6.1 - The Sword or the Sheath
Aldsan
(Mysterious Heroine)
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Voting said:
Thick fog swirled around the girl's ankles as she walked, the Magus leading her through the mists. It had been a warm morning when they left Pellinore behind. Too warm and too late in the day for fog. Yet, here it was pleasantly cool, the fog thick enough that she could not see more than a few feet.
"Where are you bringing me?" she asked the Magus.
"Patience, good King. All will be revealed in time."
She let out a sharp breath, irritated with the Magus and his secrets. Truly, he would never answer a question when he could pose a riddle instead. However, she trusted him, and so she continued in his wake, treading the uneven ground until it abruptly evened out to a smooth surface. She glanced down, curious, but instead of the stone she expected, she saw naught but water.
"Merlin? What magic is this?"
"We stand now in the domain of the Lady of the Lake. Come."
The girl took a tentative step forward, but found her footing as sure and steady upon the water's surface as any road. More so, even, for there was no unevenness, nothing to catch at her feet or cause her to trip. It was not slippery as wet stone could be, nor did she sink in the slightest.
Suddenly, the fog cleared, revealing a woman that stood before them. Dressed all in white, a veil covering her face, the girl could not help but think the Lady looked almost a bride, if not for the sword she held in her hands.
"Merlin. I've said before that you are not welcome here."
"Come now," the Magus winked. "I've brought someone special with me this time."
"Is that so?" The girl felt the Lady's eyes settle on her. "Arthur. Child of Uther. King of Britain. You certainly are one for jokes, aren't you, Merlin?"
"Here I thought family reunions were joyful affairs."
The girl furrowed her brow, tilting her head to look at the Magus, but he did not so much as return her look, instead staring steadily at the Lady. Finally, the Lady sighed. "Very well then. Arthur. You require a sword, and upon Merlin's urging, I have obtained one for you. It is yours. However, I will ask a boon of you in the future as payment."
"By my faith," the girl said, "I will give you what gift you ask for."
"Very well then."
The Lady gave the girl the sword before abruptly turning and vanishing into the mist, leaving just the girl and the Magus behind. The girl drew the sword from its sheath, marveling at the inner light with which it shone. Caliburn had been the sword of a king, but this was the sword of a warrior – and many battles stood before the girl still.
"Your highness. Which do you like better? The sword or the sheath?"
The girl tilts her head. The sheath was finely made, but who would say they preferred it over the tool it was meant to protect? She answered, "The sword."
"Please make no mistake here. The sword slashes the enemy, but the sheath protects you. As long as you have the sheath on you, you will spill no blood and take no wounds. You should truly value the sheath, not the sword."
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Gamemaster said:
While the Student Council spent most of its time organizing events for the student body throughout the year, it unfortunately did not have an unlimited budget to do so. In fact, for all that most of our work was done behind the scenes for the sake of the students, very little of our funding came from the school itself. Instead, we had to organize various fundraisers throughout the year to help pay for anything that we might choose to do.
Typically, there were two major fundraisers a year. One in autumn and another in spring, each covering the following semester's costs. So, the costs of Homecoming had been covered by the previous year's Student Council, while we would hopefully cover the cost for whoever was elected next year.
"Personally, I think a car wash could do well–"
"It's freezing outside! You want to do a car wash in this weather? What about an eating contest instead?"
"How many people are really going to pay for that…?"
Sighing, I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. The problem was that my Council did not know what they wanted to do yet.
"What did the Council do last year?" I asked, looking at Vedika.
"We ran an auction," she replied. Like me, she had largely been staying out of the argument, as Austin and Kayla had bantered ideas back and forth.
"Hm." It was an idea. "We do not have any particular assets to auction off at the moment however. Perhaps we can aim for something similar in the spring."
Vedika nodded. "I can think of a few things we could use, but I agree. Better to save that for spring. It'd be a popular Valentine's Day event."
