Upon seeing Galgamash hit Kuro, Melech immediately swung his sword once more.

"Don't you dare try to hit anyone else other than me."

Imm Inter: Price of Cowardice on galgamash (atk 23, dmg 13; http://orokos.com/roll/140484)

With Kuro's rousing words, Narerka finds the strength to soldier on, his burns healing and the fire that had consumed him earlier stamped out. The warlord boldly lunges at GILGAMESH and stabs him, purposely leaving an opening for him to attack. GILGAMESH obliges with a loud battle cry, but is blinded by a flash of light from Melech's sword.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?!" GILGAMESH wails, unable to aim his attack. His wild swing is deflected by Kuro at the last second, and GILGAMESH is seared with divine radiance for his efforts. This creates an opening in GILGAMESH's defenses, which Kuro directs Tainya towards with deadly precision.

Kuro heals Narerka with Inspiring Word for 32 HP, and Narerka saves against ongoing fire damage (http://orokos.com/roll/140480)
Kuro hits GILGAMESH with Brash Assault for 15 damage; GILGAMESH still manages to hit him with Frost Brand Weapon for 27 cold damage is interrupted by Melech's Price of Cowardice, which deals 13 radiant damage and blinds GILGAMESH, causing his attack to miss for 6 damage. He takes 9 radiant damage from divine challenge
Tainya hits with her granted ranged basic attack for 19 damage

Initiative
Narerka - 30
GILGAMESH (Ultimate Illusion) - 26
Tainya - 22
Enkidu (delay) - 28
GILGAMESH - 16
Sophie - 18 (delay)
Melech - 15
Kuro - 14
Lightning Rail - 0

Players
Kuro (I-81) 56/69 HP +4 to defenses until start of next turn
Melech (J-80) 52/79 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Sophie (K-86) 59/59 HP +9 THP +1 power bonus to defenses
Narerka (I-79) 45/86 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Tainya (J-84) 69/69 HP +9 THP +1 power bonus to defenses

Enemies
GILGAMESH (I-80) -355 HP (bloodied) Dawn Warrior Weapon and Flame Tongue Weapon; Spear of the Skylord and Holy Avenger; Frost Brand Weapon and Whelm swordmage shielding fire, divine challenge, +1 attack, +6 speed, +1d8 damage, -2 all defenses, +4 power bonus to damage rolls, cannot charge, -2 to attack rolls, blinded
Enkidu (F/G-77/78 ground) -94 HP immobilized, divine challenge, Shackles of Justice (save ends) Effectively removed from the fight

Notes
-To cross from one car to the next, you can jump by making an athletics check. You need a result of 10 or higher to clear the gap.
-Climbing up a ladder to the rooftop of the train requires 3 squares of movement.
- Falling from the top of the train car to the ground below will cause you to take 2d10 falling damage.
-Knowing more about Enkidu requires a successful nature check. Knowing about GILGAMESH's weapons requires (just one) history check. Knowing about GILGAMESH requires a successful streetwise check.
-Enemies in Enkidu's terrorize aura are marked until they end their turns outside the aura.

"Thanks for that, much needed. Now let's get this over with."

Sword burst
Attack roll : http://orokos.com/roll/140573 (26)
Damage roll : http://orokos.com/roll/140574 (12)


Last edited at 13/10/03(Thu)15:27:44

Sweeping his sword in a wide ark, Narerka summons waves of force that buffet GILGAMESH and push him that much closer towards the brink. In response, GILGAMESH becomes a whirl of weapons as he finally moves away from the front line, attempting to attack the squishy casters. He doesn't manage to land any solid hits, but being grazed by the weapon hurt enough to reopen the wounds that Kuro had just healed on both himself and Narerka.

