Behold H'Catha (Part 4)

DM-Tareth · April 5

This time the plasmoid expects the gith to pop into existence right next to her. She is not surprised. She is not amused. Her eye stalks glance at the head dangling from the gith's belt and a door opens within her mind. A door leading to a place of broken towers, rubble strewn streets, and a burning, demon-filled sky. For just a moment she looks down to find a trio of heads similarly dangling from her own belt. One smiles back at her, while another just looks constipated, the third, too battered and bedraggled to even tell what, better yet who it was, stares blindly into the distance. As quickly as it comes, the vision vanishes. But inside the plasmoid something deadly clicks into place. This momentary desire for lethality races through her system and Yahs unleashes that pain upon her foe. Mop, pod, and black, life draining energy converge in one moment upon the gith.

Mop Attack

Mop Damage

Flurry Attack #1

Flurry Damage

Flurry Attack #2

Flurry +Necro Damage

Edited April 5 by DM-Tareth (see edit history)

KingGoblin · April 5

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +6 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

Lazuli is more than happy to continue bashing away with their leg.

OOC

Action: Attacking the Gith with Boomer.

Cointhief · April 6

The dancing elf's force nuggets catch the warrior off-balance, and Yahs is overcome with visions of...the past? The future? Extra-temporal hallucinations? The plasmoid reaches a state of martial mastery, delivering a combo sequence of strikes that fully embraces the Art of Pugilism.

Combat over.

Yahs again gets the 0hp hit with an amazing 25 pt attack. Does she let him live, as the Prince requested? Or does she truly, fully give in to the dark urge?

Edited April 6 by Cointhief (see edit history)

DM-Tareth · April 6

The elf prince's orders were nothing more than a buzzing mosquito within the plasmoid's consciousness as she pummeled the gith. Certainly for a fleeting moment she considered sparing the villainous assassin of traitorous cadets. Sure she calculated the potential intelligence value that could be gained from interrogating one of the invaders. She even weighed the balance of her soul. Would killing without necessity eventually send her into the pits of hell? Perhaps. But something whispered that that is where she was actually supposed to be. Unfinished business. Something left behind. Utter rubbish. Yet, she couldn't just brush these uneasy thoughts aside. Instead, they just fuel her anger. An anger made to burn even brighter by the utter mess these attackers had created. And she absolutely knew who the inept Academy leadership was going to assign to clean the place up.

And so with one final bone snapping punch infused with the very essence of death itself, Yahs put an end to the gith warrior. But watching the enemy drop to the floor with a thud didn't quite put an end to her frenzied state. No. It wasn't until she beheaded the creature with its own sword and hung the gruesome trophy from her own belt, uniform regulations be damned. The act is completed with a disconcerting amount of practiced ease. This was most certainly not the first time Yahs had done such a thing. Its completion did however, seemed to return the plasmoid to some state of calm.

With a feral light still flickering in her eyes she turns to face Celsior. "This one isn't going to teleport away. Find a priest who can speak with the dead and you'll still get your interrogation." She says quietly. Her eyes blink once, twice. She looks down at the headless corpse and suddenly remembers. Stretching a long arm down to grab Miken's head, she looks at it for a minute and then tosses it to Lazuli. "You called dibs."

"Anyboby got a smoke?"

Odd = Death

Edited April 6 by DM-Tareth (see edit history)

Cointhief · April 6

Invaders beheaded and heads exchanged, the plasmoids satisfy their unique needs as Celsior looks on...unsure what to make of the odd scene. The efficacy of the trio can not be denied however, as it becomes clear the team of cadets was nearly solely responsible for repelling the aggressive storm team.

Boot drumrolls crescendo from all sides as the second wave of security teams (the first being slaughtered) rush in. A speedy combat medic stops in her tracks, slowly storing the space cucumbers. Staring at the decapitated bodies, her triage calculation results in a 'too late'.

