Zombie Appul quest 2

Sesquame-Today at 3:10 AM
Walker waves goodbye to you as the Dawn breaks over the Eastern horizon, the towering black spires of his fortress casting long pointed shadows westward. Arrows to your destination. It's about 100 miles to Nexus from here, but you've been loaned a steed from Walker's stables, with jet back fur and rotting flesh: the slightest glimpses of bone visible at its jaws(edited)
The scenery rushes past as you ride, farm after farm reaping the bounty of some of the most fertile land in Creation. Soon you have sight of Nexus. A dirty, smelly city: but towering and opulent at the same time.(edited)
What is your first move?

BBSA-Today at 3:18 AM
Harvester grins as she closes in on the city.  She hasn't seen it since she was a little girl.  There's plenty of ideas rolling around in her head for how she's going to take down the Guild here, and perhaps the whole city with it!

But first things first, she's gotta settle herself in.  Taking down everything in a rampage won't work if she's got Solars and a God to deal with.  She's going to have to take this carefully...

"Yer a good boy."
Harvester pats her horse on the neck as she scans the countryside.  Ought to be a few barns left lying around before she reaches the city proper.  Harvester's gonna need a disguise if she wants to walk in without causing a real ruckus.

Sesquame-Today at 3:22 AM
Clothes aren't hard to find. Easy way you steal from a clothesline. Worst case you just rob someone.

Not like they can stop you

Not like you could have stopped them when they came...
The real spur in your saddle is gonna be the skin and eyes. What can you do to fix that up? Colored spectacles? Keep the brim of your hat down and stare at the ground? Find a nice vain farmwife with more powder than sense?
Feel free to narrate what you do from here in regards to disguising, you can pretty much dictate the farm scenery and what you find

BBSA-Today at 3:29 AM
"I ain't gonna be winning no beauty pageants that's fer sure."
Harvester takes a look at her reflection in a pond before shrugging her shoulders.
She chooses form over function as she peruses clotheslines and picks at her leisure.  Pursing a hand over the line, she eventually settles on a bandanna tha she proceeds to wrap around her face before tucking the brim of her hat over her eyes

Kicking down the doors to a tool shed, she glances around inside before picking off exactly what she needed from the inside of the door

A long hardy Duster.  Sometime like this would've been nice to wear back in Walker's chilly fortress, and with a pair of gloves it ought to cover pretty much all of your skin too.

"Heh heh, ah look like one of dem outlaws from one of Papa's stories.  Might as well rob a bank on my way into town."

Once she's gotten what she needs, Harvester hops back on her horse and rides closer into town.  When she's close enough, she'll reach into her backpocket and give the steed a peppermint before sending her on back to her master

Sesquame-Today at 3:31 AM
(4 successes on your Disguise roll. That's the DC of an Awareness test to see through it after engaging you in conversation)

BBSA-Today at 3:31 AM
(That sounds pretty good)

Sesquame-Today at 3:34 AM
You enter the city without being given any trouble. You look for all the world like an outlaw, but Nexus is a city full of outlaws, a wretched hive of scum and villainy. You fit right in. Thank the Void you weren't trying this stunt in a city that had working law enforcement.

That just leaves the question on where to go first.

BBSA-Today at 3:37 AM
"Heh,  well it's still early..."
Harvester had family in this town, he hadn't seen any of them since the last reunion and that was a while ago but he knew they would have her back.  Furthermore, they could help her with her cause.  But first, maybe she'd try to see what she could find on her own

Harvester looks up the most wretched of the bars and finds a nice shadowy corner to sit in for a while




"Ah reckon these fellas must get quite a headache from Solars, and that dang God.  Any info they could spill would help, and if I'm real lucky ah might find some Guild thugs..."