Narerka's sword burst hits GILGAMESH for 12 force damage

GILGAMESH's Ultimate Illusion allows him to use Divider; he switches out Frost Brand Weapon for Fragarach and shifts to J-85. All of his attacks miss; Narerka takes 10 damage, Melech takes 9 damage, Kuro takes 10 damage, Tainya takes 6 damage and Sophie takes 10 damage; Narerka and Kuro are bloodied

Initiative
Narerka - 30
GILGAMESH (Ultimate Illusion) - 26
Tainya - 22
Enkidu (delay) - 28
GILGAMESH - 16
Sophie - 18 (delay)
Melech - 15
Kuro - 14
Lightning Rail - 0

Players
Kuro (I-81) 25/69 HP (bloodied) +4 to defenses until start of next turn
Melech (J-80) 43/79 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Sophie (K-86) 58/59 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Narerka (I-79) 35/86 HP (bloodied) +1 power bonus to defenses
Tainya (J-84) 69/69 HP +3 THP +1 power bonus to defenses

Enemies
GILGAMESH (I-80) -355 HP (bloodied) Dawn Warrior Weapon and Flame Tongue Weapon; Spear of the Skylord and Holy Avenger; Fragarach and Whelm swordmage shielding fire, divine challenge, +1 attack, +6 speed, +1d8 damage, -2 all defenses, +4 power bonus to damage rolls, cannot charge, -2 to attack rolls
Enkidu (F/G-77/78 ground) -94 HP immobilized, divine challenge, Shackles of Justice (save ends) Effectively removed from the fight

Notes
-To cross from one car to the next, you can jump by making an athletics check. You need a result of 10 or higher to clear the gap.
-Climbing up a ladder to the rooftop of the train requires 3 squares of movement.
- Falling from the top of the train car to the ground below will cause you to take 2d10 falling damage.
-Knowing more about Enkidu requires a successful nature check. Knowing about GILGAMESH's weapons requires (just one) history check. Knowing about GILGAMESH requires a successful streetwise check.
-Enemies in Enkidu's terrorize aura are marked until they end their turns outside the aura.

"Ze butcher? Monsieur, if--" Tainya's sentence is interrupted as her form bursts into tendrils of shadow, which slither through the air to the west and reform the "eladrin" in the blink of an eye. She continues, "--'ou 'ave suspicions, it'd be wise to talk zem over with us. 'Owever, should 'ou continue zis foolish struggle..." With a swift hand movement, she pulls out the poisoned crossbow bolt she'd been saving since the start of the battle, and loads it, then takes aim; "'Ou may lose 'our chance!"

Move Action: Use walk through shadow to teleport to J-79.
Standard Action: Attack using bolt infused with spotted toadstool venom. 35 vs. AC to hit for 20 damage, plus 23 vs. Fortitude, weakened on a hit.

Tainya slips out of GILGAMESH's reach, becoming one with the shadows for an instant. Her body reforms several feet away, firing a poisoned bolt at her enemy that saps his strength. In response to her proposal, GILGAMESH screams out, "Be that as it may, I will never yield! Never!" And to prove this, he chases after Tainya's voice, weapons whirling about (and failing to hit anything). He reaches her unimpeded, giving a shout of triumph before he is overtaken by sensation of falling. And falls flat again.

He flips back up on his feet and reiterates, "Never!"

Tainya uses Walk Through Shadow and teleports to H-79
Tainya hits GILGAMESH with ranged basic attack for 20 damage; GILGAMESH is affected by her spotted toadstool venom and weakened until the end of her next turn

Zantetsuken recharges, and GILGAMESH uses it; he misses Sophie for 8 damage (reduced from 17), Melech for 11 damage (reduced from 22), and Tainya for 9 damage (reduced from 18); he shifts to I-80 as part of the attack and promptly falls prone
GILGAMESH stands from prone
Enhance Power wears off

Initiative
Narerka - 30
GILGAMESH (Ultimate Illusion) - 26
Tainya - 22
Enkidu (delay) - 28
GILGAMESH - 16
Sophie - 18 (delay)
Melech - 15
Kuro - 14
Lightning Rail - 0

Players
Kuro (I-81) 25/69 HP (bloodied) +4 to defenses until start of next turn
Melech (J-80) 33/79 HP (bloodied) +1 power bonus to defenses
Sophie (K-86) 50/59 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Narerka (I-79) 35/86 HP (bloodied) +1 power bonus to defenses
Tainya (J-84) 63/69 HP +1 power bonus to defenses

Enemies
GILGAMESH (I-80) -375 HP (bloodied) Dawn Warrior Weapon and Flame Tongue Weapon; Spear of the Skylord and Frost Brand Weapon; Fragarach and Whelm swordmage shielding fire, divine challenge, +1 attack, +6 speed, +1d8 damage, -2 all defenses, cannot charge, -2 to attack rolls, blinded
Enkidu (F/G-77/78 ground) -94 HP immobilized, divine challenge, Shackles of Justice (save ends) Effectively removed from the fight

