07.06: Battle Montage

The goings on of courts
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Joshua
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07.06: Battle Montage

Post by Joshua »

From Breakfast on the Waterfront.

One note for the trumps that Dworkin has provided is that the trump of your home shadow is upside-down, being the hanged man. Turning the card upside-down or right-side-up has no effect on the actual teleportation. It drops you, unceremoniously, on your head at your home. In the coming days, the depth of Dworkin's sadism will likely be debated. Some believe that he was just drawing within his own idiom; some believe he was just that crazy; some argue he didn't want you leaving Amber for home, and some just think he's a jerk. All agree it's annoying.

(I'm not quite sure what your home looks like, feel free to describe it / how it appears on the trump.)
(Also, the trump always drops you at the same place in your home Shadow.)
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colomon
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

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Renny lands in a heap on the ground, startled for a moment, but then laughs heartily and gathers herself in. "I'd complain, but since my usual trips home involve a few wounds and a lot more time, this is a definite improvement. Smell that air!"

The air has a rich salt tang carried by a breeze coming off the ocean -- not that dissimilar to what one might smell in Amber, but without any of the masking scents of the city. From the top of this sizable hill, they can see miles and miles of rocky coastline setting off a vast blue ocean. In the distance a whale blows spume. A dirigible hangs above them, suspended by a rope to the small stone tower at the peak of hill. Renny waves happily to the crew.

The hill overlooks the entrance to a good-sized natural harbor. Far below and further in are the docks, mostly empty of boats on this fine summer day. A town radiates out and up from the docks, perhaps six or seven thousand people's worth of what look to be 19th century houses and buildings. Another dirigible hangs tethered at the far end of the harbor, then the far side of it is heavily forested with just a small fort at the other side of the entrance (ie close to where they are standing now, but on the other side).

"Welcome to Heart's Delight," Renny says with a smile.
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Joshua
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

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Osmund looks around, and pulls from his sleeve what appears to be a metallic folded book with a two-handed handle. He swings it lightly, and it unfolds into a buster sword, a complex internal folding structure briefly visible until the thin metal plates lock into place, almost seamlessly. He fastens it to his back. "If we had more time, I could have grabbed my gyro-pack. It does sadden me that Amber did not have clockwork or steam-tech." He looks around, and chants on his ring while sizing up the area.

"Why is it called Heart's Delight?" He asks between checking the spells he has racked.
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colomon
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

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Renny shrugs. "I guess it was probably named by a fisherman." She waves out towards the ocean in a south-easterly direction, and Osmund can see some fishing boats in the distance. Something is funny about the ocean out there, and after a moment Osmund realizes it is a huge school of meter-length fish right on the surface of the water -- so many it almost looks like you could walk on water.

Renny starts purposely walking down the hill towards town. "You can ride a horse, I hope?"
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Joshua
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

Post by Joshua »

"Yup, lets get started then."

(Unless the horse is trained to toss riders, he'll have no trouble. Do you want me to start the hellride? Basically, you flicker through realities very rapidly, almost at random. Not all of them are nice and it's called a hellride cause you're not sticking to places with breathable air, and that aren't on fire. Since you don't have the seeking skill, you can't do more then control the outcome. You do have good stuff, so you'll be missing the worst of it, and I trust you to make it sufficiently bad. Osmund can follow you through shadow without issue.)
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colomon
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

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Before starting the hellride, Renny actually walks down the hill to a barracks and requisitions a horse for each of them and a sword for herself. The guards there seem to straighten up a bit when they see Renny, but even so they are pretty relaxed and friendly. They mount up and she leads the way into town.

It seems bright, happy place, and then the sun dims sharply and it is empty, lifeless, bitterly cold and covered in ice. Renny shudders briefly but spurs on her horse, and then it is a great metropolis, futuristic skyscrapers everywhere, but still no life. A beat later intense heat washes over them and they find themselves in the middle great battle, flying tanks and giant robots blasting each other and the city. Renny rides on, expecting to burst into flame at any moment, but instead the heat disappears and they are hit by a wall of sound, enough to bloody her nose. Her horse screams, but she cannot hear it.