Sesquame-Today at 3:41 AM
You settle in, looking incredibly suspicious as you do, and while away the next several hours waiting. Shadowy corners come at a premium in Nexus saloons, and more than a few mysterious strangers have to be muscled off your turf with a glare that promised a painful death. They can go find somewhere else to look for a brave wandering hero to avenge their slain kitten or rescue their Sensei from a tree.
Eventually you strike paydirt, and you hear the name of Heirarch Sapphire
She's looking to hire for some job, no one knows what. But she's looking for badasses from what people can tell.(edited)
(Follow up and seek employment with her or Other)

BBSA-Today at 3:45 AM
"Well shoot.  Badass ain't muh middle name... but it ought to be the name of my axe.  Heh heh."
(Follow up and seek employment)
Sesquame-Today at 3:46 AM
The Hierarch’s office is splendid and rather opulent. The chairs are
detailed in ivory, and the desk is of the finest Eastern wood.
You take a seat in the waiting room, and settle yourself in: You're just starting to get comfortable when the bespecled secretary calls you in for your meeting
Heirarch Sapphire is a young woman, bedecked in fine jewels to flaunt her status as a member of the City Council
She looks up you and down, sneering at your outfit. "Tch. You look ridiculous"
"Do you think that's intimidating? I'm looking for Exalts, not common street thugs"

BBSA-Today at 3:54 AM
"Beg yer pardon ma'm?"
Yeesh, you could probably level this whole buidling right now and call it a day.  Then again...
"Ah don't think you'd appreciate seeing what lies underneath this here getup, if ya catch muh drift."

Harvester leans to the side as she folds her arms over her chest and smirks underneath her bandanna.

"Ah tell ya what.  There hasn't been a problem yet that ah couldn't solve with muh own two hands.  So why don't ya tell me a little about yer problems...?"

Sesquame-Today at 3:56 AM
"Tch. Whatever, idiot"
She crosses her own arms in kind. "There's a girl I'm looking to retrieve. I have her location. Nice and simple milk run. 50 obols. Deal?"

BBSA-Today at 3:58 AM
(how much is an Obol again?)

Sesquame-Today at 3:58 AM
(She's offering a Resources 1 reward)

Sesquame-Today at 4:00 AM
(A pittance for an Exalt, a good job for a mortal thug)

BBSA-Today at 4:01 AM
(I was about to say)

Sesquame-Today at 4:01 AM
(She's lowballing you for sure)

BBSA-Today at 4:02 AM
"Ya want her alive or a corpse?"

Sesquame-Today at 4:04 AM
She straightens up a little in her fancy chain, you can tell she's taking you seriously now. Or at least less dismissive. She begins to sneer at you again, but catches herself and responds calmly.
"Alive, please. There's no payment dead. Are you capable of handling that?"
One hand moves behind her desk and pulls out a drawer with a scratching sound, pulling out a scroll and unfurling it on her desk to reveal a map of Nexus.
"Shall we begin talking details?" she asks, raising one eye at you in questioning(edited)

BBSA-Today at 4:07 AM
Harvester nods her head
"Go on then.  Tell me everything ah gotta know to get the job done right."

Sesquame-Today at 4:09 AM
She traces out a path through the winding streets of Nexus with a long, sharp painted nail. It guides you from her office straight into the industrial section of the city: Nighthammer District.
"There's a passage in this foundry down into Old Hollow, it's the sunken ruins of older sections of the city."
"The girl, Avira, is squirreled away there. She shouldn't be hard to find. Go there, get her, then come directly back to me for payment on delivery"(edited)
"You might have to deal with security on her. I don't have specifics, but I doubt it's too tough for   a mysterious masked mercenary like yourself"

BBSA-Today at 4:17 AM
Harvester nods her head
This all seemed way too easy.  This God Gen had to have some crazy defenses keeping this girl safe in there.  If this Sapphire hasn't figured out that you're Exalted yet, then she's probably expecting you to go down hard.  Still, if you could pull it off like this then you think there may be a way to make this work out.

"Ah'll see what ah can do."
Sesquame-Today at 4:18 AM
She smiles at your assent and leans back in her seat, her fingertips touching together in a temple. Not a bad sign at all. "I’m pleased we could come to
this very equitable agreement."
"You can see yourself out, I assume?"