A shiver went down my spine. Vedika's face and tone had been entirely placid and yet… What exactly was she planning to auction? She smiled at me and I quickly turned away. "What about a bake sale? Can we ask the Home Economics class to help with that, perhaps?"
"It should work. We did that two years ago. We'll probably need to chip in with supplies and help with some of the work though."
"We shall go with that then."
Gamemaster said:
Vedika began jotting notes down and I cleared my throat to gather the attention of the rest of my officers. They did not listen. I tried again, but the others simply kept talking, their voices drowning my own out. In the end, it was Vedika who stopped the argument.
"Hey!" she said, her voice raised to reverberate through the room. "Quit fighting already! We've decided on what we're going to do!"
"A car wash, right? That's clearly the best idea so far–"
Vedika slammed a hand down on the table. "I said quit it! We're doing a bake sale. That's it. It's decided."
Austin and Kayla both shot sour looks upon realizing that neither of their choices had made the cut. I spoke up and said, "The decision has been made. Let us look at implementing it as best we can going forward. For now, you may retire for the evening. Take the chance to calm yourselves."
Everyone slowly filtered out of the room, leaving only me behind. I allowed myself to sink back in my chair, allowing myself a moment of peace. The Student Council was always fairly busy, but I had perhaps been allowing myself to allow on Vedika a bit too much to keep things in order rather than directing things myself. They respected me, but I was not sure they truly saw me as their leader.
There were simply far too many things calling on my attention. I had not had the time to dedicate to the Student Council that I would have liked. I had not been negligent, by any means, but I knew from Artoria's memories that true leadership required active investment. If she had ever been less than fully committed to her role, her subjects would have felt it.
Sighing, I pulled myself to my feet and left, making my way downstairs. It had been a shorter session than usual, but the sun was setting earlier these days. It would not be long until night fell and I took to the streets once more. Or so I thought. I came to a stop as I saw Victoria and Amy both standing near the school's gate.
Looking between the two of them, I asked, "Is something the matter?"
"We need to talk," Victoria said shortly
She held up her phone. On it was a PHO post discussing the death of the vigilante, Haze.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
"It's not your fault."
"If not mine, then whose? If I had spoken better, talked him down–"
Victoria shook her head. "Elaine, stop. He's the one who attacked you, and for what? A couple hundred bucks? If he ran into some trouble afterwards, it's not your fault."
"She's not wrong. You did the right thing, Ellie," Amy said, squeezing my hand.
The three of us sat in Arcadia's courtyard. The courtyard was a popular place for students to gather in the summer, but here in the late Autumn when the air had turned brisk, nipping at our faces, most people preferred to stay indoors, leaving us with the privacy to discuss what we needed to.
I closed my eyes and leaned into Amy. "I just wonder if I could have done better. Who even killed him? For what?"
Victoria shrugged. "Hard to say. The only details we have is what PHO has, and it's not like they're privy to the crime scene. Some posters were saying he'd withered away, looked more like a mummy than someone who just died last night."
Gamemaster said:
An odd effect. I frowned. "Do we know any capes capable of something like that?"
Amy and Victoria shared a look. "Well, Sere probably could," Amy said. "He's a hero though, and operates mostly out in Concord. I doubt he killed Haze."
Gamemaster said:
"No one in Brockton Bay proper? That means we likely have a new enemy in the city." My voice grew cold. Already, I could feel the guilt of the situation fading as my mind focused on the problem at hand. It would return later, undoubtedly, when I no longer had something to divert my focus, but for now the distraction brought welcome clarity. "We will need to investigate and see if we can discover anything."
Victoria nodded. "I'll reach out to the Wards, see if they know anything."
"Let me know what you find."
"Don't worry. I will. Why don't you go ahead and take the night off?"
I frowned. "I am not so fragile that I cannot go out and continue fighting, Victoria. Besides, what would I even do with my time other than this?"
"Me," Amy said.
"What?" I blinked.
Amy colored. "I mean, erm. Spend time with me. We could relax, just the two of us."
