Quothar The trial for that is thus: you are put in a room with a desk and a small pamphlet, a box of random game pieces, and a man in the corner with a stopwatch. You are told to read the booklet, then do as it says.

Quothar The booklet has a series of instructions on how to play certain games or do certain tasks: tie a complex knot, do a math equation, etc.

Quothar The quicker you finish, the better

Arlie_B a what equation?

Quothar Probably the quadratic equation, applied properly.

Arlie_B ok, Arlie tries to follow the tasks, following the instructions, putting a note that "This isn't how my wife says to tie this knot."

Quothar You get most of them in good time, but the knot one you blow through like lightning.

Quothar In a matter of a mere half hour, you finish the test.

Arlie_B "The only way I remember that square equation stuff, it's actually a good story."

Quothar The timekeeper stops his watch, looks through the test, then smiles, "Congratulations, your Grace. A perfect score, and an acceptable time. Almost too quick, but still within range. Your ring will be prepared by the end of the week. Is there any style or appearance you prefer?"

• Arlie_B pauses at that, then adds, "I have a pink elephant codpiece."

Arlie_B "Any style will do. Nothing iron if you can help it."

Quothar He blinks, "I'll relay that to the ringmakers."

Arlie_B "Thank you."

Quothar The ring, when it arrives, is a pale pink stone, wtih runes etched on the inside. Quick learner edge, +1 awa. You will learn things in half the time or quicker most of the time, complex stuff in about three fourths of the time it normally takes, and extremely simple things in a fourth of the time it takes. However, you'll still have to pass AWA rolls to get them for the most part.

Quothar Prowess and toughness were mentioned before by you, but I'm easy. Anything you want.

Arlie_B Arlie would do prowess and toughness, asking, "Do I do this with or without my sword and armor?"

Quothar "That's up to you."

Quothar "We /do/ take armor and weapon into account in the trials, though, and if you kill anyone, you'll not be allowed the ring, so be careful if you bring your weapon."

Arlie_B "Without the sword and armor then. You never know what could happen."

Quothar See main channel briefly

Quothar Join #dunmanifestin for the prowess trial.

Arlie_B "Sometimes a branch has to be good enough, and sometimes your armmor turns to stone."

Quothar The soldier smiles, "So we've heard."

Quothar Basically, you're to face 6 men of varying skills:

Quothar You face a new recruit in leather armor. Go.

Arlie_B practice swords?

Quothar Yes

Quothar He cries out as he drops his fake sword.

Quothar As soon as he does, he bows, then steps back. A sergent steps up, in leathers, with a practice sword.

Arlie_B karma to say the practice sword breaks, knocking the sargent out and absorbing some of the blow?

Quothar The sword cracks as it strikes his armor. The sergeant's breath comes out in a small gale as he collapses.

Quothar Two men drag him away and check him, "Broken rib. He'll be fine."

Quothar A hardened looking soldier walks up.

Quothar He's wearing steel-reinforced leathers.

Arlie_B "Bloody hell, he shouldn't have left his side open. Gods, tell him I'm sorry."

Quothar He lunges.

• Arlie_B attacks on his turn.
• Arlie_B steps back after his lunge and grins.

Quothar The man smiles back, "Not bad."

Quothar r lunge 15

Arlie_B r defend 16

Eklem Arlie_B [defend: 16] 21 24 26

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 18 19 26

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 18 20 21

Quothar r stun 14+5 wound 14+5

Eklem Quothar [stun: 14+5=19] 26 27 27

Eklem Quothar [wound: 14+5=19] 21 26 29

Arlie_B -3 for graze.

Quothar Right

Quothar Stun, LNA

Quothar Err

Quothar NW

• Arlie_B coughs and falls back on his butt.

Quothar The man disarms you, then bows.

Arlie_B "So that's why we wear that bloody uncomfortable stuff."

Arlie_B "Good form." Quothar He nods.

