Play-Test Episode: "Ariel's Fate"

[Ireth]

Ariel

I listen in interest as Lorenzo speaks of his Order. "I serve the Voice too, as do my dad and my boyfriend. If something's using Her name for evil, we should root them out and be rid of them." I grip my bow tightly, rage burning in my chest at the thought of such blasphemy. Then again, it might have been a mistake... "What is it your brother saw, or thought he saw?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lorenzo makes a small, respectful bow when Ariel speaks of her faith, though he grimaces in pain when bending at a slight angle.

Of the sign, he says:

"It's not what we saw. It's what we heard. But of course there is a thing you can see—a conch. You know how when you put a sea shell to your ear, they say you hear the ocean? Well, we believe The Voice left messages in some sea shells.

"One of the high priests claims he met The Voice in a mortal form—that of a dying woman. She was on the waterfront, barely able to speak. But seven years later—just seven years ago, in fact—that same priest was stewing oysters. When he cracked open the shell, he heard a hoarse whisper that sounded like the woman.

"My brother believes the conch also sounded like a woman whispering. I heard the whisper, but I couldn't understand a word. It just sounded like any other conch to me."

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

My mouth quirks to one side as I think about this. I glance at Mariya. "Do you know anything about this?" It's her mother we're discussing, after all.

 

[Devor]

Furtano listens quietly to the man as he speaks, making little reply, letting others carry the conversation. He's still trying to decide if he trusts the man, if he's lying, or especially now, at the mention of whispering seashells, if he's crazy.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lily scratches her head. To no one in particular, she mutters, "I wonder where The Spirit would leave hidden messages…"

Furtano sees that the man is in pain. If he's lying or crazy, Furtano can't tell. But Lorenzo does appear to be sincere.

Spoiler: what Mariya knows to be true

The timeline's right. Mariya was born on Earth 18 years ago while The Voice and The Scribe were in mortal forms, and is the only muse born to the mortal form (named "Claire"). Her mother was still alive when Mariya was sent to watch over a princess her age named Fenella. She was more than four years old when she received her first heavenly communication from her mother, though Mariya was well into her teens before The Voice explained that she had been slain.

NOTE: I picture pixies maturing faster than humans, and even appearing more like a child of six at birth, but Noma, if you have a different interpretation of how Mariya and Fenella grew up together, feel free to run with it.

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

I look around uneasily. Whispering seashells and divine messages are a little out of my experience. Fortunately the others seem to be able to deal with that. I don't really know what to make of the guy, but he's probably a little shaken up by his attack still.

I look around to see if there's anything else in the cave that may give a clue to what the orcs were up to -- and if there are any other threats.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Dila doesn't see any other threat. She does notice the trail of blood leading to the man…

It starts by the eastern wall of the cave. A small amount blood is smeared along the wall. Looking up, she sees a hole. One who is fairly strong or athletic could ascend the climbable wall. A rope would make the climb far less difficult.

Spoiler: how strong is "fairly strong"

From the Fate PDF:

+8	Legendary
+7	Epic
+6	Fantastic
+5	Superb
+4	Great
+3	Good
+2	Fair
+1	Average
0	Mediocre
–1	Poor
–2	Terrible

So fairy strong or athletic means you need +2 PHYSIQUE or +2 ATHLETICS to make the climb. A rope would reduce the challenge by 2, allowing a roll of 0 to get you up the hole.

 

[Noma Galway]

"It would make sense, timewise," Mariya says in reply to Ariel. "But I haven't heard anything from Mother about messages in seashells." Mariya thinks for a moment before turning to Lorenzo. "Would you like me to ease your pain?"

 

[Ruby]

((I don't know how to do one of those spoiler things so I'm writing some info here. Mariya came to help Fenella after the princess' mother died. She's a kind of good fairy with a difference, there to guide and protect her. Fenella takes her for granted.))

Fenella

"What are you up to, Mariya?" I ask. "And who on earth is this strange man?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((No problem, Ruby. The parenthetical works. Thanks for that bit of back-story!))



Lorenzo looks at the pixie in wonderment. "A daughter of my beloved Goddess would cure a lowly monk such as I, Brother Lorenzo?" He notices Fenella's crown, then bows down, adding hastily, "Your Highness! And to you, dear muse, I fear I am not worthy of—"

As Lorenzo rises from his bow, he shudders at a sudden sharp pain in the backside. He lets out a grunt, gritting his teeth, doing all in his power not to scream.

"Yes," he says. He takes a couple of deep breaths. "Yes, I would."

 

[Noma Galway]

"Princess, this is Brother Lorenzo. He serves my mother, and I'm going to heal him." She turns with a smile to Lorenzo. "Any who serve my mother are well-deserving of healing."

Bracing herself for a loss in strength, Mariya lifts her voice in song.

((I'm assuming the lyrics remained the same when we switched to Fate?))