"Well, there you have it," Victoria snickered. I glared at her, but that just sent her outright laughing. "You two lovebirds have a good time. I'll check in with you tomorrow!"
With that, Victoria flew off before I could say anything in response. What a cheeky girl. Turning back to Amy, however, my gaze softened. Perhaps it would not be so bad to heed their advice. "Did you have anything in mind?"
"Not really. We could go to the batting cages again?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Here I had been led to believe that you hated exercise."
"Har har." Amy rolled her eyes and poked at my nose. "It's not my favorite thing in the world. But you had fun the last time we went there, right? We did what I wanted last time, so let's do something fun for you this time."
"It is not as though I did not enjoy myself last time," I said, glancing away.
"Is that you asking for a repeat performance?" Amy smirked and twisted to face me. Her brown eyes caught the light of the setting sun, seeming almost crimson as she stared up at me. "I don't really mind providing if that's the case, you know."
Gamemaster said:
I cleared my throat and glanced away. "We should simply catch a movie for now."
"I get it. I won't push." Amy smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips before pulling away. "There's a movie I've been wanting to see that just came out recently anyways."
"Oh? What did you have in mind?"
"There's this movie about a ballerina that came out recently that's supposed to be good. It's gotten good reviews at least and seemed interesting."
"Mm?" I stood up and slid my hand into Amy's as we walked towards the school's front gate. It was odd comparing us standing to how we'd been sitting just a moment before. Amy was taller than I was. I only came up to her nose. Yet, with how she scrunched up on herself, you wouldn't know it when we were sitting next to each other. "That sounds a bit outside your usual fare."
Amy shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. I used to be big into horror movies, but I just haven't really been interested in any of them lately."
I had never particularly seen the appeal in horror as a genre myself, so I would count that as a personal positive. Amy had forced me to sit through The Thing a few months ago and that had been more than enough for me. No matter what Amy claimed, I most certainly had not shrieked while watching it either.
"Well, it does not hurt to try new things, I suppose. The theater over on Sycamore?"
"Works for me," Amy replied and leaned her body into mine.
Later, of course, I would find out that Amy's ballerina movie was not nearly so tame as she had made it sound. A psychological thriller was hardly any better than pure horror. It was worth it, however, to see Amy enjoying herself.
Gamemaster said:
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Elaine invokes passion: Heroism: 16 | 16 = Critical Success!
Gain a check to Heroism.
Modifiers:
Elaine: Impassioned (+10 to Melee) (-10 Multiple Opponents)
Elaine Melee: 6 | 16 = Success || Goblin10 Knife: 17 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 24
>>Goblin10 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 14 | 16 = Success || Goblin9 Knife: 20 | 12 = Fumble
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 26
>>Goblin9 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 7 | 16 = Success || Goblin8 Knife: 19 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 33
>>Goblin8 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 15 | 16 = Success || Goblin7 Knife: 7 | 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 30
>>Goblin7 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 10 | 16 = Success || Goblin6 Knife: 9 | 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 27
>>Goblin6 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 19 | 16 = Failure || Goblin5 Knife: 14 | 12 = Failure
Elaine Melee: 7 | 16 = Success || Goblin5 Knife: 12 | 12 = Critical Success!
>Goblin5 Damage (2d6+4+2d6) = 15 (13 AR) = 2 Damage (37/39 HP)
>>Knockdown: 11 | 14 = Elaine keeps her footing.
Elaine Melee: 7 | 16 = Success || Goblin4 Knife: 18 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 36
>>Goblin4 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 8 | 16 = Success || Goblin3 Knife: 20 | 12 = Fumble
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 20
>>Goblin3 takes a Major Wound.