Quothar They give you time to recover from stun, then the next one steps up.

Quothar You still have NW (-1)

Quothar r init new

Quothar r init 16

Eklem INIT: Quothar [16] 17 18 24

Arlie_B r init 16

Eklem INIT: Arlie_B [16] 17 19 25

Arlie_B r lunge 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [lunge: 16-1=15] 16 16 18

Quothar r parry 16

Eklem Quothar [parry: 16] 17 21 23

Quothar r counter 16

Eklem Quothar [counter: 16] 19 20 24

Arlie_B r parry 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [parry: 16-1=15] 17 19 21

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 20 21 25

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 17 17 19

Quothar r stun 14+5 wound 14+5

Eklem Quothar [stun: 14+5=19] 20 22 22

Eklem Quothar [wound: 14+5=19] 21 23 25

Quothar LNA, DW

Arlie_B it's a practice sword?

Arlie_B +1 wound?

Quothar Shit.

Quothar That would change the above, too.

Quothar It should be +4/+1

Quothar My bad

Arlie_B I'd still be stunned and disarmed.

Arlie_B and I'd have still been LNA this round.

Quothar We'll move along and retcon if needed later. No wound right now, to make up a bit

Arlie_B ok.

Quothar r attack 16

Eklem Quothar [attack: 16] 19 24 25

Arlie_B r parry 16

Eklem Arlie_B [parry: 16] 17 20 21

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 20 22 25

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 20 21 23

Quothar r stun 14+4+3 wound 14+4+1

Eklem Quothar [stun: 14+4+3=21] 22 24 29

Eklem Quothar [wound: 14+4+1=19] 21 22 26

Quothar LNA, NW

Quothar They don't stack though. He strikes again

Quothar r attack 16

Eklem Quothar [attack: 16] 17 23 26

Arlie_B r parry_oh_gods_parry 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [parry_oh_gods_parry: 16-1=15] 22 22 25

Quothar K?

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 17 21 23

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 20 23 26

Arlie_B sorry, didn't press enter.

• Arlie_B is pressed backwards, fighting off the sword strikes frantically.

Quothar Karma is what I was asking

Quothar Anyway

Quothar r stun 14+4 wound 14+1

Eklem Quothar [stun: 14+4=18] 22 23 25

Eklem Quothar [wound: 14+1=15] 16 18 25

Quothar LNA

Quothar r attack 16

Eklem Quothar [attack: 16] 22 23 26

Arlie_B r parry_for_life 16

Eklem Arlie_B [parry_for_life: 16] 20 20 22

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 19 23 26

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 18 20 26

Quothar r stun 14+4 wound 14+1

Eklem Quothar [stun: 14+4=18] 20 24 25

Eklem Quothar [wound: 14+1=15] 18 19 24

Quothar LNA, NW

Quothar Is that six hits?

Arlie_B 4 I think.

Arlie_B yes, 4.

Arlie_B r shift_momentum_parry 16

Eklem Arlie_B [shift_momentum_parry: 16] 20 21 21

Quothar r strike 16

Eklem Quothar [strike: 16] 17 22 24

Quothar r stun 14+4 wound 14+1

Eklem Quothar [stun: 14+4=18] 19 23 28

Eklem Quothar [wound: 14+1=15] 18 19 20

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 24 24 24

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 18 21 24

• Arlie_B darts left as he parries, taking a glancing bow to the arm.

Quothar r init 16

Eklem INIT: Quothar [16] 17 18 25

Arlie_B r init 16-1

Eklem INIT: Arlie_B [16-1=15] 19 21 23

Arlie_B r press_advantage 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [press_advantage: 16-1=15] 20 22 24

Quothar r 16

Eklem Quothar [16] 22 23 26

Arlie_B r parry 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [parry: 16-1=15] 16 18 25

Quothar r strike 16

Eklem Quothar [strike: 16] 18 20 20

Quothar r stun 14+4 wound 14+1

Eklem Quothar [stun: 14+4=18] 23 26 27

Eklem Quothar [wound: 14+1=15] 21 22 24

Quothar Is that 6 hits?

