imagine won't be an issue here :P

---

[Saint, Reflection, Marius, Allev]

"Soft is a god?"
"No, don't be ridiculous. He just looks like one."

The barmaid glances between Saint and Allev. "You'll probably find him in his court, near the center of the city. But it's a long way there, especially with the sun going down..."

"We don't have much choice, Rose." One of the other employees called out to her. "If someone doesn't go get the lights turned back on, we're all gonna freeze to death anyway."

She bites her lower lip. "I mean, there's plenty of us here, we could... all cuddle up and bundle up, we might make it through the night... Set out in the morning with the sun?"

Usho glances at Saint. "'s your call, mate. Staying here might be the better call for us... we'll stay out of the cold..."

"DRAGON BLOOD." The large earth elemental stepped closer to Reflection, literal crystalline eyes turning to look into her metaphorically crystalline ones. "I OFFER MY SERVICES, AND THOSE OF STARK OF VARLOK, TO YOU. WE SHALL RESTORE THE FLAMES OF THIS CITY."

As Saint announces himself, there's a moment of silence in the building.

Then, "Who?"
"Wait, you don't know either?"
"Oh thank the gods, I thought I was the only one..."
"You shouldn't say you're infamous if you're not, kid, you'll give people heart attacks."

Usho scowls. "Well you WILL know him when he saves all of you faster than you can say 'the Empress bathes in goat's blood'!"
"Oh gods, does she?"
"Is that how she stayed young for centuries?"
"I heard it was the blood of her own children... that's why she had so many of them!"
"She had goat kids?!"

Usho buries his faces in his hands. "Snatcher do we have to save these people?"

[Volthawk]

"You were the one calling on thugs. I was simply clarifying that going down that route wasn't a good idea. If you're willing to help, I have no issues there." He still wasn't sure Whispers was right for the city - something about him rubbed Larin up the wrong way. Perhaps another visit was due once the present situation had been dealt with. "Your neutrality and purported level of knowledge of what's going on here was why I assumed you were involved, with the current situation being an unintended effect of provoking the gods. I didn't realise you were simply unaware that people involved in something this big were in your tavern and in conflict with each other. I suppose we'll need to talk to the men in question, then." He starts walking towards the door to the main room.

[DrakeRaids]

"This is progress."

Reflection strode towards the Elemental, she didn't know enough about this places power structure to jump to any conclusions. She was about to try to poke around for some information, maybe a temple she could start looking into. This was as good a lead as any though. She didn't know who those other two would be heroes where but there was no use in letting anyone else get hurt. On the other hand... More help was good, and there where lives on the line. "Alright, uh, 'Saint'. Come on, if you wanna help stay with me, don't go running off the more we have the better our chances." And the better, so she could ensure no would be hero got themselves killed. "And you... big guy! You say you work for some Stark? Where are they? He's a sorcerer I assume? That'd be useful."

[WarDragon]

For a brief moment he contemplates lying or refusing to answer, just out of sheer contrariness. On the other hand, this is the first moment when Soft Whispers has actually seemed like someone worthy of the respect he garners. That should probably be encouraged.

"Ah, I was wondering if you actually had teeth," he says with a slight smile. He shrugs and goes on. "It's of little consequence; one of Zenmul's thugs was about to rough up and drag off a young thief they'd hired, who didn't have whatever he was supposed to steal. Zenmul's boy, Butcher, seems to think the thief's holding out on them, but I'm inclined to say he's telling the truth about barely escaping the Warden with his skin intact. One of your other guests and I pointed out the room was against him, and he backed down. Deal with it as you will."

[Eurus]

The dull thwack of Saint's palm hitting his forehead is the only immediate response he gives to the hubbub of the room, and he shoots Usho a sympathetic look. When Reflection speaks, he decides to focus on that instead. Being ordered around isn't really ideal, but... the monk is honestly impressive, with that weapon of hers. Saint finds himself wondering if he can learn to channel a bit of that effortless, heroic arrogance.

"Well, alright. The more the merrier!"

[Justanotherhero]

Reflection strode towards the Elemental, she didn't know enough about this places power structure to jump to any conclusions. She was about to try to poke around for some information, maybe a temple she could start looking into. This was as good a lead as any though.
And the better, so she could ensure no would be hero got themselves killed. "And you... big guy! You say you work for some Stark? Where are they? He's a sorcerer I assume? That'd be useful."