Elaine Melee: 12 | 16 = Success || Goblin5 Knife: 5| 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 32
>>Goblin5 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 2 | 16 = Success || Goblin2 Knife: 11 | 12 = Success
>Goblin2 Damage (2d6+4) = 12 (13 AR) = 0 Damage
Elaine Melee: 11 | 16 = Success || Goblin1 Knife: 13 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 24
>>Goblin1 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 15 | 26 = Critical Success! || Goblin2 Knife: 4 | 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (12d6) = 33
>>Goblin2 is Slain.
>>>Gain a check to Melee.
Gain a check to Heroism.
Modifiers:
Elaine: Impassioned (+10 to Melee) (-10 Multiple Opponents)
Elaine Melee: 6 | 16 = Success || Goblin10 Knife: 17 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 24
>>Goblin10 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 14 | 16 = Success || Goblin9 Knife: 20 | 12 = Fumble
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 26
>>Goblin9 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 7 | 16 = Success || Goblin8 Knife: 19 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 33
>>Goblin8 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 15 | 16 = Success || Goblin7 Knife: 7 | 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 30
>>Goblin7 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 10 | 16 = Success || Goblin6 Knife: 9 | 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 27
>>Goblin6 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 19 | 16 = Failure || Goblin5 Knife: 14 | 12 = Failure
Elaine Melee: 7 | 16 = Success || Goblin5 Knife: 12 | 12 = Critical Success!
>Goblin5 Damage (2d6+4+2d6) = 15 (13 AR) = 2 Damage (37/39 HP)
>>Knockdown: 11 | 14 = Elaine keeps her footing.
Elaine Melee: 7 | 16 = Success || Goblin4 Knife: 18 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 36
>>Goblin4 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 8 | 16 = Success || Goblin3 Knife: 20 | 12 = Fumble
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 20
>>Goblin3 takes a Major Wound.
Elaine Melee: 12 | 16 = Success || Goblin5 Knife: 5| 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 32
>>Goblin5 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 2 | 16 = Success || Goblin2 Knife: 11 | 12 = Success
>Goblin2 Damage (2d6+4) = 12 (13 AR) = 0 Damage
Elaine Melee: 11 | 16 = Success || Goblin1 Knife: 13 | 12 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 24
>>Goblin1 is Slain.
Elaine Melee: 15 | 26 = Critical Success! || Goblin2 Knife: 4 | 12 = Success
>Elaine Damage (12d6) = 33
>>Goblin2 is Slain.
>>>Gain a check to Melee.
My sword cleaved through a goblin. Another stumbled and I stomped a foot down, crushing its skull. A third leapt for my back and I spun, catching it on my blade in mid-air.
The day after my date with Amy, I had received a text from Erin saying she had finished tracking the goblins down. Their main nest was apparently a scrapyard here in North End. Goblins were inherently creatures of entropy – they despised signs of civilization, especially forged metal. Thus, I had been surprised to find them here. Erin had explained the reasoning.
The metal here was cast off. Unwanted. Rusting. Degrading. It made the perfect home for them.
And the place was swarming with them. Three more lunged for my legs, only for my sword to cleave through them. They were not flesh and blood, not truly, and their bodies soon decayed into nothingness once they had expired.
Two more lunged at me. I swung at them, only to feel an impact on my shoulder blades, a third goblin having jumped down on me from above. I stumbled at the sudden weight, but the goblin's knife failed to penetrate. I grabbed it by the ankles and swung the goblin to the ground, smashing its head against the hollowed out frame of a car.
Erin had stayed outside. Goblins were naturally cowardly creatures, and so I had decided it was best if she maintained a bounded field around the scrapyard, preventing their escape. Those who did flee would find themselves incinerated.
A burst of strength caught another three goblins in a single swing. Their bodies crumpled under the force, magic enhancing the strength of my blow. It was not to the level that Artoria could have once done so, but for all that I had her memories, I did not have her advantages. I did not have a dragon's nature fueling my power as she once had. Perhaps that would change in time. Neither I nor Erin knew.
My phone rang, and I flipped it open, turning on voice as I pinned a final goblin against the ground. Erin's voice came through.
