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You snap your fingers, annoyed. "Guys? We're talking about important stuff here."

"Wait, wait." Suddenly everyone at the table is counting cards and adding numbers "We need to figure out if this is a draw or if Aexel just reached Karas' point total."

You roll your eyes. Tia looks at you, evidently confused.

"...Did he reach the point cap?" Zareen wonders.

"Adds up to 7015, so yes." Lynne is dismayed. "Great job!"

"I've been lucky." Aexel nods to himself.

"What are YOU so happy for? HE beat me, not YOU." Karas asks Lynne with a huge grin on his face. It's clear that he considers beating Lynne to be victory enough, while Lynne seems to be satisfied that at least SOMEONE beat Karas. The only one left out of the loop seems to be Zareen, who didn't seem to care THAT much about the card game in the first place.

You clear your throat. "Can we get back to business now?"

The cards are shuffled and put back in the box as you continue after the interruption.

"...Anyway, yeah, we did find out something about the disappearances. It's not ghosts, but definitely very real people in heavy armor."

"In the tunnels?" Talon wonders.

"I'm just as confused. And the disappearances might be connected to Rankar, because since they started, he's been using his money a lot more generously. It might be a coincidence, however."

"Did he make a deal with some kind of deep Earth elementals or something?" Valeriana wonders.

"I honestly have no idea." You shrug. "Anyway, tomorrow is the last day, right?"

Radiant Starfall nods. "Your sister's wedding will be held in the Despot's palace at dusk. Everyone important in Gem has been invited: ambassadors, representatives of the Noble Trading Houses, Guild merchant-princes, the works. There'll also be a buttload of security, you can bet on that."

"How much?" Tia wonders.

"About two hundred mercenaries from a mix of units, plus, probably, Rekka, the Flying Blade." She explains.

"Alright, and what do we have?" Zareen asks.

"Well, we have the support, or at least a promise of non-interference, from house Arbani and house Sahlak." You explain. "Did you guys manage to get anything more?"

"House Circla isn't going to oppose us either." Karas informs you. "I've had a... personal discussion with Circla Belusco, and he agreed to stay out of our way. Of course, if our coup somehow goes south he's going to pretend nothing happened, but, if we pull it off, his house will support us." He coughs. "That's the good news."

You lift an eyebrow. "What's the bad news?"

"Well, he recognized me, and he probably suspects that I'm Exalted now." He explains.

You groan.

"It was the only way to get him to listen to me in such a short time."

"I guess so." You turn to Mikahil. "House Trasti?"

He sighs. "Trasti Gion was... too eager to side with us. Too friendly. He's coming off as suspicious, and the worst part is that I'm sure he realizes he's being suspicious and he doesn't care."

You try to parse that statement. "That's weird."

(cont.)

"Very weird. I feel like he knows something we don't, but I couldn't get it out of him without revealing too much about us. Still, I think that he will help us, but he seems very eager to have us in his debt."

"This leaves out just House Iblan." Karas mumbles. "The other four houses, Arbani, Sahlak, Circla and Trasti, will just stand by and wait for our coup to happen. That's good odds."

This is your last day. Time to decide how to do this.

>We can't wait for the wedding tomorrow night before acting. Security will be at its tightest then, and there'll be all sorts of guests. We need to do this tonight or tomorrow morning. (Start the planning phase)
>We still have a lot of things that we know too little about. We'll act tomorrow afternoon or night, just before or during the wedding ceremony. (Continue preparing for the coup)
>We don't have enough time to prepare properly before the wedding. I guess we'll have to act after they're done with it. (Continue preparing for the coup)

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>Who are we?
Maka, an exiled noble Exalted as a Zenith-caste Solar. Queen of Gem, now ruling the western island of Tianna. You have gathered a vast amount of allies and friends, and defeated every threat to Tianna up to now, though not without difficulty.
You recently discovered that Tianna is actually an artificial island, built around a First Age Titan: an almighty flying fortress. Your forces have crushed the Bodhisattva Anointed by Dark Water, a Deathlord who tried to usurp its power for himself.
And now, on the day of your wedding, the Unconquered Sun Himself appeared to you and crowned you Princess of Creation, asking you to be an example for others in these dark times.
After securing the alliance of the nearby realm of Neck (or Okeanos, as they prefer to be called), you received news from your remote homeland of Gem: Rankar, the man who usurped your throne, holds your father and sister prisoner, and is about to marry her to his own son in an attempt to solidify and legitimize his power over the city.

>Solar? Zenith? I don't know Exalted...
This quest is as newbie-friendly as possible, and I want it to work as a newbie's intro to Exalted. If you have ANY question, ask in thread. For the setting, google "1d4chan exalted".

>Archive?
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Solar%20Quest
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Solar%2C+Quest

>System?
Dicepool-like system. When performing an action, everyone rolls 2d10 when posting. The first X rolls are considered, where X is equal to attribute + ability.

>XP?
Attributes cost [current score x5] xp. Abilities cost [current score x3] xp, except Zenith costing [(current score x3) -1]. Charms cost 10 xp, except for Zenith-based charms (related to charisma and physical/mental fortitude) which cost 8 xp. At the end of every "session" (thread) you will be presented with a list of possible acquisitions.

>Twitter?
@exaltedfag

>Any questions?
http://ask.fm/Exaltedfag

New System Info: http://pastebin.com/pvAZpsJ6
Characters info (player-made): http://pastebin.com/5WnD47jp
Quest in ebook format (player-made): https://www.dropbox.com/s/0wl5obxcwuakgdj/Exalted%20Quest%20-%20Threads%2001-101%20%5Bpdf%5D.rar?dl=0
Meanwhiles: http://pastebin.com/u/Exaltedfag

Glad to see you back EF.

>We still have a lot of things that we know too little about. We'll act tomorrow afternoon or night, just before or during the wedding ceremony. (Continue preparing for the coup)

I can't resist having this clusterfuck during a wedding.

>We still have a lot of things that we know too little about. We'll act tomorrow afternoon or night, just before or during the wedding ceremony. (Continue preparing for the coup)

Preferably the afternoon before the wedding.

>>600899
>We still have a lot of things that we know too little about. We'll act tomorrow afternoon or night, just before or during the wedding ceremony. (Continue preparing for the coup)
Of course we have to do it during the wedding, that's like a rule.

Nice to have you back EF, I hope everything's alright. You misspelled Pool and Transcendent in the new charm on the sheet.

>>600899
>>We still have a lot of things that we know too little about. We'll act tomorrow afternoon or night, just before or during the wedding ceremony. (Continue preparing for the coup)

>>600899
>>We can't wait for the wedding tomorrow night before acting. Security will be at its tightest then, and there'll be all sorts of guests. We need to do this tonight or tomorrow morning. (Start the planning phase)

>>600899
>We can't wait for the wedding tomorrow night before acting. Security will be at its tightest then, and there'll be all sorts of guests. We need to do this tonight or tomorrow morning. (Start the planning phase)
We know enough, let's get off namek.

>>600899
>We still have a lot of things that we know too little about. We'll act tomorrow afternoon or night, just before or during the wedding ceremony. (Continue preparing for the coup)
I want to have Starfall do some extra spying and see what she can find out about Rankar's secret threat before we go blazing into there.

Plus, we can't miss the opportunity to break up the wedding with a dramatic 'I OBJECT!' Hell, I'm pretty sure that missing dramatic opportunities like that is literally a warcrime.

You guys, we still haven't actually scouted the most important things here. We don't have time any more to waste worrying over secondary objectives. We don't even know if our sister objects to the wedding or not, for example.

>>600945
>Nice to have you back EF, I hope everything's alright. You misspelled Pool and Transcendent in the new charm on the sheet.

Oh snap. Thank you. Fixed.

>>600899
>>We still have a lot of things that we know too little about. We'll act tomorrow afternoon or night, just before or during the wedding ceremony. (Continue preparing for the coup)

>>601017
That's a good point.
Unfortunately, only Startfall is gonna be able to get in undetected the day OF the wedding.
So we send her in, while Tia and us get the last house on our side, and everyone else takes a look around the mines.

>>601033
Yes, it's a great point. I've been repeating it ever since we came to Gem, but obviously doing everything else is far more important.