• Arlie_B strikes at an opening but gets forcibly repelled. He has trouble bring his sword back down for the next attack.

Arlie_B yes.

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 23 23 24

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 20 21 25

Quothar The man steps back, bows. "You've two failures now. If you fail once more, you do not earn your ring."

Arlie_B "Let me put on leathers for the next one."

Quothar They arrange some

Arlie_B "I can't break my ribs for the next couple of months."

Quothar The soldier smiles, and the next man to step up is a special forces man. "Battisto," he spits, "This will be fun."

Quothar r init new

Quothar r init 16

Eklem INIT: Quothar [16] 19 26 26

Arlie_B r init 16-1+1

Eklem INIT: Arlie_B [16-1+1=16] 18 20 24

Quothar r strike 16

Eklem Quothar [strike: 16] 24 24 25

Arlie_B r parry 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [parry: 16-1=15] 16 24 24

Arlie_B r stun 16+3 wound 16+3

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16+3=19] 22 25 25

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16+3=19] 21 24 26

Quothar r stun 15+4-3 wound 15+1-3

Eklem Quothar [stun: 15+4-3=16] 17 22 26

Eklem Quothar [wound: 15+1-3=13] 16 17 23

Quothar The blow slides off your armored arm.

Quothar Go

Arlie_B r attack 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [attack: 16-1=15] 16 16 21

Arlie_B hmph.

Quothar r parry 16

Eklem Quothar [parry: 16] 21 25 25

Quothar r counter 16?

Eklem Quothar [counter: 16] 17 19 22

Arlie_B r parry 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [parry: 16-1=15] 16 22 24

Quothar Your swords clatter.

Quothar r init 16

Eklem INIT: Quothar [16] 18 19 21

Arlie_B r init 16

Eklem INIT: Arlie_B [16] 17 17 23

Arlie_B r parry 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [parry: 16-1=15] 17 19 19

Quothar r strike 16

Eklem Quothar [strike: 16] 20 21 23

Quothar r stun 15+4 wound 15+4

Eklem Quothar [stun: 15+4=19] 24 29 29

Eklem Quothar [wound: 15+4=19] 24 27 28

Arlie_B t stun 16+3 wound 16+3

Arlie_B r stun 16+3 wound 16+3

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16+3=19] 20 25 26

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16+3=19] 20 21 27

Quothar Stun, DW

Arlie_B +1 for wound,

Arlie_B NW,

Quothar Fuck, good call.

Quothar Still, unless you karma stun, you will be disarmed

Arlie_B ok, band karma for the stun?

Quothar Works for me

Quothar Just NW then

Quothar Your turn

Arlie_B the rules are just plain attacks?

Quothar They didn't quite say.

Arlie_B no special skills though, right?

Quothar They never said anything about that. They just brought you to a room and said "Fight these six men."

Arlie_B a room, not outdoors?

Quothar Err, sorry, it's in the compound courtyard

• Arlie_B improvises, letting the last attack drop low enough to grab a chunk of turf and throw it up into the attacker's eyes.

Arlie_B what should I roll?

Arlie_B r roll 0

Eklem Arlie_B [roll: 0] 2 3 7

Quothar Roll improv

Quothar r diff 7

Eklem Quothar [diff: 7] 10 12 12

Arlie_B r improv 16+1

Eklem Arlie_B [improv: 16+1=17] 22 23 26

Arlie_B awareness based.