Notes
-To cross from one car to the next, you can jump by making an athletics check. You need a result of 10 or higher to clear the gap.
-Climbing up a ladder to the rooftop of the train requires 3 squares of movement.
- Falling from the top of the train car to the ground below will cause you to take 2d10 falling damage.
-Knowing more about Enkidu requires a successful nature check. Knowing about GILGAMESH's weapons requires (just one) history check. Knowing about GILGAMESH requires a successful streetwise check.
-Enemies in Enkidu's terrorize aura are marked until they end their turns outside the aura.

Smirking, Sophie says, "Are you certain, warrior? Being that stubborn, you may only be ensuring your defeat. I would not want you to sustain serious injury," magically pushing GILGAMESH back into the illusory chasm.

Charm of the Defender on Gil: http://orokos.com/roll/141209 (32)

Last edited at 13/10/07(Mon)00:27:31

After many setbacks, Sophie's magic finally gets a firm hold on GILGAMESH. He finds himself stumbling around, not in control of his own legs. Said legs walk him right back into the gorge, and he falls prone once more. His muffled cries of "Neber!" have not lost their enthusiasm.

Sophie hits GILGAMESH with Charm of the Defender, sliding him out of and back into the illusory chasm. He is knocked prone, and also immobilized

Initiative
Narerka - 30
GILGAMESH (Ultimate Illusion) - 26
Tainya - 22
Enkidu (delay) - 28
GILGAMESH - 16
Sophie - 18 (delay)
Melech - 15
Kuro - 14
Lightning Rail - 0

Players
Kuro (I-81) 25/69 HP (bloodied) +4 to defenses until start of next turn
Melech (J-80) 33/79 HP (bloodied) +1 power bonus to defenses
Sophie (K-86) 50/59 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Narerka (I-79) 35/86 HP (bloodied) +1 power bonus to defenses
Tainya (J-79) 63/69 HP +1 power bonus to defenses

Enemies
GILGAMESH (I-80) -375 HP (bloodied) Dawn Warrior Weapon and Flame Tongue Weapon; Spear of the Skylord and Frost Brand Weapon; Fragarach and Whelm swordmage shielding fire, divine challenge, +1 attack, +6 speed, +1d8 damage, -2 all defenses, immobilized, -2 to attack rolls, blinded, prone
Enkidu (F/G-77/78 ground) -94 HP immobilized, divine challenge, Shackles of Justice (save ends) Effectively removed from the fight

Notes
-To cross from one car to the next, you can jump by making an athletics check. You need a result of 10 or higher to clear the gap.
-Climbing up a ladder to the rooftop of the train requires 3 squares of movement.
- Falling from the top of the train car to the ground below will cause you to take 2d10 falling damage.
-Knowing more about Enkidu requires a successful nature check. Knowing about GILGAMESH's weapons requires (just one) history check. Knowing about GILGAMESH requires a successful streetwise check.
-Enemies in Enkidu's terrorize aura are marked until they end their turns outside the aura.

"Pft. Not so tough now, are ya."

Melech heals himself up a tad, and swings.

Lay on Hands: Self, + 39 HP
Enfeebling Strike against GILGAMESH: Atk 27, Dmg 20 (http://orokos.com/roll/142156)

Melech turns to his faith for strength. He is rewarded with holy energy washing over him sealing up his wounds and healing his pains. This gives him enough strength to land a ferocious strike on GILGAMESH, who remains grounded.
Melech heals himself with Lay on Hands and is no longer bloodied
Melech hits GILGAMESH with Enfeebling Strike for 20 damage, and GILGAMESH takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls while Melech marks him

Initiative
Narerka - 30
GILGAMESH (Ultimate Illusion) - 26
Tainya - 22
Enkidu (delay) - 28
GILGAMESH - 16
Sophie - 18 (delay)
Melech - 15
Kuro - 14
Lightning Rail - 0

Players
Kuro (I-81) 25/69 HP (bloodied) +4 to defenses until start of next turn
Melech (J-80) 72/79 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Sophie (K-86) 50/59 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Narerka (I-79) 35/86 HP (bloodied) +1 power bonus to defenses
Tainya (J-79) 63/69 HP +1 power bonus to defenses