"How's it going in there, Pendragon?" She asked, voice turning amused at the use of my chosen alias. "Not sure how much longer I can keep the barrier up."
"I am almost finished. It occurs to me that you should choose a name of your own if we are to continue working together in the field."
Erin laughed. "It's better for me if no one knows I'm even involved."
"While I am sure that is true, things do not always go as planned," I said shortly, looking around. For the moment, there were no more goblins here. Just piles of trash, stacked high enough to form walls around me. I stalked forward, the area eerily quiet.
"I'll give it some thought. Anyways, there's likely a Queen or a King of some sort in there. If you haven't killed them yet, you aren't finished."
"I have not seen any sign of such. What will they look like?"
"Big."
"How big?" I asked. Most goblins came up to my chest – and I was not particularly tall.
"You'll know it when you see it."
"Erin–" I began, only for a pile of trash to burst down as a massive figure came charging through. It swung a club – actually a car door that had been crumpled into a wieldable shape – down at my face and I hurriedly parried to the side "Nevermind. I see it."
Elaine invokes passion: Station: 11 | 12 = Success
Modifiers:
Elaine: Inspired (+5 to Melee)
Elaine Melee: 1 | 21 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 14 | 15 = Success
>GQ Damage (6d6) = 19 (13 AR) = 6 (31/39 HP)
>>Elaine Knockdown: 16 | 14 = Elaine is knocked down.
Elaine Defensive: 17 | 26 (-5 Height, +10 Defensive) = Critical || Goblin Queen Club: 2 | 20 (+5 Height) = Success
>Elaine Defends, gets to her feet.
Elaine Melee: 5 | 21 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 19 | 15 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 27 (10 AR) = 17 (27/44 HP)
>>GQ Knockdown: 20 | 10 = GQ is knocked down.
Elaine Melee: 7 | 26 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 3 | 10 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 33 (10 AR) = 23 (4/44 HP)
>>GQ Knockdown: 12 | 10 = GQ is knocked down.
Elaine Melee: 4 | 26 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 2 | 10 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 29 (10 AR) = 19 (-15/44 HP)
>>GQ is Slain.
Modifiers:
Elaine: Inspired (+5 to Melee)
Elaine Melee: 1 | 21 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 14 | 15 = Success
>GQ Damage (6d6) = 19 (13 AR) = 6 (31/39 HP)
>>Elaine Knockdown: 16 | 14 = Elaine is knocked down.
Elaine Defensive: 17 | 26 (-5 Height, +10 Defensive) = Critical || Goblin Queen Club: 2 | 20 (+5 Height) = Success
>Elaine Defends, gets to her feet.
Elaine Melee: 5 | 21 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 19 | 15 = Failure
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 27 (10 AR) = 17 (27/44 HP)
>>GQ Knockdown: 20 | 10 = GQ is knocked down.
Elaine Melee: 7 | 26 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 3 | 10 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 33 (10 AR) = 23 (4/44 HP)
>>GQ Knockdown: 12 | 10 = GQ is knocked down.
Elaine Melee: 4 | 26 = Success || Goblin Queen Club: 2 | 10 = Success
>Elaine Damage (8d6) = 29 (10 AR) = 19 (-15/44 HP)
>>GQ is Slain.
The next strike hit me head on, and though I blocked with my sword, I was still sent flying backwards. I rolled through trash and refuse, my ribs bruised from the blow. The Goblin Queen did not give me time to recover however, its club swinging down towards my head before I could find my feet.
I hurriedly blocked it and rolled away, taking a moment to look at my opponent. It was large, but not a giant. Perhaps three times the size of a normal goblin. Perhaps as large as a particularly tall man. No one would mistake it as such however. Its corpulent visage was ugly in a way that only goblins could be, twisted and malformed. It drooped and sagged, as though a candle had been left next to a mask made of wax.
She swung her club for me and I dashed in underneath her blow, my sword darting out to strike her knee. It was not the most honorable method, but then, this was not an opponent for whom honor mattered. She fell with a thunderous rapport. Before she could rise to defend herself, my sword came down, a mirror of her earlier strike.