(If you want to trade off turns doing this, that's fine with me, or I will post again when I get the chance.)
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Joshua
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

Post by Joshua »

One final preparation that Osmund makes is attaching a few clips to his blade, making it less reliant on the folding structure inside for shape.

He is oddly undisturbed by the trip. In the followup battle scene where hearing has returned he shouts, "All my walks are like this!"

The scenes start to flip by more rapidly, using various clockwork scenes of war. Sonic blasts, explosives, robots, and the people shift as well, Humans, orcs, orgres, oni, etc... The weather changes as well, most of the original places are sunny, but shift to rain, snow and even smoldering acid-rain. Thankfully, the act of running through the worlds prevents them from clinging to you for any meaningful length of time.

Traveling with Osmund makes it slightly easier. On a few occasions, he uses his sword to block a bullet or arrow or sentient-explosive-clockwork owl*, sometimes preparing for such a strike before you arrive in a world where the threat exists. You pick up on them slightly before he does, however you are focused on travel where he is not, so he is able to respond quicker.
(With regard to your stats, you're both fairly strong across the board. You're better at noticing random stuff happening, but he's been hellriding before. Also, you're putting in the lion's share of the mental effort with the hellride. On the plus side, since Osmund can keep up on his own, you don't have that psychic drag.)
(OOC: Hellriding is a fast method of finding anything. Actually spending the 5 or 10 points to "shift to complex/abstract desire" means you can do it in a controlled fashion without putting your life in danger.)

Your horses seem to be taking the worst of it. Panic and fear seeping into yours. (Osmund seems to have blindfolded his horse sometime between the fire and the wall of sound. He is also using a bit of his psyche-based empathy to sooth the horse, a trick you can borrow.)
(OOC: This kind of empathy is less an actual power, but more knowing how to keep the horse calm and the right non-verbal cues to keep it from true terror. This is in addition to any actual skill you have riding horses, which also helps.)

He does shout, "Go faster, they'll have less time to notice us!" between the bomb blasts in a particular set of worlds where bi-planes drop wooden bombs onto various military bases. (One of which has Aboleth and blue-skinned slaves retaliating with land-whales that fling balls of greenish mucus. Thankfully the beginning transformation into water-(only)-breathers fades when you step into the next shadow.)

-----------

*: Re: Sentient Explosive Creatures (Not quite safe for work. Some strong language.)
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colomon
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

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Renny pats her horse's flank, trying to project calmness to it, then urging it to go faster. Shambling zombies start converging on them, and she lops off one's head, only to find themselves in the midst of dinosaurs fighting with what appear to be acid squirt guns. A blast of caustic acid takes Renny's horse in the chest, and it crumbles to the ground as the world changes again, pinning Renny temporarily.

As she struggles out from under it, she finds they are in the center square of an improbably grand (mid-18th century tech) city, surrounded by a large, well-armed, hostile-looking crowd. There is a long pause as both sides size the other up, then someone yells "Literates!", several stones are thrown at Renny and Osmund, and the mob surges forward, weapons out.
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Joshua
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

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Osmund grunts lightly, before getting his feet under himself and leaps off. Now, there are many benefits of having a large sword. Particularly around horses when you have a high strength. The blade passes slightly to Ranny's left side, a diagonal cut that leaves only a thin layer of horse on top of her.

"Seriously?" Osmund asks of the crowd, swinging his sword in a wide, eight-foot swath of heavy warning. He manages to keep the crowd at a distance for the moment, although a number are debating on if they can jump him from behind. He asks Renny, "My horse or feet?"

(OOC: without the 10 point 'power over shadow' ability, you must move in order to change reality. Falling counts. You cannot use 'power over shadow' during a hellride.)
(OOC: I know people skim all the threads, and this is the first hellride in the game. Also, it's helping me clarify some of the partial powers.)
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colomon
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Re: 07.06: Battle Montage

Post by colomon »

I was picturing this as the final destination. I guess if no heroes show up to rescue them quickly they'll hop back up and share a horse...
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