Enemies
GILGAMESH (I-80) -395 HP (bloodied) Dawn Warrior Weapon and Flame Tongue Weapon; Spear of the Skylord and Frost Brand Weapon; Fragarach and Whelm swordmage shielding fire, divine challenge, +1 attack, +6 speed, +1d8 damage, -2 all defenses, immobilized, -2 to attack rolls, prone
Enkidu (F/G-77/78 ground) -94 HP immobilized, divine challenge, Shackles of Justice (save ends) Effectively removed from the fight

Notes
-To cross from one car to the next, you can jump by making an athletics check. You need a result of 10 or higher to clear the gap.
-Climbing up a ladder to the rooftop of the train requires 3 squares of movement.
- Falling from the top of the train car to the ground below will cause you to take 2d10 falling damage.
-Knowing more about Enkidu requires a successful nature check. Knowing about GILGAMESH's weapons requires (just one) history check. Knowing about GILGAMESH requires a successful streetwise check.
-Enemies in Enkidu's terrorize aura are marked until they end their turns outside the aura.

Severely wounded, Kuro shifts behind his enemy to grant the paladin a sure flank. Then, as if not realizing how bad his condition is, he makes a short pause after his attack, daring Gil to counterattack.

Move: Shift to H-80
Standard: Brash assault! (28: 17 damage) http://orokos.com/roll/142310
Minor: Die like a boss

In spite of his injuries, Kuro makes another attack at GILGAMESH, inviting him to do the same in return. From the ground, GILGAMESH has a prime position to spear Kuro through the leg, then slam him into the ground. Kuro is out like a light, and GILGAMESH snorts, "Heh, looks like victory is mine, warrior!"

He seems to have forgotten Melech, who uses the distraction to sever the hand holding the oversized spear. GILGAMESH stares in shock for a moment, then screams in pain, dropping his weapons to cradle the stump where his hand used to be. "Agh, that hurts! Stop, I yield, I yield! Stop hitting me!" The offensive stance he had taken before is gone, and he lays flat on the ground.

Looks like his talk about not surrendering was just that : talk.

Kuro shifts to H-80 and gains a +1 item bonus to AC and Reflex
Kuro hits with Brash Assault for 17 damage; GILGAMESH counters with Spear of the Sky Lord and CRITS Kuro for 39 damage, pushing him two squares and knocking him unconscious until he is healed or until the end of a short rest
Melech is granted a basic attack, and hits GILGAMESH for 20 damage
GILGAMESH surrenders!

Final result

Initiative
Narerka - 30
GILGAMESH (Ultimate Illusion) - 26
Tainya - 22
Enkidu (delay) - 28
GILGAMESH - 16
Sophie - 18 (delay)
Melech - 15
Kuro - 14
Lightning Rail - 0

Players
Kuro (H-80) -14/69 HP (UNCONSCIOUS) +4 to defenses until start of next turn
Melech (J-80) 72/79 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Sophie (K-86) 50/59 HP +1 power bonus to defenses
Narerka (I-79) 35/86 HP (bloodied) +1 power bonus to defenses
Tainya (J-79) 63/69 HP +1 power bonus to defenses

Enemies
GILGAMESH (I-80) -432 HP (bloodied) Dawn Warrior Weapon and Flame Tongue Weapon; Spear of the Skylord and Frost Brand Weapon; Fragarach and Whelm swordmage shielding fire, divine challenge, +1 attack, +6 speed, +1d8 damage, -2 all defenses, immobilized, -2 to attack rolls, prone Surrenders!
Enkidu (F/G-77/78 ground) -94 HP immobilized, divine challenge, Shackles of Justice (save ends) Effectively removed from the fight

Notes
-To cross from one car to the next, you can jump by making an athletics check. You need a result of 10 or higher to clear the gap.
-Climbing up a ladder to the rooftop of the train requires 3 squares of movement.
- Falling from the top of the train car to the ground below will cause you to take 2d10 falling damage.
-Knowing more about Enkidu requires a successful nature check. Knowing about GILGAMESH's weapons requires (just one) history check. Knowing about GILGAMESH requires a successful streetwise check.
-Enemies in Enkidu's terrorize aura are marked until they end their turns outside the aura.