>>601038
>but obviously doing everything else is far more important.
Well yes. Because we still need to depose Rankar even if sis and his son are legit in love.
Worse comes to worse, they can get married after that. That might be better even, since mom could be there if we find her.

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You scratch your chin thoughtfully. "...I think we should delay our attack on Rankar to the last possible moment. We should really try and secure as many advantages as we can before we act."

Karas rolls his eyes. "Just admit that you want to intervene at the last possible moment to look cool."

Tia glares at him. "What's bad about that?"

"...Nothing." He backs up. "So, what's your plan?"

>We need to do something about House Iblan to secure their non-interference in the coup.
>What Mikahil said about Trasti Gion worries me. We should look into it.
>I'm really worried about the disappearances in the mines. We should investigate it further, and find out where our "ghosts" in armor are coming from.
>Rekka, the Flying Blade, is still a problem. We need to find a way to make sure he's not going to oppose us when we start the coup.
>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.
>I'm really worried about the Realm representatives. They'll probably be present at the wedding. We should do something about them.
>(Other?)

Combined with:

>We should focus on doing only this thing today
>We should split up and try to get as many things done as possible.

>>601041
Sure, but our primary objective was always to save our family here. Even reclaiming Gem is secondary to that. We've done nothing to directly determine what kind of saving our family even need.

>>601047
>>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.
It's pretty much the most important thing we can do at this point. Everything else, like playing around making nice to Iblan, is way down the line on the scale of importance.

>>601052
>>601047
Oh, and if it wasn't clear, that's a vote for
>>We should focus on doing only this thing today

>>601047
>Realm representatives
Damn I forgot about them. Okay new plan.

>We should split up and try to get as many things done as possible.
>We need to do something about House Iblan to secure their non-interference in the coup.
Mikahil, and someone else if he wants it
>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.
Irene
>I'm really worried about the Realm representatives. They'll probably be present at the wedding. We should do something about them.
Us and Tia
>I'm really worried about the disappearances in the mines. We should investigate it further, and find out where our "ghosts" in armor are coming from.
Everyone else

>>601058
>>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.
>Irene
I meant Starfall
I always get their names confused in my head, but normally I sort it out before posting.

>>601065
Starfall isn't Maka, anon.

>>601070
So? I don't think we need to take care of this ourselves. Futhurmore, we SHOULDN'T because if we're recognized it could make things very unpleasant for members of our family.

>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.

There's a powergap between this and every other option.

>I'm really worried about the Realm representatives. They'll probably be present at the wedding. We should do something about them.
>We should split up and try to get as many things done as possible.

>>601047
>We should split up and try to get as many things done as possible.

I mean it's worked out so far.

>We need to do something about House Iblan to secure their non-interference in the coup.
Mikahil

EF what exactly does Iblan control again? They're the house that owns all the mines that aren't directly under the despots control correct?

>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.

Us, Tia, and Starfall.

>I'm really worried about the Realm representatives. They'll probably be present at the wedding. We should do something about them.

Zareen maybe? She's a dragonblooded so she could get closer to them than most.

Granted her skillset is shanking niggas and dancing but only starfall could really do much to them without outing everyone as Exalted.

>I'm really worried about the disappearances in the mines. We should investigate it further, and find out where our "ghosts" in armor are coming from.

Everyone else

>>601047

>>601058
>>601065
This seems like a solid course of action.

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>>600894
>finally back
>on the one day I get called in early
Damn it all. You better be here when I get back, man, I needs it.

>>601079
>I REALLY need to talk to them
Sending Starfall alone completely defeats the point. It's something we need to do. It's CRITICAL that Maka goes there.

>>601083
>Us, Tia, and Starfall.
Okay, let's lay aside the fact that I think us going to the palace before we're ready to start fucking shit up is a bad idea.
Why we, a non-stealth focused Exalt, try to infiltrate a place with Starfall, a stealth focused Exalt?

>>601089
All that needs to happen is they know what's going down. Who delivers that information is irrelevant

>>601079
>Futhurmore, we SHOULDN'T because if we're recognized it could make things very unpleasant for members of our family.
This is beyond retarded, by the way. Just put on a fucking mask, any mortal could do it. It's not like her tits resemble the ones she used to have while she was around here, if you're going in that direction.

>>601047
>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.
Let's start with this and then see if we have time left for anything else.

>>601095
>All that needs to happen is they know what's going down. Who delivers that information is irrelevant
No, the POINT of it is to have a CONVERSATION. We aren't going there to just tell them what's going on, we need to ask them for their input and plan the rest of the operation according to that.

If you're just randomly telling them shit, then there's no point. May as well say nothing, since it's not like anything will change by telling them first.

>>601083
>EF what exactly does Iblan control again? They're the house that owns all the mines that aren't directly under the despots control correct?

Correct.
Iblan deals in ores, mostly gold and silver, whereas all the gemstone mines belong to the Despot.

>>601097
Okay let me level with you.
Beyond any other reason, I want to send someone else to do it because I think it will be the most boring option to play out, and us going or Starfall going will make no difference.

>>601102
It will tell them to get their heads down when the time comes so they don't get killed. And that's all that matters because they will be no help in the actual fighting.

>>601083
To amend my idea for the Realm representatives

Zareen or Aexel, and Talon actually.

Try to lure the realm dudes away from the city with a hot tip about a dangerous Anathema (Talon) from Zareen or Aexel. Realm dudes go to check it out, find Talon, Talon runs and transforms himself to hide as a human or whatever.

>>601095
Well we aren't stealth focused, but we should be able to get in just fine with the right approach.

Say as a new and talented dancer for the heir apparent of house Sahlak? She found such a rare beauty that she wanted to have her perform as a gift to the despot on his sons wedding day.

>>601110
We'll be able to get in with the help of our team, we don't need to do it alone. Especially not when there's probably already rumors about us doing similar things as you just suggested.

>>601114
Oh I'm just using that as an example of a possible route of entry. Starfall is in the palace already as a new maid and she can guide us once we're in.

Maka is the dancer or whatever other cover we choose, and Tia is a harmless pet that sits on our shoulder or something.

>>601102
>>601102
Also, to add onto >>601109, what makes it so Starfall can't have a conversation? We trusted people to have conversations with the house heads and that worked out just fine. Have some faith in our team.

>>601100
Just wanted to add to this, I'm fine with having Starfall be our messenger for this.

>>601120
House heads aren't our family.

Nobody doubts the team, that's why they're off doing important shit while we're touching base with papa and lil' sis.

>>601120
Because they're OUR family, not hers. They need to see us in the flesh, not have random assurances from some suspicious stranger.

Besides that, you know perfectly well that Maka is besides herself about actually seeing them. She'd definitely try to.

>>601047
>We need to do something about House Iblan to secure their non-interference in the coup.
>Before the plan goes down, I REALLY need to be able to at least talk with dad and sis to explain and plan things out.
I don't mind a bunch of these other suggestions, but these are the two I care about most. If we have the time I'd like to do both, but we'll probably have to split up for it.

>>601117
Well if it's the day of the wedding then I would think there are a lot of hired help coming and going to help set upthe wedding so we could go in under disguise as one of those.

>>601127
>>601129
And we will have all the time in the world to to do that afterwards. Provided we have everything set up so it goes off without a hitch.

>>601138
Afterwards is too late. We need to talk to them now. We can't have everything set up so it goes perfectly if we don't factor in the center of the fucking issue.

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"There's a lot of stuff we need to do." You groan. "We need to settle things with the Iblans, find out more about the mines, make sure the Realm's satrap and his cronies don't cause a mess... but, most importantly, I'm worried about dad and sis."

Karas nods quietly. "You're right. But, do you think it's wise? We might end up alerting Rankar."

"I know, but... You're probably right, but still, I don't want to just... leave them in the dark." You sigh.

Mikahil shrugs. "I can try and see with house Iblan. It'll be coming out of left field, since the wedding is going to be tonight, but maybe I can buy some time from them. But I'm worried that they might be the house we have the least pull with. They're already filthy rich and have no real connection with your family." He scratches his chin. "Um... Lynne. Will you come with me? A shapeshifter might be useful here."