Quothar Roll prowess +6

Quothar r dodge 14

Eklem Quothar [dodge: 14] 20 23 24

Arlie_B r pro 16-1+6

Eklem Arlie_B [pro: 16-1+6=21] 22 30 31

Quothar The turf slaps him in the face, leaving him blinded and losing his action

Arlie_B r downward_swing 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [downward_swing: 16-1=15] 16 23 23

Quothar r parry blind 16-6

Eklem Quothar [parry blind: 16-6=10] 16 16 20

Quothar r stun 15+3 wound 15+3

Eklem Quothar [stun: 15+3=18] 19 21 28

Eklem Quothar [wound: 15+3=18] 24 28 28

Arlie_B r stun 16+4+6 wound 16+1+6

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16+4+6=26] 29 36 36

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16+1+6=23] 24 24 28

Arlie_B shit,

Quothar Either karma or retcon a called shot?

Arlie_B retcon a called shot, Arlie kicks the boy in the chest, knocking him over and knocking the sword from his hand.

Arlie_B if he was obviously blinded, that's the tact he would have taken,

Arlie_B asking his state took a bit too long,

Quothar We'll go with that description.

Quothar He crawls away, gets up, and bows, blinking away dirt.

Quothar The last man walks up, and it's a Silver Torch.

Arlie_B anyone I know?

Quothar You've seen him around. Overt branch.

Arlie_B "They save the best for last?"

Arlie_B "Bloody Hell, is Damon waiting out there out of sight?"

Quothar He smiles, "No, the test is designed to give you a chance, man."

Quothar r init torch 17

Eklem INIT: torch [17] 19 20 26

• Arlie_B laughs loudly and gets in his stance.

Arlie_B r init 16

Eklem INIT: Arlie_B [16] 18 20 23

Quothar He lunges.

Quothar r strike 17

Eklem Quothar [strike: 17] 18 20 21

Arlie_B r parry 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [parry: 16-1=15] 20 21 25

Arlie_B r riposte 16-1

Eklem Arlie_B [riposte: 16-1=15] 16 19 22

Quothar You can't counter on a success of one. Or is this just yer attack?

Quothar r pary 17

Eklem Quothar [pary: 17] 18 20 25

Arlie_B just my attack.

Arlie_B r init 16

Eklem INIT: Arlie_B [16] 17 23 26

Quothar Gotchya. He parries, barely. "Not bad for a has been."

Quothar r init 17

Eklem INIT: Quothar [17] 19 21 23

• You are now known as Dionysus

Dionysus Go.

Arlie_B "You should listen to your elders. Did Damon ever tell you about the time we fought an Ka'ar brigade?"

Dionysus "He's not quite so windy as you, Battisto."

• Arlie_B tries to set his eyebrows on fire.

Dionysus r diff 5

Eklem Dionysus [diff: 5] 10 11 15

Arlie_B r invoke 13

Eklem Arlie_B [invoke: 13] 15 19 20

Dionysus Roll will+6 to hit

Dionysus r dodge 15

Eklem Dionysus [dodge: 15] 16 20 21

Arlie_B r will 17+6

Eklem Arlie_B [will: 17+6=23] 25 26 27

Dionysus r awa 14 diff 13

Eklem Dionysus [awa: 14] 17 19 22

Eklem Dionysus [diff: 13] 14 22 23

Dionysus He fails to think.

Dionysus He slaps his own face with the flat of his sword, trying to put them out.

Dionysus He staggers back and rolls after a moment, then gets up, and throws his sword down.

Arlie_B "Rub them with your hands son!"

Dionysus "You win, asshole," he says with a touch of wounded pride and good humor.

• Arlie_B smiles and wiggles his eyebrows at him.

Arlie_B "They'll grow back, except for this bit." Arlie points at his own.

Dionysus "Your ring will be done be done by the end of the week, Battisto. Any preference on its looks?"

Arlie_B "No iron, like this one." Arlie shows the pink one. "And nothing flashy, as boring as possible. Preferably ugly, so it won't get taken in a search."

Dionysus He nod, "Plain. Got it."

Dionysus +3 PRO

Dionysus Next is toughness?

Arlie_B sure.

Dionysus "You choose our implements. Six of us slap the shit out of you with them. If you're still standing in the end, you win."