Action Points Spent
Melech
Kuro
Sophie

Healing Surges Spent
Melech : III
Narerka : II
Kuro : I

Spoils
+3 Spear of the Skylord (longspear) (level 11)
+5 Holy Avenger Bastard Sword
+2 Frost Brand Talent Tengat
+2 Flame Tongue Khopesh
+4 Shadowfell Waraxe
+5 Fragarach (broadsword) (level 21)
+4 Dawn Warrior Triple-Headed Flail
+3 Whelm (warhammer) (level 11)
+2 Genji Scale Armor

Last edited at 13/10/11(Fri)18:37:52

Melech does an auto 10 DC for unconscious Kuro.

Barely waking up thanks to Melech's healing, the warlord returns mumbling something, noticeably upset.
"...why is this guy still alive?"

Tainya eases her fighting stance quite a bit--though she remains focused on GILGAMESH while responding evenly to Kuro's query, "He said somezing about a 'butcher.' Ah find zat very, 'ow you say, interesting." Nodding to GILGAMESH, she continues, "'hat did you mean by that, èpèiste?"

>>4461
From his position of prostration, the warrior who called himself GILGAMESH answers, having seemingly discovered his indoor voice. "Indeed," he affirms, "it is a name that I gave to the one who turned my village of Ivalice into an abbatoir. People strung up by their innards! Profane marks and cryptic riddles scattered across the ruins of my village! I caught sight of the perpetrator fleeing over the horizon, and my years of searching and collaboration brought me here!" He looks disappointed, if not discouraged. "While I cannot say that this glorious battle was for naught, it was not what I came here searching for!"

Astonished by the resemblance of his tale, the warlord stand ups and tries to clean his messed armor before speaking again.
"...and how exactly this searching of yours brought you here? This "butcher" you're looking for has taken the lives of two of the VIPs we're guarding."

Last edited at 13/10/14(Mon)19:56:41

>>4463
GILGAMESH's eyes (or the glowing things he uses in their place) widen in response to the warlord's revelation. But he sounds calmer than before. "It was a concerted effort brought about by the Lord of Blade's intelligence network. After our first failed attempt to bring her to justice, they analyzed the patterns of her movements, the rumors on the wind, and the similar stories of violence against warforged from here to Fort Zombie. We were to apprehend her at all costs; the Lord of Blades personally wants to make her pay for all that she has done." And then he forces them shut, sighing loudly. "I cannot say I am proud of my current alliance with such a figure, but know that he was a far nobler soul before the Day of Mourning. And it would appear that our suspicions were accurate."

"'at information do 'ou 'ave on zis 'butcher,' monsieur? Do 'ou know 'er appearance, 'er abilities?" Tainya questions, stowing her hand crossbow casually.

>>4465
"Not as much as we would like," is Gilgamesh's reply. "She somehow manages to infiltrate even the most secure locations. We know it's her by the taunting messages, unique mark, and brutal murder scenes she leaves behind." It's hard for Gilgamesh to fold his arms from his position, but he manages to do so, somehow. "We suspect she kills someone and takes their place before the incidents happen."

"As for appearance, I can only vouch that she has long braids on either side of her head, and she wears some sort of a dress. I would give you a color, but I suspect that she isn't always colored red from head to toe. Other accounts give different appearances, so even that may be incorrect."

"Takes their place? We had a similar incident too... wait a minute, this is too suspicious. Why did you have to raid the train like this? This wicked butcher could be killing someone else as we're blabbering now!"

"'Tis not as bad as it may seem a' first glance, monsieur," Tainya says in an attempt to calm Kuro down. "And it does give us somezing to go on, oui? Raki was slain when she split fro' ze group. Zerefore, no one who stayed wiz ze group can be ze culprit--further, it does not seem ze killer will attack while zey remain together. At least for now."

>>4468
>>4316
Gilgamesh helps himself to his feet, his extra arms crumbling to powder as he dusts himself off. He looks relieved that he is no longer being associated with his 'butcher'. "Indeed, she seemed to be averse to large crowds, only attacking small groups at most. As for why I am here, we were mislead as to which way the butcher had originally gone, and after locking away the occupants of the keep, we waited for further orders. Two days ago, the orders came : 'intercept the next train, she is there.' He pulls off his gilded armor and tosses the scale mail to Kuro. "To the victors, the spoils."