"You have a plan?" The small Lunar grins.

"I'll make things up as I go." The Eclipse replies nonchalantly.

Valeriana continues: "I'll look into the mines. I'm really curious to know more about this mystery."

You turn to Zareen and Aexel. "Can you try and look into the Realm emissaries? Maybe you can lure them out of the city with Talon's help?"

Zareen shakes her head. "I don't think they'll want to miss the wedding. It's the sort of important political event that would really cause a diplomatic incident if you blew it off. Still, I guess we can try and learn more about them.

"What are we going to do about dad and sis?" Karas wonders.

>We'll infiltrate the palace, with Radiant Starfall's help. I want to meet them in person.
>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans. It's best if the two of us steer clear of the palace.
>(other?)

>>601047
>>601058

>>601129
She'd also want to make sure that the deck is stacked as heavily in their favor as possible so that nothing goes wrong during a battle that could get them killed in the crossfire.

>>601141
>We'll infiltrate the palace, with Radiant Starfall's help. I want to meet them in person.

>>601140
We can factor them into it without even having to talk to them, people do that in the real world when making rescue operation all the fucking time.

>>601141
>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans. It's best if the two of us steer clear of the palace.

>We'll infiltrate the palace, with Radiant Starfall's help. I want to meet them in person.

>>601141
>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans. It's best if the two of us steer clear of the palace.
If the mine problem really is Alchemicals, Val's gonna need some help down there.

>>601149
>We can factor them into it without even having to talk to them, people do that in the real world when making rescue operation all the fucking time.
We can't, because we don't know how they're doing or what they even want in the first place.

>>601156
I repeat
>people do that in the real world when making rescue operation all the fucking time.

>>601158
And people contact the hostages if possible in real life too. Durrr. You're arguing for the inferior solution that needs to be settled for in real life sometimes, not the first one that's taken when possible.

>>601163
We're sending in Starfall to contact them. They're gonna be contacted. We're getting the information we need.
Meanwhile, Val may be walking alone into a horde of Alchemicals.

>>601166
Val shouldn't be going down there at all. It's a completely tertiary objective that has nothing to directly do with our family, the wedding, or reclaiming Gem. At least not today of all days.

>>601141
>>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans.

>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans. It's best if the two of us steer clear of the palace.

And I second the motion to not let Val go to the mines alone.

>>601141
>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans. It's best if the two of us steer clear of the palace.

>>601170
I'd say it's related to claiming Gem, but even if it isn't, she's decided to go down there, and sending her down alone is too dangerous. She has neither the Combat nor Social skills to get out of a hostile confrontation.
If you must send someone though, send Karas. He's family, and has a higher Damn skill than us meaning he's better equipped to ask the questions that need asking. Plus it would be easier for Starfall to hide one person than two.
That would leave Tia and Maka free to escort Val in case she gets jumped by an Alchemichal... do they have Circles or are theirs called something else?

>>600899
>>We can't wait for the wedding tomorrow night before acting. Security will be at its tightest then, and there'll be all sorts of guests. We need to do this tonight or tomorrow morning. (Start the planning phase)

>>601193
>I'd say it's related to claiming Gem,
More like related to keeping Gem after we reclaim it. That's very tangential and has almost nothing to do with the current situation.

>she's decided to go down there
Unless we tell her not to. This isn't rocket science.

>>601141
>>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans. It's best if the two of us steer clear of the palace.

>>601195
Welcome to the thread friend, please check to make sure the vote you're responding to is the latest one before posting.
Thank you.

>>601141
>I'll trust Radiant to bring them up to speed with our plans. It's best if the two of us steer clear of the palace.
The second that the royal twosome sets foot in the palace, of all fucking places, any chance of remaining under cover is fucked. We send Star in to talk to our father and sister on our behalf.

>>601206
I'll delete it if you want

Anyway about infiltrating the palace

Maka really stands out like a sore thumb and we REALLY do not want to get spotted before the coup is under way.

I don't see anything that we gain by going in person

>>601212
>any chance of remaining under cover is fucked
Unless they disguise themselves? We have sorcerers and stealth charm exalts with us here. This is an absurd argument.

>>601216
It's fine. If we were still on /tg/ I'd say do it, but threads rarely hit the bump limit on /qst/ anyway, so just be careful in the future.

>>601218
Maka is not good at Stealth. Look at what happened when we were supposed to be incognito at the whorehouse

also, other exalts will be present at the palace, along with sorcerors. they might not be solar strength but all we need is a bad roll or for them to get a good roll for the entire thing to fall apart

I could see if it was particularly vital that we needed to see them in person, but we don't really get anything talking to our family that we wouldn't already get from Radiant

>>601218
>We have sorcerers and stealth charm exalts with us here.
And do they have any spells or charms that can disguise others? Because thus far we've only seen charms which disguise themselves.

Just send in Starfall. Trust our allies enough to delegate appropriate tasks.

>>601218
>We have sorcerers and stealth charm exalts with us here.
We have no idea what spells and charms they have availabe, and hashing that out could take all day. It's a problem we should really fix when we get back to Tianna and we can gather all our Exalts together.
And when we do, we should suggest all our Solars learn Tireless Hero's Soul, and if it has an Abyssal Mirror, that our Abyssals learn that.

>>601226
>Look at what happened when we were supposed to be incognito at the whorehouse
She wasn't trying to be stealthy. She was going for the hide in plain sight approach. That's up to poster stupidity, not game mechanics failure.

>other exalts will be present at the palace
They don't have enough of them to keep them as door guards or for us to randomly stumble onto them.

>I could see if it was particularly vital that we needed to see them in person
The entire idea is one half that they need to see that it really is one of their kids come to save them, instead of some random stranger that they don't trust. Who knows what they'll tell Starfall if they think their chances are better just not taking the risk that she's lying.

And the other half is, Maka is dying to see her family. It's extremely out of character that she's been ignoring them for so long already when actually contacting them was never that hard.

>>601231
>hashing that out could take all day.
That's not an issue.

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You let out a deep sigh.

"...As much as I'd want nothing more than to meet them in person, let them know we're alright, and that everything will be okay... the palace is going to be crawling with guards. It's going to be tense. I think it's best if only Radiant Starfall goes to meet them."

Karas doesn't seem happy with this idea, but he doesn't say anything. He grits his teeth, and turns away. But Radiant voices some worries: "Will it really be alright, though? I mean, I'm essentially a stranger to them."

"Well, you should be able to persuade them that you're doing this on our behalf. You know me and Karas, anyway. And it'll be easier for you, to infiltrate the place without having to handle us as well."

"I... can't deny that." She smiles. "I'll try my best."

Karas turns to her. "Tell them that we're coming to save them. To stand tight and wait."

"I will, don't worry." She reassures him. "What will you three be doing in the meanwhile?"

>I and Tia will join Mikahil in checking out house Iblan and seeing if we can get them on our side.
>I and Tia will head back to the mines with Valeriana. We're already known there, and besides, it could be dangerous.
>I and Tia will help Zareen and Aexel with the people from the Realm. Maybe we can come up with something.
>I and Tia will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is.
>I and Tia will try and meet with Trasti Gion. He knows something, and I want to know it too.
>I and Tia will stay back and wait.
>I and Tia will do something else. (what?)

Combined with:

>Karas will join Mikahil in checking out house Iblan and seeing if you can get them on our side.
>Karas will head back to the mines with Valeriana, just in case something dangerous happens.
>Karas will help Zareen and Aexel with the people from the Realm. Maybe you can come up with something.
>Karas will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is.
>Karas will try and meet with Trasti Gion. He knows something, and I want to know it too.
>Karas will stay back and wait.
>Karas will do something else. (what?)

>>601239
>>I and Tia will do something else. (what?)
Tell Valeriana not to go into the tunnels today. Then help with house Iblan.

>>Karas will help Zareen and Aexel with the people from the Realm. Maybe you can come up with something.

>>601239
>I and Tia will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is
>Karas will head back to the mines with Valeriana, just in case something dangerous happens.