BBSA-Today at 4:19 AM
"There's just one thing."

Sesquame-Today at 4:19 AM
"Oh?" She asks, raising one eye

BBSA-Today at 4:22 AM
"Ah've been travelling a long ways ya see, and a part of me has gotten a bit tired of the open road."
Harvester turns her back on Sapphire and begins walking out the door
"Maybe after ya see what ah'm capapble of, you'll decide to keep the Obols and offer me a real job.  Ah heard the Guild was lookin' fer talent, well ya found it."
Harvester shows herself right out

BBSA-Today at 4:28 AM
: )
Harvester's got a lot on her plate.  Even with the untold power at her fingertips, she knows she's gonna need a little help, and with nowhere to turn to she know's she got to rely on her kin.

They'll be scared, confused, but in the end she knows they'll understand
Onward to the Oranges she stomps
Oh by the way
Harvester is totally going to watch her back, she'll be damned if she leads anyone following her lead to her own kin

Sesquame-Today at 4:33 AM
Of course
You make your way along half remembered streets, to residential districts for the more wealthy sort of merchant.
You hop gates and avoid the eye of patrolling guards as you enter the private community, insulated from the maelstrom of crime and poverty that inundates Nexus
Your spurred boots clack as you stomp your way up the stairs of the apartment complex, making your way to room 317 where your Aunt and Uncle Orange live. You rap heavily on the door, and it creaks open to the sight of your Auntie peeking out, looking terrified of the bandito at her door

BBSA-Today at 4:43 AM
Harvester's fierce scowl lightens as her eyes widen.  It's the first time you've laid eyes on your aunt in years, and after all you've been through it's almost too much for you to take
"Auntie Orange.... "
For a brief moment, your composure is lost, but you realize the danger you'll all be in if you stay like that for long.  Raising a hand to her mouth so she won't scream, you motion her inside while closing the door and locking the latches.

"Look, it ain't exactly who you think it is... a-Ah mean... Hell.  Ah ain't really dead, and ah need yer help!"

Harvseter tries her best to explain as best she can what's happened.  She tells them that her name isn't what she thinks it is anymore, and that they can only call her by her new name.  She is the Harvester of Fiery Vengeance, and she's here to help reap vengeance on behalf of their family.

"Applebloom is dead.  Big Mac is dead.  Granny Smith is dead and Sweet Apple Acres is all gone.  But ah'm here, and ah know exactly who to blame."

She then reveals that it was the Guild who destroyed their family, and indavertedly because of the Solars.  So she starts to reveal her plans for getting vengeance on the both of them.

"Ah'm gonna do this dirty deed on behalf of the Guild, by finding this girl and claiming to bring her to them, and then you're gonna use your contacts in the mercantile districts to discreetly leak to the Solars that it was the Guild who did this.  Then we're gonna sit back and let the Solars and the Guild tear each other apart for what they did to our family."(edited)


Sesquame-Today at 4:56 AM
Your aunt gibbers for a moment, trying to take in the onslaught of information. Shaking, she reaches out to touch you, and with a yank pulling your bandana down to reveal your unnatural skin. Recoiling back in horror, she looks for a moment like she's about to scream, but clamps down the reaction. Out of concern for you or fear for her life is unknown.
"A-applejack? Dear gods what did they do to you? Are you a spirit seeking vengeance for your murder? I could call a priest to try to help you pass on..."(edited)

BBSA-Today at 5:02 AM
"Auntie Orange.  n-No, ya don't understand!  a-Ah chose this... for the family!  They took away everything from me.  Muh brother and sister and our parents!  They're all dead!"

Harvester steels her eyes and stands tall as she  reaches out and grabs her auntie by her gloved hands

"The only thing that'll ever bring me any measure of peace is making sure the people who did all this get what's coming to them.  That's why ah was brought back.  It ain't just about Vengeance, it's about the family!"