Last edited at 13/10/16(Wed)15:19:01

"He looks like a strong ally, but we can't afford to place the VIPs into any more danger." Less worried thanks to the Eladrin's words, the warlord accepts Gil's reward and exclaims.

"Your mission ends now, we'll deal with her. Go tell your boss she messed with the wrong guys."

Last edited at 13/10/17(Thu)00:06:25

>>4470
In spite of being the loser here, Gilgamesh shakes his head. "That I cannot do," the warrior explains. "To return empty-handed would be a death sentence! And I owe it to the villagers who took me in to see this through to the end!" He takes a few steps forward, and makes a single request:

"Please take me with you."

Last edited at 13/10/18(Fri)10:49:41

>>4471
"You seem to know more about the current happenings than us, so I think you're a worthwhile ally, if only for the time being," says Sophie, "Plus, with that voice, you might be useful at intimidating weaker opponents."

Last edited at 13/10/20(Sun)00:03:12

"...that sounds right, but still...
What the heck, if lady Sophie can explain this mess to the other VIPs then I'm fine with it." says Kuro with a smile.
"And what about that friend of yours?"

>>4473
>>4474
"I am grateful for this opportunity to prove my worth. I shall not let you down!" In response to Kuro's question, Gilgamesh gives an ambiguous answer of "Enkidu returned home by now. He'll be fine."

In any case, you have a new party member.

Gilgamesh has joined the party

Last edited at 13/10/19(Sat)18:47:35

Tainya shrugs, and motions back towards the train, saying, "Ah see no problem wit zis proposal, but perhaps we should get back inside."

The newly assembled group head to the dining car, their path taking them hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Getting back doesn't take quite as long as it took getting out there. Filing into the car one by one, the see little has changed from before. Sure, most of the occupants have moved around, like Parthia taking up a window seat, but the mood hasn't changed for the most part. The VIPs do express relief at the return of their guardians, though, and Garret shows concern over Kuro's injuries. But all eyes fall on Gilgamesh when he enters, Mari hiding behind Miri again.

"Who'ff fat?" queries Cooke, spitting up pastry crumbs.

"He's a bounty hunter looking for the culprit behind the creepy murders in this train. Lady Sophie thought it was a good idea to invite him to our ride." says Kuro without a trace of concern while preparing to take care of his wounds and throwing a look at Sophie, asking her to finish the diplomacy.
Diplomacy aid another (15) http://orokos.com/roll/144463
Short rest to recover encounter powers
Place Battle Standard of Healing

Knowing she didn't have too much of a chance of swaying the others in Gilgamesh's favor, Sophie decides against lobbying for him.

Looking to Melech, she says, "I'm fairly certain you can make our case here, Melech!


Aid another (Diplomacy) : http://orokos.com/roll/144619 3 + 7 (10)
Take a short rest

"Ah, perhaps it'd be best to say, 'e offered 'is services," Tainya comments, shrugging with a smiling face and holding her hands out, palms open. "And 'e seems quite skilled, ah'd say. We can keep an eye on 'im, though ah do not zink he's wit' ze killer!"

Melech cleared his throat.

"Well, this guy over here is, uh, on a noble mission, so he'd be a great addition to our small team here."

Diplomacy Roll: 25 http://orokos.com/roll/145620

The passengers listen to the party vouch for this new person. They look between one another - with the exception of Gardain, who seems mostly dead to the world - to gauge reactions. The consensus looks grim, as Parthia intones, "And what do you have to say, mister...?"

"I am the mighty Gillllllll... Gil!" the warrior with a famous name, one that might cause undue panic, bellows. "And I believe that the enemy of my enemy is my friend!"

Once again the passengers look between one another, and, as one, seem to reach a consensus. This time it's Garret who voices the decision, a look of trepidation on his face, but warmth in his voice. "If my retainer trusts you, then you are welcome here."

While they don't necessarily trust him, the rest of the people you're traveling with seem to tolerate him for now. He seems to have his eyes fixed on the food cart at the moment.