"I would rip my heart out for you
Dripping blood to the beat of the drums of war
I would sacrifice all for you
And the worthy cause that you're fighting for

Rise, fallen brothers
Against all the others
Who stand for what smothers
What makes us free

Fight, my brave sisters
May your might slay the misters
Who don crooked crowns
Intent to take the world down

And leave me here to lie here and bleed
It's my sacrifice, my pleasure, your need."

((I'm not entirely sure how this works, so I'm leaving it here))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((Let's make it work as it always did, now that we've got our Zelda hearts back! Only I'll use Fate points to basically do what the little note did, so you lose a heart and drain all of your Fate points. You need at least 1 Fate point to cast healing.

Also, multiple singers can heal at once, which has that same loophole where the singer remains unharmed.))



Lorenzo's wound heals visibly, though not completely. Furtano also feels his strength return, and even those not wounded feel refreshed when Mariya sings.

She bravely withstands the pain. There are no wounds on her tiny body, but Mariya feels a little weak after singing her tune.

 

[Aspasia]

I stare at the hole in the ceiling. Something smells off to me. Did the monk really climb down that wall, with his wound? Did he fall into the cave? He seems pretty incapacitated, but I don't know ...

I debate whether to go check it out. I could try to climb the wall myself -- looks challenging, but I think I can do it -- but coming out at the top, I'd be in a pretty vulnerable position. Definitely won't be able to reach my crossbow on the way up! It seems like most of the others are still crowded around the monk. As Mariya starts to heal his pain, I turn to Furtano, who's been pretty quiet about the whole business so far.

"Hey," I say quietly, not wanting to interrupt the others aiding the injured monk, "see that?" I indicate the hole. "I think we ought to take a look."

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I listen in awe as Mariya sings, and her magic (mostly) heals Lorenzo -- and not just him. Furtano heals too, and even I feel better. I grin at the muse. "Thanks!"

Dila calls for us to come and see what she's looking at. I move to join her, wondering what I'll notice.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Ariel sees what Dalla sees from where she now stands. There is definitely a way up, and looking up through the hole, it seems the path turns to a tunnel inside. The ceiling is dimly lit, indicating there is either a light source within the tunnel above, or there is a hole that leads up and out.

 

[Ireth]

Ariel

I stand on my toes, trying to see into the tunnel. What's giving off light up there? Is it daylight, or someone with a torch?

"Think someone should try to climb?" I ask, looking at Dila. "Or maybe Mariya can get up there."

 

[Noma Galway]

Mariya glances around when she hears her name. She follows Ariel's gaze. "I probably could. But that light might not be sunlight, and if there are inhabitants in a cave up there, they wouldn't take kindly to anyone entering." Thinking for a moment, she continues, "But I am pretty good at moving unseen."

 

[Aspasia]

Dila

I hesitate. "Whoever goes up there should be ready to face a threat." I say. "Mariya would be the best, I think ... she'd probably be able to slip in without being noticed, if there's anyone there. I'm not sure I can make the climb and be subtle about it, and my crossbow's no good in this situation."
"Do you know any spells that would help someone creep up quietly?" I ask Mariya.

 

[Noma Galway]

"I don't believe so." Mariya shrugs apologetically. "I can go up there and come back down with information pretty easily." Mariya looks at Fenella. "I can do it," she says again.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Lorenzo says a prayer as Mariya works her way up the cavern.

A few seconds after she's gone, he says aloud, "I don't think they followed me."

Spoiler: what Mariya sees

After climbing up about 10-15 feet, Mariya finds an opening that is very big to her. A human would need to crawl. The monk likely squeezed through this space with difficulty, but everyone else in her group is thinner than him.

Once she is able to walk rather than climb, she finds there is plenty of room in the cavern--even for a group of humans--and as far as Mariya can see, there are no signs of life. As she walks down further, she hears neighing and whispers. She finds a small ledge she can crouch under, allowing her to see without being seen.

The creatures are men from the waist up, donkeys from the waist down. Their voices are donkey-like, but they speak the common tongue.

"Bah," says one. "This is a waste of time. He ran off to his death."

"Or he'll come to us," says the other. "Then we take him alive... then kill him."

"That's so stupid. Why do they have to be alive when we cook them? They aren't lobsters."

"Don't ask me. Rituals are always too complicated."

A voice from above says, "Both of you, shut up!" As Mariya looks up to where the voice came from, she sees a rock formation like a flight of stairs lit by rays of sunlight.




((Note: I have a work-related deadline this Friday that I need to deal with. Just letting you know in case you RP a bit, then see nothing happening for a few days. I'll get the new "map" up so we can keep the battle-test going.

We'll stick to what we've been doing for those last couple rounds that had pink hearts for health and yellow stars for +2 boosts.

For those who don't know, hearts change color as you lose health:

• pink = 3hp
• red = 2hp
• purple = 1hp
• black = 0hp

If you have two or more hearts the same color, it means your health is recovering. The healing effect is gradual, and of course it can be interrupted if you're hit while recovering.))