Sesquame-Today at 5:04 AM
[at your reaffirmatin of loyalty to family, you can feel a rejection in your soul as your curse rebels at your contact with the living.]



[You can make a choice here]
[Minor punishment now, or let it build up later]
[The punishment will be minor, but relevant](edited)



BBSA-Today at 5:07 AM
Punishment now

Sesquame-Today at 5:08 AM
As you shake your terrified auntie, trying to instill some darned sense in her and impress the importance of what you're doing, she looks into your eyes as they shift and change to an eerie pure white.
She struggles to keep herself calm, reminding herself that ghosts pursue their unfinished buisness singlemindedly, and that the fact you were speaking at all means that you're not a ravenous mindless monster
"Alright Applejack sweetie, I'll help you."

BBSA-Today at 5:11 AM
Harvester does not respond to that(edited)

Sesquame-Today at 5:11 AM
WEW
[Current Resonance: 1 out of 10](edited)
[Your Brand marks you as a servant of Oblivion until it wears off]



BBSA-Today at 5:18 AM
"Ah'm sorry it didn't work out when ah came to live with ya'll when ah was little... ah really hate this damn city, but ah couldn't hate ya'll.  Ah gotta go now, and ya probably won't be seeing me ever again.  If ya do, then bad things'll happen.  Take care of yerselves... and remember my name."


Sesquame-Today at 5:20 AM
Tears in her eyes and unaware of the danger, Auntie Orange lunges forward to embrace you, despite your horrifying appearance. She pats you on the back and assures you it's all gonna be ok, you'll avenge your death and then you'll pass on like you should, reincarnating.
"Such a hardworking and honest girl like you, I'm sure you'll be a wealthy noble, or even an Exalt in the next life!"
She bids you goodbye as you leave her. Perhaps for the last time.


BBSA-Today at 5:21 AM
"a-An Exalt?  Wouldn't that be something…."

Tears fall down her own face as she reaffixes her bandanna and her hat, waving to her auntie one last time before dissappearing into the night.



Sesquame-Today at 5:23 AM
>"a-An Exalt?  Wouldn't that be something...."
Your voice breaks halfway through your final line, becoming raspy and unnatural

Sesquame-Today at 5:26 AM
The Nighthammer district serves as Nexus’ predominant industrial
sector. Metals are smelted here, and craftsmen ply their
trades. Nighthammer is always covered in ash (the main ingredient
in “Nexus snow”)
The pungent odor of industry, greed and waste would have sickened you a scant few weeks ago. But you're a new being now, far more unnatural and horrifying than anything to be found here.
You reach the copper foundry indicated by your contact, from here there is supposed to be a passage down into the ruins beneath the city

BBSA-Today at 5:27 AM
Harvester trudges on.  As she leaves the sadness of her past life behind her, she feels a little bit more of her cheer return to her.
She was always happiest while she worked

Sesquame-Today at 5:28 AM
You can't speak directly to the foreman for directions anymore, Branded as you are
[Show up anyway and threaten him into submission](edited)
[Look for the passage yourself]

BBSA-Today at 5:28 AM
Oh boy
[Show up anyway and threaten him into submission]

Sesquame-Today at 5:29 AM
You outclass him totally, there's no chance of any kind of failure
feel free to describe the interaction if you like(edited)

BBSA-Today at 5:29 AM
>"I don't know where the entrance is, I swear to the Gods!"
"SWEAR TAH ME!"
Harvester's gonna take advantage of that raspiness in her voice
As she dangles the Foreman over the edge of a big drop!

Sesquame-Today at 5:31 AM
"Please let me go! I got nothin against ya I swear, you're standing right in fronta the place yous lookin for anyways!"
He flails in panic as he gesticulates wildly at the vent shaft you're dangling him over
"We use it to dump slag into the ruins!"

BBSA-Today at 5:33 AM
"Huh?"
Harvester looks at the entrance, then back to the Foreman, then over to the entrance, then over to the Foreman
"Well ah just feel silly now.  No hard feelings?"