Stark stands there confused for 2 seconds until he tries to grab something on his left, that is no longer there. Realizing his sword is currently with the tavern he steps forward falls on one knee in front of the Dragon-Blooded and Vor holding up his shield where his sword should be.

Honorable Dragon, I am Stark of Varlok servant of Vor.
The eternal bringer of the Flamestone and Master of Vor is not with us in this city, but I shall be of service if you wish?

[HalfTangible]

Spoiler

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"You were the one calling on thugs. I was simply clarifying that going down that route wasn't a good idea. If you're willing to help, I have no issues there." He still wasn't sure Whispers was right for the city - something about him rubbed Larin up the wrong way. Perhaps another visit was due once the present situation had been dealt with. "Your neutrality and purported level of knowledge of what's going on here was why I assumed you were involved, with the current situation being an unintended effect of provoking the gods. I didn't realise you were simply unaware that people involved in something this big were in your tavern and in conflict with each other. I suppose we'll need to talk to the men in question, then." He starts walking towards the door to the main room.

For a brief moment he contemplates lying or refusing to answer, just out of sheer contrariness. On the other hand, this is the first moment when Soft Whispers has actually seemed like someone worthy of the respect he garners. That should probably be encouraged.

"Ah, I was wondering if you actually had teeth," he says with a slight smile. He shrugs and goes on. "It's of little consequence; one of Zenmul's thugs was about to rough up and drag off a young thief they'd hired, who didn't have whatever he was supposed to steal. Zenmul's boy, Butcher, seems to think the thief's holding out on them, but I'm inclined to say he's telling the truth about barely escaping the Warden with his skin intact. One of your other guests and I pointed out the room was against him, and he backed down. Deal with it as you will."

"I remind you that this is my private residence above the tavern, which you broke into without invitation, assassin. You are in no position to-" Soft stopped, then briefly inhaled and exhaled. "We can discuss it later."

"Butcher... that makes far too much sense." Soft muttered. "Come, let us go back to the tavern before someone does something stupid."

Spoiler

Show

"This is progress."

Reflection strode towards the Elemental, she didn't know enough about this places power structure to jump to any conclusions. She was about to try to poke around for some information, maybe a temple she could start looking into. This was as good a lead as any though. She didn't know who those other two would be heroes where but there was no use in letting anyone else get hurt. On the other hand... More help was good, and there where lives on the line. "Alright, uh, 'Saint'. Come on, if you wanna help stay with me, don't go running off the more we have the better our chances." And the better, so she could ensure no would be hero got themselves killed. "And you... big guy! You say you work for some Stark? Where are they? He's a sorcerer I assume? That'd be useful."

The dull thwack of Saint's palm hitting his forehead is the only immediate response he gives to the hubbub of the room, and he shoots Usho a sympathetic look. When Reflection speaks, he decides to focus on that instead. Being ordered around isn't really ideal, but... the monk is honestly impressive, with that weapon of hers. Saint finds himself wondering if he can learn to channel a bit of that effortless, heroic arrogance.

"Well, alright. The more the merrier!"

Stark stands there confused for 2 seconds until he tries to grab something on his left, that is no longer there. Realizing his sword is currently with the tavern he steps forward falls on one knee in front of the Dragon-Blooded and Vor holding up his shield where his sword should be.

Honorable Dragon, I am Stark of Varlok servant of Vor.
The eternal bringer of the Flamestone and Master of Vor is not with us in this city, but I shall be of service if you wish?

"THE COLD DOES NOT BOTHER ME." Vors rumbled. "WE SHOULD LEAVE QUICKLY SO AS TO FIND THIS 'WARDEN' AS SOON AS POSSIBLE."

Right about the point he said that, three men came down and into the tavern. One, you had all already seen; Brandr. The second was a relaxed, unassuming man wearing an ancient outfit tied with a night-black leather belt. The outfit was made of silk and scaled animal skins, and was tied with a leather belt as black as night. Some of you may have seen him earlier, but none of you saw him leave. The third was a handsome southern man with astrological tattoos on his neck, wearing an open robe that was probably not warm enough for this enviornment, let alone the situation they found themselves in.