Arlie_B "Keep from breaking the arms and ribs if you can help it, the rest is fair game."

Dionysus "Choose what we beat you with, Battisto," the forces man says.

Arlie_B "Anything will do. Toy, want to give these men some 'respectable' bludgeoning instruments?"

Arlie_B one of them has to be a trout.

Dionysus All of them have fish: trout, haddock, marlin, swordfish, dogfish, and carp.

Dionysus They blink, then sigh.

Dionysus "For these, you wear no armor."

Dionysus Haddock goes first.

Dionysus r stun 10+4 wound 10-2

Eklem Dionysus [stun: 10+4=14] 17 20 21

Eklem Dionysus [wound: 10-2=8] 9 10 16

Arlie_B "Alright, let's do it."

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 20 23 26

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 17 17 26

Dionysus Marlin:

Dionysus r stun 12+3 wound 12-2

Eklem Dionysus [stun: 12+3=15] 23 25 25

Eklem Dionysus [wound: 12-2=10] 13 14 18

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 20 20 25

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 18 19 21

Dionysus You reel under the blow of the fish, but remain standing, if dazed.

Dionysus Carp:

Dionysus r 14+3 wound 14-2

Eklem Dionysus [14+3=17] 20 23 26

Eklem Dionysus [wound: 14-2=12] 14 16 20

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 19 21 23

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 22 25 26

Dionysus You continue to reel from the blow, but remain standing.

Dionysus Dogfish (which is rather large):

Dionysus r stun 16+4 wound 16-1

Eklem Dionysus [stun: 16+4=20] 28 28 30

Eklem Dionysus [wound: 16-1=15] 16 17 25

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 17 25 25

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 20 25 26

Dionysus You continue to feel dazed.

Dionysus Swordfish:

Dionysus r stun 17+3 wound 17+3

Eklem Dionysus [stun: 17+3=20] 23 24 24

Eklem Dionysus [wound: 17+3=20] 23 26 26

• Arlie_B grits his teeth.

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 19 23 24

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 18 18 24

Arlie_B eek,

Arlie_B one sec,

Arlie_B nah, I'll take it. The swordfish takes a big gash out of Arlie's chest and he collapses. "Get.. Aurelia."

Dionysus He collapses?

Dionysus He's still standing.

Arlie_B mortal wound

Dionysus But no KO, and no Stun

Dionysus He's still standing.

Arlie_B but not dying is more important given the circumstances.

Arlie_B rather, he sits himself on the ground slowly, putting pressure to the wound.

Dionysus "Can you stand?" the trout wielder asks.

Arlie_B (This is the better story than karma-ing, I think.)

• Arlie_B pants. "Get Aurelia!"

Arlie_B "I can walk, to her."

Dionysus "Stand up, Battisto! You won't die for another few minutes!"

• Arlie_B looks at him with bloody murder that turns into a wince.

Arlie_B what is the pain on a mortal wound?

Arlie_B not bad for this, actually, because he beat stun

Dionysus -5 is the penalty during battle, -7 out

• Arlie_B stands. "I'm dizzy. You! Get her."

Dionysus As for pain, you just got slashed by a fish. How do you think that feels?

Dionysus Trout:

Dionysus r stun 18+3 wound 17-2

Eklem Dionysus [stun: 18+3=21] 22 23 23

Eklem Dionysus [wound: 17-2=15] 19 21 21

Arlie_B r stun 16 wound 16

Eklem Arlie_B [stun: 16] 18 25 25

Eklem Arlie_B [wound: 16] 20 22 24

• Arlie_B screams and agony and rage, then grabs the fish and throws it to the floor.

Dionysus You barely feel it. He sends a man for Aurelia.

Dionysus Aurelia?

• Aurelia follows the man back.

Dionysus You find Arlie standing with a huge gash in his chest. Six fish lie about the room

Dionysus And six men wait near him, feeling casual, bored.