Sesquame-Today at 5:33 AM
"None nada zilch I don't know you I don't know your story just please let me live"

BBSA-Today at 5:34 AM
Harvester stares down at the name tag on the Foreman's shirt
"Can ya fly Bobby?"

Sesquame-Today at 5:34 AM
"No wait please no!"

BBSA-Today at 5:34 AM
[Drops]
Sesquame-Today at 5:34 AM
"AAAAaaahhhhh"

BBSA-Today at 5:35 AM
"About another 199,999,999 left to go."
Harvester pauses
"Gonne have to ask Walker about technicalities.... fer Aunty and Uncle...."
She shakes her head
"Ah phooy, ah ain't gotta worry bout that right now!"
Harvester cracks a smile along with her knuckles
"Let's go!"

Sesquame-Today at 5:38 AM
The walls of the shaft glistens with a thin layer of copper, but as you begin descending you hear someone or someones entering the building
Your supernatural senses pick up someone speaking "This is the place, we're supposed to talk to the foreman to get into the Hollow"
Wat do?

BBSA-Today at 5:45 AM
Harvester's eyes narrow
Other folk seem to be after Alvira too.  That could be a problem, or a boon.

Harvester knows there's just gotta be some serious guards up ahead

She finds a nice dark alcove to hide and play dead in.  Should they find her motionless body, then she'll be sure to be pointing in the opposite direction of where the girl is.

Sesquame-Today at 5:49 AM
You lie and pretend to be a corpse, the irony not lost on you. There's more than one intruder, and they don't seem to have much trouble finding the entrance on their own. Out the corner of your eye you peek and watch as a man dressed in rags, yet with good quality practical boots, rushes to the corpse of Bobby Foreman

Sesquame-Today at 5:54 AM
He performs a brief examination of the body to confirm death, then calls over his two companions
A regal looking woman dressed in finery and a bare chested man with the look and outfit of some kind of gladiator
"The corpse is fresh. The murder was just committed, be on guard"
The woman laughs, seeming glad of the notion of impending conflict. "Excellent! I was worried this was going to be boring"
Wat do?
Continue observing?
You're probably not well hidden enough to escape their notice if you continue to play dead, and they're on guard
You are currently located at the bottom of the vent shaft, above you is an operating copper foundry. Further in is unknown ruins


Sesquame - Today at 6:01 AM
The girl is underground somewhere
There's a copper foundry above you that's in full operation
Leaving the factory, there's a small artifical lake that's used for cooling purposes
and other factories

Sesquame-Today at 6:11 AM
You get up and try to slip unnoticed back to the entrance of the shaft while the party is focused on the corpse of the Foreman
you're almost to the top when you hear a shout down below you as you're spotted

BBSA-Today at 6:13 AM
"Ah shoot."
Harvester carries on toward the vat of molten copper, purposely letting them catch up to her whilst keeping her appearance concealed(edited)
Keep her back on her foes


Sesquame-Today at 6:17 AM
They only catch a glimpse of the mysterious evildoer, but they draw golden daiklaves and being charging back up the shaft



BBSA-Today at 6:19 AM
Harvester waits till they are all well situated inside the shaft, then unleashes her unnatural speed to run up the side of a wall and push the vat down with her feet while her back's against the wall

Sesquame-Today at 6:22 AM
The molten slag rushes down the shaft, the woman gracefully soars over the flowing slag with ease, moving with unnatural swiftness
Her two companions aren't quite as lucky. They're both fast enough to not get buried, but both suffer burns in the process, escaping the slag with what appear to be flash third degree burns(edited)
Light shines from the woman's forehead, a golden dot inside a golden circle
[Woman uses dodge charms to easily avoid the slag. Both companions suffer partial failures and take severe damage]



BBSA-Today at 6:33 AM
Ah I know what to do
Harvester chuckles as she stares over at the unscathed woman.

"Guess one of ya knows what she's doing.  Think ya can keep up?"