>>601239
>Karas will head back to the mines with Valeriana, just in case something dangerous happens.
>I and Tia will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is.
Val going somewhere possible-dangerous without a bodyguard is a recipe for tragedy, and if Rekka's really an unrivaled swordsman capable of fighting the exalted and winning, we really need to turn him into a known quantity.

>>601239
>I and Tia will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is.

>Karas will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is.

Karas seems rather wound up, we should probably keep him company to keep him from doing something rash.

Also Val doesn't go into the mines alone, have her go with mikahil to help sort out house iblan.

>>601239
Can we give radiant starfall a token, so our family know she was sent by us?

>>601239
>>I and Tia will head back to the mines with Valeriana. We're already known there, and besides, it could be dangerous.

>Karas will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is.
Try and get him to duel you, non-lethaly, see if he really is good enough to take on a dawn. If not, just try and get a feel for him.

>>601254
Actually no. On second thought that's stupid. I'll go with what everyone else is going with.

>>601239
>I and Tia will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is
>Karas will head back to the mines with Valeriana, just in case something dangerous happens.

>>601239
>Karas will try and meet with this Rekka fellow and see what his deal is.

I'm voting for this option purely because what we know of Rekka sounds like he would get along good with Karas. I have no idea if it would actually be a good use of his time. What do you guys think?


>I and Tia will join Mikahil in checking out house Iblan and seeing if we can get them on our side.

Hardest to convince house sounds like where our social charms would have the most use

I find it funny how the entire line of argument before was "we shouldn't expose ourselves" and now everyone suddenly wants Maka and Karas to dance out in the open in front of a celebrity, possibly even getting into a high profile duel.

>>601253
>Can we give radiant starfall a token, so our family know she was sent by us?

You still have some bits of jewelry that were yours back when you lived in the palace. If they recognize them, it would work.

>>601239
>>Karas will head back to the mines with Valeriana, just in case something dangerous happens.
I don't mind her going, it's not like she has anything vital to do otherwise, but she at least shouldn't go alone. I'm split on what Maka should do though.

>>601257
A celebrity that everyone knows by deeds, not by their mugshot.

>>601258
That doesn't seem very likely, but it can't hurt.

>>601258
I vote that we give her a hideable piece of jewlery then to help

>>601257
Karas managed to get close to him before without being noticed. If it turns out we can't, we'll abort and go do something else productive.

>>601267
>>601258
>>601264
also maybe a small note in our handwriting? Or would that be too much?

>>601257
A celebrity who hopefully isn't standing around in a well-guarded part of a palace where most people know our faces.

Go have a sandwich and a nap. You're getting way too mad.

>>601261
I think Maka should tag along with Karas desu, the dude seems like he's about to burst from his desire to just charge into the palace regardless of danger, chop rankar and his guards to chunks no matter who they are, and rescue our family regardless of collateral damage.

So uh, watch out for the Great Curse from Karas too, we aren't the only solar with it.

>>601272
The point is that we aren't that recognizable either. Especially not after the massive changes we went through. You realize that now, even use it as an argument, but it was inconvenient for you to acknowledge before.

>>601276
Rankar replaced everybody of importance and we don't look the way we used to, remember?

>>601280
No, my argument is that Rekkar, and the normal people on the street, are less likely to recognize us than people in the palace. Remember, we've been recognized already by the head of House Sahlak.

>>601297
Yeah, because of two things. One, we didn't actually go to any effort of disguising ourselves. Two, she's someone we've seen plenty of times before.

The people in the palace would never be an issue unless you planned to somehow go to the few that stayed AND flaunt who we are in front of them. And we'd need to go out of our way to do both of those things, first to find someone who remembers us, and second to rub our identity in their face.

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"Here's what we'll do." You point at Karas. "You go with Valeriana. If there's someone who can figure out the mystery of the mines, it's probably her, but it might be dangerous and you'll have to be her bodyguard."

"Fine." He grumbles. "It's probably just people getting lost in the caves."

"Unlikely." You roll your eyes. "Meanwhile I and Tia will try and see what Rekka's whole deal is."

"Be careful." Radiant Starfall mentions. "Everything I've heard about him is that he's a really amazing fencer, and that he's working for Rankar for some reason. It could get ugly."

"I'm always careful." You smile.

"And if he threatens Maka I'll rip his head off and beat him with it." Tia adds, helpfully.

You spend another few hours planning, resting, eating, and waiting in the safehouse. Eventually, someone knocks at your door. "Delivery." A nervous voice echoes from outside.

Karas slams the door open and grabs the delivery boy by the collar, dragging him inside. A large crate is in a wheelbarrow parked by the entrance.

Your overly-zealous (or maybe just on edge) brother lets the boy go when he realizes he's really just an errand-runner for Old Man Arbani, and he drags the box inside and cracks it open.

It contains a good assortment of rather anonymous weapons. Well, they bear the Arbani mark, but then again, more than half of all weapons in Gem do, and these are normal issues without any special or fancy details.

"A dozen straight swords, cutting swords and short swords each, six daggers, three belts of throwing knives, six firewands and three flamepieces with two boxes of firedust cartridges each." Karas sums it up. "Good quality weapons, but not so good that they'll draw attention."

"Alright. Suit up, just in case. Remember, we want to avoid getting in fights, and, if they happen anyway, we want to avoid people finding out that we're Exalted, or the Realm's gonna have a field day with us."

>Grab a weapon for yourself (what?)
>You don't need one.

>>601306
I'm done.
I've had fun bickering with you, but it's started to become tedious, and the point where this information is relevant has passed. Neither of us is convincing each other, which I never thought would happen, or, more importantly, anyone else to change their vote, so I'm stopping here.
You win, congratulations.

>>601320
>>You don't need one.
never have before

>>601320
>A firewand

We can't exactly ranged attack in our current state without spending essence, so grabbing one of these just in case is a good idea.

>>601320
>>You don't need one.

>>601322
Learning to think things through is always relevant.

>>601320
>>Grab a weapon for yourself
I forget, are the firewands or flamepeices the pistols?
Either way, grab one of them so we have a hand free for punch while still being able to set people on fire.

>>601333
I do think things through, I just reach different conclusions than you.

>>601320
>Grab a weapon for yourself (what?)
A cutting sword and a flame piece. Most Southern warriors come from cavalry cultures, so pistol-and-sabre will blend in literally anywhere.

>>601320
>>Grab a firewand for yourself

>>601335
>I do think things through, I just reach different conclusions than you.
You actually don't. You admitted yourself that you were metagaming because you thought the smart choice was boring as hell, or something to that effect.

>>601347
ChKwmast, please stop shitposting.

>>601347
You do realize that aiming for maximum fun rather than maximum success is a valid use of thinking carefully to maximize a parameter? It's just maxing a different parameter.

>>601335
Flamepieces are pistol-sized. Firewands are rifle-sized.

>>601320
>Grab a weapon for yoursel (your cleavage)
>Grab an accessory (a short sword and a dagger)
We all know what Maka's expertise is.

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>>601335
>>Grab a weapon for yourself (what?)
Just looked it up, it's the flame peice.
Also, since we're not going for a more warrior-esque look, we should change outfits. If we're still going to be punching people I say 12, if we're going for sword-and-gun then we should go with 11 since it's the only other armory outfit we have right now.

>>601356
In that case, I meant flamepieces up here.
>>601330

>>601354
We should be aiming for maximum in-universe sense, not maximum success or maximum fun.

>>601361
Sure I'll second 12

>>601361
>since we're not going for a more warrior-esque look
since we ARE going for
wow that was a big typo.
Also I guess 19 technically counts as armor.

>>601361
Mmm... Yeah, i could go with 12.

>>601320
>>Grab a weapon for yourself (what?)
Flame piece or fire wand, preferably the former so we don't have to drop our weapon for melee
Our fists are all we need for close combat
>>601361
12

>>601320
>Grab a weapon for yourself (what?)
Just a Firewand for handheld point and shooty

>>601383
Flamepiece is the small one

My preference is 11, but 12 is also good. Let's go with that.

>>601320
Do we have any weapon specialities? I've forgotten if we have training in anything besides hand to hand

>>601385
>>601320
Yeah I saw that post like, a second after I posted.
Flamepiece is the one.

>>601361
I like 11, but 12 is fine too.