The workers sprung to attention. Rose stammered. "S-sir, we have this under control-"

"Yes Rose, I can see that." Soft's eyes found Butcher before too long, and they narrowed. "You've been threatening my patrons, Butcher?"

The man scowled. "What of it? He wasn't under your prote-"

"Everyone in this tavern is under my protection. The only reason you're not being thrown out that door is because we have a bigger crisis to deal with. If you're smart you'll run the second the fires come back up... Now. Where's the little thief you were hunting? Because if the Warden has responded in such extreme measures I cannot imagine all that happened was he showed up and ran away."

Ilari shrank back, away from the crowd.

[Eurus]

Saint of Heroes twitches in surprise, then looks at Ilari. "Oh, yeah. Look, if you do know something about this, could you tell us before we go? Might help us fix this mess. I promise, I'll keep your name out of it, I'm no snitch."

Spoiler: OOC

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Activating Harmonious Presence Meditation, and trying to persuade Ilari to tell Saint if he knows anything that might be connected to this disaster.

Presence (4) Charisma (2) HPM (3) Stunt (2)
(11d10)[6][1][3][9][9][2][9][3][10][5][3](60)

[Apogee1]

"So you do think it was the warden who killed the flames. That's ... extreme," says Allev, looking concerned at the prospect.

"Regardless, I will go with the rest of you. I'd hope to be of service in warding off the cold or providing aid if it starts to harm you." With the apparent group of those heading to the warden expanding, he hedges, not very inconspicuously, away from Reflection and keeps shooting glances over towards Vor.

[HalfTangible]

Spoiler

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Saint of Heroes twitches in surprise, then looks at Ilari. "Oh, yeah. Look, if you do know something about this, could you tell us before we go? Might help us fix this mess. I promise, I'll keep your name out of it, I'm no snitch."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Activating Harmonious Presence Meditation, and trying to persuade Ilari to tell Saint if he knows anything that might be connected to this disaster.

Presence (4) Charisma (2) HPM (3) Stunt (2)
[roll0]

"So you do think it was the warden who killed the flames. That's ... extreme," says Allev, looking concerned at the prospect.

"Regardless, I will go with the rest of you. I'd hope to be of service in warding off the cold or providing aid if it starts to harm you." With the apparent group of those heading to the warden expanding, he hedges, not very inconspicuously, away from Reflection and keeps shooting glances over towards Vor.

"IT IS APPRECIATED, MORTAL." Vors' voice rumbles, more like a miniature earthquake than a voice.

When Saint speaks, he immediately catches Ilari's attention. There's a moment where guilt and fear flicker across his face. He looks away, unsure.

"I..." He begins, before glancing back towards the others in the room, some of whom are listening now. He then looks to his hands, shaking his head. "Nothing else, I'm sorry. I could give you a path into his Court, if that would help."

Soft Whispers glances at him a moment, frowning... then he shrugs, satisfied. "You're either telling the truth or a good enough liar to be commended. Either way..." He glances back at the others. "Perhaps I should stay here. You all seem quite capable, and I think I could do more good keeping an eye on this group than running out to face a god in his own court." He glances at Brandr with a knowing look.

Spoiler: Brandr

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Brandr, you know what that look means despite being unsure precisely how you know: "If Ilari becomes part of the Warden's bargain for whatever reason, we will need to know where he is and he will need to be alive."

[Justanotherhero]

Gazing upwards to Vor:
"As you wish, Sir!"

Stark turns his head and seeks approval in the eyes of the Dragon-Bloodeds before rising from the ground.

[Eurus]

Saint nods to Ilari, and gives him a clap on the shoulder. It's the only way he can think of to be encouraging.

"A way in would help, yeah!"

[WarDragon]

Brandr nods subtly in answer to Whispers, then more firmly at Ilari. "Good man, for telling us what you know. A path to the court would be useful, though if we try to sneak in, the warden will likely attack on sight. We should try to approach him openly first, and see if he's on a war footing. If he's nto, then skulking about will only make him lash out."

[HalfTangible]

Spoiler

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Gazing upwards to Vor:
"As you wish, Sir!"

Stark turns his head and seeks approval in the eyes of the Dragon-Bloodeds before rising from the ground.

Saint nods to Ilari, and gives him a clap on the shoulder. It's the only way he can think of to be encouraging.

"A way in would help, yeah!"