Harvester taunts the woman into chasing after her in a race, all whilst smashing the pillars as they go to get the factory to start collapsing on them all.

Sesquame-Today at 6:36 AM
The Lady leaps after you, the only one with speed a match for yours, though her talents lie in acrobatics and artful dodges rather than the raw athletic prowess of Harvester
It's a testamant to your freakish strength that being in the middle of a high speed chase doesn't provide you with any difficulty smashing through support beams as you pass them

BBSA-Today at 6:37 AM
"Is that as fast you can go?  What's the point of all dem fru fru twirls?  Ah thought ya wanted tah fight!"
Sesquame-Today at 6:40 AM
It's hopeless for her: she'll never be able to match you in raw footspeed. She turns to her companions to give them orders. "Ali! Get your ass moving and head her off! Gath!  Don't let the building collapse!"
The medic dressed in rags moves to intercept you, but his abilities in the realm of vertical movement leave much to be desired, hampering his efforts
The gladiator stomps over to the support beam you cleaved through grabbing each end and tying them together again in a crude knot(edited)

BBSA-Today at 6:44 AM
Harvester smirks.  With one of them caught in the dust and the other tied up with keeping the building from collapsing, she thinks she's got a golden opportunity here to take out the medic

Harvester rises through the air and tries to run down the medic with her axe before charging down the tunnel for the girl

Sesquame-Today at 6:46 AM
your anima is at Iconic now
due to cleaving through all those beams
You might want to describe your anima flare
also note you're starting to need to worry about energy use

BBSA-Today at 6:49 AM
[Anima Flare]
[Forboding Banjo Music starts playing]
[Muscles start swelling]



Sesquame-Today at 6:50 AM
>Secret Axe Techinique: Death From Above Style(edited)
With flashing steel Ali draws his daggers to deflect the giant axe headed for him at high speeds by a rampaging Harvester
The soulsteel and red jade cleave through effortlessly, as blood splashes across the ground
(How do you oneshot him)

BBSA-Today at 6:54 AM
Smiling like a madwoman, Harvester steps past Ali and grabs him by the back of his hair before cleaving his axe through his head, decapitating the Solar as blood shoots out of him like a geyser

Sesquame-Today at 6:55 AM
One down. Two to go. But that stunt left you vulnerable, and Garth is charging at you, his own daiklave drawn with anima blazing brightly to avenge his circle-mate's death

BBSA-Today at 6:55 AM
"YE HAW!"

Sesquame-Today at 6:56 AM
You have mere instants to react, you don't have time to jump back into the catwalks before he reaches you

BBSA-Today at 6:58 AM
Harvester drops the head she was holding and picks up the body of the dead solar to use as a meat shield


Sesquame-Today at 7:00 AM
If you thought that using the body of his friend would cause the grizzled gladiator to hesitate, you thought wrong. With red rage his goremaul slams into you and the corpse, sending you flying backward, a gaping hole in your abdomen
Your desperate move may have saved your life though, as you still draw breath... just barely
[hp: 2 out of 7]
[All actions take -3 Wound Penalty]
[Status: Cripplingly Injured]
[He left himself just as vulnerable as you did killing Ali. You could turn the tables and oneshot Garth somewhat reliably, then attempt to duel the Lady while wounded or try your luck racing while wounded]
[Or you could run now and amost certainly get away]


BBSA-Today at 7:12 AM
Harvester's mouth falls open as she feels the massive gash pulverized through her
Her own rage rises as she stares back down at this Gladiator

He's pissed his friend is dead?
"YA'LL AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!"

Harvester presses her fingers against the rune on her axe as she charges in to finish him off
Sesquame-Today at 7:10 AM
[You oneshot him but totally exhaust your mana while doing so]

Sesquame-Today at 7:17 AM
We'll leave off the session with you eviscerating Garth and running off
Sesquame-Today at 7:17 AM
as their sole remaining member swears vengeance for the murder of her beloved friends blah blah yadda yadda yadda