• Arlie_B feels pain.

Arlie_B and scared.

• Aurelia blinks at Arlie, then moves forward, going up briefly in opal flame before putting her hands to his chest to Heal.

Dionysus r mw 19

Eklem Dionysus [mw: 19] 20 23 27

Aurelia r heal 25+3

Eklem Aurelia [heal: 25+3=28] 30 33 36

Dionysus You slowly absorb the wound, feeling a tingling pain in your own chest as you do, but it quickly fades.

• Aurelia pulls her hands away when finished.
• Arlie_B collapses on the floor, covered in blood. He looks Aurelia in the eye. "Thank you." He doesn't smile, but he feels extreme gratitude.

Dionysus One of the men says, "Your Toy coulda healed you, man. It made the fish. Anyway, your ring will be done in a week. Any preferences what it'll look like?"

• Aurelia smiles faintly and nods, half kneeling to touch Arlie's arm, then turns to go, burning for a moment in black flame as she does.

Arlie_B "Oak."

Dionysus He nods.

Dionysus +3 toughess

Arlie_B "Hold on, men, I'll be back." Arlie walks out with Aurelia.

Arlie_B ok.

• Aurelia tilts her head questioningly, but doesn't object.
• Arlie_B tags along with Aurelia for the rest of the day.

Dionysus She's probably working on paintings that day?

Aurelia Composition.

Dionysus She's writing a song that day. Why does Arlie stick with her that day?

Arlie_B Gratitude for saving his life. "Can I play along, muted? It might give you an idea. You can kick me out if it gets in your way."

• Aurelia blinks at Arlie, then shakes her head. She's working on paper, without instrument, and is being a bit secretive, trying to keep said paper at a bad angle to be seen.

Arlie_B in that case, Arlie stays with her a bit, practicing sword drills, then takes his leave.

Dionysus Does Arlie a) do anything special or b) go for more rings?

Arlie_B 1.) He needs to arrange the details of saving that Roma girl from the slavers.

Dionysus I think we're waiting for everyone to be present for that?

Arlie_B yes.

Dionysus So we do that tomorrow. Next?

• Arlie_B needs to talk to Arsul about sending notice to Gruvum that his life may be in danger because a demi-god is hunting him, but he's kinda low on the list for now so enjoy his vacation anyway, just don't enjoy it for too long.

Arlie_B I'll do that in a second.

Arlie_B as for rings, let me think.

Dionysus A'ight

Arlie_B what about a trial for the band governing troop communication?

Dionysus Explain?

Arlie_B A weaker version of the necklaces on First Shem. Rapid communication without talking.

Dionysus They can't do that

Dionysus They don't have rings for that

Arlie_B ok.

Dionysus Any other ideas?

Arlie_B I'm slowly thinking.

Dionysus Cool

Arlie_B sorry, I kindaa got Arlie mostly settled up last week, and I'm fine taking it easy.

Dionysus I just wanna get as many rings done as I can because they're slow moving.

Arlie_B I know, I need to get more in character a bit before I can decide what he'd try for.

Arlie_B Off the top of my head, the only one I can think of Arlie trying for, given his experiences, is stealth

Dionysus You're told to sneak through one of the palace libraries without being seen.

Arlie_B but he'd try that with the armor, partly to test out exactly how good at sneaking he is with it on.

Arlie_B how does the armor give +6 stealth again? Does it camouflage like a chameleon?

Dionysus It fades.

Dionysus You become translucent

Arlie_B wow, ok, he'd try it with that. He thinks the trials are good practice.

Dionysus When you get to the other side of the library, you have to a wait a moment before the instructor gets there. "Sorry," he says, "I didn't see you come out."

Arlie_B haha

Dionysus "I think you've earned your ring. Any specifics?"

Arlie_B "I think I got through because of this suit. Let's make it a braid of three brass rings, for the Mother of Moons."

Dionysus He nods, "Just so."