Does anyone know the range of a Flame Piece off the top of their heads?
The place I looked up which one was the pistol and which was the rifle has the range for the Fire Wand, but not the Flame Piece.

>>601397
I think it's a few meters, not that long

>>601390
No, we've focused mainly on social, so we haven't diversified our martial much.
Maybe we'll pick up that one martial art that focuses on fire wands and flame pieces after this. Give us some options.

>>601390
Nope, just brawling, really.

>>601397
In 2e, the maximum range of a mundane flame piece was 8m, with a firewand instead allowing for 10m.

They're ranged, but in the way that most videogame shotguns are 'ranged.'

>>601390
Technically we're proficient with basically any weapon with our Dawn 4, but in story Maka has mentioned she received some training with swording.

>>601397
Core says max distance is about 8 yards

>>601403
That seems horribly over specialized when we can punch most things to death.

Enemies in our tier won't blink twice at a flamepiece

>>601403
The martial art that focuses on flame weapons is a terrestrial one. And flame pieces don't give us much more range than we already have anyway.

If we want ranged options we should go for Archery or learn sorcery.

>>601409
>That seems horribly over specialist when we can shoot most things to death.

>Enemies in our tier won't blink twice at a fist.

Charms matter. Charms for a decent ranged weapon wouldn't hurt, and flame weapons are the iconic weapon of the South.

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Before leaving, you grab a flamepiece and a box of paper cartidges from the crate.

Karas gives you a second glance. "Are you sure you know how to use that?"

"What, you don't trust me?" You grin, spinning the flamepiece around your finger.

He recoils. "For example, NEVER do that."

"It's not loaded."

"Rule one of firearm safety: it's always loaded."

"I'll be careful with it. It's just to give me a way to hit things at some range in case I need it. In any case, if I put up my charms, I could probably shoot myself in the face with this and not feel it."

"Still not a good reason to do it." He seems genuinely worried, and tosses you a slashing sword from the box.

You grab it in mid-air and look at it, a bit puzzled.

He shrugs. "Rekka is a swordsman. Maybe it'll be better if you have a sword with you too. You never know." For himself, he's grabbing a pair of long, straight swords.

Bit by bit, your circle moves out, each with its own mission. Tia takes a while to make up her mind before grabbing a straight sword for herself, too. "This is going to break after the first hit."

"Don't hit so hard, then."

"Where's the fun in that?" She replies, missing the point entirely, as you change your outfit to something more appropriate and add the included holster belt to it.

"Let's go."

You and Tia move out as well. It's late night, but the city never sleeps.

Well, to be more accurate, it sleeps in turns, but the cool, fresh nigh time is the ideal time of the day to be up and about for some people, so the streets are fairly crowded.

From what you know, Rekka stands guard at the palace's entrance, but, of course, he's going to need to sleep sometime, right? You're not sure if he's around right now or not.

The area around the palace is the "in" place to be in Gem. Security there is very tight. You probably wouldn't cause suspicion just by walking there (considering you've got nice clothes and don't look like a hobo, anyway), but still, something that you need to keep in mind.

>Best to start by asking some questions around first.
>Move discreetly close to the palace, see if you can spot Rekka.
>Confidently move up to the palace doors, see if you bump into him.
>(Other?)

>>601409
It was just a suggestion. I don't remember what that style does, so I don't remember how useful it is.

>>601420
Archery charms, for a solar, are far stronger than the entire golden exhalation style or whatever it was named.

>>601409
>>601418
Righteous Devil Style is a Celestial MA, jsut like Solar her.

>>601421
>Ask around first

More information never hurts

>>601422
You have to remember this is a different system. And we've never needed a ranged weapon, or a weapon in general before.

I think we're fine especially with our awesome smash fists and boots

>>601427
Any martial art, excepting solar hero, that isn't a sidereal art is still theoretically outclassed by native solar charms.

>Best to start by asking some questions around first.

>>601421
>Best to start by asking some questions around first.
I'm sure he's had more than one fan come around asking about him, for either his autograph or a challenge.

>>601421
>Best to start by asking some questions around first.
>>601418
>>601424
Remember, Terrestrials aren't as weak compared to Celestial in EFs system. Not sayin I'm still 100% for it, just something to think about.

>>601418
>>601424
>golden exhalation style or whatever
>The martial art that focuses on flame weapons is a terrestrial one.
Righteous Devil Style is Celestial, Golden Exhalation is Terrestrial. There are two different styles that focus on flame weapons. And we don't know what either of them look like power-wise in EF's system.

>>601421
>>Best to start by asking some questions around first.

>>601434
>Any martial art, excepting solar hero, that isn't a sidereal art is still theoretically outclassed by native solar charms.
Sure, in unmodified 2e.

Which this isn't.

>>601443
I personally think it's still a waste of tie and exp

>>601439
It's still a conceptual difference. Terrestrial arts should still be worse than celestial arts as a rule, just as celestial arts should still be worse than than sidereal ones with certain exceptions. An exception would be a solar using solar hero style.

Just using basic melee or archery charms is going to be just as effective in the long run, if perhaps giving us a different set of quirks. And it's simpler to learn.

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>>601438
>I'm sure he's had more than one fan come around asking about him, for either his autograph or a challenge.

As far as you know, this is fairly common, not just for Rekka, but in general for all famous legendary fighters around Creation.

(This is your flamepiece.)

>>601455
*time
bugger

>>601421
>Best to start by asking some questions around first.
Play up being a warrior-fangirl.

>>601443
Well I think EF once said Solar Hero and Golden Jannisary are basically the same charm tree but with different power levels, so I imagine it would be the same with those two.

>>601421
>Can we confidently walk past the palace doors, to see if we can spot him as we're walking by, but not be super awkward if he's not there and we need to turn around?

>>601434
In Core maybe, but here with the quest's more simplified system we have more equality and more reason to look into variety than power.

I'm really just saying all this, I wouldn't want to go deep into another MA when we can focus on SHS. Especially since we would need an actual teacher to learn those charms, at most I'd want just a dice adder, but that's really just extra stuff.

>>601449
Changing how those stack up would be playing with very basic setting concepts. We have no reason to believe all martial arts are magically equal, any more than we have to believe that the difference isn't even more stark. So, yeah, your argument isn't really arguing in favor of anything.

>>601457
Plus we've never really needed anything better. And we're only getting stronger

>>601457
>should
>should
How about you stop making assumptions until we've actually gotten to see some MA charms to compare against? We have very nearly zero information on how EF is handling MA charm design.

>>601421
Brown girls are good, but brown Tia is....cute, but because it's Tia trying to fit in

>>601461
I loved these old pistols, they were so cool.

>>601461
We should put a Conquistador helmet on and ride horse Tia into battle.

>>601483
That is my point, yes. Solars are so awesome in-setting that there is rarely reason for them to go outside of their own stuff. They exemplify the perfection of the sun. That's not going to change.

>>601484
It's reasonable to make assumptions until you are given a reason to believe things are different. So far everything has been close enough to exalted 2nd ed, so I don't see any reason to stop.

Unless you have some sort of concrete citation to offer on the matter. I could have forgotten about something.

>>601481
EF has explicitly said that the difference between Celestials and Terrestrials is less extreme than in standard Exalted, and so is the difference between Solars and non-Solar Celestials.

>>601461
EF, could you give us some information about power levels/utility of martial arts compared to Solar charms, so that we can stop shitposting our assumptions at each other? I'm sure this must be annoying to you too.

>>601506
That's not changing how they stack up, merely pulling them a bit closer to one another. The concept behind it remains the same.

>>601461
What are the stats like on the flame piece?

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All around the Palace you can find an area of the city dominated by high-class villas, embassies, a few select shops and workshops (like gemcutters and jewelers)... generally the cream of Gem's citizenry.

Seems like security today in this sector is handled by the Crimson Devils. You know a bit about this mercenary unit: light infantry and cavalry, and one of the best-equipped Gem's Mercenary Market can offer, each of them suited with a well-fitted chain mail vest, two flamepieces and a firewand, as well as sword and shield or long spear. They proudly wear their black-and-red colors on scarves and cloaks, and patrol around in large groups.