Brandr nods subtly in answer to Whispers, then more firmly at Ilari. "Good man, for telling us what you know. A path to the court would be useful, though if we try to sneak in, the warden will likely attack on sight. We should try to approach him openly first, and see if he's on a war footing. If he's nto, then skulking about will only make him lash out."

"Uh, well, I went in sneaky." Ilari admitted. "You may not want this to be your first go, if you want to be peaceful... but I'm pretty sure he didn't see where I came in, so..."

Ilari then gives a brief explanation of the court. It was originally used as a place to process prisoners, but has since been converted into more a gothic temple. It was a grand stone structure, but fitting its master it was large, intimidating and dark. It was not the sort of grand cathedral you might find in Whitewall; it was harsh, ugly, and vicious. It had been built with the millennia in mind by an architect whose name has been lost to history, and since then has had many additions and repairs.

However, not all of the construction was put together equally as well. There was a fire in one of the kitchens a time ago that had lead the Warden to build out one of the walls with wood, making the kitchen as ugly as possible in a deliberate insult to Zenmul. However, this section of the wall was very weak and easy to slip past; he gives you instructions on a way to pry part of the wall open and slip inside. The fact that Ilari knew this way in was (he thought) one of the reasons Zenmul assigned him to this task.

"-and then just pop it back into place on your way out." Ilari finished. "Remember, third board. You'll have to go through one at a time..." He glances at Vors. "And I don't think he'll fit at all."

[Eurus]

"Interesting..."

Saint of Heroes's response trails off, as memories bubble up in his head. Then he suddenly twitches back to alertness and laughs nervously.

"I mean, uh... useful as a backup plan. Because we're totally not the types to sneak into temples habitually, right? That wouldn't be very heroic. But if he's got the place locked down and he's not taking visitors, well, then we just don't have a choice."

[Justanotherhero]

"A mighty city god like this should maybe not be angered. I believe an open approach might appease this god more."

[WarDragon]

"He's the Warden of a prison that's not a prison anymore. He's always angry," Brandr advises. "If he's not behind the loss of the fires, he'll probably be looking for someone to blame. Let's not make him think we're it."

The warrior tightens his armored coat. "Everyone ready? Dress as warm as you can, and let's get going."

[DrakeRaids]

"It's odd though isn't it?"

"God's like Temples. God's like cults. Like would worship. What's worth murdering all those who'd venerate you over...? Unless it's a bluff. And he's trying to force people to come groveling to him."

Reflections considered that. God's often made poor choices though. It was a small pay of why creation was so messed up. "Eh, it probably doesn't matter. If this Warden has answers he'll give them to us if I have to beat them out of him."

[HalfTangible]

Usho places a hand on Saint's shoulder. "Good luck, man. I'll see you when you get back."

As the group - not yet a Circle, but no longer strangers - sets out from the warm but cooling building, the sun is cresting below the horizon. The trek towards the center of the city is a long and cold one, each of you bracing against the biting wind. As you travel on the streets, you see no people going about their business. Once or twice you see a frozen body on the ground; those you check are already dead. Once or twice, you think you see a ghost, but it's gone before you have time to blink. Barbed wire and the occasional swinging of chains remind you of this place's status as a former prison; the very air seems to weigh on you, oppressive and dark.

As the hour it will take you to reach the Court of Chains drags on, the wind starts to cut to your bones. It's going to be a cold night.

Spoiler: Everyone

Show

The cold cuts deep. Roll Stamina + Resistance, TN 4 to resist the cold.

On a failure, take 2 dice of environmental damage; damage is lethal but 10s are not doubled.

[Volthawk]

As the group leaves the tavern, Larin shrugs. "If he managed to get in undetected, it would be child's play for me to do the same. Nonetheless...I'll defer to the judgement of the majority on this. One thing for the newcomers to the city to remember, though. This is not the Warden's city. That...honour...falls on another."

His gaze drifts downwards for a moment, before looking back up at the others, not saying the thought that followed. If the Warden wasn't responsible, he had a good guess who was, but...he hoped they didn't even have to think about doing that.

He'd grown up in this city, and thought he'd gotten used to the cold, but tonight was something else. Luckily, he'd arrived to the tavern in a heavy cloak, and although it was more intended to disguise his outfit than warmth, as they walked he appreciated the warmth it provided, although some techniques the Order had taught certainly helped as well.