Another small squad zips into what's left of Miken's holding cell, immediately getting thrown into the hall as the Damselfly fires a point blank mangonel stone. Soon after, a salty breeze sucks the smokepowder haze clogging the hall towards the same cell. Glancing out the gaping hole in the Academy walls, you witness the Damselfly in evasive maneuvers as the Fleet's flagship Bombard attempts to blast it out of the sky before it can reach orbit.

But the Damselfly was simply faster, its jammer more nimble.

Another frustrating attack leaving everyone with more questions than answers.

~~~

But over the next few days (after security reports are written, diplomatic channels opened, and spies debriefed) a better picture comes into focus. The cadets, given their undeniable leadership roles at nearly every step, are finally given the required clearance and a seat at the table. An invitation to get some answers.

Mirt, Tarto, Saerthe, and Head Security Bronzo welcome you in. "Please join us, cadets. You deserve to hear this..." Tarto grunts as she lights a fat cigar.

Bronzo, a rather slim giff in full military attire, casts an illusory projection to create visuals that supplement his presentation. Topics include the attacks on the academy, Miken, Vocath. Bronzo lays it all down with succinct bullet points and an egaging style. Only a few things are news to the cadets:

Vocath the Mercane, from the safety of his hidden base multiple wildspace systems away, admits his role in the latest brutal Academy invasion to get Miken. However, he vehemently denies any other involvement, such as the box of neogi, sim deck explosion, or death of Ryeback. He was outraged to hear of a Fleet cadet putting his sigil on everything, framing him for the attacks. "...obviously, he cared more about getting revenge on Miken himself than any kind of Fleet relations."

Mirt grumbled "Bastard. Doesn't surprise me. Old Blueballs is still sore about losing the Realmspace contract with Andru."

Tarto added "So, whoever was framing Vocath for the attacks knew about that history...and was exploiting it."

"For what end?" Saerthe questioned. "Who would want to weaken the Fleet in Realmspace if not Vocath?"

Edited April 6 by Cointhief (see edit history)

KingGoblin · April 7

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +6 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

At the end of the battle, Lazuli stored Miken's head inside their body, somewhere. One more skull for the bone swarm.

At the big meeting, though, they don't really have much to add. They considered saying something anyway, but it wouldn't be helpful, and might get them kicked out of these cushy meetings.

JubalBreakbottle · April 7

Celsior Loriniscil, Prince of Alfheim

Inspiration Yes | HP 27/27 | HD 4/4 | Step 2/2 | Shield 1/1

Bladesong 2/2 | Recovery 2/2 | 1st-level 4/4 | 2nd-level 3/3

Celsior watches the plasmoid end the gith and files it away in his memory. Too bad. Might have learned what's really going on here.

~~~

At the big meeting, Celsior listens having expected to participate earlier. He had participated or at least observed many of these meetings in the closed council of Alfheim.

When the open question dangles, he finally clears his throat and offers, "You said that Miken was getting bribed by Vocath to make mischief at the academy for whatever reason. Maybe Ryebeck's death was an accident in that mischief. But what is clear, is that those gith executed Miken. They first tried during our return to Toril and then returned with reinforcements when we reached the academy. Miken probably knew more about what was going on."

After a pause, he continues, "I do not know the Mercane well, but that was quite a bit of resources spent and an open declaration of war, in my culture. Does your conflict with Vocath warrant such a retaliation? Do the Mercane normally act in this manner? And yes, who else wants the academy severely damaged?"

Mechanics

Cointhief · April 7

"Someone was making it appear that Vocath was bribing Miken. Vocath claims he merely wanted to extract and interrogate Miken. I doubt how his hired goons handled it is exactly the way he wanted it to go..." Tarto begins.