None of them, fortunately, seems to pay overly much attention to you and Tia, who are free to wander around asking a few innocent questions to passerbys.

It seems Rekka is a common subject of conversation around these parts, fortunately. By asking and overhearing a bit, you learn a few important facts over the next couple of hours. (Of course, you have no way to know if any of these rumors are true.)

Rekka usually stands guard in front of the gates of the palace at night, from one to about four AM. It's probably more for Rankar to show him off than to be a real deterrent, especially because there's also a large contingent of mercenary troops standing guard with him.

Once his turn is over, he'll have free time. He sometimes spends that time downtown, visiting dojos and MA schools, and other times just returns to the palace.

He's a guest inside the palace, and according to some of the palace servants (you catch a few of them off-duty), he sleeps and eats there.

There are a multitude of theories on why he chose to work for Rankar despite his status as, essentially, a sword-saint that isn't supposed to interest himself in worldly affairs. In no particular order:

Rekka has found the true love of his life in Rankar's nephew (the daughter of his younger sister), and has agreed to be his bodyguard in exchange for her hand.

Rankar knows a dark secret that Rekka doesn't want known. He's blackmailing him to serve as a bodyguard.

Rankar is in possession of an ancient scroll detailing a new martial art style, and Rekka is willing to work in exchange for being granted the ability to study it.

Rekka is trying to earn money to save the orphanage he grew up in from being demolished.

Rekka is pretending to work for Rankar in order to get close to him. He's secretly planning to murder him.

Your sense of time tells you that it's half past three AM. If you want to catch Rekka on the job, you should move quickly. But if you want to wait for his turn to be over, you should wait.

>Head to the palace gates now.
>Wait and see if something happens.
>Keep asking around for information.
>(Other?)

>>601547
>>Head to the palace gates now.

>>601547
>Wait and see if something happens.
Getting him on his way downtown would be ideal, so we wouldn't have to deal with whatever school he visits if our conversation devolved into a fight.

>>601547
>>Wait and see if something happens.

>>601547
>>Wait and see if something happens.
Catch him as he goes off duty.

>>601547

>Head to the palace gates now

but wait until he's off to approach him

>>601547
>Wait and see if something happens.
Might as well catch him when he has free time and he'll be more likely to accept a challenge from us.

>sword-saint
That's a cool title, it needs to come with gold armor.

>>601560
>>601559
>>601557
I think we should be near the palace for this.

There's like, a 50 percent chance that he won't actually head downtown and will instead retire after his shift ends. We need to be able to catch him before he enters the palace if we want to talk to him if that's the case

>>601569
true, I'll support your vote of
>Head to the palace gates now but wait until he's off to approach him

>>601569
Fair enough, but just loitering outside of the gates in the early morning would be suspicious as fuck.

>>601577
Well remember most of Gem is out at night, early morning is probably where traffic starts to drop off but is still present

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>>601524
>What are the stats like on the flame piece?

+2 damage, and about 10 meters of range.

>>601510
>EF, could you give us some information about power levels/utility of martial arts compared to Solar charms, so that we can stop shitposting our assumptions at each other? I'm sure this must be annoying to you too.

It is.

Terrestrial MA are of course less powerful/versatile/useful than Celestial, and Celestial less than Sidereal, but there isn't as big a gap as you would believe, or as there is in the tabletop RPG. Being a TMA user and fighting a CMA user doesn't automatically give you an insurmountable disadvantage in power.

The big difference is versatility and impact on the world, not size of dice pool / hitting power.

Let me use a stupid, simplified example.
In the tabletop game, a TMA would let you punch a rock in half, and it would have mostly effects that are purely physical and practical (punch harder, be stronger, etc). A CMA would let you punch a boulder in half, and it would have some pretty advanced supernatural effects (your fist has a snake's poison, you can melt in a shadow, etc). and a SMA would let you punch a mountain in half and do crazy things like stepping outside of time or kicking someone's heart out of his chest without killing him.

In my Quest, the "versatility" part is unchanged. TMA is still practical effects, CMA is still crazy weird metaphysical shit, and SMA is still ZA WARUDO or similar complete bullshit.

However, all three of them are ABOUT on the same level on the rock-boulder-mountain punching level. Maybe SMA will let you punch a slightly bigger hole than TMA, but not by an order of magnitude bigger.

This is because I want everyone to have a shot at doing things. I don't want a situation where a heroic guy has NO CHANCE AT ALL to beat another guy just because the guy is one tier above him.

I want it to be hard as fuck but there IS a chance. He's not just outclassed.

So, what higher tiers have is that they're more versatile and have more weird bullshit effects up their sleeves, but they don't vastly outstrip lower tiers in raw combat power.

Does that make sense?

>>601581
Right but the palace guard is unlikely to overlook people when Rankar is blowing cash to cover his bases. I'm just saying we should hang near the gates but not just stand across the street waiting for Rekka to clock out.

>>601569
If he does it's not the end of the world. We can go investigate Trasti Gion or something.

>>601598
it would mean we just wasted a couple of hours though, and we're on a tight schedule

>>601592
And compared to native solar charm trees? Is there any reason to take a (non-solar hero) martial arts style when doing so is a lot less trivial than archery/melee, and archery/melee charms are already great and on a very high level as inherently solar charms?

>>601601
That sounds like an Ask question to me anon.

>>601604
It was until EF started talking about it in the thread.

>>601613
Don't get me wrong, i'm interested too.

But learning about other celestial martial arts is kinda irrelevant to what we're doing in the thread and it's eating up time that EF could be using to write more posts about what we're doing.

Plus we don't have a Sifu to learn other CMA, and we don't have a stock of xp to buy charms in any CMA trees.

So in the interest of shelving an interesting but irrelevant topic to what we're trying to achieve i'm saying it should be sent via Ask.

>>601601
>And compared to native solar charm trees? Is there any reason to take a (non-solar hero) martial arts style when doing so is a lot less trivial than archery/melee, and archery/melee charms are already great and on a very high level as inherently solar charms?

Proper martial arts have some of those "weird bullshit tricks" I mentioned that are impossible to access from your core charms.

First idea off the top of my head is Snake Style having a charm that makes your fists carry Essence "poison" that inflict aggravated damage, which is something you can't do "normally" as a Solar with base charms.

>>601620
Yes, but he already made a big post on the matter. He may as well cover the entire topic, seeing how he already did about 80% of it.

>>601623
Mmm, so the idea I'm getting is that we should probably stick to archery charms, but maybe OOC ask you to do a subtle demonstration of a ranged-weapon based celestial martial art if you feel like it, so that we can see what it's like in your system.

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You make your way to the palace gates and keep discreetly.

They're more or less how you remembered them, but... yeah, pretty crowded. You count at least thirty Crimson Devils on watch, and about as many that, if an alarm of some kind is raised, could intervene quickly.

There, in the middle of the gate, standing still, eyes closed, seemingly assorted in some kind of meditation, you finally see the legendary Rekka, the Flying Blade.

You lie in wait.

About half a hour passes. He doesn't move much in all that time. You have to wonder what he's thinking about, if anything. He opens his eyes at times, following some random passerby or soldier moving near the gates. His glare is quite piercing.

One time, you're pretty sure he stared right at you, but you can't be absolutely sure about that. It might have been Tia, or someone else near you.

At 4 AM, on the clock, he turns to the soldiers standing with him, exchanges a few words, then steps away from the entrance and heads out, into the city.

>Walk up to him.
>Follow him discreetly.
>Remain by the gate and wait.
>(Other?)

>>601645
>Walk up to him.
As fun as three hours of 'he walks around, buys some street food, and watches a sparring match at a local dojo' might be, I'm betting we'll learn a lot more and a lot faster by talking to him.

>>601645
>>Walk up to him.

>>601645
>>Walk up to him.

>>601645
>>Walk up to him.
Play the admiring aspirant swordswoman?

>>601645
>>Walk up to him.

>>601645
>Walk up to him.
Walk casual. But don't look like you're trying to walk casual.
Also, is it possible for someone to Exalt without knowing it? Because that's the impression I'm starting to get from this guy.

>>601662
>Walk casual. But don't look like you're trying to walk casual.
Wait no, that's not how that quote goes damn it.
I have brought shame upon my family.