She raised her club to defend, but my sword still found purchase. It only took her shoulder instead of cleaving open her head, but it was still a grievous blow. A second strike found my sword biting deep into her arm. Either of these blows would have disabled a normal person, but one could not expect the same of faeries. I struck a third time, and this time my sword found its mark.
The Goblin Queen burst as my sword drove through her heart. For a moment, I was surrounded by noxious fumes, the stink of mold and unwashed sweat, and then even that was gone. All that was left was the scrapyard itself, no sign of any goblins remaining.
"Elaine? Are you okay?"
"Fine." I sniffed myself and grimaced. The unnatural stink of goblins aside, I had fallen into actual trash. "Mostly. I need a bath."
"You can borrow the bath at my house if you need to. Ready to get out there?"
"More than ready."
I let my sword disappear. These goblins had not been much challenge. There had been a great many of them, but they were almost all individually weak. It worried me however. If this many had come through from faerie, then what else could have slipped through as well?
Gamemaster said:
A quick bit of housekeeping. Parahuman Studies has been renamed to Lore and will also cover knowledge of various faerie creatures going forward.
It is November of 2010.
We have hit a new Glory milestone.
First, you may increase any Trait, Passion, Characteristic, or Skill by one, ignoring any usual restrictions.
[ ] [Glory] (Write-In Increase)
Second, you get another Parahuman Power upgrade:
[ ] [Power] Chivalry (C)
>Gain an additional 3 armor and increase Major Wound threshold by 3.
[ ] [Power] Mana Burst (D)
>Gain an additional +1d6 Weapon and Charge damage and +3 to Movement checks.
[ ] [Power] Instinct (E)
>Enemy attacks suffer a -3 threshold penalty.
[ ] [Power] Riding (E)
>Knockdown Threshold increased by 3.
[ ] [Power] Charisma (E)
>Roll Parahuman Power at -10. On a success, gain a +5 threshold bonus to any Social roll.
[ ] [Power] Magic Resistance (E)
>Roll Parahuman Power at -10 opposed to parahuman powers that target you. On success, the effect is negated.
Where are you patrolling with Glory Girl:
[ ] [Patrol] North End
>Arguably the poorest part of the city. Not much concentrated gang presence, but lots of crime. Supposedly some gang called the Merchants here, but they aren't a big player.
[ ] [Patrol] The Docks
>ABB territory.
[ ] [Patrol] Midtown
>Arguably the safest part of the city, has the most patrols by New Wave and the Wards.
[ ] [Patrol] Downtown
>There's supposedly a villain called Coil with mercenaries in the area. Heavily patrolled by the Protectorate.
[ ] [Patrol] Stratham
>E88 territory.
Choose an activity to participate in:
[ ] [Activity] Focus on the Student Council
>You will be doing work for the Student Council regardless, this is to spend extra time devoted to the task.
[ ] [Activity] Study Group
>Spend some extra time studying for your classes.
[ ] [Activity] Party
>You've been invited to a house party by Chelsea and Morgan.
[ ] [Activity] Modeling
>You were offered to make regular appearances with the modeling agency. It would be good for PR, maybe, and they'd pay you.
[ ] [Activity] Charity
>You could do volunteer work at the local homeless shelter.
[ ] [Activity] Sparring
>You have people you can practice your fighting with now.
[ ] [Activity] Church
>Visit Father DiMaggio at his church.
[ ] [Activity] (Write-In)
Choose someone to spend time with.
[ ] [Social] Dean Stansfield
[ ] [Social] Victoria Dallon
[ ] [Social] Amy Dallon
[ ] [Social] Chelsea and Megan
[ ] [Social] Erin Archelot
[ ] [Social] Theo Anders
[ ] [Social] Tammi Herren
[ ] [Social] Vedika Dhawan
[ ] [Social] (Write-In)