"I wouldn't put it past him. Cold, smug, prideful, wealthy. Rumor has it Vocath runs an illegal death arena somewhere out in some unlinked wildspace system. He's got more allies than we do, thats for sure..." Mirt remarks. "I hate to admit it, but Vocath could have just wiped us out if he really wanted to. His plans to raise a mercenary fleet in Realmspace...well, it ain't the first system he's made that pitch. Probably just couldn't stand it some punk was putting his brand on everything."

Sarthe nods "You are quite right though, Celsior. The mercane are an enigmatic lineage. They can be as alien and aberrant as the Neogi, but are typically much less combative. Ah, with your learning you will understand this: their origins are planar, not material. Guessing at their motives requires a psychology that hasn't been invented yet."

"They definitely hold a grudge though. You get one chance with them, one offense and you're through. I hope you never have to deal with them directly." Tarto adds.

Edited April 7 by Cointhief (see edit history)

DM-Tareth · April 7

Yahs strikes a match off the top of the gith helm dangling from her belt. The flame flares to life and burns bright until she puts it to the end of the thick cigar where it disappears into a cloud of smoke and smoldering tobacco. It's the same brand that Tarto uses. The only brand carried by the Academy quartermaster since no one else besides Tarto actually touched the stinking things.

Savoring the harsh flavor and robust burst of machismo, she ponders the seemingly unstoppable threat that continues to plague the academy and Fleet itself.

"If Vocath is not behind the actual sabotage, then who else benefits? Are there others among the mercane who would benefit from Fleet's embarrassment?" A pause as she takes a long draw on the cigar. The tendrils of smoke are quite visible as the swirl and drift throughout her inner system. "Aren't the mercane purely merchants? Dealers of goods for profit. Intermediaries. Middle men. Not the kind to offer charity or to back a particular cause. Even this planned mercenary fleet would only fight if there was profit involved. So who is paying them? Who benefits as our resources are dedicated to first finding Miken, then dealing with Vocath. Who benefits from Andru's loss of face. Surely the Prince suffers in this since he was the one who awarded the contract. Who gains if Mirt dies? And gains enough that makes paying the high price the Mercane would charge worth it? For that matter who benefits from having folk think Vocath is involved?"

She shakes her head causing the smoke both inside and outside to swirl and spiral. "This isn't some small time operation. There's money behind it. Lots of money. And it's flowing from somewhere. So who paid the Mercane to pay Miken? Instead of trying to kill each other, maybe we should try talking to Vocath. Use a mercane to find a mercane."

Cointhief · April 7

"Anyone that wanted to see Realmspace security take a step back to the wild days. The pirates of Garden could maybe scrape together the cash, but they are far too unorganized." Tarto guessed out loud, referring to the dangerous 7th planet. "If it were the mind flayers of Glyth we'd have seen a tadpole roll out one of those heads by now." thinking of the 6th planet. "I mean who knows, lots of enemies and lots of space...maybe some more distant, outside threat is evading our notice."

Mirt nods "After the neogi attack I called most of the Fleet back. It's obvious we've been weakened here, relying on cadets to defend us is no kind of strategy. We should be in a much better defensive posture in a week or two."

"Mercane to find a mercane." Saerthe sounded intrigued. "It is thought they have some advanced form of intercommunication, even across wildspaces. They don't often come to Toril, though."

Bonzo mentioned "There's the Mercane Agency up on the Rock of Bral...its not much more than a storefront for helms and magic items, but at least its open to the public."

Tarto gruffed "We've known the underbarons of Bral to deal with them from time to time. Yeah, the Rock has an underdark. But our last man on the inside, I mean you'd have to contact..."

Saerthe interrupted "Don't say it..."

"...Flapjack." Tarto mumbled through her cigar.

As if everyone at the table just bit into a bad piece of chicken, grumbles and recollections of bad experiences soured everyone's morning.

Mirt shook his head, opting to change the subject "Ol' Prince Andru would be the more direct, he is still our main financier. His court handles the purchases of most of our off-world equipment. Heh. He's pretty sour with me right now though, getting an audience would be tricky. Maybe there's a way to smooth it over."