>>601662
>Also, is it possible for someone to Exalt without knowing it?
withs solars there is the chance of thinking Sols voice to be a dellusion of some kind, others no chance.

You approach him, trying to look harmless.

"Hi, I'm-" You start, but he cuts you short.

"You were staring at me, back at the gate." He says, perfectly calm. "Do you want anything from me?"

>How could you tell?
>I want to fight you.
>I want to know why you work for Rankar.
>I want you to leave Gem.
>I want you to stand aside and do nothing until tomorrow.
>Do you recognize me?
>I'm Maka, Princess of Gem. I'm here to reclaim my father's throne. Will you aid me or oppose me?
>(Other?)

>>601677
>I want to know why you work for Rankar

>>601677
>>How could you tell?
>I want to know why you work for Rankar.
We need to know SOMETHING concrete about him before we can manipulate him.

>>601677
>I want to fight you.
>I want to know why you work for Rankar.
Winning isn't that important here, but I want to get him in the mindset that were just a martial artist/fangirl wondering why he changed his mind after so long.

>>601677
>>How could you tell?
>I want to know why you work for Rankar.

>>601677
>I want to fight you.
>I want to know why you work for Rankar.

Argh! I'm finally in the proper time zone to catch the beginning of a Quest, but my reception was too poor to post until now. Glad to have you and Maka back, EF.

"Oh, mister Rekka- I wanted to just ask- well, I was wondering why- Oh, first of all, it's a real blessing to be able to finally meet you!" You grab and forcibly shake his hand, trying to play up the role of a wandering martial artist with a serious case of fangirl for him.

If Karas was in your place, he wouldn't even need to pretend, you think.

He politely shakes your hand, but seems fairly suspicious of you.

"I must say, your senses are really sharp. Did you manage to notice me at that distance?"

"...yes." He stares for a second at the palm of his hand before relaxing. "What do you want?"

"I was just wondering why a sword saint of your magnitude ended up agreeing to work for Rankar, if I may ask." You lower your tone of voice. "There's some fairly nasty rumors going around, and I was afraid that they might be damaging your reputation, you see."

"I don't WORK for him." He replies, sounding a bit offended. "This is... a trade of favors. In any case, I don't see how this is any of your business, miss...?"

>Maka.
>(make up a name?)

Combined with:

>Try and fast-talk him. (s+z)
>Try and persuade him. (s+z)
>Try and seduce him. (s+z)
>Try and intimidate him. (s+z)
>Try and sweet-talk him. (s+z)
>Change the subject, ask him something else (what?).
>Challenge him. (p+d)
>Say goodbye, leave.
>(Other?)

>>601773
>(make up a name?)
>Makaroni
>Try and fast-talk him. (s+z)

Rolled 9, 5 = 14 (2d10)

>>601773
>Amata
>Try and fast-talk him. (s+z)
Wife we need your name

Also activate JET

Rolled 8, 8 = 16 (2d10)

>>601773
>Makaria
>Try and persuade him. (s+z)
Time for a good old solar diplomacy

Rolled 4, 8 = 12 (2d20)

>>601773
>>Try and fast-talk him. (s+z)
>(make up a name?) Amata

Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d10)

>>601773
>(make up a name?)
Something that stays ways from out name
>>601789
>Amata
That works
>Try and sweet-talk him. (s+z)
That plays into the fangirl image we're trying to put forth.
And we have enough personal essence to commit TGP and JET.

>>601789
>>601797
If you are not good at disguises try and use fake names that have the same starting syllable it makes it easier to react to your fake name and makes the reactions more natural.

Rolled 6, 6 = 12 (2d10)

>>601773
>>Try and fast-talk him. (s+z)
>(make up a name?)
Amata works

Rolled 8, 9 = 17 (2d10)

>>601773
>(make up a name?)

Seconding Amata

>Try and fast-talk him. (s+z)

Also commit JET and hit him with a TTtH from personal burn essence.

Play up the energetic fangirl martial artist angle.

>>601805
Let's hold back on TttH until we're sure we need it, if at all.

>>601805
>Play up the energetic fangirl martial artist angle.
That would be sweet-talking, not fast-talking.

>>601799
I'll vote against activating TGP if it's an obvious charm, otherwise i'm all for it.

Guys, as funny as these names are, let's steal one that doesn't relate to our name or is linked to us in a headline breaking manner.

Also, let's challenge him. Seems like a good way to build a decent amount of respect before pressuring for info.

>>601812
Well we've got personal burn to spare and it recharges quick, there's no real reason we can't use a TTtH to get our foot in the door.

Rolled 5, 7 = 12 (2d10)

>>601773
>(make up a name?)
>>601792
I like Makaria, it's close enough that if someone fucks up we can play Maka off as a nickname
Try and sweet-talk him. (s+z)

Rolled 10, 9 = 19 (2d10)

>>601773
>Amata
>Try and persuade him. (s+z)

>>601825
But isn't TTtH a "anti-lie" maneuver on ourself? Only works when we're being honest?

>>601814
If it's from our personal pool, we're fine. And we're untapped right now.

Rolled 5, 7 = 12 (2d10)

>>601773

>>601840
Well what i'm concerned about with TGP isn't the cost, since I know we've got essence to spare on that front.

I'm concerned about TGP having some kind of outward essence feeling to it that clues someone on the receiving end that they're getting influenced by magic. If it just makes us more charismatic without some magical aura of solar authority then i'm all for it. I just don't want to tip our hand about being a solar through an easily avoidable snafu.

>>601838
TTtH is a "Nobody misunderstands me" maneuver. It ensures that there are no miscommunications in what we're trying to say to someone.

If what we're trying to say is a lie then we perfectly communicate the lie.

Or at least that's what EF's descriptions in the past have be believing.

>>601863
Aright, cool. Hopefully it works like you say. :)

On the subject of staying on the down low, if we ever do end up fighting him, let's fight down to a more typical mortal level, Phys 3 Dawn 3, if we're capable of it. That'd say "wow, this fan is surprisingly serious about it and actually kinda good" not "Really, one day before the wedding someone who punches like a solar shows up?"

File: Status.jpg (97 KB, 414x416)

97 KB JPG

"Amata." You say the first name that crosses your mind, and fortunately Tia seems to miss it or at least doesn't outright react to it. "I'm a big fan."

"I guess you are." He replies, rather unimpressed. "Would you mind? I have things to do."

As he keeps pushing on, you follow him, and keep talking.

[JUDGE'S EAR TECHNIQUE]

[s+z=9 5 8 8 4 8 3 2 6 6 8 9 = 6 successes]

"Where are you going? Does it have anything to do with Rankar?"

"...no, it's my own business."

"He's not blackmailing you or anything, right?"

"He's not." He growls, slowly getting more and more annoyed by your insistence.

"But then, why? I'm sure a lot of people are wondering-"

"He has something that I want." He snaps back at you. "No other reason. Now, unless you have anything important to say, leave me alone. Please."

He turns his back to you and walks away at a brisk pace. He evidently doesn't wish to discuss the subject any more.

>Let him go.
>Follow him discreetly. (p+n)
>Follow him, keep annoying him.
>Attack him by surprise. (p+d)
>Challenge him. (p+d)
>Say something else before he leaves (what?)
>(Other?)

File: sun.png (114 KB, 1600x1622)

114 KB PNG

(I didn't use Talking to the Heart here because that works only when you're actually saying something meaningful. It gets a message through. Here, you're not really trying to get a message through, you're just fast-talking him. There's really no content to the conversation from your side.)

Rolled 8, 8 = 16 (2d10)

>>601913
>>Challenge him. (p+d)
Commit a single level of AoDJ, we can't afford to be injured when go to stop the wedding.

>>601913
>>Challenge him,
Play down your skill to Phys 3 Dawn 3. Don't want to come across too strong.

Rolled 4, 3 = 7 (2d10)

>>601913
>>Let him go.
I really don't see a point to fight him.

Rolled 5, 9 = 14 (2d10)

>>601913
>Challenge him. (p+d)
I'll also support >>601932. >>601938 to, but only if we have more than 6 success.
>>601944
If we do well enough he might actually talk to us. Then we can learn what it is he wants from Rankar and mabye get his support.