Last edited at 13/10/27(Sun)19:54:21

Seeing the others will at least allow him to stay with them, Kuro signals Gil to follow him and moves to a different room. Once the door the closed and the others can't listen to them, the warlord makes his request.
"As you probably know, you weren't the first group that has tried to raid this train. Can you contact your boss and tell him you're working with us now?"

Gilgamesh tears his eyes away from the food and follows Kuro outside to the adjacent car. With the door closed and their privacy ensured, Gilgamesh listens to Kuro's request. He tries to understand what is being asked of him, and queries, "You want me to say to the Lord of Blades, a man that aims to exterminate or enslave all organic races, that I'm working with the people he's trying to destroy, to take in another person?" Despite his slightly sarcastic response, he gives it some serious thought before asking, "What would I tell him?"

"W-well, exterminating all of the organic species is kind of a long term ambition, however, if you lose track of this criminal who knows when you'll have a chance to catch her again.
A wise shogun knows a temporal coalition will often win wars."
lol diplomacy http://orokos.com/roll/146130

Making a pause, the warlord continues.
"Heck, you could even tell him we captured you and you're pretending to stay as a prisoner, waiting for a chance to strike down the butcher as soon she appears. As you will be communicating with him it proves you are just acting to stay in"

>>4488
>>4487
Gilgamesh nods at the sage words, seeing the wisdom in them. "How unfortunate," he says, "that the Lord of Blades would not see it like that. And were I captured, that would be the same as failure to him, and the attacks would not cease until the King in Red is caught." Gilgamesh folds his arms and shakes his head in resignation. "He would not approve of his followers working with the so-called 'lesser races'."

"However," he says abruptly, eyes (figuratively) lighting up as inspiration strikes, "telling him that you are all working with me is something that fits into his worldview."

Last edited at 13/10/29(Tue)13:51:08

"Ha! one of his followers you say? Alright, just make him stop the attacks" says Kuro, in a good mood.
"Just one thing. I think we'll reach our destination in 3 days or so. How will we lure her out?"

Last edited at 13/10/29(Tue)19:52:27

>>4490
"Hmm, never considered that," Gilgamesh responds, removing a polished obsidian stone from his pocket. "You'd probably need the right kind of bait for that." He gives it a tap with his finger, and Kuro can hear a voice coming from within the rock. Gilgamesh motions for Kuro to be silent a deep, irritated voice slowly intones, "What?

"General Gilgamesh reporting! I have siezed the asset and coerced the inhabitants into searching for the defiler!" Gilgamesh bellows. He taps the stone again after speaking.

"One day."

"Er, I'm sorry?" Tap.

"One day to capture her. After that, I will send reinforcements to deal with your bungling. Do not fail me."

With the conversation clearly over, Gilgamesh puts the stone away and gives Kuro a grim look. "I've bought all the time I can. What do you plan to do now?"

Last edited at 13/10/29(Tue)20:29:17

"It might be wise to do some detective work." Kuro goes outside and meets with the group.
"I don't think we properly examined the room where we found Raki's corpse... So I think I'll do that now. Maybe we can find a clue about her identity among those criptic riddles."
Saying this, and unless someone disagrees, Kuro goes to the murder scene, inviting the treasure hunter to come as well. Once inside, he tried to determine the howdunnit."
Heal check (23) http://orokos.com/roll/146581

Before anybody else can speak up, Narerka declares, "I'm coming with you," and forces himself into Kuro's group. "Safety in numbers, and all that." Other than that, nobody else seems to have any objections. Garret tells them to be careful and come right back before they depart.

The smaller group reaches the scene of the crime, and Gilgamesh mutters, "This looks like her work, alright. A macabre joke that nobody finds funny." Kuro gets to work checking the body, Narerka stands back, and Gilgamesh looks around the room.

During Kuro's examination, Moris sniffs the air and starts chattering about something with Narerka, prompting the half-elf to argue with it in a langauge neither Kuro nor Gilgamesh understand. After a time, Narerka turns to both of them and explains, "Moris says he smelled Raki before. He says this one smells different. More... Normal?"

The most obvious thing Kuro finds is the strange wound on Raki's face, on her right cheek and slightly obscured by her long black hair. It's in the exact shape and pattern as the Mark of Detection. The Dragonmark that Raki had on her face when she was still alive. But there's no scarring or clotting of the wound that Kuro can find. The most likely explanation Kuro can think of, barring magic, is that the wound was inflicted post-mortem.