"As for his enemies, well lots of snobs up in their star palaces would love to see Andru replaced with a council...you know, something they can more easily buy. None would have the audacity to outright admit it, though."

Edited April 7 by Cointhief (see edit history)

Cointhief · April 8

After an awkward silence, Mirt added "Of course the financial situation has been somewhat offset by our star cadets here. The adamantine...coffin? Shell? Your last training report mentioned a disruption of some kind of cyclops radish farm? A gith trade hub on H'catha? The report said, I quote, 'an Astral Elven origin' for the containment device our arcanoastronomers picked up. With some kind of rotten yellow crystal within? That's the same engineering structures they use to grow Moth-class vessels, right? Along with larger architecture? What the hell was that doing in Realmspace, I wonder? ...and H'catha of all places?"

KingGoblin · April 8

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +6 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

"Being dragged around by an ogre, mostly," Lazuli commented, distractedly.

JubalBreakbottle · April 8

Celsior Loriniscil, Prince of Alfheim

Inspiration Yes | HP 27/27 | HD 4/4 | Step 2/2 | Shield 1/1

Bladesong 2/2 | Recovery 2/2 | 1st-level 4/4 | 2nd-level 3/3

Celsior wonders how the academy has survived this long with this dearth of intelligence. So fragile this institution is, it was essentially saved by recruits a month into training. Should something this weak survive the politics of Wildspace?

Squishy's answer about the adamantine rock was to the point and as illuminating as what the academy authorities knew about their current threats.

To hopefully learn something, he asks, "Who is Flapjack? And why are you so reticent to deal with them again?"

Mechanics

Cointhief · April 8

"Yes, it seems a strange possession for a radish farmer. We would have to conclude the cyclops was simply in the right place at the right time, its fall from the sky a complete fluke." Bonzo noted.

Tarto shifted in her seat as the matter of Flapjack is pressed "Well...how do I put this...Flapjack is an intelligent creature called a 'flumph' who insists on wearing a tricorne hat at all times. Fashion choices aside, he's a bit much."

Mirt shifts some papers "Hmm...privateer under Andru's commission these days."

Saerthe added "Imagine a 7 year old with 100 actual voices in their head, and who wears their flip-of-a-switch emotions on their sleeve. Hyperactive, social skills M.I.A... And then there's the smell...its one that stays with you for a lifetime. Great jammer though. Trustworthy. And like we said, the best guide for Bral's underrealms."

As the conference goes on, new security strategies are floated. The construction of new observatories seems to be a popular conclusion, with more efficient watch rotations and better scopes. The sky-interceptor team which had been water thin recently is something Mirt promises to bolster, having called back a good portion of the Fleet. Exploratory missions as well as distant patrols are cancelled in favor of sticking closer to ground. More ships in the docks means more personnel present in the halls. More ships in the sky means a better first alert. If the Old Wolf can pull off some kind of accounting miracle, was the unspoken condition on everyone's mind.

"...of course we could really use more cadets like you three." he adds. "Walk into any major city on the Sword Coast and say 'Spelljamming' if you want to hear 'Jam this' before a kick in the arse. We've tried to keep the Academy hidden since its birth a few years back but maybe we hid it too well. Not enough on Toril know a tick about it."

"Baldur's Gate has seen an increase in recruits, what with that nautiloid incident..." Tarto was quick to point out.

Mirt sighed "...and the githyanki got there before any of us was the wiser. We'd need ships in every city to really counter something like that. Recruiting stations as common as Zhentarim offices. We're a long ways from that...but we can at least see to it the ones we got get graduated."

It seems like another life when the graduation date was an unsure thing lingering in the distance, but now it was only a few weeks away.

Edited April 8 by Cointhief (see edit history)

Cointhief · April 9

@DM-Tareth @JubalBreakbottle @KingGoblin Anything else here before moving on?

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Behold H'Catha (Part 4)

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