Rolled 1, 1 = 2 (2d10)

>>601913
>>Challenge him. (p+d)

>>601932
Voting no to AoDJ only because he'll be rather curious about how his sword or whatever bounced off our skin like it was steel.

>>601932
We don't really need charms for that, just challenge him with say, first to hit wins. Even if we lose a box we can heal that fine in less single day and I want to suspicious magical stuff like rock hard skin.

>>601970
Yeah, gotta vote no on AoDJ

Rolled 1, 9 = 10 (2d10)

>>601913
More dice.

>>602003
We're done actually, we only have 8 base fighty dice and we aren't using SHS for more dice.

"One last thing, if I may!" You call out at him before he turns the corner and leaves.

He turns, exasperated. "What?"

With a smirk, you dramatically draw your sword, and point it at him.

"You can't be-" The word "serious" dies in his mouth, as his expression slowly changes.

The chatter in the street dies down, apart for some distant voices calling out "A DUEL! A DUEL" and "SOME CHICK JUST CHALLENGED REKKA!", summoning more onlookers to the scene.

Tia takes one cautious step closer to you, but you whisper to her: "It's alright, let me do this. Don't interfere, okay?", and she steps back in response with one silent nod.

Rekka drops into a guard stance, slowly, hand hovering over his sheathed blade. "I can't promise that you won't get hurt. Is there anything I can do to make you step down?"

"Tell me why you're working with Rankar."

"It's none of your business." He calmly replies. "And It's not something I wish to discuss."

"Then, there's nothing else to say." You conclude, lifting your sword in a high guard.

He sighs. "I'll go easy on you."

You face each other for a few interminably long seconds. The background noise vanishes.

[p+d= 8 8 4 3 5 9 1 1 1 = 3 successes]

(+1 extra dice because your sword is +1 accuracy and +1 damage)

He leaps. The space between you vanishes in the blink of an eye, and your swords clash, showering the shaded, crowded avenue with an explosion of brilliant sparks.

The spectators gasp in awe.

You recoil from the blow and leap back, putting some more distance between you and him.

His sword is no ordinary blade, of course. You've seen the gleam of red and white Jade in its light - and the edge of your own slashing sword now has a small but distinct dent where your weapons met each other.

He's going quite easy on you, but at the same time, he's trying to figure out your skill. He's fighting very defensively, testing you.

>Stay defensive as well. You want to learn more about his skill about as much as he wants to learn about yours. (p+d)
>Move to the attack. Fight him in a straightforward way. (p+d)
>Fight with trickery. Feint, and kick up some dust, then get in close and personal. (p+d)
>Let him defeat you, but put up a convincing show. (p+d)
>Step back, explaining that you just wanted the honor to cross blades once with him.
>Fight with everything you've got, short of using peripheral essence. (p+d)
>(Other?)

>>602042
>>Stay defensive as well. You want to learn more about his skill about as much as he wants to learn about yours. (p+d)

Rolled 1, 5 = 6 (2d10)

Also my dice

Rolled 4, 5 = 9 (2d10)

>>602042
>>Fight with everything you've got, short of using peripheral essence. (p+d)
The better we do, the more likely he is to open up to us.

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>602042
>Stay defensive as well. You want to learn more about his skill about as much as he wants to learn about yours. (p+d)

Rolled 10, 8 = 18 (2d10)

>>602042
>Stay defensive as well. You want to learn more about his skill about as much as he wants to learn about yours. (p+d)

Rolled 3, 9 = 12 (2d10)

>Stay defensive as well. You want to learn more about his skill about as much as he wants to learn about yours. (p+d)

>>602051
>>602052
>>602054
Wow, these rolls are very not great.
>>602056
There we go, at least we won't crit fail. Whatever the term for that was. My brain is mush about remembering things today.

>>602042
>You've seen the gleam of red and white Jade in its light
Definitely an artifact weapon, but still not sure if that makes him an Exalt or just someone with awakened essence.

Rolled 3, 7 = 10 (2d10)

>>602042
Maybe i should try and write a small stunt.

You and Rekka slowly circle each other taking measure of your opponent trying to gauge their skill, Rekka decides to go on the offensive lashing out with a near blinding series of strikes and it takes almost all your speed and skill to manage deflecting them all on time by interposing your sword between the peerless strikes of Rekka and their intended target. From this exchange you can without question say he is good... Very good.

>>602088
I don't think we do stunting in this.
I could be wrong, but I think instead EF gives out XP for short stories and art, and also occasionally REALLY good write ins.

>>602106
Well it wont hurt to try.
And yeah i just decided to try and stunt because i dont remember if EF takes stunts´and i dont have enough talent to do short stories.

>>602121
Well if he does accept stunting he should add it to the rules pastebin, because I just ctrl+f'ed it for "stunt" and nothing came up, and unlike the stories and art, that's an actual game mechanic.

Yeah we've never done stunting. iirc EF isn't a fan

[p+d= 1 5 4 5 6 10 8 3 9 = 4 successes]


You slowly approach each other, carefully considering each other's stances and movements. The crowd once more falls silent as tension rises in the air.

His sword now unsheathed, Rekka does a brief feint with its tip, suggesting an attack from your right, then pulls back, lets you ride your instinctive reaction to parry there, then thrusts the sword at your lower stomach.

Aborting your parry, you barely manage to pull back enough to get out of his reach by a few centimeters. As he tries to follow up the lunge with a step forward, you counterattack immediately with a slash at his head, and he's forced to also back up.

"You're not a complete amateur." He smiles briefly, without lowering his guard. "Why do you care for what I do with myself?"

>As your fan, I can't allow you to sell out like this.
>I have my own reasons.
>Maybe It's something you don't need Rankar to obtain.
>Rankar doesn't deserve your service.
>I'm just curious.
>(other?)

>Continue the duel. (p+d)
>Fight seriously. (p+d)
>Try and buy time.
>Step back.

Rolled 10, 8 = 18 (2d10)

>>602139
>Continue the duel. (p+d)
>As your fan, I can't allow you to sell out like this.
>Rankar doesn't deserve your service.
>I have my own reasons.
>Maybe It's something you don't need Rankar to obtain.
Well let's see how we do this round.

Rolled 8, 8 = 16 (2d10)

>>602139
>I have my own reasons.
>Maybe It's something you don't need Rankar to obtain.

>Continue the duel. (p+d)

>>602139
I'm not sure what we should do on the first, but I think we've reached the point where we shouldn't go any further in the duel. Maybe bow and sheath weapon. He's clearly established he's better, but we've shown we're not a complete amateur.

Rolled 8, 4 = 12 (2d10)

>>602139
>>I have my own reasons.
>>Maybe It's something you don't need Rankar to obtain.
>Continue the duel. (p+d)

>>602156
We're rolling really well this time, let's go one more.

>>602139
>I have my own reasons.
>Maybe It's something you don't need Rankar to obtain.
>Continue the duel. (p+d)

>>602139
>Rankar doesn't deserve your service

would this be applicablefor talking to the heart?

Rolled 3, 4 = 7 (2d10)

>>602139
>>602168
Yeah seems like we need 3 more dice so i am going to roll a few more.

Rolled 8, 9 = 17 (2d10)

>>602180
Forgot dice

Rolled 1, 3 = 4 (2d10)

>>602139
>Rankar doesn't deserve your service.
>Continue the duel. (p+d)
You're a hero to the South Rekka, you can't go selling your honor. You are more than what you have become.

I think we're fine after this, we don't need him totally converted here. Just enough to get him to stand down at the wedding is fine.

>>602152
>>602154
>>602157
>>602189
8 or 7 sux... Wow we just fucking trounced him. Made him look like a rank amateur.

>>602188
>>602189
Damn it, this is what I get for forgetting the first time.

Rolled 5, 8 = 13 (2d10)

>>602139
>Rankar doesn't deserve your service.

>Continue the duel. (p+d)

>>602202
you still got one more sux in. so we are at least at 7 sux. which is REALLY fucking good.

>>602211
That's the mortal max
3 physical+3 dawn+1 weapon.

>>602201
I think we just got him to take us very very seriously.