The second thing Kuro finds is bruising around the neck where it was severed. All signs point to strangulation prior to decapitation.

"This is her handwriting, but it's not her normal style," murmurs Gil, referring to the poem he finds detailing her death.

The third thing thing Kuro finds is... Well, several things that point towards one thing. The head looks more bloated than it did in life, and it has a sickly pallor. There's a noticeable stench coming from it, moreso than from the body. Listening closely, he can hear sounds of insects buzzing around inside the skull, while the body it was so crudely forced upon has no such problems plaguing it.

In other words, this isn't the same Raki that you met.

Whoever this head belonged to
has in fact been dead
for more than
two days.

"We were tricked!..."
Rushing out of the room and giving no explanation, Kuro returns with the group, knowing sure Gil and Narerka would follow. Then he explains the situation as bluntly as he can.
"...we have a situation here. Raki's corpse, she has been dead for more than two days. The person who joined us as Raki D'Medani was an imposter. And probably our culprit too."

Last edited at 13/10/31(Thu)23:47:59

"Most disturbing... zat could explain a few zings," Tainya replies thoughtfully, rubbing her chin as she does so. "'Er be'avior did seem a bit, 'ow you say, off. 'Ou don't suppose zat ze Basilisk's Gaze set us up?"

Once things are sorted out, Tainya approaches the resident enchanter and describes in detail the items she wants procured from the residuum they have gathered.

Upgrade from heroic/+2 to paragon/+3: Manual of Ninjutsu, Flowform Drowmesh, Deep-Pocket Cloak, Bracers of the Perfect Shot, Eagle Eye Goggles, then have the following produced: Elven Chain Shirt, Ring of Giants, Ring of Fury, and Backlash Tattoo. Once these are made should have about 100k residuum remaining of my cut, which I'll share with whoever else needs it.

Raki, huh... she was acting strangely initially.

"Gilgamesh, what, exactly, is odd about the poem?"

Kuro's exclamation causes a brief panic among the passengers, Mari hugging her daughter close in response. Tainya's follow-up causes Narerka to step forward, but before he can get a word out, he is cut off by the lady of House Phiarlan. "It would explain a lot. Leaving us to do their dirty work." Parthia shuffles her papers and poses a question, "however, they appear to have left one of their prized enforcers in the dark about it, unless you know something we don't, Mister Narerka?"

The half elf shakes his head in response. "Then they either sent an asset to its death, or they were also decieved." This seems to take the accusatory glares away from Narerka, as the party hands their prizes to Mark and asks him for enchantments. Were his jaw not properly hinged, it would likely hit the floor, then bite Gardain for killing any chance of profiting from this.

When Sophie poses her question to Gilgamesh, he stops paying attention to the pastry cart briefly to give an answer : "Well they were poems, but mostly about how she did it, or who was next. Things that only made sense in retrospect. None of this prophetic, sky-killing mumbo jumbo." He's otherwise busy trying to create goodwill, telling a story of how he defended the bridge from an attack on both sides using the pies and pastries. He makes crashing sounds as the pie pushes the rest of the food off the cart. Cooke does not express any goodwill whatsoever for this.

The rest of the trip is, barring a instances of scare tactics, mostly uneventful. The car shakes the next day after somebody attempts to disconnect it partway, but nobody takes the bluff, and the offending vehicles are hooked back together. Any sweeps done of the train reveal no new information, as though the killer had already left. Gilgamesh, meanwhile, gets away long enough to convince the Lord of Blades that the King in Red will be delivered to him at Thronehold, they just have to get there first.

It's on the last day, with Thaliost approaching fast, that things start to go wrong. After Thorn takes over as conductor and Lance enters the dining cart with the rest of you, the train suddenly accelerates, throwing everyone back. From the corner of the ceiling, through the small black box, a girlish voice hauntingly sings a melody as the train hurtles on at speeds it was not meant to go at.

"Not a speck of light is showing
so the danger must be growing!
Are the blazing Hells a-glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?"

This is punctuated by shrill laughter that cuts out abruptly. By now you're speeding past the point where you should have stopped, and the only safe option left is for everyone to jump.

Last edited at 13/11/04(Mon)20:19:52